Focus Question (Left Side)

Imagine you have just been named

as the new king of the United States.
You can do whatever you like, make
whatever laws you want.what
would you do? What would the US
look like under your leadership?

Absolutism and England

In the Middle Ages, the power of the

kings was limited

by nobles, parliaments, and the

Catholic Church

16th and 17th centuries kings began

to increase their power

Wanted control of everything

Absolutism

Divine right of kings

God created the monarchy and that the monarch

was Gods representative on earth
Monarch answered only to God , not the subjects

Could not be removed or rebelled against

Absolutism

All power rested in the monarchs hands

Made decisions without the consent of their
people

Enlightenment

A revolution in intellectual activity

Developed in response to Absolutism

Changed Europeans view of
government and society

Age of Reason = Reason leads to

reform
Freedom and equality for all

Absolutism and England

17th century England is a perfect

example of absolutism and the ideas
of the Enlightenment

Lets look at what happened

English Civil War

1603 English throne controlled by

Stewart dynasty

Scotlands King James VI crowned King

James I of England (1603-1625)

 James

Strong

believer
in divine right
of kings
Lots of conflict
with Parliament
Matters

of law,
money, culture,
and religion

Charles I (1625-1649)
continued practice of
divine right
1628 Charles tried to
collect new taxes without
Parliaments consent

Parliament presented the

king with a Petition of Right

Reaffirmed limited monarchy

established by the Magna
Carta

Between 1629-1640,
Charles

Shuts down Parliament

twice

Rules England without

them

Refuses to address
their grievances

1640 finally agrees

to Parliaments terms

Parliament passes laws

to limit Charles

January 1642 Charles

sends troops to arrest
Parliament leaders

Leaders escaped and

started an army

England split in two

English Civil War had
begun

Oliver Cromwell and the Puritan

Republic

1648 Charles I defeated by

Oliver Cromwell (a Puritan)
Late 1648 Charles I tried for
high treason
January 30, 1649 Charles I
beheaded

Cromwell established a
commonwealth (republican
government)

1653 Cromwell shut down

Parliament

Established a Puritan, military

dictatorship over England

Governed as Lord Protector until his death in

1658

1659 Parliament votes for a

monarchy again

Glorious Revolution

1660 monarchy restored

with Charles II

1685 Younger brother

becomes James II

Reign was not dominated by

conflict

Allowed to practice Roman

Catholicism in private

1688 Kings wife gave

birth to a Catholic son

England didnt want to be

ruled by Catholics again

Parliament wanted a
Protestant ruler

Secretly invited James IIs

eldest daughter and
husband to overthrow him
Asked to rule England
jointly

James II fled England

when William led his army
to London in 1688

Bloodless revolution

William and Mary

accepted in 1689
Price they had to
pay:

Accept and sign an

English Bill of
Rights
England became a
constitutional
monarchy

Laws limit the

rulers power

1690 A Second Treatise of Civil

Government was written by John
Locke

Justified the Glorious Revolution

Demonstrates Enlightenment ideals

James II had failed to protect the natural

rights of the English people

Therefore they had the right to overthrow

him

Interesting fact:

William III and Mary II ruled

England jointly until Marys
death in 1694

Afterward, William ruled alone

until 1702

1701 William was childless,

so Parliament passed the Act
of Settlement

Williams heir was Marys

younger Protestant sister, Anne
Stuart
Anne died without a living heir
Englands throne would pass to
the German Protestant House of
Hanover

George I, George II, and George

III (of American Revolution fame)

Left-side Processing

Create a flow chartthat traces England

from absolutism to constitutional
monarchy. Include a picture for each
part of the flow chart.
OR
Write a haiku (poem) about the Glorious
Revolution and the English Bill of Rights.