Western Civilization IIHIS-102

UNIT 2 - Religious Wars And State Building (1540-1660)

Introduction The period of 1540 to 1660 is considered one

of the most turbulent in European history It is a period of a sharp rise in inflation and a

further deepening of the gulf between the rich and the poor

It is plagued by a century of violent wars of religion

It is also a period of time of political instability Old powers fall A new type of government emerges: the absolute

monarchy

Sweeping Changes Prior to 1540, Europe was enjoying diverse

forms of prosperity Populations were finally recovering from the 14th

century plague From 1450 to 1600, the population went from 50 to 90

million There was a period of economic growth

With the discovery of the New World, this growth was expected to continue

Governments were becoming more effective in their management Thus they were more successful at keeping the inside of

their country stable So what went wrong?

Price Revolution Price Revolution

Between 1550 and 1600, prices doubled and even quadrupled in certain areas

Mainly due to a rise in population but no rise in agricultural production There were no technological breakthroughs in agriculture to

produce enough food for the population The food shortage led to a sharp increase in cost

A larger percentage of people’s incomes were going to food

During this period, wages either stagnated or declined Increase in population led to an increase in the labor

supply Because there were too many workers, wages either

remained the same or went down

Price Revolution Devaluation of silver

Due to the large influx of Spanish bullion from the New World

These new coins quickly circulated throughout Europe Only large-scale farmers, landlords, and some

merchants profited from the Price Revolution The masses were negatively affected

When disasters hit, people would literally starve to death Even the monarchies were affected

The governments required a constant income The taxes were worth less and less as money became

devalued Wars were becoming increasingly more expensive They responded by levying even higher taxes than before

Peasants during a summer harvest (1568)

Religious Conflict The religious atmosphere of Europe during this

period was also tense Catholics and Protestants hated one another

As long as these rivalries remained heated, wars were inevitable

Leaders also fanned the flames of religious conflict Many required their states to have a unified religion Minority religious groups were seen as threats

Many were kicked out of country This led to civil wars in numerous country

They expanded into international wars in many cases From 1540 to 1648, Europe was plagued with

conflict

Diet of Augsburg (1530)

German Wars of Religion The religious wars began in Germany

Between the Lutherans and the Catholics Lutheranism was gaining in popularity with the German

princes Charles V was busy with more greater threats to his

rule This included the French and the Ottoman Turks He had hoped that the Pope would take care of the

situation In 1547, Charles was able to focus on Germany

With a huge army behind him, he attacked the Protestants With the help of the pope, Charles was able to defeat

numerous Protestant strongholds by 1547 and force them to reconvert

But by this point Protestantism was so popular there was nothing he could do would stop the movement

German Wars of Religion Revolts continued to break out throughout the

Empire Even the Catholic princes were fearful of Charles

taking away what little independence they had In 1552, the Elector of Saxony had signed an

alliance with King Henry II of France This would have brought France into the war However, by this point, Charles was not up for a heavy

war and had his brother Ferdinand work on a truce The war finally ended with the Peace of Augsburg

(1555) Lutherans were given equal legal status in the Empire Cuius regio, eius religio (“whose reign, that religion”) This was a victory for the independence of the German

states and further weakened the Holy Roman Empire

Henry II of France (1547-1559)

French Wars of Religion French Wars of Religion (1562-1598)

This period is also known as the French Civil War Huguenots were the main Protestant group in

France French Calvinists They made up 10-20% of the French population by

1562 It became popular amongst the aristocratic women

who then in turn converted their husbands Under the rule of Henry II, there was an uneasy

peace between the crown and the Huguenots Huguenots were forced to meet in secret at first but

over time grew in popularity

French Wars of Religion Expansion of Calvinism

First Huguenot communities were built starting in 1546

In 1555, the first Huguenot church was erected in Paris By the late 1550s, they demanded freedom of worship

On June 30, 1559, Henry II died in a jousting accident

This left his 15-year-old son, Francis II as king He was a sickly child Henry’s wife, Catherine de’ Medici, was chosen to be

regent The struggles between the Catholics and the

Huguenots began after Francis took the throne

Francis II (1559-1560)

