Parliament Limits the English Monarch

The Struggle for

Representative Government

&

The Enlightenment

​Terms & Names

absolute monarch King or queen with complete control

divine right Idea that a ruler receives the right to rule from God

English Civil War War fought from 1642 to 1649 between the Royalists, or Cavaliers, and the Puritan supporters of Parliament

Glorious Revolution Bloodless overthrow of King James II

constitutional (limited) monarchy Government in which laws limit the monarch’s power

Enlightenment Age of Reason

social contract According to Thomas Hobbes, an agreement people make with government

John Locke Philosopher who wrote about government

Voltaire Writer who fought for tolerance, reason, freedom of religious belief, and freedom of speech

Montesquieu French writer concerned with government and political liberty

Rousseau Enlightenment thinker who championed freedom

Thomas Hobbes English philosopher, considered to be one of the founders of modern political philosophy; best known for his 1651 book Leviathan, in which he expounds an influential formulation of social contract theory.

Mary Wollstonecraft Author who wrote about women’s rights

​Following the Crusades, absolute monarchies grew in power as new nations were created in Europe.

Absolute monarchs believed in the concept of divine right, maintained a state army and/or navy, taxed their

people heavily (especially the lower classes), maintained heavy spending, and were often patrons of the Arts.

• As new ideas on the role of government spread during the Renaissance, Reformation, and Scientific

Revolution, some people came to believe that the power of the monarch should be limited. Limiting the powers of the monarch is rooted in the Magna Carta (1215).

• The English Civil War broke out between supporters of the Stuart monarchy and supporters of Parliament. It

resulted in the trial and execution of King Charles I and established the idea that the monarch could not rule

without Parliament’s approval.

​When Queen Elizabeth I of England died in 1603, her cousin James, king of Scotland, inherited the throne. The reign of James I began a long series of struggles between king and Parliament. They fought over money. James’s religious policies also angered the Puritans in Parliament.

During the reign of his son, Charles I, there was continued conflict between king and Parliament. Parliament forced Charles to sign the Petition of Right in 1628. By signing, Charles agreed that the king had to answer to Parliament. But he then dissolved Parliament and tried to raise money without it.

​Who fought the English Civil War?

When Charles tried to force Presbyterian Scots to follow the Anglican Church, Scotland threatened to invade England. Charles needed money to fight. When Charles called a new Parliament to get money, it quickly passed laws to limit his power.

Soon England was fighting a civil war. Charles and his Royalists were opposed by the supporters of Parliament. Many of Parliament’s supporters were Puritans.

The English Civil War lasted from 1642 to 1649. Under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell, the forces of the Puritans won. They tried and executed Charles I for treason against Parliament. This was the first time a king had faced a public trial and execution. Cromwell became a military dictator, ruling until 1658. He crushed a rebellion in Ireland and tried to reform society at home.

​What was the Restoration?

Soon after Cromwell’s death, the government collapsed. Parliament asked Charles’s older son to restore the monarchy. Charles II’s rule beginning in 1660 is called the Restoration.

After Charles II’s death in 1685, his brother became King James II. His pro-Catholic policies angered the English. They feared that he would restore Catholicism. In 1688, seven members of Parliament contacted James’s older daughter, Mary, and her husband, William of Orange, prince of the Netherlands. Both were Protestants. The members of Parliament wanted William and Mary to replace James II on the throne. James was forced to flee to France. When that took place, the bloodless revolution was called the Glorious Revolution.

​William and Mary agreed to rule according to the laws made by Parliament. That is, Parliament became their partner in governing. England was now a constitutional, or limited, monarchy, where laws limited the ruler’s power.