Early Stuart England

and Civil War

James I

• Son of Mary Queen of Scots: considered “foreigner” by many (Catholic or Protestant?

• Succeeded Elizabeth, in prosperous Renaissance age

• Believed in divine-right royal absolutism: not Parliamentary check on king’s power

• Pragmatic: continued Church of England, despite Scottish Presbyterians’ hopes

• Negotiated peace with Spain to decrease threat of war and lower expenses

• Authorized “King James Version” of Bible, translated from Greek and Hebrew (still used by some today)

• Increasingly distrusted by Parliament: his Catholicism and tendency toward absolutism Henry VIII and his wives

Charles I• Parliament distrusted

Charles I: gave him little funding– Parliamentary landowners

feared possibility that monarchy would tax at will

– Parliamentary Puritans distrusted ruler of Church of England

– Feared monarch’s rising sense of divine right absolutism

– Parliament concentrated opposition into one location

• Distrust caused him to rule without Parliament, which alienated aristocracy

Charles I with his wife, Henrietta Marie (daughter of Henry IV of France), James Prince of Wales, princess

Mary

Growing Tension with Charles I• Policy of “thorough” streamlined

government under his control• Modernized navy through new

use of existing taxes, like inland use of “ship-money” tax, alienating property owners

• Supported High Anglicans: alienated Puritans; tried to enforce Anglican Church policies in Scotland

• “The Bishops’ War:” Puritan Scots rebelled

– Charles needed money to defend England: called Parliament,

– Parliament refused funds; Charles disbanded it; lost battle

• Charles consented to new Parliament: “Long Parliament” sat 1640-1660

Henry VIII and his wives

The Long Parliament & Civil War

• Parliament dismissed many bishops, ended Star Chamber and High Commission

• Roundheads: radical Puritans, led by Oliver Cromwell;

• Cavaliers: royalists

• 1641: Parliament presented Charles with “Grand Remonstrance,” a list of grievances against monarchy’s power

• 1642: Charles invaded Parliament, raised an army, and civil war began

• Royalist members left Parliament: “Rump” Parliament, controlled by Oliver Cromwell

• 1649: Rump Parliament condemned Charles I to death, and executed him

Cromwell and The Commonwealth• England declared a

“Commonwealth” republic, led by Oliver Cromwell

– Religious toleration, except for atheists, Catholics, and Unitarians

– Execution of Stuart king stung Scotland, requiring force to subdue Scotland

– Massacres swept over Ireland, with Catholic women and children butchered

– Protestants were installed as landlords over Irish Catholic peasantry

• 1653: Cromwell abolished Rump Parliament, became Lord Protector with military rule

– Protectorate operated under written constitution

– Joined England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland equally under one government

• 1658: Death of Cromwell• 1660: Monarchy restored: Charles II