French Wars of Religion One the one side you had the Guise family

Led by Francis Duke of Guise and Charles Cardinal of Lorraine

Believed that the country should be firmly Catholic Instituted an intense policy of persecution against

the Huguenots On the other side was Louis, Prince de Condé

He was the leader of the Huguenot movement On December 5, 1560, Francis II died

He had an ear infection that led to the formation of an abscess in his brain

French Wars of Religion Next up was his ten year old brother, Charles IX

His mother, Catherine de’ Medici, was again named regent

Massacre at Vassy (March 1, 1562) Duke of Guise attacked a group of Huguenots who

were worshipping inside the city walls 23 Huguenots were killed and over 100 more injured Prince de Condé called all Protestants to arm

themselves in self-defense The war went on for eight years with

intermittent truces During this time, the Prince de Condé died and

Henry of Navarre took control of the Huguenots

French Wars of Religion By 1570, the French treasury was shrinking

from the cost of the war Charles began negotiations for a peace

Peace of Saint-Germain (August 8, 1570) Huguenots were given freedom of conscience

throughout France Were also allowed to hold public office They retained the right to worship publicly in the

regions allowed before the wars In order to solidify peace, Catherine arranged

for a marriage This was to be between her daughter Marguerite

to Henry of Navarre, the Huguenot leader

Marguerite de Valois

French Wars of Religion The wedding created a tense situation in Paris

There were many who would not support the wedding The Parisians were very uncomfortable with thousands

of Huguenots in the city escorting their prince On August 22, 1572, an assassination attempt was

made on one of the Huguenot leaders, the Admiral de Coligny Catherine ordered the French guards to attack the

Huguenots as a “preemptive strike” against Huguenot retaliation

St. Bartholomew’s Day Massacre (August 24, 1572) All but two of the Huguenot leaders, Henry of Navarre

and the young Henri I, Prince of Condé, were murdered The Parisian people joined in the fighting

There are estimates that as many of 3,000 Huguenots were murdered in Paris alone

French Wars of Religion The fighting spread to the countryside

An additional 10,000 were killed Charles IX claimed responsibility for the

massacre stating that there had been a plot against the crown

Charles died on May 30, 1574 from tuberculosis He was only 24

Next in line was his brother Henry III He was 22 years old when he took the throne but

was the best “king material” out of the four brothers Henry main goal was to find peace between the

Catholics and Huguenots The Guise family was not going to make this

possible

Henry III (1574-1589)

French Wars of Religion In 1576, the Guises formed the Catholic League

and renewed the war In 1584, Henry’s last brother, François, died

Since Henry III had no children, this meant that the next person in line for the throne was Henry of Navarre

This would not be tolerated by the Catholics The Catholic League dominated this phase of the

war Guise marched into Paris with his troops in 1588,

forcing Henry III to flee Guise also made Henry III sign a number of edicts

excluding Henry of Navarre from the throne along with any heretics

French Wars of Religion By this point, Henry III was tired of being

dominated by Guise He discovered that Guise was receiving aid from

Philip II of Spain Guise also had been negotiating a treaty with

Spain declaring Philip’s daughter to be the heir presumptive

On December 23, 1588, Henry III had the Guise brothers assassinated Henry then went on to make an alliance with

Henry of Navarre On August 1, 1589, Jacques Clément, a

fanatical Dominican friar, stabbed Henry III Before he died, Henry III declared that Henry of

Navarre was the legitimate heir to the throne

Henry IV (1589-1610)

French Wars of Religion Henry IV’s rule marked the beginning of the

Bourbon dynasty War continued for the next nine years

Many of the nobility were staunch Catholic and refused to follow Henry IV

By this point, the state of France was in a miserable condition The country was nearly bankrupt Many farmlands and towns had been abandoned,

and many of the roads were in ruins Because of the warfare, trade was at a standstill

Henry realized that he had to do something drastic to win the hearts of the French

French Wars of Religion On July 23, 1593, Henry converted to

Catholicism Protestantism was more of a “family tradition”

rather than a religious devotion to him On March 22, 1594, Henry was able to finally

retake the city of Paris He supposedly said that “Paris is well worth the

mass!” However, Philip II continued to support the

Catholic League and its efforts to oust Henry In January 1595, Henry declared war against Spain

French Wars of Religion For the next three years, Henry was fighting the

remnants of the League as well as Spain Henry was forced to bribe many Catholic noblemen

to lay down their arms and accept him as king Edict of Nantes (April 13, 1598)

