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Jun 15, 1215
Magna Carta
The Magna Carta was implemented in 1215 by King John of England. This was the foundations for a just society . One of the major ideals was that a man could not be arrested or put into prison until proven guilty. But in 1215 this was only limited to the " freemen" of the upper classes cause the peasants were ruled by the upper and noble classes in this time. Even the Declaration of Independence signed by Thomas Jefferson has similarities to the Magna Carta of 1215. -
Dec 14, 1241
Parliament is Established in England
The Parliament of England was created to cooperate with the king to limit his power. This governing body was to look over the king's decisions but aswell to advise him over raunchy ones. This was the commencement of England's limited monarchy , even going back as far as 1241/ -
Oct 30, 1534
Henry Breaks From the Catholic Church and Forms the English Church
This event in the year 1534 exemplifies the problem of a powerful monarch. Henry VIII became clamped down on his opposition to his decision to commence his own church. This showed the need for a median or "middle man" in order to mediate the power that could limit England's ever evolving monarchy. -
Jun 30, 1553
Mary I Shows The Unstable Internal Divison of England
From Henry's Protestant to reform , now to Mary's radical Catholic backfiring, England has shown weakness in its transition. This is a problem for the parliamentary system because they are constantly changing from Protestant to Catholic , which created upheaval in English society. -
James of Scotland Becomes the First " James" of England in 1603
The Scottish king named James VI inherited the crown of Enlgland as James I with a large debt and a greatly divided church following the Reformation. -
Charles I comes to power
Charles became king in 1625. One of his measures was his consideration and recognition of the Petition of the right in the year of 1628 . This "right" elaborated that there would be no forced loans or taxation without proper consent from Parliament. Other provisions of this document was that no commoner could be arrested without proper evidence to support the misdoing. Charles reluctantly agreed to the Petition of the Right. Approximately one year later he dissolved parliament. -
Civil War Brakes Loose in 1640 Part 1
Many landowners and upper mercantile classes were prominent the Par. but also hated the financial measures and the rule of Charles. This became known as the Long Parliament and gained grand support from the masses when it first commenced in Nov 1640 . The Par. got rid of courts that enforced royal policy and stopped taxes from being implemented by the king without proper knowledge. Although Par was angered by all this mess , a major divider was you guessed it , religious views.
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Part 2 of the Civil War
As mentioned before religion was a major division . There were too groups : moderate Puritans and extreme Ps. The extreme believed in abolishing bishop control and even the Book of the Common Prayer. But they were determined to keep the Church of England under one roof. The boiling point was this : Charles needed funds for an army to suppress a uprising in Sc. His rivals stated that that the Par. should be in control of forces. -
Civil War part 3
Charles then invades the Par , trying to arrest his rivals but they got away. He leaves London to amass a army. The House of Commons the passed the Militia Ordinance which gave the Par. the right to raise an army for its own cause. For four long and bloody years England was submerged into the turmoil of a civil war. His supporters were named Cavaliers and his rivals the Roundheads. -
Victory for the Parliamentary Forces and Execution of the Corrupt King
There were two reasons why the Parliament won the Civil War. First was a alliance with the Presbyters of Scotland . Second was the organization under Oliver Cromwell's armed forces . Charles the 1st was executed in 1649 as a public criminal. The Parliament also got rid of the monarchy , the House of Lords , and the Anglican Church. But this would only lead to resentment of Oliver Cromwell ( more in the next slide) -
Cromwell's Dictatorship and Affects Onward
Cromwell wasn't a man of leadership in political terms. He is known infamously for his invasion of Sco. and Ire. where horrible acts were committed. His dictatorship showed that he was just as horrible of a leader as the man before him. His rule was brutal and hated around the subjugated. When he died in 1658 , the monarchy and Anglican Church were in the process of being restored after the dramatic transition period after the civil war. -
Charles II and the Restoring of the Monarchy
Charles II returned as the leader of a torn nation. The Par. and The anlgican Church revoked by Cornwell were brought back to the limelight in England by him. -
Path to the Glorious Revolution
James II became king of England after years of Charles II. James demanded the dismissal of the Test Act ( slide before). James also desired to give Catholics a chance to hold high positions in his court and the army.James even went as far as imprisoning about 7 Ang. bishops who showed dismay in the disablement of laws against Catholics. James didn't just want Catholic support but as well desired to go after absolutist policies that were like those of France's Louis XVI. He admired him greatly. -
The Glorious Revolution
With growing animosity towards James II, the English welcomed William of Orange who was a leader of European unity against Louis XIV and absolutism. His army was welcomed with open arms with grand support in England. James , scared for his life this time , frantically left France. That was the revolution. It was a very Peaceful transition. -
William III and Mary II Become the New Monarchs
After James fled to France , William and Mary were granted the position of monarchs of the English kingdom , ending the GR. Both of them authorized a Bill of Rights which greatly limited the ability of the monarchy and granted to secure civil liberties but only for the privileged groups in England. The Bill of Rights disallowed any Catholic to renew the throne from now one due to James II. -
William and Mary Part 2 of Their Monarchy
In 1689 as well , the Toleration Act allowed for Protestants of all sects to worship freely while Roman Catholics obviously could not worship as freely. -
The Act of Settlement
The Act of Settlement helped to fortify the Bill of Rights implemented by William and Mary of England. It made sure that the parliamentary system would last even with the past persistent leaders who abused it to become tyrants such as Charles I or Cromwell. -
Scottish and English Union
After Scotland's failed attempt at an empire with rivaling England the country had lost 1/5 of its total wealth in building a empire. But England saw this as an opportunity to unite. England didn't want to see Scotland ally with France so the English offered the Scots reimbursement for their loses if they join. They joined to unite. Even to today England and Scotland are the same nation and dominating world power, Great Britain.
