Chapter 4 : Stuart England ( 1603 – 1649 / 1660 – 1688 ) and the

Commonwealth ( 1650 – 1660 )

I- James I and the Union of the Crowns ( 1603 – 1625 )

a) Abolutism and the divine right of Kings

Absolutist conception of the monarchy and he is powerful. The divine Rights of King is as if the
King was God representer on Earth. People didn't have the right to resiste, and they were no
political conterpower. But, the King owe them protection and safety.
James the Ist was warmely recived in England and he united the Crown.

1707 = The Act of Union which united the Crown. But, Scotland remain independent ( politcs,
religion, … )

James Ist was a protestant Calvinist and he had a hard line against thoose who were against
anglicanist, non reformist and catholics. He did this to consiliate the majority and avoid any
catholics plot.

b) The Gunpowder Plot ( 5th november 1605 )

Catholics led by Guy Fox try to blow up the Parliament during the openingof the Kinf James I. At
this time, Catholics was considered as second class citizents, there were laws agaisnt them, and the
King even create a red against them and it stop the plot.
This is an important symbol because it created a fear of the catholics.

c) Colonization : the Plantation of Ulster and the Ist American Colonies

1610 = In Ireland, plantation are given to English ans Scotish. They came to setlle there, which has
the consequence of the moving of the Gaelic population to West, to the poor place.

The Irish remain catholics and they were no mix population or religion which will be a condition of
furtur trouble. This is also the time of colonial expansion to America with the first settlement there,
Jamestown in Virginia and in the Bermuda Island because they were looking for a way to the
Pacific.

1620 = Puritain refugees and Pilgrim Father fleing England because of religious facts.

James I manage to maintained peace but his son Charles I was less prudent and his politic led to a
civil war of 10 years and after that his execution.
II- Charles the First and the Civil War ( 1625 – 1649 )

a) The King versus the Parliament

This Civil War opposed the King and his Parliament due to the economic, foreign and relious
policy. This increase the fear of the Parliament, and mark the return of the Catholisism. Charles I
work with the Great Catholic power of Europe.
He married Henrietta Marita the sister of Louis XIII which created the Bourbon dynasty.

1629 = He disolve the Parliament and he ruled without it which increase the tensions in the country.

He tried to resteure the power and the prestige of the Anglican Church, but his religious policy look
like a turn back to catholisism/abolutism.

b) Charles the first

Charles I try to impose Englicanism in Scotland, and to do this he took arms against the King. For
his war, he needed money and he decided to call the Parliament after 11 years without them. Trust
between the two sides was broken and he fled to North of England.

1639 – 1640 = Civil War began + Bichop war

The King had supporters known as Cavalier, and they fought against the Parliament supporter, the
Round Haid. They was trained by Oliver Cromwell, a Puritain called for the new model army. They
were trained to be efficient and to defeat the King's troups, which they did. They had radical
position and wanted a compromise.

c) Civil War

January 1649 = The King is executed and he left a deep fear of Revolution

Charles I was a divine right King, resisting against him and take his lif was imaginable. This act
change the vision of the World. The King was accused of treason and war against his own people.
The King duty was to protect his land and his people but Charles I refused to recognize the legality
of the Court. He thought that only God can judge him and yet he was executed in London.
Soon after that he became a martyr, and Cromwell victory led to the Comonwealth Republic, a
distopic regime.

III – Commonwealth

a)The Republic (1650 – 1660 )

Common weal = common good a concept which suggest a community of interest but collectivly
ruled.

With the arrival of the Republic, England switch to a puritain Republic, but the Church of England
remain official to maintained order.
Parliament represented rich people and restaured a social order. This has the purpose of not falling
into annarchy. Persecution against protestant ended.
The Commonwealth was questionning beacause of the ideals for a new society and the many groups
created. We can take for example the Quakers for a political justice, there condamn war beacause
they was pacifist. Digers was like communist.
Other groups were created, fanatical sect and time of fanatism and radicalism.

b) The Protectorate ( 1653- 1660 )

Cromwell decided to disolve the Parliament in 1653, he nominated a consil and gave him all the
power. He was appointed Lord Protector of the Commonwealth. He maintained a professional and
permanent army.
Cromwell decided to puritanise every day life of people. Statues and Chruch was destroyed, theater
was closed as taverns. No distractions, no game on Sunday was allowed, Chrismas was forbiden, a
National Security Systeme was created. Some District was put under the control of the army to
maintained moral order. Thoose decision was badly percived by the population.
Cromwell died in 1658 and his son Richard success him. He wasn't like his father and he abdicated.
The Parliament decide to put again the monarchy, and to put on the throne the son of Charles I,
exiled in France. The Charles II was the restauration period.

c) The submission of Ireland and Scotland

Ireland and Scotland were involved in the Civil War. In Ireland there were a rebelion of Catholics
and Royalist against Cromwell, but the Irish were crushed by his troups.

