English Liberty. Magna Carta Imperfect monarchy results in despotism – Applied pejoratively:...
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Transcript of English Liberty. Magna Carta Imperfect monarchy results in despotism – Applied pejoratively:...
English Liberty
Magna Carta
• Imperfect monarchy results in despotism– Applied pejoratively: “who
abuses his power and authority to oppress his people”
• Magna Carta of 1215 required King John of England to proclaim certain liberties, and accept that his will was not arbitrary
Magna Carta 1215
• higher taxes, unsuccessful wars and conflict with the Pope had made King John unpopular
• His barons in defiance and supported by Prince Louis of France and King Alexander II of Scots, marched on London
• Supported by the multitude, the city open its gates to them and they forced the King to agree to articles of liberty
• In return, the barons pledged their fealty
Magna Carta
• The first attempt to limit the powers of the monarchy and protect the liberties of the individual. Many of its clauses were repealed but three stand today:– freedom of the English Church, whole rights and
liberties inviolable– City of London will have its rights and customs– No freeman will imprisoned or deprived of his
freedoms, liberties, customs or be exiled without due process of the law and judgment of his peers
• Established principle King may not levy taxes without consent of the council
Crown vs Parliament vs Church
• Parliament gradually evolved from the King’s Great Council in thirteenth century– consisted of archbishops, bishops, abbots, barons
and earls, pillars of the feudal system• Thus began the uneasy balance of power
between the Crown, Parliament and the Church• In the coming centuries, there would emerge on
ongoing struggle of each to assert its supremacy
Early form of Government
• Up until the late 17th century, England had no standing army or police
• Monarchy relied upon the support of the nobility to enforce laws
• Delicate balance of power between the Church, the Crown and the Gentry (Aristocracy)– Roman Catholic Church in power until 16th century
• Since the Norman conquest 1066, the king relied on the Great Council to advise the king– Consisted of clergy, barons and earls– Evolved into parliament
Parliament• First form of representation of people was Model
Parliament formed 1295 by King Edward I– Unicameral – Consisted of clergy, lords (aristocracy) and commons, (2 knights
from each county, 2 burgesses from each borough & 2 citizens from each city)
• Limited legislative powers– Primarily for levying taxes, projecting power locally– Must be summoned by the King– In summoning parliament, King Edward proclaimed,
“what touches all, should be approved of all, and it is also clear that common dangers should be met by measures agreed upon in common”
Parliament
• Under Edward I, parliament became the forum of passing grievances to the Crown
• As Parliament became more powerful, the power of the Crown became more limited.
• Parliament actually deposed Edward II and approved his son Edward III as successor
Parliament
• Bicameral in 1341– House of Lords• Senior clergy (archbishop, bishops, abbots) = “Lords
Spiritual”• Gentry (Duke, Marquees, Earl, Viscount, Baron) = “Lords
Temporal”
– House of Commons (“of the community”)• Grew in power under Edward III– no law could be made, nor any tax levied, without
the consent of both Houses and the Sovereign
18th Century Government
• House of Commons in session c. 1710
Reformation of England• Protestant reformation slow to take hold in England – Strong ties of monarch families with Catholic Church
• since Norman Conquest 1066, English feudal system unchanged for over 400 years
• 16th century Tudor dynasty ruled England as the most assertive of monarchs
• Henry (Tudor) VII conquered usurper Richard III– marriage to Elizabeth of York united rival factions of
England and Wales– Strengthened trade thereby gaining support of
merchant factions in Parliament
Tudor Dynasty 1500’s
• Henry VII arranged for eldest son Arthur to marry Catherine of Argon – Daughter of Ferdinand and Isabella of Spain– Solidify relations and put Henry w/ good graces of Pope
• Ironically, Arthur and Catherine came down with fever – Arthur died, Catherine recovered as widow– their marriage never consummated
• Catherine was remarried to the next son Henry VIII
Henry VIII• Large man, bad temper, subject
to rage• Fair, allowed dissenting
opinions• Charles V of Spain conquered
southern Europe and Vatican became Holy Roman Emperor
• Parliament weak, did King’s bidding
• With no standing army, Henry VIII treaded the tangled web of European politics with great care
Henry VIII and His Six Wives
• Calculating and cunning Henry VIII abided his time
• After a series of fateful miscarriages, Catherine finally had a girl, Mary
• Desperate for a son as heir to the Crown, Henry wished to avoid more wars of succession
• His only solution was to annul their marriage of 18 years
Henry VIII & His Six Wives• He found a loophole: they were never legally
married• The Pope & the English Cardinal (Thomas Woolsey)
refused to acquiesce• Henry sought a second opinion in courts but failed
to get a favorable judgment• Finally Henry’s case was referred to theological
universities of Europe which returned the verdict he sought– He immediately had his marriage to Catherine annulled– Married Anne Boleyn 5 days later
The Church of England Formed
• Have become repulsive to Pope, Henry sought to break England from yoke of Catholicism– Used Parliament to pass laws stripping authority of the Pope in England
and transferring it to the Crown– declaring the king Supreme Governor of the Church of England– Bishops Fisher and More were executed for taking a bold stand against
royal supremacy in the Church• Queen Anne had a baby girl, the Princess Elizabeth,
– Henry erupted in a tirade. “I see that God does not mean me to have male children.”