This was Henry’s “bribe” to the Huguenots It established Catholicism as the official religion of

France Huguenots allowed to worship, attend universities,

and serve as public officials It created separate spheres of influence between the

two religions On May 2, 1598, the war was finally brought to

an end

Philip II of Spain (1556-1598)

Dutch Wars with Spain One of the most powerful political figures at this

time was Philip II of Spain He depended heavily on the income from the

colonies However, all of the gold and silver (specie) coming

into Europe devalued the currency The war with France put Spain heavily into debt

2/3 of Spain’s income went to paying interest on all the loans taken out by the government

Spain’s main source of income in Europe came from the Low Countries This is modern day Belgium and the Netherlands

which were under Spanish control at this time

Dutch Wars with Spain During the reign of Charles V, this region

prospered He had allowed the government to essentially run on

its own The southern Low Countries had the greatest per

capita wealth in all of Europe Antwerp as one of the leading financial and

commercial centers in Europe On October 25, 1555, Charles gave the Low

Countries to his son, Philip II Philip hoped to increase the amount of money

coming to Spain from the Low Countries This included Philip playing a greater role in the

region

Dutch Wars with Spain During this period, many Protestants were moving

into the Low Countries After 1559, many Huguenots migrating to the Low

Countries There were a large number of Anabaptists and some

Lutherans Philip himself was a staunch Catholic and believed God had

chosen him to combat the forces of evil William the Silent and a group of noblemen

recognized the growing tensions in the country They made it their duty to bring peace back to the region Starting in 1561, these noblemen sent numerous petitions

to Margaret of Parma, Philip’s appointee to the Low Countries

They asked for religious toleration for the Calvinists to ease some of that tension but she refused

William the Silent (1533-1584)

Dutch Wars With Spain “Breaking of the Images” (August 1566)

Mobs of radical Protestants desecrated hundreds of churches and monasteries

Was a reaction to the increased persecution of Protestants

In response, Philip II sent in an army of twelve thousand Spanish troops They were led by the Fernando Álvarez de Toledo,

the 3rd Duke of Alva Once the radicals were defeated, Alva then

instituted a reign of terror He set up the Council of Troubles which was a

special tribunal to deal with heresy and sedition

Dutch Wars With Spain William the Silent was forced to flee the Low

Countries From abroad, he converted to Protestantism and

reorganized the resistance movement He was able to get aid from France, Germany and

England Now more organized, the resistance movement

began their own attacks In the summer of 1572, William seized the northern

Low Countries The Low Countries began to split along religious

lines The Protestant northern part broke off forming the

United Provinces of the Netherlands The Catholic southern part remained loyal to Philip

Dutch Wars With Spain In 1584, William was assassinated by a fanatical

Catholic His son, William II Duke of Orange, continued to lead

the resistance At this point, England became involved in the war

Elizabeth openly declared her country’s support of the resistance

England was successful in its attacks at sea, but not on land

The war continued to wage for a number of years with both sides having major losses and defeats

In 1609, a ceasefire was declared between the two sides known as the Twelve Years’ Truce

Spanish Armada (1588)

Spanish Armada For the past few years, English ships had been

terrorizing Spanish ships and colonies This was done under the guise of revenge for the

Spanish attacks on the Dutch Sir Francis Drake and other seamen were shipping

contraband to the Spanish colonies in violation of Philip II’s policies

Philip was thoroughly annoyed at these tactics In 1585, Philip decided to construct a large

armada to use against England His fleet would help support an invasion of England This way, he would not only regain control of the

Atlantic but convert England back to Catholicism

Spanish Armada When Drake found out about the Armada, he

sailed ships to the Spanish coast in April 1587 He made it straight into the port of Cadiz

There he destroyed supplies put aside for the Armada and set vessels on fire

He later boasted that he “singed the king’s beard” He then went on to patrol the Spanish coast,

destroying any vessels and supplies that he could All of this delayed the deployment of the Armada

for over a year This incident proved that the Spanish fleet was no

match for the English but Philip continued on with his preparations

Spanish Armada There were a number of key problems with the

Armada Assumed that the English navy would flee at the sight of it It was led by the Duke of Medina-Sedona When the Armada took off on May 30, 1588, it was soon

heavily damaged by a storm This forced them back to port for repairs Sedona even told Philip that this might not be the wisest course

of action but Philip would not hear of it The fleet set off for a second time on July 12, 1588

