The English Civil War Flashcards
Queen Elizabeth
She settled both sides of the religious argument going on because she was brilliant!
England during her reign was homogeneous and many said she was the BOMB DIGGITY! She was the best solution at this dangerous time.
She established change on 3 platforms:
- Socially
- Development of gun powder – nobility decreasing – people questioned old feudal classes and people depended on crown for influence
- House of lords declined because legislation was influenced in house of commons
- HOC and crown worked together and crown and parliament became essence of English sovereignty
- Commons had to grant taxes, everything was done through HOC
- Nobility was declining (stupidity because of land holding the lead in England)
- Queen created very few nobles snce she didn’t want very many people around her who could challenge her power –> Fewer than 60 titles in the kingdom by the time she died
- Elizabeth was crafty with how she used people
Middle Class
Comprised of 2 components:
- Wealthy and educated urban elite merchants
- Landowners who were not noble (gentry)
Country Gentry
- 20,000 families
- This group made a fortune from distribution of monastic lands
- They had capital to buy land after it was being sold by the crown
- Able to offer short rents and costs and prices and monitor change in currency and economy (as a result of 16th century revolution)
The gentry could increase wealth and influence by investing in commercial markets England was beginning to develop! - Gained a great deal of status - could keep sons in trade and power could spread
- Returned to the house of commons - they were the ones who left their power base in the country
- Gentry believed that they were the ones who represented England best
Urban Elite
- Mercantile and commercial empire
- Markets began to grow
- Venture capital began to accumulate in the North
- Huge amounts of profit - used to expand trade and give out loans
- Dramatic experiments
What did they want?
Middle classes in England wanted a complete break from Rome
- Wanted what they had seen - simple religion in which all believers would feel satisfied
BUT THE QUEEN was not having any of that and wanted everyone in England to follow her Anglican faith
- Left wing of reformation slipped over into England
- Reformation that was Calvinist in nature
- They were called “Puritans”
- Theologically they were Calvinists
- They wanted reform of English confessional belief and for Elizabeth to go father than she intended on going
- These 2 religions now faced off in an arena called Parliament
- They were doing “godly things”
- Dangerous political group
- As long as Elizabeth was alive, she could contain these forces - She was almost a divine figure !
… Then she died.
Charles I (1669 - 1685)
He was cool dude, great father… BUT EVERYTHING ELSE WAS GARBAGE!
- He was stubborn, headstrong, confused sensibility, he lied with belief that he was the King, soured the reign by being STUPID AF and he was also in debt!
So he asked the Parliament for help and they agreed… but only if the King listened to the fact that Parliament needed to outline the fundamental needs of England (they were waiting for this moment)
–> PETITION OF RIGHT
Do you know what the law is? If you are going to be charged of a crime you have to know what it is.
Anglican’s vs. Presbyterians vs. Puritans (1683)
The Anglican prayer book of the Presbyterian Scots
- Scots became furious and raised war on their own king
- King couldn’t fight them
- Needed subsidy so that he could fight them
Group of Calvinists who were essentially Presbyterians themselves
- Everyone disagreed with what was happening
- Charles was dumb af as usual
- Led to civil war
THEN
- Puritans attacked Anglicanism (there should be no bishops, priests should dress like everyone, ceremony should be simple)
- This attack divided the HOC
- Anglicans believed they could work with the crowd and they could go under the way things were
Oliver Cromwell (1599 - 1658)
He wanted to reform army into model army and in 1655, he made this army and believed that prayers were as powerful as weapons
So, civil war broke out again and after a few wins, Cromwell had decided to kill the King and the King was executed in 1649 to the horror of Europe
This execution resulted in unconstitutional form of government with the arbitrary rule of Oliver Cromwell, military dictatorship (England was ruled by 11 generals and kept order which was BRUTAL)
- All news was banned
- Inn keepers were now spies for the government
- Harsh religious and political order was enforced
- Constitutional rule = crown was offered to Cromwell
BUT Charles the II returned to England as king
Charles II
Under his rule, the church was re-established as an Anglican church
England would never be the same and Charles never wanted that to happened again even though it ALMOST did!
James II
James was almost monarch and was Roman Catholic
He was childless, then in 1688 Mary gave birth to a son!
Then, because James was a drunk (I think?) Mary had married a Protestant Prince – William of Orange and BOOM BOOM BAM he started the Glorious revolution which realigned everything in Europe!