– Already he began to give his love to others and plot how to get rid of Queen Anne
• When Queen Catherine died in 1536, the opportunity came– There would be no question of succession– Anne was accused of unfaithfulness– Alleged suitors were coerced to confess under
torture– Anne Boleyn wore a scarlet dress to the
scaffold and chose to be executed with sword rather than axe
• No more than ten days later, Henry married Jane Seymour– Gentle, proud, Queen Jane was the one wife
Henry adored, but after 18 months– Giving birth to his only son, Edward, she died at
the age of 22– Henry lamented her loss more than any other
• Henry married three other wives before his death but they had no children to contend for the throne
“Good Christian people, I am come hither to die, for according to the law, and by the law I am judged to die, and therefore I will speak nothing against it. I am come hither to accuse no man, nor to speak anything of that, whereof I am accused and condemned to die, but I pray God save the king and send him long to reign over you, for a gentler nor a more merciful prince was there never: and to me he was ever a good, a gentle and sovereign lord. And if any person will meddle of my cause, I require them to judge the best. And thus I take my leave of the world and of you all, and I heartily desire you all to pray for me. O Lord have mercy on me, to God I commend my soul.”
Anne Boleyn May 18, 1536
The Struggle of Succession• The struggle that followed was a religious roller
coaster in which the favored religion sought absolute power and the destruction of all others.
• Prince Edward was sickly and Henry VIII last wife lovingly nurtured him so that he adopted her zealous Protestantism– When Henry died in 1547, Edward succeeded him to the
throne at 10 years of age. But he was little more than a figurehead. His uncle Duke of Sommerset seized control
– Despite this Edward succeeded in stirring Protestant reform
Protestant Reform of Edward • Protestant Prayer Book was
forced upon the people• All Catholic vestiges were
stripped from the Anglican churches
• His sister Mary Tudor was coerced to renounce Catholicism but she refused
• When Edward died of TB age 15, his Lord Protectors tried in vain to appoint Lady Jane Grey as his successor to the throne to keep the Protestant reign
Catholic Revival
• According to Henry VIII’s will, Mary Tudor (daughter of Catherine) succeeded the throne in 1553
• Queen Mary I immediately worked to reestablish the supremacy of Catholic Church
• Jane Grey and her husband were executed• Mary had many Protestants burned at the stake
from 1555-1558, this only served to make her unpopular; many of English people were Protestant
Elizabeth I
• Mary died in 1558 and according to Henry’s will his last child Elizabeth succeeded the crown– Age 25, she was a moderate Protestant– Affectionately known as “Good Queen Bess”– Following her coronation, two important acts passed
Parliament: Act of Uniformity, Act of Supremacy• made it compulsory to attend church services every Sunday• imposed an oath on clergymen and statesmen to recognize
the Church of England• Re-established the independence of the Church of England
from the Catholic Church• and the authority of Elizabeth as Supreme Governor.
Good Queen Bess• Elizabeth I had a popular reign, during
which• The English navy was able to defeat the
Spanish armada• A secret Catholic plot to assassinate the
Queen and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots was discovered.