The English worked together to protect their country Improved land defenses by training a militia and setting

up a series of bonfires and beacon towers along the coastline

The navy was reinforced and raised from 34 ships to 200

Spanish Armada First sighting (July 29, 1588)

The beacon lights and bonfires were set all along the coastline and troops were readied

The English navy used their speed and longer ranged guns to attack the Armada They constantly remained out of shooting distance

of the Spanish ships On August 7, the English sent eight “fireships”

This caused the Spanish ships to scatter On August 8, the English attacked the Armada

off the Gravelines The English were now in range for the Spanish

guns The Spanish were not trained properly for battle

Spanish Armada The Armada was forced to retreat

The “Protestant” winds forced the Armada to travel back to Spain by going north around Scotland

Between the bad weather and attacks by the English fleet, most of the Armada was destroyed Only 60 ships returned to Spain and most of those were

too damaged to be repaired Around 15,000 Spanish died

Defeat of the Armada marked a victory for the Protestants If Philip had won, he could have destroyed the

Protestant movement throughout Europe

Route of the Armada

The Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648) Thirty Years’ War (1618-1648)

The largest and deadliest of the wars of religion Was a true international war as it contained

multiple players: The Holy Roman Empire Spain France Sweden and Demark

Both the Protestants and the Catholics had begun making defensive alliances earlier in the century This increased religious tensions in the Empire

Religious breakdown of Europe in 1618

Phases of the War The Thirty Years’ War is divided into four phases While the war starts mainly on religious grounds, as

time goes on it takes more of a political air At first the war is Protestants versus the Catholic HRE

Ferdinand II However, as time goes on, more countries get involved

because they were fearful of Ferdinand’s growing power They were afraid it would upset the fragile balance of power

By the time of the last phase, religion is not involved at all It was clearly a political war between the French and the

Habsburgs Whoever won the last phase would be the champion of Europe

Ferdinand II King of Bohemia

(1617–1619 and 1620–1637)

Holy Roman Emperor (1619-1637)

Bohemian Revolt (1618-1625) This phase of the war takes place completely in

Germany It is also based primarily on religion

Bohemia at the time was a mostly Protestant population Around 65% were a mix of Calvinists, Lutherans, and

Anabaptists Even though the ruling minority was Catholic, earlier

kings had made concessions to the Protestants This was mainly due to the economic importance of Bohemia In 1609, Emperor Rudolf II granted a Letter of Majesty This basically granted freedom of religion throughout

Bohemia Throughout the reign of King (and later Emperor) Matthias

(1611-1617), Bohemia enjoyed religious diversity and peace

Bohemian Revolt (1618-1625) Troubles began when Ferdinand Habsburg was

elected King of Bohemia in 1617 Ferdinand quickly ended all concessions made to the

Protestants He set up a regent government that was mainly Catholic Laws were enforced forbidding Protestants from holding

office Protestants were fearful of losing their religious

liberties They appealed to Ferdinand but the requests fell on deaf

ears On May 23, 1618, a group of Protestants kidnapped

two of the king’s Catholic advisors at the royal palace in Prague

Bohemian Revolt (1618-1625) A mock trial was held and the advisors were

found “guilty” of violating the Letter of Majesty As punishment, the advisors along with their

secretary were thrown out of the window 70 feet off the ground

Catholics say that the officials survived because of the intervention of the Virgin Mary

Protestants knew the real reason: they landed in a huge pile of manure

This event is known as the Second Defenestration of Prague

This began the Bohemian Revolt and the Thirty Years War

Defenestration of Prague (May 23, 1618)

Bohemian Revolt (1618-1625) In 1619, Ferdinand was elected as the new Emperor

He took the title Ferdinand II His main goal was to unify the Empire under

Catholicism To do so, he turned to his nephew, King Philip IV of Spain,

for help against the Protestants The Protestants had no hope of winning

Ferdinand not only received aid from Spain but also had the use of Maximillian of Bavaria and his 30,000 troops

At the end of the war, Ferdinand made Protestantism illegal in Bohemia Included forcing out all Protestant ministers Over 30,000 families were forced to flee the country

