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The Petition of Right
The Petition of Right was shown by Lords Spiritual and Temporal, as well as the House of Commons, in front of both the parliament and King Charles I. It limited the monarchy by rejecting absolutism. It states that the King is not allowed to levy taxes without the consent of the parliament or punish subjects for not paying such fines without going through the way of the law. It also does not allow the quartering of soldiers on subjects and martial law in peacetime. -
The Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was first called by King Charles 6 months after the Short Parliament ended and within weeks of the defeat of England in the Bishops' Wars against Scotland. Lasting 20 years, the Long Parliament made reforms to abolish institutions (ex. the Star Chamber) that allowed the King to rule without the Parliament. Finally, the Triennial Act was passed to require the Parliament to meet every 3 years causing a dependency between the Parliament and King, overall limiting the monarchy. -
English Civil War
The English Civil war lasted from 1642-1651 and was mainly due to a divide on how much power the king should have. The Royalists believed in the divine right of the monarch whereas Parliamentarians believed that his power needed to be reduced. The parliamentarian win limited the monarchy because it established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without Parliament's consent -
Charles I executed
King Charles I believed in his divine right in ruling as king and that it was above the law, which led to the English Civil War. As a direct result of the Parliamentarian win, Charles I was executed due to treason. His execution not only marked how absolutism failed but marked the temporary elimination of the monarchy as well. Moving forward, this greatly impacted the Glorious Revolution, where the monarchy was more restricted. -
Test Act
The Parliament passes the Test Act, which was a series of English penal laws that served as a religious test for public office and imposed various civil disabilities on Roman Catholics and nonconformists. This was directed at James II who was catholic. As a Catholic, James II could not sign the Test Act and was kept out of governmental affairs. Overall, this limited the monarchy and gave more power to the Parliament. -
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious revolution resulted in the deposition of James II and the unification of William III, prince of Orange, and Mary II of England. They took on the throne by accepting a Parliamentary Act of Settlement, meaning their title to the throne was only valid by an act of Parliament. William and Mary also accepted the Bill of Rights, establishing England as a constitutional, rather than absolute, monarchy -
Bill of Rights
The Bill of Rights demonstrates a limited monarchy because it took away many rights from the monarchs. It set out certain basic civil rights for subjects and clarified who would be next to inherit the Crown. In addition, the king's power was limited on the subject of military, taxation, politics, and freedom. One example of this is that Roman Catholics could no longer become the king or queen of England.