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Death of Elizabeth I
Queen Elizabeth died March 24, 1603. The end of the house of Tudor came when she died. Elizabeth was remembered as a queen who supported her subjects. The time she ruled was sometimes referred to as the ‘Golden Age’. -
James I
James I was the son of Mary of Scots. His taking of the throne combined the crowns from both England and Scotland. He was a supporter of the arts and also literature. One of the ‘King’s Men’ was William Shakespeare, who performed plays for James. He wanted a closer relationship with Spain but Parliament was against it. The superficial stability for his reign is largely accounted for by his willingness to compromise politically, but still talking in terms of absolutism at the same time. -
Charles I
Charles I was the son of James I. Charles I needed money due to his fights with Spain and France, but Parliament denied him many times. After being denied unless he signed the Petition of Rights, he signed but ignored it afterwards. In 1629 he dissolved Parliament and refused to call it back into session. In order to increase his funds he made many different kinds of fees and fines that the English people had to pay. He was disliked more and more each year. -
Parliament
Parliament was the legislature of Great Britain. It had many struggles with the royals, because of many different reasons. Parliament made a Bill of Rights in 1698 to restrict the amount of power the royals had. That is how parliament contributed to England’s move to a Constitutional Monarchy. -
Petition of Rights
The Petition of Rights stated that he would not imprison subjects without due cause, that he would not levy taxes without consent from Parliament, that he would not house soldiers in private homes, and that he would not impose martial law in Peacetime. It gave the idea that law was higher than the King. -
Charles I dissolves Parliament
He dissolved Parliament in 1629, and refused to call it back into session, because he didn’t want to obey the Bill of Rights. -
Charles I calls Parliament back into session
Because of Charles I wanted to have both England and Scotland to follow the same religion, Scotland revolted and gathered up a huge army and said they were going to invade England. Because of this Charles I needed money, so he called Parliament back into session. But by him calling Parliament into session he unknowingly gave them the opportunity to oppose him. -
Autumn of 1641 laws
In Autumn in the year 1641, Parliament passed a law to limit the amount of power that the royals had. This made Charles I angry so he tried to have the leaders of Parliament in January of 1642, but they did not get arrested because they escaped. People were angry and therefore mobs gathered outside of the palace. Charles I fled from London, and came up with an army of people, who were loyal to him, in the north side of England. -
English Civil War
The English War was a war between supporters and non-supporters of Charles I. This went on from 1642 to 1649. Puritans were supporters of Parliament, and Royalists were supporters of Charles I. -
Oliver Cromwell
In 1644 Oliver Cromwell was introduced as a general to the Puritans. In 1645 the Puritans started to get the upper-hand in the war. In 1647 they captured Charles I and held him prisoner. Charles I was brought to his trial for treason against Parliament, by Oliver Cromwell and the Puritans. -
Charles I is executed
During the trial for treason against Parliament, they found Charles I guilty and he was sentenced to death. Charles I’s execution was revolutionary, because many Kings had been overthrown, killed in battle, or put to death in secret, but one had never been trialed and executed publicly. -
Oliver Cromwell rules England
Since Oliver Cromwell was now in charge in England, he abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords. After doing that he established a republican form of government. He then told the remaining members of Parliament to return home. John Lambert, one of Oliver Cromwell’s associates, drafted a constitution. It was one of the first written constitution of and modern European state. But it was torn by Oliver Cromwell and he became a military dictator. -
Restoration
In 1658 Oliver Cromwell died, and his reign ended. A new Parliament was established after the government Oliver Cromwell established collapsed, because English people were tired of military rule. Charles I’s eldest son was asked by Parliament to rule England. -
Charles II
In 1660 the people of England celebrated the arrival of Charles II. Charles II’s reign began. The period of his rule was called restoration because he restored the monarchy. -
Habeas Corpus passed
Habeas Corpus, meaning “to have the body” in Latin, was passed during Charles II’s reign, to guarantee freedom, this law was passed in 1679. This law gave every prisoner was granted the right to have a document stating that the prisoner should be brought to a judge to review his case and tell the charges against the prisoner -
James II
Charles II died in 1685 and James II became king, but offended his subjects when he displayed his Catholicism. He appointed many Catholics to high office, and by doing this he violated English law. James dissolved Parliament when it protested.James was overthrown by his eldest daughter and her husband. James fled to France.This bloodless overthrow is called the Glorious Revolution. -
William and Mary
Mary was the eldest daughter of James II, and William was her husband. She and her husband were the ones to overthrow James II in 1688. And once they overthrew James they stated that Parliament was their partner in governing. And therefore England was no longer under absolute monarchy, but in a Constitutional Monarchy. -
Glorious Revolution
The bloodless overthrow of James II was named Glorious revolution. -
English Bill of Rights
To make the limits of the royal’s power clear Parliament wrote a Bill of Rights in 1689. It listed this: 1) No suspending of Parliament’s laws. 2) No levying of taxes without a specific grant from Parliament. 3) No interfering with freedom of speech in Parliament. 4) No penalty for a citizen who petitions the king about grievances. -
Constitutional Monarchy
Constitutional Monarchy is where the royals have guidance from Parliament and the subjects. The royals/ monarchs don’t have total power and can be overthrown/ imprisoned/ executed, if they break the law. That is what England’s government is now, a Constitutional Monarchy.