Christian IV of Denmark (1588-1648)

Danish Intervention (1625-1629) Many of the European powers did not like the

heavy hand Ferdinand was using on Bohemia They were also resentful of the growing power of the

Habsburgs King Christian IV of Denmark was especially

concerned He was a Lutheran and held territory in the Empire

(Holstein) Both Britain and France were willing to provide

financial support to Christian The French, under Richelieu, wanted to weaken the

power of the Habsburgs The British had begun following a very anti-Spanish

policy Christian was able to raise an army of over 35,000

Danish Intervention (1625-1629) In June 1625, Christian invaded Lower Saxony

He claimed he was intervening “on behalf of the Protestant cause”

Also felt that the sovereignty of Denmark was threatened

Ferdinand hired Albrecht von Wallenstein, the military governor of Prague, to lead his army

Catholic forces took control in northern Germany On September 14, 1627, they invaded Holstein This was followed up with an invasion of Denmark

Treaty of Lübeck (May 22, 1629) Between Christian and Wallenstein Christian was able to hold on to Holstein as long as

he did not get involved in the affairs of the Empire again

Gustavus Adolfus of Sweden (1611-1632)

Swedish Intervention (1630-1635) Like Christian, Gustavus Adolphus of Sweden got

involved in Germany on behalf of the Protestants On July 6, 1630, Gustavus invaded the Empire

He had a very well-trained 14,000 man army Easily took northern Germany and moved south In response, Ferdinand was forced to recall

Wallenstein to lead his army Peace of Prague (May 30, 1635)

Any lands held by Protestant rulers in 1627 were retained

All princes inside the Empire were forbidden to make alliances with other members of the Empire or with any foreign powers

Louis XIII of France (1610-

1643)

French Intervention (1636-1648) This phase of the war had no religious affiliations

involved This is also known as the War for Europe Shift to a war between the emperor and foreign powers German people were not real participants in this phase

France had been financing the war efforts since the start It became more actively involved by 1635 French minister, Cardinal Richelieu, wanted to quell the

Habsburg threat Alliances were made with the Dutch and with the Swedes

War was declared against Ferdinand II in March 1636 French were fighting in the Netherlands and western

Germany Swedes and Dutch were fighting the emperor in northern

Germany

French Intervention (1636-1648) While both sides won key victories, they were

both plagued by lack of money and supplies Battle of Rocroi (May 19, 1643)

French troops devastated a combined Spanish-Imperial force

This battle marks the end of Spanish military dominance as it was the first time in a century that they were so cleanly defeated

It was going to take five years to work out a final agreement to bring the war to a close

The Peace of Westphalia (1648) It involved 194 rulers including representatives

from France, Spain, Dutch Republic, Sweden, and Ferdinand III as well as numerous German Princes

Peace of Westphalia (1648) It acknowledged the validity of the Peace of

Augsburg It allowed the German princes to determine the

religion of their subjects This time it included Calvinism as a legal religion Those practicing a denomination that was not the

official religion of the land could still practice in public with some restrictions

Protestants would retain any church lands in their possession prior to January 1, 1624

The constitution of the empire was rewritten All of the German states were given almost

completely autonomy Only restriction: they could not make alliances

against the Emperor

Consequences of the War It is estimated that 3-8 million Germans died

This was approximately 20-40% of the population Partly due to the actual war itself, but also disease

(typhus, dysentery, and the bubonic plague) and the famine that resulted from it

Many cities in Germany were besieged and sacked over and over

On top of this, undisciplined troops and mercenary armies committed such atrocities as looting and burning much of the countryside

This marks the official end of the Reformation

Divergent Paths From 1600 to 1660, the three “big” powers of

Europe were going to take very different paths Spain would go on a path of decline France would rise in power England would be plagued with internal problems

By1600, Spain was already in trouble Used very little of the gold and silver it acquired

from the New World to develop its own industries Depended on products imported from other

countries The Spanish military was out-of-date The government was too inefficient to address

serious issues

Decline of Spain Primary weakness was economic

Spain lacked agricultural and mineral resources Needed to develop industries and a balanced trading

pattern The nobility lived in splendor and dedicated itself to

military exploits Huge military expenditures with numerous wars

Philip III (1598-1621) Was not interested in running the government His main concern was miracle-working relics and his

court He lavished himself in luxury His minister, the Duke of Lerma, was corrupt and

contributed to the collapse of the Spanish economy In 1607, the Spanish monarchy declared bankruptcy

