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Period: Jan 1, 1500 to
Why England would never develop an Absolute Monarchy
The main 7 events that worked to gradually limit the power of English monarchs and advance the power of parliament. -
1534
The Act of Supremacy & Creation of the Anglican Church
When Henry VIII wanted to split off from the Catholic church to have a divorce he ended up founding his own religion with the Act of Supremacy (1534) putting him as the supreme head of his church. This act started the religious tension that would continue for centuries in England that obstructed any monarch's chance for uniting the nation under the banner of one religion and working towards absolutism. -
The Petition of Right
Charles I was only able to receive funding from parliament after he agreed to the Petition of Right that limited the power of the monarch by giving parliament the last say in financial affairs and also giving the king's subjects some civil rights. Though this parliament was eventually dissolved, the concepts behind this document can be seen as foreshadowing for later documents and movements by parliament to limit the power of the monarch. -
The Long Parliament is reconvened by Charles I
The Long Parliament was reconvened by Charles I in 1640 in the wake of provoking religious wars with Scotland. He required the help of parliament to provide him with funds to help fight the war and this event just goes to show that the monarchs were dependent on parliament in England and could not succeed without their help or financial support. -
Charles I's Execution & Cromwell's Puritan Dictatorship
At the conclusion of the civil war going on in England, Charles I was executed and the parliament side of the war had won. Cromwell rose to power instead of ruling as parliament and implemented his style as a military dictator and a form of absolute rule in England that did not work, especially with his religious policies. The fact that his form of absolutist rule did not work and the old monarchy and parliament were reinstated just goes to show how unwilling the people were for absolutism. -
The Test Act
Parliament passed the Test Act (1672) that required all officials of the crown (including the monarch) to swear an oath against the doctrine of transubstantiation, which no Catholic would do. This was an attempt to block off any ruler from uniting the nation under Catholicism which is what the recent monarchs had been attempting to do with legislature like the Declaration of Indulgence which would have helped him gain absolute power by suspending laws against Catholics. -
The Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution occurred in 1688 as William of Orange and Mary peacefully replaced James II as the monarchs of England. This is significant in that it allowed for the English Bill of Rights to pass that permanently shifted power from the monarch to parliament by checking each of the monarch's power with an overrule or final say on any decision. It also marked the end of hope for any form of absolutism in England. -
The First Prime Minister
Sir Robert Walpole ascended to power in the government between 1721 and 1742 and is considered to be England's first prime minister. He became the "leader" of parliament as he started dominating as the main controlling power of England and saw the nation become something entirely different to its continental counterparts. Free speech and religious toleration and everything else marked the opposite of absolutist policy in other countries and encouraged shifts away from that in other places also.
