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Begin of Charles I Personal Reign
When Charles dissolved parliament, the protestants immediately felt threatened. When Charles began to pass laws to impose religious conformity, the protestants rebelled and Charles saw that war was soon to come. Charles attempted to reassemble parliament in order to raise funds, but was not willing to comply with their requests. This shows that parliament was also rebelling against the monarch and that he obviously did not have total control over anyone and the growing dislike of the monarch. -
Formation of Long Parliament
After the failed attempt to reunite parliament in the last event, Charles finally complied with their requests to form the Long Parliament. This parliament was composed of England's upper class and people of various religions. This parliament received public support and people were obedient to congress. This is significant because it shows the further loss of power by the monarch, straying further from absolutism. The parliament also imposed new rules on the king, showing another loss of power. -
Civil War Begins
Before the war began, Charles had asked parliament multiple times to start raisng funds, but they refused. In 1642, Charles stormed Parliament to arrest people. As a result of his out break, the Militia Ordinance was passed which gave congress the power to create their own army and declare civil war against the king. Giving parliament the capability to make large decisions like this was a loss of power for the king. Parliamennt openly defying the king with war took away power from the monarchy. -
Test Act Passed
The Test Act stated that all military personnel must swear an oath against the doctrine of transubstantiation. This act went against the Roman Catholic religion and specifically the heir to throne that was a serious Catholic. The Test Act is another example of how parliament was able to suck power away from the monarchy. With this law in place, realistically the king could not make all his soldiers convert, and was therefore left somewhat powerless over his own people. -
James II Becomes King
When King James II came to power, he attempted to create an absolute monarchy by loading parliament with high ranking Catholics and passing another declaration of indulgence. However this made the people extremely angry and ready to fight. In rebellion, parliament invited William of Orange to invade the country. Overall, this event shows again how respect and therefore power was being taken from the monarchy by parliament. -
Glorious Revolution
When William of Orange arrived, the Glorious Revolution began. James immediately fled the country, leaving William and Mary in charge. Williams and James were very compliant with parliament, eventually reaching a compromise. The monarchs agreed to sign a bill of rights saying that they would only hold limited power and that the english would receive civil liberties. It also prevented the monarchy from stacking the parliament and advisors with Roman Catholics. -
Hanoverian Dynasty Established
The previous dynasty, The Tudors, had fought hard to keep power completely in their own hands. The Hanovers were more willing to accept help. Most notably from their advisor Sir Robert Walpole. Walpole brought peace to england with the local and national governments coming to compromises. Walpole alongside the Hanovers brought England to the forefront of the world, making it a huge European and eventually global power.