Decline of Spain Philip IV (1621-1665)

Also not interested in running the government His minister, Count-Duke of Olivares, tried to fix the

economy but it was too little too late The Thirty Years War heavily damaged the fragile

economy These economic problems led to numerous

revolts The occurred in Catalonia, Portugal, and Naples

(1640s) Spain was able to regain Catalonia and Naples but

Portugal kept its independence Spain abandoned its ambition of dominating

Europe

Philip IV of Spain (1621-1665)

Rise of France After 1598, Henry IV had two main issues to deal

with: Reviving agriculture, industry, and commerce inside of

France Reestablishing royal authority

To help him rebuild France, Henry appointed the Duke of Sully as his minister First, he had to reform the royal finances Second, he had to improve the economy He was so successful that he was able to reduce taxes

and cut down the national debt by 1/3 Henry also had to reestablish royal authority

He did this by putting down revolts as they broke out Henry was assassinated on May 14, 1610

Rise of France Louis XIII (1610-1643)

Was 8 years old when he took the throne In 1624, Cardinal Richelieu became the first

minister Some say that Richelieu was the actual power behind

France Richelieu had two goals:

Make France the dominant power in Europe by centralizing the government With the nobility he worked to take away their independence

by removing their estates’ fortifications With the Huguenots, he deprived them of political and military

rights Challenging the power of the Habsburgs

This was done by supporting the Protestants during the Thirty Years War

Rise of France Louis XIV (1643-1716)

Ascended to the throne at the age of four Anne of Austria was regent with Mazarin as chief

minister Both were very unpopular, especially with the nobility They were considered weak and Mazarin was despised as

a foreigner

Fronde Revolts (1648-1653) Nobility reasserting power Revolt was against Anne and Mazarin, not Louis Masses joined in because of poor economy and bad

harvests Revolts continued until Louis came of age

James I (1603-1625)

Troubles in England From 1603 to 1660, England would find itself in

the midst of internal turmoil With the death of Elizabeth I in 1603, the Tudor

dynasty came to an end Her cousin, James VI of Scotland would become

king, founding the Stuart dynasty The first two Stuart monarchs, James I and

Charles I, would be plagued with both political and religious trouble There would be a struggle between king and

Parliament over who has more authority There would also be struggles between the

Anglicans and the Catholics and Puritans These would culminate into a civil war

Troubles in England General causes of the civil war:

Constitutional hostilities between king and Parliament Religious animosities Power struggles between competing aristocratic

factions at court Outdated fiscal system Rebellion in Ireland Widespread crop failures

James I (1603-1625) Many considered him to be a “foreigner” as he was

Scottish He was described as possessing little dignity, having

ungracious manners, a blundering tongue, and he drooled when he spoke

Henry IV of France called him the “wisest fool in Christianity”

James I (1603-1625) James’ reign was going to be divided up into

two main points of contention One was religious and the other was his

relationship with Parliament The religious controversy was with the

Catholics and the Puritans Neither of these groups had been happy with the

Elizabethan Compromise Puritans wanted a more Calvinistic styled church

and a new Bible Catholics turned to violence when James refused

to lift the restrictions against them Most famous plot was the Gunpowder Plot of 1605

James I (1603-1625) James was not going to have a good

relationship with Parliament either He strongly believed in the divine right of kings

England was heavily in debt when he took the throne It continued to increase over the course of his reign Parliament tried to assert its power through control

of taxation James refused to cooperate, dissolved Parliament,

and collected taxes without their consent He also began selling peerages to the highest

bidder in an effort to raise money A new landless title of Baronet was available for £1,095,

Baron could be bought for £8,000 and Earl for £10,000

Charles I (1625-1649)

Charles I (1625-1649) From the very beginning Charles had issues with

Parliament Charles was arrogant and just like his father strongly

believed in the divine right of kings The main focus of this conflict was on money

Every time Charles tried to get more funds from Parliament, they would respond with either a small sum of money or an outright rejection

This frustrated him so much that he dissolved Parliament three times over the course of his reign

