Dr Tomasz Skirecki, IFA, UAM
History of Britain and the USA  1 BA, 2011-12
LECTURE ELEVEN
Stuarts Part II
Charles I (1625-1649)
Unreliable and unwise, holding his father's divine rights. His constant conflict with
parliament leads to a civil war and a miserable end of his rule.
Imposing financial difficulties force the king to accept THE PETITION OF RIGHT (1628)
 a document limiting the royal power, stating that the king should rule by law and that
taxation should be approved by Parliament. Charles I accepts the Petition partially. Due to
further conflicts the Parliament is dissolved.
1629-1640 personal rule of Charles I - eleven years' tyranny
1639-40 - the Bishops' wars with Scotland makes Charles I summon Parliament.
LONG PARLIAMENT, 1641 - not legally dissolved for twenty years. Split into two parties:
1. the king's or court party - the Cavaliers
2. country party - the Roundheads
The parliament passes a bill that it should not be dissolved without its own consent.
GRAND REMONSTRANCE, 1641  list of grievances and a manifesto listing the reforms
of the Long Parliament. 1642 - Charles refuses to agree to Grand Remonstrance, tries to arrest
five MPs unsuccessfully, and flees London.(Today's consequences: the monarch is banned
from entering the House of Commons)
ENGLISH CIVIL WAR 1642-1649 (THE PURITAN REVOLUTION,
ENGLISH REVOLUTION) being a part of WARS OF THE THREE
KINGDOMS (1641-1650)
Royalists  Cavaliers Parliamentarians - Roundheads
OXFORD  north and west of England LONDON  south east, commercial towns
Nobles Traders and merchants
Church of England Yeoman farmers
Anglo-Irish Puritans
Navy
Scottish Covenanters
King Charles, Prince Rupert Thomas Fairfax, Oliver Cromwell
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Dr Tomasz Skirecki, IFA, UAM
History of Britain and the USA  1 BA, 2011-12
LECTURE ELEVEN
Stuarts Part II
Developments:
until 1643 a series of battles but both sides are fairly matched.
1644 Battle of Marston Moor - huge Parliament victory thanks to Oliver Cromwell's
Ironsides - excellent, disciplined, and fanatically religious cavalry giving later rise to:
THE NEW MODEL ARMY:
" model for future British army
" red coats used in later centuries
" fully professional, dependent on Parliament, receiving regular pay
1645 - battle of Naseby  turning point and utter defeat of Charles I, who surrenders to the
Scots
The Parliament, now dominated by Puritans, split into: Presbyterians - willing to negotiate
with the King and introduce Presbyterianism in England and Independents - willing to
abolish the monarchy.
After intriguing the Scots Charles I escapes from London. Scottish army (the Engagers)
invades in support of Charles I and meets Cromwell's forces at the Battle of Preston (1648) -
king is defeated and given away to Cromwell.
Colonel Pride's Purge - Presbyterian MPs arrested and the remaining independent RUMP
Parliament vote for the trial of the king.
Charles I is beheaded in 1649 - abolishment of the monarchy, House of Lords, Anglican
Church.
THE COMMONWEALTH, 1649-1653
- run by the House of Commons (the Rump consisting of the Independents)
- Oliver Cromwell in charge of the army - in fact rules the country
- development of strong English navy
Problems:
1. The Irish proclaim Charles II the king - Cromwell reacts 1649-50 massacring Ireland:
Wexford, Drogheda
2. Charles II is then crowned in Scotland - the Scottish army is defeated by Cromwell at the
battle of Dunbar and then at Worcester (1651) and the king escapes to France.
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Dr Tomasz Skirecki, IFA, UAM
History of Britain and the USA  1 BA, 2011-12
LECTURE ELEVEN
Stuarts Part II
THE PROTECTORATE, 1653-1660
- Cromwell dissolves the Rump
- Practical dictatorial rule of Cromwell - people are forbidden to celebrate Christmas and
Easter and play games on Sundays
- Cromwell rejects the offer of the crown, remains Lord Protector
- the country divided into eleven military districts
- Protectorate regarded with contempt in Europe - often put forward as a scary example for
European monarchies
- successful wars against Holland and Spain
Cromwell dies in 1658 and is replaced by his son Richard. Anarchy rules and as a result:
1. Long Parliament is recalled by General Monck
2. 1660 - Declaration of Breda is received from Charles II in exile:
- Restoration of the Stuarts - Charles II returns from Holland
- annulment of all Cromwell's laws
- general amnesty with exceptions made by Parliament to those who killed
Charles I
- the army gets disbanded
- lands restored to the Crown, the Church, and the Cavaliers
OVERSEAS EXPANSION
" East India Company expands in India, becoming an authority itself -
foundation of Surat, Bombay, Madras, Calcutta
" Jamestown, Virginia 1607
" 1609 settlement of Bermuda
" the Mayflower 1620 and development of American colonies.
" 1627 - the English settle Barbados - WEST INDIES become sugar-cane
plantations - slaves are brought in large numbers to the English colonies.
" Navigation Acts - directed against Dutch mercantilism
1. 1650 - foreign ships forbidden to trade in England's colonies
2. 1651 - colonial goods carried in English or colonial ships
" 1655 - capture of Jamaica - the island becomes a center for buccaneers.
