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Period: Jun 14, 1215 to
Limited monarchy in England is slowly being established
There are many events that eventually lead to the limited monarchy in England. A particular seven stood out the most to me. Starting in the year 1215 to the end of 1689, England was undergoing things that would cause the absolute monarchy to fall and the limited monarchy to rise. -
Jun 15, 1215
The Magna Carta
The Magna Carta was signed in the year 1215 and presented the first steps toward a limited monarchy in England. This placed all the higher authority, including King John of that time, under a set of rules and laws that they had to abide by as well. The King could no longer do whatever he wanted in his monarchy, he had to follow guidelines as well. Essentially, it was the first document that vouched for the right of the common and would influence later documents in years to come. -
Dec 14, 1241
The Parliament is Established
In 1241, the Parliament is established. Eventually, the King or Queen of England and the Parliament would work together in the governing of this country. The King was no longer on his own in ruling, although in these years it was still an absolute monarchy governing England. However, because of the establishment of the Parliament it would not stay this way forever. -
Petition of Right
In 1628 the Petition of Right document was introduced that further increased the rights of citizens and decreased that of the King. The government could no longer take away one's land without reasoning, they couldn't force any to house soldiers, and the right of habeus corpus was enforced. -
Rule of James II
When James II came onto throne, England would not be prepared for the problems he would cause. He decided that he would not meet with Parliament on a regular basis and would rather make decisions on his own. By the end of his rule, James II had caused a war and many were starting to realize the absolute monarchy was no longer being beneficial in this country. -
Charles I is Executed
Charles I is executed at the end of January 30, 1649. He is beheaded due to treason. This is just another case in England where the absolute monarchy has gone wrong and chaos had broke out because of it. After the happenings with James II and and now this, England is starting to realize the need for a change in government policies and rulings. -
William III and Mary II are Placed on the Throne
The ruling of William III and Mary II is extremely important in the establishment of a limited monarchy in England. They ended the problems and issues between the Kings and Queens and the Parliament. William III and Mary II were the ones to sign the English Bill of Rights and begin the connection and shared power of rule between the King/Queen and the Parliament. -
The English Bill of Rights is Passed
At the end of 1689, the English Bill of Rights is finally passed. It limits the powers of the monarchs and states the rights that Parliament has and specifically what it can do. It also gave certain civil rights to the citizens of that time to be treated more equally. This Bill of Rights essentially was what started the limited monarchy in England, and the Parliament would now share the power of government with the monarchs.