1641 = Massacre of Drgheda in every Irish mind

In Scotland, troups fought against Charles I, but Scotish Lords supported Charles II after his return.
Cromwell invade Scotland and land were taken from they owner. Scotish were like slaves in USA,
and it was the same thing with the Irish.
Cromwell atrocity left a lot of marks and no rebell against England.

IV- The Restauration ( 1660 – 1685 )

a) Charles II and the Restauration spirit

Cromwell reuled had become an ppresice regime. In 1660, when Charles was in the thrones he was
much younger and he was welcomed by the people.
With this new King, it's the return of fashion, pleasure and theater reopen with women. The King
and his followers had a desolute way of life, he had many mistress. It was the time of comedy of
maners present among the life of the elite, gender relation and sexual liberation.
Charles II was a divine right monarch even if Civil War shown that a King could be removed from
his title. He had to deal with the Parliament, and Puritain morality was ban from the Court. His
reign was marked by the tension with the Parliament which was mainly anglicain and he restor this
Chruch for the religious uniformity.
The King was against the Parliament, and he was tolerationist. He tolerated everyone and was close
to France, which was the seen as a threat because of Louis XIV, the most powerful King in Europe.

Charles II declare war to Holland, his brother convert to Catholisism. He had no heir, and to avoid a
Catholic King, he tried to exclude him from the throne.

1679 = Exclusion Bill

Charles II disolve the Parliament and leave London for Oxford because it was a royalist city during
Civil War and he bring back fear of it.
1685 = Charles II died, and his brother James was in the throne as a Catholic King

b) The Great Fire of 1666

This great fire brought change and London was at first a city and it became a capital. The city
developped after this event.
The fire started in a backery and it spread quickly because house was made of wood, it burned 80
pircent of the city. It took for days to stop it and the city needed to by rebuilt, but they couldn't
because of the tile and the money. No bank existed at this time, and they decided to create the bank
of England. New building rase with bridge and sewer and the rebuilt of the St Paul Cathedral by
Christopher Wren in 1673. It was important for the design of the capital and it became one of the
most admirable monument.

c) Royal Soiety

This is the time of Enlightment, the birth of science and rationalism. This is also the developpement
of new intellectual thought as the Empirism, which is questionning a lot of things, and the practical
of science. Many discoveries are made:

– Robert Hook = notion of cell

Charles II played a major role in this scientific revolution because he supported the causes and he
gave money. He created the Royal Society because scientific institution was old and it was a forum
for scientific ideas. He created the Greenwich observatory.
What he did to the old institution also applied on other subject like economy.

V- James II and the Glorious revolution ( 1685 – 1689 )

James II was a Catholic King and it was a source of controvercy, he wanted to obtain Civil Right
and toleration for Catholics, Puritains … . Religion was a very important political point at this time
and event his weddings were about it.
His first mariage was with an Italian Princess who give birth two to protestant English Princess,
Mary and Anne. Then he wed with a Catholic which give birth to a boy, and this created a fear of a
Catholic Dynasty.
Some people turned to Mary and her husband the Duc William of Holland. She ask his help for
protestatism. He and his army landed in England in 1688, and James II didn't expected this. Many
of his officers went to see William. James fled to France, with his wife and his son, because he was
the cousin of Louis XIV.
Even with Constitutional probleme and the doubts about his son to be the heir of throne, he did not
abdicated. The crown was vacant.

1689 = James was a tyran because of Catholic choices he makes and the fact that he abandon his
country.

After they took England, Mary II and Wiliam III became ruler from 1689 to 1701. As James II
daugther, Mary was legitimate to be on the throne.

1689 = Toleration Act declare freedom of worship for protestant non conformist
1701 = Act of settlement about succession and protection of Anne and the protestant dynasty

1745 = James II great grand son fight for his throne and the restauration of the Stuart dynasty but it
was not succesful

The Glorious Revolution is the name given to all this events, were the Parliament had a powerful
role. It also mark the end of the Divine Right and Absolutism.
Mary Stuart was the last Queen of her dynasty ( 1701 – 1714 ). A political union was achieve in
1707, it's the creation of Great Britain.

The Civil War, the Glorious Revolution and the Bill of Right mark British history and are key
moments of this one.