CHAPTER 18 LESSON 2

CHAPTER 18 LESSON 2

War and Revolution in England

ESSENTIAL QUESTION

What effect might social, economic, and religious conflicts have on a country?

Revolutions in England

In addition to the Thirty Years' War, a series of rebellions and civil wars rocked Europe in the seventeenth century. By far the most famous struggle was the civil war in England known as the English Revolution. The war was between king and Parliament to determine what role each should play in governing England. 

The Stuarts and Divine Right

The Tudor dynasty ended with the death of Queen Elizabeth I in 1603. The Stuart line of rulers began when the king of Scotland, Elizabeth's cousin, ascended the English throne and became James I.

Open Ended

Creating Arguments Elizabeth I died without leaving any children. Why do you think that James I became the next king?

The Stuarts and Divine Right

James believed that he received his power from and was only responsible to God. This is called the divine right of kings. Parliament did not think much of the divine right of kings. It had come to assume that the monarch and Parliament ruled England together.

The Stuarts and Divine Right

Religion was an issue as well. The Puritans—Protestants in England inspired by Calvinist ideas—did not like the king's strong defense of the Church of England. While they were members of the Church of England, the Puritans wished to remove any remaining resemblances to Catholicism from their church. 

The Stuarts and Divine Right

The conflict that began during the reign of James came to a head during the reign of his son, Charles I. Charles, like his father, believed in the divine right of kings. In 1628, Parliament passed a Petition of Right. The petition placed limits on the king's ability to tax, imprison citizens without cause, quarter troops, and institute martial law. 

Multiple Choice

Who wanted to make the Church of England more Protestant?

• A.Catholics

• B.kings

• C.Puritans

• D.Cavaliers

Multiple Choice

Why did kings clash with Parliament in the early 1600s?

• A.Each wanted to have more control over church and state.

• B.Both wanted to rule the Catholic Church.

• C.The Petition of Right took away Parliament's powers.

• D.The king's children automatically took over upon the king's death.

Civil War and Commonwealth

Complaints grew until England slipped into a civil war in 1642 between the supporters of the king (the Cavaliers or Royalists) and the parliamentary forces (called the Roundheads). Parliament proved victorious, due largely to the New Model Army of Oliver Cromwell, who was a military genius.

Civil War and Commonwealth

The New Model Army chiefly consisted of more extreme Puritans, known as the Independents. These men believed they were doing battle for God. As Cromwell wrote, "This is none other but the hand of God; and to Him alone belongs the glory." Some credit is due to Cromwell. His soldiers were well-disciplined and trained in the new military tactics of the 1600s.

Civil War and Commonwealth

The Rump Parliament—had Charles I executed on January 30, 1649. The execution of the king horrified much of Europe. Parliament next abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords and declared England a commonwealth, a type of republic.

Civil War and Commonwealth

Cromwell found it difficult to work with the Rump Parliament and finally dispersed it by force, exclaiming, "I have been forced to do this. I have sought the Lord, night and day, that He would slay me, than put upon me the doing of this work." After destroying both king and Parliament, Cromwell set up a military dictatorship.

Open Ended

IV. And in the eight-and-twentieth year of the reign of King Edward III, it was declared and enacted by authority of parliament, that no man, of what estate or condition that he be, should be put out of his land or tenements, nor taken, nor imprisoned, nor disherited, nor put to death without being brought to answer by due process of law.

Historical Comprehension What do Article IV of the petition demand of the king? What reasons or justifications does the petition give for making this demand?

Multiple Choice

Cromwell and his New Model Army represented mostly _____ during England's civil war.

• A.royalty

• B.imprisoned citizens

• C.Puritans

• D.Catholics

Multiple Choice

Who were supporters of King Charles I in the English Civil War?

• A.Puritans

• B.Roundheads

• C.Protestants

• D.Cavaliers

The Restoration

Cromwell ruled until his death in 1658. The army, realizing how unpopular it had become, restored the monarchy in 1660 in the person of Charles II, the son of Charles I. 