The Stuarts after Restoration (1660- 1714)
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Dr Tomasz Skirecki, IFA, UAM
History of Britain and the USA  1 BA, 2011-12
LECTURE ELEVEN
Stuarts Part II
The Stuart line is continued by two sons of Charles I
Charles II - slightly biased towards Catholicism
James II - very Catholic
Reign of Charles II (1660-1685) Merry Monarch
1665 - Great Plague - 15% of London's population dies
1666 - Great Fire of London - 2/3 of the city is destroyed together with the plague.
Christopher Wren - rebuilding London - St. Paul's Cathedral
Samuel Pepys - the most famous English diarist of the time
THE HABEAS CORPUS ACT, 1679
" A crucial document of English liberties - preventing illegal and indefinite
imprisonment.
" Secured the right of every freeman accused of crime to have his guilt or
innocence declared without delay.
" Commitment and trial
" No imprisonment out of England
Charles II has no legitimate heir - 1679 - parliamentary discussion on the Exclusion Bill - to
exclude James from the throne because he was Roman Catholic.
Parliament, due to the discussion, becomes divided into:
1. the WHIGS
- parliamentary supremacy
- toleration to various Protestant groups
- 'no popery' attitude - severely anti-Catholic, fearing a Catholic king
2. The TORIES
- support of royal prerogative
- support of the established Anglican Church
- non-resistance - the divine rights of the king
1683 - Charles declares himself Catholic and dies two years later.
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Dr Tomasz Skirecki, IFA, UAM
History of Britain and the USA  1 BA, 2011-12
LECTURE ELEVEN
Stuarts Part II
Foreign policy
1665-67- Second Dutch War - the British seize New Amsterdam - changing it to New York.
The Dutch destroy English ships at Chatham, on the Thames
Reign of James II (1685-1689)
Two Protestant daughters: Mary and Anne
One Catholic son: James Edward (b. 1688)
Developments
" strengthening the power of the King
" gradual restoration of the Catholic Church  appointing Catholics to offices
" introduction of Catholic Mass into Presbyterian Church in Scotland
" Declaration of Indulgence 1687 - repeal of all penal laws  in fact promotion of Catholic
Church
" James Edward born in 1688  prospect of Catholic succession
English nobles and clergy sent a letter to Protestant Stadholder of the Netherlands, William
Orange-Nassau, son-in-law of the king, and invite him to defend Protestantism in England.
GLORIOUS REVOLUTION, 1688-89
William of Orange and James's daughter Mary land at Torbay and march unopposed to
London. James II flees to France. They are declared King and Queen
Reign of William III and Mary (1689-1702)
THE BILL OF RIGHTS, 1689
limitation of King's power and establishment of today's monarch's representative role in
British politics
The end of absolute monarchy and the beginning of constitutional monarchy based on the
consent of people
JACOBITES
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Dr Tomasz Skirecki, IFA, UAM
History of Britain and the USA  1 BA, 2011-12
LECTURE ELEVEN
Stuarts Part II
Louis XIV recognizes James II as the King of England and Scotland
IRELAND
Irish Catholics oppose the Protestant William and rise in favor of the exiled James II:
James and French army land in Ireland:
1. 1689 - the siege of Derry
2. 1690 - the Battle of the Boyne
3. Treaty of Limerick 1691 - William becomes king of Ireland but the Catholics are
allowed to exercise their religion  leads in the 18th century to penal laws and Protestant
Ascendancy in Ireland
1701 - James II dies in France. Louis XIV declares James Edward Stuar, the Old
Pretender, the right successor to the English throne - Jacobite uprisings would follow in
1715 and 1745.
ACT OF SETTLEMENT (1701)
Parliament's decision about throne succession  to prevent Stuarts returning to the throne of
England
After William dies the crown should go to Anne, the Protestant daughter of James II, and
after her death (if there are no successors) to the Protestant House of Hanover
Today, the act defines the succession to the British throne. The monarch:
a. cannot be or marry a Roman Catholic
b. must be in communion with the Church of England
c. must promise to uphold the Church of England and the Kirk and the Protestant
succession
William of Orange dies in 1702.
Reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714)
The reign dominated by John Churchill, Duke of Marlborough - ancestor of Winston
Churchill. Military commander, statesman and national hero.
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Dr Tomasz Skirecki, IFA, UAM
History of Britain and the USA  1 BA, 2011-12
LECTURE ELEVEN
Stuarts Part II
War of the Spanish Succession (1701-1713) involves England with the rest of Europe.
The English army under Marlborough wins a series of battles, including the Battle of
Blenheim in Bavaria (1704).
The war ends with the Treaty of Utrecht, 1713:
- Gibraltar, Minorca, Nova Scotia, and Newfoundland become British
- France stops aid to the Old Pretender and recognizes the Hanoverians
- Britain becomes European power
1707 ACT OF UNION
England and Scotland form Great Britain
SINGLE:
- Parliament (Westminster) and monarch.
- coinage and customs
- weights and measures
- peerage
- navy and army
SEPARATE:
- legal systems
- established churches (Kirk, Church of England)
- educational systems
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