-
Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
The signing of Magna Carta marked the beginning of the British propensity of limiting the king’s power. None of the British kings hence after could rule without support from the Parliament. -
James VI became James I of England
As the first male successor to the British crown after the death of Henry VIII, James I failed to be a God-like figure because of his severe physical deformity. He was not popular among his people and do not have the ability to build himself into an absolute monarch. -
Charles I invaded the Parliament
This incident demonstrates the irreconcilable conflict between the king and Parliament. Charles, I had the ambition of becoming an absolute monarch, however; the lack of money and independent military made him incapable of fighting with the British nobles. -
The Execution of Charles I
For the first time, the subjects executed their king. As the mob murdered their former master, it demonstrates the king’s power is no longer above the people. -
The Birth of James III
The birth of James III, as a male Catholic to the British crown, shut the last hope for the British Parliament of having a bloodless transformation of royal power from Catholic to Protestant. Therefore, they invited the Dutch, which caused a series of political revolution in England. -
The Glorious Revolution
Once again, the Parliament demonstrated its power by ushered in the king they favored and drove out the one the resented. The new king, William of Orange recognized a Bill of rights that give more king’s power to the privileged class and marked the beginning of the English Constitutionalism. -
The publish of “Two Treaties of Government” by John Lock
Lock first published his philosophical idea that rather than “divine right”, the right of governing should be derived from the people. In the book, it justifies the rebellion against the unjust government.