• Queen Elizabeth I reluctantly had her second cousin Mary executed
• Pope St. Pius V, issued Papal bull excommunicating Elizabeth & relieving her subjects of their allegiance to her
• Elizabeth never married and with her death in 1603, the Tudor dynasty ended
The Stuart Dynasty• The Stuarts were royalty of Scotland ; connected to Tudor lineage
by marriage of Henry VIII’s elder sister, Margaret Tudor, to James IV, King of Scots
• Their only surviving grandchild, Mary, became Queen of Scots in 1542 – Because of her strong Catholic stance, she had a troubled reign among
the Scots, many of whom were Presbyterian Protestants.– To relieve the conflict, her 1 yr old son James VI was made King of Scots
in her stead in 1567. She was a mere 24 yrs old– She fled to England where she became the prisoner of her 2nd cousin
Elizabeth Tudor, Queen of England– Catholics there, in conspiracy with France, sought to put Mary on the
throne, claiming illegitimacy of Elizabeth’s reign– Elizabeth reluctantly had her executed in 1587 after 20 years of
imprisonment
The Stuart Dynasty
• When Queen Elizabeth died, she had never married and thus had no successor to the Crown
• The right to English throne fell to James VI King of Scots as the heir of Henry VII thru Margaret Tudor
• He was crowned King James I of England 1603
King James I• Religious persuasion was Anglican although in order to
end costly war with Spain (started by Elizabeth) James granted tolerance to Catholics
• James had good relationship with Parliament although the latter was becoming more assertive.– Growing national debt and incompetence of James’ ministers
let to uncontrolled inflation– Parliament saw the opportunity to gain concessions in
exchange for providing needed financial support – Parliament had strong Puritan faction at odds with James– James sought Spanish dowry as another source of income.
Marriage of his son Charles to Maria of Spain was attractive also in reducing risk of war with Spain.
King James I• Parliament countered with petition to engage Spain with war and
have Charles marry Protestant• Angered, James ripped up petition and dismissed Parliament in
1621• James sought to unify Great Britain under the Anglican church
which ousted Puritans from clergy• Authorized King James Version of Bible was completed in 1611, a
masterpiece which resolved issues with earlier English translations• With the loss of his Prime Minister Earl of Salisbury in 1612,
James’ government became factioned and disreputable. Scandals undermined credibility of his court ministers.
• James had never completely lost the affection of his people, who had enjoyed uninterrupted peace and comparatively low taxation.
• He died in 1625 of dysentery
Charles I • James instilled in Charles a distrust for Parliament, unwavering belief in “divine right of kings” and enjoyment of leisure pastimes
• Parliament sought to curb royal prerogative, Charles engaged them in power struggle.– They feared his marriage to
French Roman Catholic Princess Henrietta Maria might lead to a Catholic successor
– Parliament forced him to concede to Petition of Right
Petition of Right 1628• The Petition is most notable for its
confirmation of the principles that – taxes can be levied only by Parliament,– martial law may not be imposed in time of peace, – prisoners must be able to challenge the legitimacy
of their detentions through the writ of habeas corpus.
– ban on the billeting of troops
• As Parliament became more critical of Charles I and his prime minister the Duke of Buckingham, impeachment proceedings were moved against the Duke.
• In his defense Charles dissolved Parliament for 11 years
• During this time, the only English government was that of the King and his ministers
• Charles and Henrietta Maria have three children: Charles, James and Mary
Henrietta Maria of France
• Mother of – Charles II– James II– Mary• Marries William II• Mother of William III
(of Orange)
Charles I• During his 11 year rule of tyranny, Charles
aroused widespread antagonism two ways:– Illegal means of raising money– Religious reform of High Anglicanism
• His appointment of William Laud as archbishop of Church of England in 1633 was unpopular
• Laud considered Puritanism a threat to episcopacy and imposed total uniformity in the Church; Puritans were ousted from their posts
• Puritans perceived this as “Catholicization” of the Church of England
Charles I• Scottish uprising against imposed High
Anglicanism on mostly Presbyterians forced Charles to summon Parliament in 1640 to fund his army
• Puritan-dominated Parliament took the opportunity and passed laws– against Catholicism– forbidding the king to dissolve Parliament without its
consent– limiting the dissolution of Parliament to 3 years max– making it illegal to tax w/o consent of Parliament
English Civil War
• The new Parliament was more hostile against the King than before
• England was divided:– Royalists supported the King – Parliamentarians opposed
him• War broke out in 1642 and
ended in 1649 with a Parliamentary victory
• As Puritans, the Ironsides often attributed their glory in battle to God. Their religious beliefs extended to the field where they adhered to strict ethical codes: they did not drink or gamble or partake in the traditional spoils of war and did not rape, or pillage defeated opponents
Oliver Cromwell
• Rising to a position of prominence during the Civil War
• Puritan Cavalry General• He believed that
suppressing vice and encouraging virtue constituted the chief end of government.