Instead he was forced to find other ways of collecting money: “Forced loans” from the wealthy Collection of custom duties without Parliamentary approval

Charles I (1625-1649) In 1628, Parliament issued the Petition of

Right This was a list of grievances against the crown in

which Parliament prohibited: Taxes without their consent Arbitrary imprisonment The declaration of martial law in peacetime The quartering of soldiers in private houses

Charles dismissed Parliament in 1629 During this time, Charles pursued a course called

“personal rule” The English called it the “Eleven Year Tyranny” Instituted mass collection of the Ship’s Money

Charles I (1625-1649) Charles finally had to recall Parliament again in 1640

The Presbyterians in Scotland began a revolt He needed large amounts of money to put down the revolt

Parliament began stripping Charles of much of his power This included abolition of arbitrary courts and any taxes

collected by the king without Parliament’s consent It then passed the Triennial Act

Parliament must meet at least once every three years

In October 1641, a Catholic rebellion broke out in Ireland Many blamed the Catholic Queen Henrietta Maria for this

as a ploy to bring Catholicism back to England

Charles I (1625-1649) In late 1641, a rumor spread that Parliament was

going to impeach the Queen on charges of treason Charles responded by bringing 400 troops into London He planned to arrest five Puritan members of the

House of Commons on charges of treason However, they had been tipped off and fled to safety

Fearing for his own safety, Charles left London Many royalists left London as well to be with the king

He attempted to negotiate with Parliament throughout the summer of 1641 When that failed, he went to gather enough troops to

force Parliament out

Oliver Cromwell Lord Protector (1653-1658)

English Civil War (1642-1649) There were two sides to the civil war

The Cavaliers These were followers of the king They were primarily members of the nobility and

moderate Protestants The Roundheads

These were the supporters of Parliament They were called “roundheads” because of their

haircuts They were primarily merchants, tradesmen, and

farmers

First phase of the war (1642-1646) The Cavaliers had the better trained army which

allowed them key victories in the beginning

English Civil War (1642-1649) Rise of the “Independents”

Radical Puritans led by Oliver Cromwell Distrusted the king and wanted to bring about

religious tolerance New Model Army

Roundheads reorganized their army in 1645 People were placed in the army based on their

skill rather than social rank Many of the Puritans believed that they were

doing battle for the Lord This change of strategy led to victories for the

Roundheads

English Civil War (1642-1649) In 1646, Charles surrendered to the Scots Many Puritans wanted to restore Charles to the

throne They wanted a Presbyterian state church and

attempted negotiations with Charles In the meantime, Charles fled London in 1647

He was able to regroup and get enough forces to start the second phase of the war (1648-1649) Cromwell defeated the king in a very short campaign Charles was forced to surrender

The big question was: what to do with Charles? While some were upset with Charles’ betrayal, many

MPs were still willing to negotiate with him However, the army was not

English Civil War (1642-1649) Cromwell brought the army into London and

then directly into Parliament 45 MPs were arrested as part of “Pride’s Purge” Those who remained made up the “Rump

Parliament” Cromwell ordered the trial of the king in

January 1649 While a majority of the population disliked Charles,

they were against the execution of the king Even still, the 59 judges found him guilty

On January 30, 1649 Charles was executed He was beheaded at the Palace of Whitehall

Execution of Charles I (January 30, 1649)

The Commonwealth (1649-1653) After the death of Charles, the Rump Parliament

abolished the monarchy and House of Lords Creation of a Commonwealth in May 1649

A Council of State was put together to handle foreign and domestic policy

Government was set up along the lines of a Calvinistic theocracy

Some religious reforms took place but economic problems prevented major changes

On April 20, 1653, Cromwell ended the Commonwealth He was dissatisfied with the Parliament, accusing them

of not being godly enough “Ye have no more religion than my horse; gold is your

God…”

Protectorate (1653-1658) On December 16, 1653, the Protectorate was

established Cromwell was given the title Lord Protector

This made him the sole ruler of England Thinly disguised autocracy

He instituted the Rule of Major-Generals in August 1655 This ended up creating a virtual military state in England It was more absolute than the previous monarchs

Cromwell died on September 3, 1658 His son Richard became Protectorate By this point, the people of England wanted a king

back in power They began negotiating with Charles’ son to take the

throne