8. Constitutionalism: Dutch Republic and England Flashcards
2 government types in European nations
- Constitutionalism - England, Dutch republic
2. Absolutism - France, Spain, Eastern Europe
Political situation in the Dutch Republic-
how many provinces?
power?
- each 7 provinces independent
- no absolute power ruler
- power passed into hands of wealthy merchants
Religious situation in Dutch Republic?
Resulted in?
- Calvinism dominant, but tolerated all religions
- helped created cosmopolitan society promoting commerce
Leading financial center of Europe in 17th century
Dutch Republic’s Amsterdam
What replaced Italians as the bankers of Europe?
Amsterdam Exchange Bank
Dutch East Indies Company
displaced Portuguese in control of spice trade in East Indies
Dutch golden age of artistic achievement
years?
major artists?
- 1600s
- Frans Hals, Rembrandt, Vermeer
Characteristics of Dutch art
Unlike Baroque, focused on nation’s prosperous merchants
Why did Dutch Republic decline
Costly wars with England and France
Gentry
in England, the wealthy landowners who dominated House of Commons
What was unusual about English gentry?
its consequences?
- were willing to pay taxes
- tax burden less excessive on the peasantry,
- demanded a role in determining national expenditures, creating conflict with Stuart kings
by end of 17th century, largest religion in England?
Calvinists (Puritans), demanded changes in Anglican church
issue between king vs. parliament in England
- Stuart kings wanted to be free of parliament and believed they had divine rights
- House of Commons demanded stronger voice in political affairs
Church issues in English Anglican Church
Stuart kings vs. people (puritans)
Episcopal form vs. Presbyterian form of organization
Episcopal form vs. Presbyterian form
Episcopal - only king and bishops determine doctrines of church
Presbyterian - allowed church members greater voice in running the church
English rulers/power shift from 1603 - 1688
James I (1603-1625) –> Charles I (1625-1649) –> civil war –> Interregnum under Oliver Cromwell (1649-1658) –> Restoration under Charles II (1660-1685) –> James II (1685-1688)
James I
beliefs?
work published?
- royal authority came directly from God
- “The True Law of Free Monarchies”
James I vs. parliament
James didn’t listen to the Puritans of the Parliament who wanted to rid the Church of England of the bishops (“popish remnants”)
James I: “No bishops, no king”
Petition of Right year? who? why?
- 1628
- Charles I
- In return for grants of money from parliament, he signed it that gave more right to the people and parliament
What happened when William Laud attempted to impose the English Prayer Book on the Scottish Presbyterian Church?
Scots formed an army and occupied northern England determined to defend their religion.
English Civil War
years?
fought between?
- 1642 ~ 1649
- Cavaliers vs. Roundheads
Cavaliers
aristocrats, nobles, church officials who remained royal to king. favored monarchy and Anglican Church
Roundheads
Puritans, middleclass businessmen favoring Parliament and Presbyterian church
Who led the Roundheads to defeat Cavaliers?
what did he do? (2 things)
Oliver Cromwell
- organized New Model Army
- executed Charles I
government system under Oliver Cromwell?
What did it do?
The Commonwealth
- abolished monarchy and the House of Lords. Thus, one-house Parliament had political power
In 1653, what did Cromwell do?
took the title Lord Protector, establishing a one man rule supported by the army
Cromwell’s foreign policy against the Dutch
- Navigation Act of 1651: designed to give greater control over American colonies
- series of wars that weakened Dutch
What kind of society did Cromwell and puritans attempt to create?
strict moral code that censored the press, prohibited sports, and closed theaters
What two radical groups did Cromwell oppose?
describe them
- Levellers: advocated universal manhood suffrage + written constitution for equal rights to all
- Quakers: reject religious hierarchies and allow women to preach
What happened when Cromwell died in 1658
His son Richard did not command the same respect, so Parliament invited Prince Charles Stuart, the eldest son of Charles I to return from exile
what occurred during Charles II’s reign?
Restoration
What did the Parliament divide into?
Why?
- Tories and Whigs
- b/c of debate over James II
Significance of Whigs and Tories
world’s first political parties
What did James II do
determined to return England to Catholicism
What came after Restoration and James II?
Glorious Revolution
What power shift happened in the Glorious Revolution?
overthrow of James II in favor of William of Orange and Mary(daughter of James II)
Glorious Revolution = (document)
Bill of Rights 1689, placed clear limits to the power of English monarchy
Glorious Revolution shaped England’s government into:
constitutional monarchy controlled by an aristocratic oligarchy
Thomas Hobbes wrote?
influenced by?
major beliefs?
- “Leviathan”
- horrors of English Civil War
- human beings innately brutish and need absolute political authority to be controlled
John Locke published?
major beliefs?
- “Second Treatise of Government”
- unlike hobbes, humans are creatures of reason and goodwill, tabula rasa
Locke’s major theory
“natural rights”
Hobbes vs Locke on the subject of government types
- Hobbes: strong government, absolute and unlimited
- Locke: Limited government to safeguard people’s natural rights. If rulers betray this trust, the governed have the right to replace them
