1. English Civil War / The Glorious
Revolution
By holy_rat (who ain’t religious)

2. Problems begin
• Charles I of England inherits the throne from his
father James I in 1625
• Charles was not well-liked when he inherited the
throne in 1625
• He believed in something called the Divine Right
of Kings, which scared Parliament
• He also knew that England needed money, and as
a result, he raised the taxes on the upper
class, without Parliament’s consent
• He also asked Parliament for loans to try to issue
reforms

3. (cont’d)
• Parliament would not grant money unless
Charles would sign the Petition of Right—this
basically took power away from the monarchs
• Charles I dismissed the Parliament and does
not call it back into session for 11 years
• Because of a rebellion in Scotland, Charles
needs money

4. The Long Parliament (1640-1653)
• Parliament called into session
• Hanged some of the king’s advisors
• Abolished the Court of Star Chamber
• Enforced Habeas Corpus—right to a trial
• King needed permission to collect money

5. (cont’d)
• King could not dissolve Parliament
• Tried to limit some of the absolute power of
the monarch
• Parliament was required to meet at least
every 3 years
• Purpose was to keep them active in the
government

6. British Civil War (1642-1649)
• Supporters of the king: • Supporters of the
– Stuarts Parliament:
– Cavaliers – Puritans
– Wanted strong – Roundheads > Puritans
monarchy who support the House
of Commons
– Wanted a strong
representative assembly

7. 1649 Charles I surrendered
• Rump Parliament – small group of
independents ruled
• House of Commons
• Condemned Charles I to death
• 1649 Charles I was beheaded
• Monarchy and House of Lords were abolished

8. • Commonwealth is declared
• Government was to be a republic with elected
officials

9. Oliver Cromwell (1653-1658)
• Military dictator, who focused on non-
Puritans—alter, this would cause
repercussions for the Puritans, which would
cause many of them to flock to America
• What were positives and negatives?

10. (cont’d)
• Didn’t want title of King
• Took title Lord Protector
• Crushed rebellions in Scotland and Ireland—
killed priests and members of the Catholic
clergy
• When he dies his son Richard becomes Lord
Protector
• Was not competent so Cavaliers began to plot
for the return of the monarchy

11. Charles I’s son, Charles, had escaped
to France
• Charles was the legal heir to the throne
• This now left England without a monarch
• Meaning, they were wide to open fill

12. Many Englishmen remained loyal to
the king
• There was talk that perhaps the country
would be better off with a monarchy after all
• They began to realize that without a
monarch, there was a possibility of another
military dictatorship

13. The Restoration
• English people tired of dictatorship
• Charles was welcomed back to England as
King if he:
– Permitted religious tolerance
– Lived up to the Petition of Right
– Forgets about the divine right of kings
• 1600 the monarchy was restored in England
with Charles II
• Charles II worked closely with the Parliament

14. Parliament splits
• James II, (brother of Charles), will take over
• Problem > rulers must be Protestant according
to law
• James is Catholic
• Tories- backed a strong hereditary king
• Whigs- backed a strong parliament
• Charles II dies in 1685

15. Glorious Revolution
• James II takes over
• Believes in the divine right of kings
• James II has two daughters:
– Mary
– Anne
• James II’s wife dies and he marries again

16. James II marries a Catholic
• Protestant leadership hates her
• They have a son > heir to the throne
• Problem > he is part-Catholic and they want
only Protestant king on throne
• James II must end

17. Catholic vs. Protestant
• Both Whigs and Tories agreed that James II
must abdicate his throne
• They invited Mary to come and take the
throne
• Royal family and Protestant!
• Mary had married William of Orange
(Netherlands)

18. James II is forced to flee from the
country.
• 1688 William and Mary take the English
throne
• Brought Dutch army but not necessary
because James II had no support
• James II fled to France
• No bloodshed

19. Result of Glorious Revolution
• Power of king decreased and power of
representative assembly increased
• Led to many changes in the government

20. English Thinkers
• John Locke:
– Two treatises on government
– Inspired Thomas Jefferson
– Inspired Parliament to establish habeas corpus (right to a
fair trial)
– Said people had the right to choose their leaders and
overthrow an unjust government
• Thomas Hobbes:
– Stated people could choose their rulers but had to deal
with their decision and could not overthrow an unjust
ruler
– Leviathan >

21. The Declaration of Rights / Toleration
Act and Act of Settlement
• Declaration of Rights was read to William and
Mary when they took the throne
• Formalized in 1689 and called it the English
Bill of Rights
• Toleration Act was passed in 1689—granted
limited religious rights to Dissenters
• Act of Settlement was passed in 1701 to keep
Catholics off the throne

22. Stronger Parliament
• House of Lords
– Hereditary nobles / higher clergy
• House of Commons
– Landowning male gentry, wealthy merchants, and
professionals could vote for them
• Between 1690-1740—new additions to the
government
– Cabinet and prime minister

23. Stronger England
• Act of Union—1707
• England and Scotland joined formally
– Great Britain
• Purpose > strengthen England against France
• Scottish were against it initially
– Abolished their parliament, but Scots could take
seats in Great Britain’s Houses

24. Act of Union
• Was beneficial to both sides
• Encouraged commerce–brought wealth to
both
• Glasgow > turned into a port city
• University in both Glasgow and Edinburgh
developed in the 18th century

25. Act of Settlement problem
• If William III dies with no heir, Mary’s sister—Anne–
would inherit the throne
• If Anne had no children, a Protestant grand-daughter of
James I would inherit the throne
• William III died with no heir, so Anne took the throne
• Anne had 17 children but survived them all
• James I’s grand-daughter, Sophia, also died
• The throne went to Sophia’s son, George I of the
Hanoverian Dynasty—became King George I of Great
Britain

26. • George I and George II were both born in
Germany
• Did not know how the British government
worked
• Relied heavily on Sir Robert Walpole who was the
chief minister until 1742
• Tried to work for peace
• Strengthened British economy
• Because they relied on him so heavily, they
official post of prime minister came about

27. Constitutional Monarchy
• Between 1721-1742, Whigs controlled the
government
• Under the Hanoverian monarchs, the prime
minister was the head of the government
• This is a limited constitutional monarchy
• British constitution is made up of:
– Magna Carta, the Petition of Right, Habeas
Corpus, the Bill of Rights, the Act of
Settlement, the Acts of Parliament