The Stuarts

Liceo Scientifico “A. Einstein”

Year 2013/2014

Melanie Bertossi4ALS

Table of contents

IntroductionThe Stuarts Dynasty Family TreeJames ICharles IInterregnum: Oliver CromwellCharles IIJames IIWilliam III and Mary IIQueen Anne

IntroductionThe Stuarts were the first kings of the

United Kingdom.

They reigned in England and Scotland from 1603 till 1714.

They faced a period of intense religious debates, radical politics, civil

wars and instabilities.

Brief summary of the history of Britain in the time of the Stuarts

(1603-1714)Ruling Family/System

King/Queen/Ruler Dates

HOUSE OF STUART James I 1603-1625Charles I 1625-1649

COMMONWEALTH AND PROTECTORATE

Council of State 1649-1653

Oliver Cromwell 1653-1658Richard Cromwell 1658-1659

HOUSE OF STUART (RESTORED)

Charles II 1660-1685

James II 1685-1688William III and Mary II

1689-1694

William III 1694-1702Anne 1702-1714

The Stuarts Dynasty Family Tree

James I (r. 1603-1625)Son of Mary Stuart Queen of Scots

He succeeded to the throne in 1603 (when Elizabeth I died)

He reunited the countries of England and Scotland under one monarch;

Forbade any interpretation of church doctrine different to his own (Protestantism and Divine Right of Kings);

Made Sunday Church-going compulsory; Refused church reform to the Puritans; Authorised the use of the King James Bible; Led to a power struggle between the King and the

Parliament by taking decisions all on his own;He wasn’t able to solve England’s financial or political problems,

so when he died in 1625 he left the country in very poor conditions.

Charles I (r. 1625-1649)Son of James I

He succeeded to the throne in 1625 (when his father James I died)

He embarked on a war with Spain and France; Wanted to rule without the advice or consent of the

Parliament In response a Parliament member presented the Petition of Right (1628);

Dissolved the Parliament in 1629; Tried to convert all Scottish Puritans to Protestantism;

Attempt to purge

Puritan excesses

fromthe Church

ofEngland

Two Bishop Wars

(1639-1640)

Recall of the

Parliament

His style of rule lead the country to Civil War and to his execution in 1649

Oliver Cromwell (r. 1653-1658)Also known as the Lord Protector of the Commonwealth

He tried to redefine and establish a workable constitution without a monarchy;

Took revenge for the massacre of English Protestants (1641) by laying a siege to the town of Drogheda in 1949 and killing most of its inhabitants;

He established colonies in Jamaica and the West Indies; In 1653 the Parliament was dissolved, and under the

Instrument of Government, Oliver became Lord Protector, later refusing the offer of the throne though;

After Cromwell’s death in 1658, and the failure of his son Richard’s short-lived Protectorate (1658-1659), the army under General Monk

invited Charles II (Charles I’s son) to become King.

Charles II (r. 1660-1685)He is also known as the “Merry Monarch” because

he loved parties, music and the theatre;

In 1660 he was invited, by the Parliament, to return to England as King Charles II. This event is better known as the Restoration.

He abolished all Cromwell’s laws that forbade music and dancing; Since he was always spending money, he was forced to marry

Portuguese Catherine of Braganza who would’ve brought a large entry to the country;

Even after the

marriage, Charles II still had financial problems

Alliance between England

and France

War with the Dutch and

acquisition of New Amsterdam

for England

Charles died in 1685

James II (r. 1685-1688)He succeeded his brother Charles to the throne in 1658

After the Monmouth rebellion (1685), James increased the standing army and the appointment of loyal and experienced Roman Catholic officers;

Attempt to give civic equality to Roman

Catholic and Protestant dissenters

Conflict with the Parliament, which was

prorogued in 1685

He attempted to promote the Roman Catholic cause by dismissing judges and Lord Lieutenants;

In 1687 he issued the Declaration of Indulgence aiming at religious toleration;

In 1690, James II was defeated at the Battle of the Boyne and forced to spend the rest of his life in exile in France, dying there in 1701.

William III (r. 1689-1702) and Mary II (r. 1689-1694)

Following the Glorious Revolution, William II and Mary II (daughter of James II) were proclaimed joint sovereigns of England.

They accepted a Declaration of Rights (also known as the Bill of Rights), drawn by a Convention of Parliament (it prevented Catholics succeeding to the throne, and insured Anne would’ve become the next queen);

William’s Burg and the College of William and Mary in Virginia were named after the king and queen in 1693;

William appointed a Ministry in 1696 and it was regarded with suspicion as it met separately;

The Bank of England was founded in 1694 to control public expenditure;

Mary died in 1694 with no surviving children ; William formed an alliance between England, Holland and

Austria to prevent the union of the French and Spanish Crowns (War of Spanish succession);

William died in 1702

Anne (r. 1702-1714)She was the sister of Mary II and was married to Prince George of

Denmark

She was a committed Protestant and supported the Glorious Revolution;

In 1707 the Act of Union formally united the Kingdoms of England and Scotland;

In 1713 with the Treaty of Utrecht, France recognized Anne’s title and England’s possession of Gibraltar;

Party politics became more important: Whigs and Tories;

She was the last Stuart Monarch as none of her eighteen children survived beyond infancy. Anne died in 1714.

And lastly,

again the Stuart family

tree and their

portraits