The restoration of the Stuart monarchy, known as the Restoration period, did not mean, however, that the work of the English Revolution was undone. Parliament kept much of the power it had won and continued to play an important role in government. 

The Restoration

Charles was sympathetic to Catholicism. Moreover, his brother James, heir to the throne, did not hide the fact that he was a Catholic. 

Driven by a strong anti-Catholic sentiment, Parliament then passed a Test Act, specifying that only Anglicans (members of the Church of England) could hold military and civil offices.

The Restoration

Arousing more suspicion, on his deathbed Charles II had decided to convert to Catholicism. After Charles died without a son, James II became king in 1685. James was an open and devout Catholic. He named Catholics to high positions in the government, army, navy, and universities. Religion once more became a cause of conflict between king and Parliament.

A Glorious Revolution

A group of English nobles invited the Dutch leader, William of Orange, to invade England. In their invitation, they informed William that most of the kingdom's people wanted a change. The invitation put William and his wife Mary, the daughter of James II, in a difficult position. It would be appalling for Mary to rise up against her father.

A Glorious Revolution

With almost no bloodshed, England had undergone a "Glorious Revolution." The issue was not if there would be a monarchy but who would be monarch.

In January 1689, Parliament offered the throne to William and Mary. They accepted it, along with a Bill of Rights, which contained many of the same ideas as the Petition of Right.

A Glorious Revolution

It also made it impossible for kings to oppose or to do without Parliament by stating that standing armies could be raised only with Parliament's consent. The rights of citizens to keep arms and to have a jury trial were also confirmed. The Bill of Rights helped create a system of government based on the rule of law and a freely elected Parliament. This bill laid the foundation for a limited, or constitutional, monarchy.

Multiple Choice

What led to the Glorious Revolution?

• A.fear that a Catholic king would help Catholics take over the country

• B.the extreme anti-Protestant sentiment among the royals

• C.Cromwell's execution of King Charles I

• D.the passage of laws against Catholics and Puritans

Multiple Choice

It can be inferred that Parliament designed the English Bill of Rights because

• A.the king accepted it.

• B.the bill gave important powers to Parliament.

• C.the Glorious Revolution had ended.

• D.there was no bloodshed during the revolution.

Legal and Political Thought

Concerns with order and power were reflected in English legal and political thought. William Blackstone, a judge and professor of law, wrote Commentaries on the Laws of England, arguing that political stability could be achieved by a revived emphasis on English common law. Two English political thinkers, Thomas Hobbes and John Locke, provided their own responses to the English revolutions of the seventeenth century.

Legal and Political Thought

Thomas Hobbes was alarmed by the revolutionary upheavals in England. In 1651, he published the political work Leviathan to try to deal with the problem of disorder. Hobbes argued that before organized society, humans were guided not by reason and moral ideals but by a ruthless struggle for self-preservation. To save themselves from destroying one another, people made a social contract and agreed to form a state.

Legal and Political Thought

John Locke viewed the exercise of political power quite differently. His Two Treatises of Government, published in 1690, argued against the absolute rule of one person. Unlike Hobbes, Locke believed that before society was organized, humans lived in a state of equality and freedom rather than in a state of war. As a result, all humans had certain natural rights—rights with which they were born. These included rights to life, liberty, and property.

Legal and Political Thought

These ideas were used to support demands for constitutional government, the rule of law, and the protection of rights. Locke's ideas can be found in both the American Declaration of Independence and the United States Constitution.

Multiple Choice

What did Thomas Hobbes believe about human nature?

• A.It was motivated by self-preservation.

• B.It was fair and logical.

• C.It was wasteful and greedy.

• D.It was moral and upright.

Multiple Choice

John Locke's ideas helped _____ plan a new Constitution.

• A.Thomas Hobbes

• B.the United States

• C.other political philosophers

• D.English royalty

Open Ended

What effect might social, economic, and religious conflicts have on a country?