Parliament Limits the English Monarchy

1. Parliament Limits the English Monarchy Chapter 21 Section 5

2. Queen Elizabeth • Had many fights with Parliament, usually over money • She didn’t feel they gave her enough for all her expenses • When she died in 1608, she had no heir, closest was her cousin James, king of Scotland • He inherited Elizabeth’s huge debt

4. James believed he had absolute power, and answered to no one Elizabeth had also believed in her divine right to rule, but was more tactful than James She would flatter Parliament to get her way

5. King James • James worst struggles with Parliament were over money • They refused to pay for expensive spending and foreign war • James offended puritan members of Parliament, who hoped he would start reforms to purify the English church • James resented being told what to do, so he made no reforms, but did agree on translating a new bible, the King James Bible

6. King James Bible • It bothered James that there were many English translations of the bible, but none that were well written • He sponsored a committee of bible scholars to create a new, royally approved translation • First printed in 1611

7. Charles I • 1625, James dies, and son Charles I takes the throne • Always needed money for wars against France and Spain • Several times he dissolved Parliament after refusing to give funds

8. 1628, Charles was forced to call Parliament again • This time, they refused to grant him any money until he signed a document known as the Petition of Right

9. The Petition of Right • Signing this petition the king agreed to four points: • He would not imprison subjects without due cause • He would not levy taxes without Parliaments consent • He would not house soldiers in private homes • He would not impose martial law at peacetime • After agreeing to the petition, Charles ignored it

11. In 1629, Charles dissolved Parliament and refused to call it back into session How did he get money he needed? He imposed all kinds of fees and fines on the English people

12. English people who spoke against him faced torturous consequences, like having ears cut off or cheeks burned with a hot iron • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVN5INSVZQ4

13. English Civil War • Charles offended Puritans (people who wanted to purify the English church of Catholic practices) by keeping church rituals and formal prayer book • He also tried to force the Presbyterian Scots (his Scotland subjects) to accept a version of the Anglican prayer book • He wanted both his kingdoms to have one religion

15. Threat of War • The Scots rebelled, assembled a huge army, and threatened to invade England • Charles needs money to raise an army to prepare for war- money he could only get by calling Parliament into session • This gave Parliament a chance to oppose him

16. Charles Runs • Parliament passed laws limiting royal power • Furious, Charles tried to arrest leaders of Parliament, but they escaped • Equally furious at Charles, was a mob of Londoners who raged outside the palace • Charles fled London and raised an army in northern England, where people were loyal to him

17. English Civil War • From 1642-1649 supporters and opponents of King Charles fought the English Civil War • Those loyal to the king were called Royalists, or Cavaliers • The other side were Puritan supporters of Parliament • Because these men wore their hair short, over their ears, they were called Roundheads by the Royalists

18. Royalists Support King Charles

19. Roundheads Support Parliament

20. Oliver Cromwell • War was a seesaw, with no one gaining an advantage • 1644, Puritans found a general who could win- Oliver Cromwell • His New Model Army defeated the Cavaliers, and the following year, captured the king and held him prisoner

21. The Execution of a King • 1649, Cromwell brought the king to trial and was found guilty of treason • King Charles I was sentenced to death • The execution of a king was revolutionary- kings had been overthrown, killed in battle, or murdered, but none had faced a public trial and execution • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iJ0vIyZBQdc

22. Cromwell now had total control • 1649, he abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords (the legislative branch) • He established a commonwealth (a republican form of government) • 1653, Cromwell dismissed the rest of Parliament, and began rule as a military dictator

23. Irish Rebellion • Cromwell immediately had to put down a rebellion in Ireland • Ireland had come under English control during the reign of Henry VIII and his family • Cromwell and his army crushed the uprising taking homes from the Irish, and giving them to English soldiers

25. Religious Toleration? • Cromwell and Puritans reform society with laws abolishing sinful activities, like going to the theater • Although a strict Puritan, Cromwell favored religious toleration except for Catholics • He even welcomed back Jews who had been expelled from England in 1290 • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vWPbnWMpMiA

26. Back to the Monarchy • Oliver Cromwell ruled until his death in 1658 • The English people were sick of military rule • 1659, Parliament voted to ask the older son of Charles I to rule England- Charles II

27. Charles II • The period of Charles II reign is known as the Restoration, because he restored the monarchy • Was a happy and rejoice full time in England • He also restored theater, sporting events and dancing, all had been abolished under Cromwell • For the first time ever, women were appearing on stage in plays

28. Habeas Corpus • During Charles reign, Parliament passed an important guarantee of freedom- Habeas Corpus • This law is a judicial mandate requiring that a prisoner be brought before the court to determine whether the government has the right to continue detaining them. • Now, a monarch couldn’t put someone in jail for opposing him, and prisoners couldn’t be held indefinitely without trial

29. A Catholic King? • Parliament also debated who should inherit the throne after Charles, he had no children • He did have a brother, James, but he was Catholic • A political group called the Whigs opposed James • Another political group called the Tories supported him

30. James II • 1685, Charles II dies, and his brother, James became king • He offended his subjects by flaunting his Catholicism • He violated English law by appointing many Catholics to high offices • When Parliament protested, James dissolved it

31. 1688, James 2nd wife gave birth to a son English Protestants were worried this would lead to a long line of Catholic kings But James also had an older daughter, Mary, who was Protestant She was the wife of William of Orange, from the Netherlands

32. William and Mary

33. The Glorious Revolution • Several members of Parliament invited William and Mary to overthrow her father for the sake of Protestantism • William led his army to London in 1688, and James fled to France • This bloodless overthrow of King James II is called the Glorious Revolution

34. Constitutional Monarchy By the way….what IS an absolute monarchy? • At their coronation, William and Mary vowed to “govern the people of this kingdom of England….” • They recognized Parliament as their partner in governing • England had become a constitutional monarchy, where laws limit the rulers power, not an absolute monarchy

35. To make clear the limitations of a ruler’s power, Parliament drafted a Bill of Rights in 1689, stating many things a ruler could NOT do: • No suspending of Parliament laws • No levying taxes without a specific grant from Parliament • No interference with freedom of speech in Parliament • No penalty for a citizen who petitions the king about grievances

36. After 1688, no British monarch could rule without consent of Parliament, and Parliament couldn’t rule without consent of the monarch If the two disagreed, government came to a standstill This problem was solved in 1700 by developing a group of government ministers called the cabinet

37. Every Tuesday during Parliament, Secretaries of State meet in this room to discuss the big issues of the day. They’ve been meeting in the sameroom since 1856

38. The Cabinet • The cabinet became the link between the monarch and Parliament • Over time, the cabinet became the center of power and policy making • Under the cabinet system, the leader of the majority party in Parliament also heads the cabinet and is called the prime minister • This is the system of government Great Britain uses today