Ch. 15 - English Political Developments in the 1600s Flashcards
Absolutism
DEF: form of gov. where sovereign power/ultimate authority rested in hands of monarch who claimed rule by divine right & was therefore responsible only to god
SIG: authority to make laws, tax, adminster justice,control state’s admind system & foreign policy
Bishop Jacques Bossuet
-cheif theorist of divine-right monarchy, French Theologian & court preacher
-Politics Drawn from the Very Words of the Holy Scripture: book expressed that gov = divinely ordained + Divine Right monarchy, but God holds Kings accountable & limited their power
Divine-right Monarchy
DEF: monarchy based on belief that monarchs receive power directly from God & are responsible to no one except god
SIG: Kings not held accountable by no one (parliament) monarch’s absolute power limited by practical realities
Parlements
DEF: provincial law courts in France
SIG: Louis XIV (French) exercised political & economic control over provincial law courts (the one responsible 4 sending laws to Kings) & Louis severely restricted the right to remonstrance (oppose/protest)
Janissaries
DEF: elite core of eight - thousand troops personally loyal to sultan of Ottoman Empire
SIG: added strength to Ottoman Empire; important component to armed forces & Ottoman Empire
Gentry
DEF: well-to-do English landowners below level of nobility, important role in English Civil War
SIG: powerful members of society, had become puritan, part of house of commons, lower house of parliament & positions locally as sheriffs & justices of the peace; backbone of Elizabethan England
Glorious Revolution
DEF: overthrow of Catholic King James ||, replaced by Protestant daughter Mary & Dutch Husband, William of Orange
SIG: permanently established Parliament as ruling power of England (later UK/Britain’s) shft/transformation from absolute monarchy –> constitutional monarchy
Magna Carta (1215)
-Bring peace between King & rebel barons (nobles)
-limited power of king; granted rights to others
-protection of church & baron rights
-limitations of feudal payments to Crown
-Often cited as precedent for limited gov/monarchs & guaranteeing right for citizens
King James | & Parliament
- Elizabeth | dies, no heir, end of tudor line, throne –> cousin James
-believed in Divine Right
-dissolved Parliament (ruled w/o them for 10 years)
-Economic issues
-Alienated Puritans (they are against King)
Charles |
-supported pro-Catholic faction of Anglican church
-attempted to rule w/o Parliament (consented to Petition of Right but later backed out)
-Needed money & began to increase taxes w/o approval of Parliament (Ship money, angered ppl)
-Long Parliament wanted to make itself equal to Monarch
-Revolts/rebellions (arising in Scotland & Ireland) caused Parliament to be called
-Charles decided to raise an army himself rather than give in to Parliaments demands
-Royalist v. Parliament: disagreements led to civil war
-Executed in 1649 after Civil War
Long Parliament
-(Seated in 1640 & immiedately undo King’s bad works)
-After Parliament is called during Charles |’s rule, place severe limitations on monarch
-passed Triennial Act = Parliament must meet every 3 years w/ or w/o King’s consent
-raised “New Model Army” in 1642 w/own funding & centralized rule
Causes of English Civil War
-Divine Right of Kings: just as god had granted spiritual authority to Church, simultaneously granted political authority to King
-Thirty Years War: Debt was accrued from England’s participation (Charles | spent money that wasn’t authorized by french)
-Anglican Church: Henry V||| established Protestant Anglican Church of England, in defiance of church; James | uninterested in Puritan demands; Charles married a Catholic!
English Civil War 1642 - 1646
-Charles | was tried & executed for tyranny in 1644 (took advantage of political split)
-Same in Scotland & Ireland, still supported son, Charles ||
-Oliver Cromwell took command of New Model Army & fought tirelessly against Royalist Army & ultimately successful
Oliver Cromwell
-After Civil War –> meant to be protectorate republic where legislative was entrusted authority to remaining member of Parliament, while executive authority entrusted to council BUT
- Oliver Became leader
-Commonwealth –> protectorate –> dictatorship
-Very oppressive measures to secure power
-Strict Puritan –> extreme persecution of Catholics in Ireland
Return of Monarchy/Stuarts
-Charles || (1660-1685): Cromwell’s death left a power vacuum
-After insurrection, Parliament asked Charles to rule w/them, he agreed
-When he passed the Declaration of Indulgence (pro-catholic), Parliament passed Test Act (excludes Catholics & dissenters from office)
-Political Parties develop: Whigs = Parliament, business class & Protestant, Tories = King, Church, land