• His methods controversial
The Interregnum• Charles I was charged with treason, tried in court found
guilty and executed 1649-first English monarch to be tried
• In 1649 Parliament established Commonwealth of England with executive power in Council of State
• the Puritan views of the majority of Parliament and its supporters began to be imposed on the rest of the country. The Puritans advocated an austere lifestyle and restricted what they saw as the excesses – Dominated a small Parliament and passed many restrictive
moral laws to regulate people's behavior– Suppressed Christmas & Easter, theater and gambling banned– Antagonized gentry
The Interregnum• Royalists regrouped in Ireland, enlisting the Catholics to help
them• Cromwell lead Roundheads on a bloody campaign to destroy
them in 1649-1650– 400,000 or 41% of population killed in Ireland– Massacre at Drogheda involved killing of women and children
because the town would not surrender– To this day, Cromwell is subject of contention between Catholic
Ireland and Protestant England• Cromwell alienated the Scots, allies in Civil War in 1650
– Scots declared Charles II as their King prompted Cromwell to invade – At first campaign did not go well, but Cromwell's forces destroyed the
last major Scottish Royalist army. – Charles II barely escaped capture, and subsequently fled to exile in
France and the Netherlands, where he would remain until 1660
Lord Protectorate• In 1653 Cromwell dissolved
Parliament and established Protectorate, with himself as Lord Protectorate until his death in 1659.– Cromwell had 2 key objectives: first
was "healing and settling" the nation – second was spiritual and moral
reform• suppressing vice and encouraging
virtue constituted the chief end of government.
– His death left power vacuum, his son Richard could not fill…lasted eight months
Charles II & Restoration• George Monck, Commander of
Scotland under Cromwell saw that anarchy loomed and Richard was incompetent, marched his troops to London
• Restored Parliament and through secret correspondence with Charles II secured his promise to– Pardon those involved in Civil War– Promote religious toleration
• Parliament invited Charles II to return as the English monarch
• Charles was popularly known as the Merrie Monarch, in reference to both the liveliness and hedonism of his court and the general public relief at the return to normality after over a decade of rule by Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans.
• Although previously favourable to the Crown, the Cavalier Parliament was alienated by the king's wars and religious policies during the 1670s:– Supported French Catholic cause by involving England
in wars against Protestant Dutch– Suspended all penal laws against Catholics and
dissenters– Rumors spread concerning Charles II conversion to
Catholicism
Problem of Succession, again
• Charles II had no successor• His brother James II was Catholic which was of grave concern to
Parliament• James II took throne 1685, he was too Catholic, too pro-France, too
arbitrary– He maintained a large standing army against the English tradition– Although he spoke of tolerance, his actions favored Catholics– He married Catholic wives (Anne, who died then Mary of Modena)
• Anne had 8 children by James II but only 2 survive: Mary and Anne• Mary and Anne have PROTESTANT upbringing and Mary marries the Protestant
Stadtholder Prince William of Orange (Netherlands)• William is son of Mary, the oldest daughter of Charles I and Wiliam II of Nassau
– From Mary of Modena, James II has boy, James Francis Edward Stuart, CATHOLIC by upbringing
• After 3 years of this, Parliament once again asserted its power and deposed James II
Glorious Revolution 1688• James II had a standing army, Parliament had none• Seven protestant nobles invited William III of Orange to invade England hoping
to “save the Protestant religion”• By September, it had become clear that William sought to invade. Believing that
his own army would be adequate, James II refused the assistance of Louis XIV, fearing that the English would oppose French intervention
• When William arrived on 5 November 1688, many Protestant officers, including Churchill, defected and joined William, as did James's own daughter, Princess Anne
• James lost his nerve and declined to attack the invading army, despite his army's numerical superiority. On 11 December, James tried to flee to France, first throwing the Great Seal of the Realm into the River Thames.
• James was captured in Kent; later, he was released and placed under Dutch protective guard. Having no desire to make James a martyr, the Prince of Orange let him escape on 23 December.
• James was received by his cousin and ally, King Louis XIV of France, who offered him a palace and a pension.
William and MaryThe irony: James is defeated by his own son-in-law who is his also his nephew. William and Mary are co-regents and rule as peers with Queen Mary having direct succession of her father James II and King William III indirectly through his mother, James’ sister.
• William and Mary signed the English Bill of Rights and began a new co-operation between the Parliament and the monarchs, leading to a greater measure of personal liberty and democracy in Britain.
• This signaled the end of several centuries of tension and conflict between the English crown and parliament, and the end of the idea that England would be restored to Catholicism, King William being a Protestant leader.
• Founded the College of William and Mary in 1693– Second oldest institution of higher learning in US– Location Williamsburg, VA– Intended for both colonists and native Americans– "make, found and establish a certain Place of
Universal Study, a perpetual College of Divinity, Philosophy, Languages, and the good arts and sciences...to be supported and maintained, in all time coming.“ (original charter)
– Graduates of the College of Divinity were ordained as clergy of the Church of England
