The English Revolutions (1642-88)

While the French kings Louis XIII and Louis XIV were busily strengthening their positions versus their nobles, the English kings entertained similar aspirations.  Kings James I and Charles I from Scotland, who succeeded the virgin Queen Elizabeth I of England, both tried to augment their power in the face of the English barons (nobles).  But unlike in France, the different historical circumstances in England led to a quick response from the nobles collectively against the king, leading to two revolutions, one in 1642, one in 1688, and a commonwealth in between (1649-1660).  After 1688, no English kings were able to entertain the fantasy of absolute kingship.  The English system of constitutional monarchy, developed and consolidated in 1689, became an alternative to republicanism as a model of democracy for Europe.

1. The emergence of the English parliament (1295), and the "collective bargaining" between the English parliament and king.

The English king, unlike the usual European king, remained strong in medieval Europe. Consequently the nobles usually had little vested interests in local regions. Thus they were more interested in direct confrontation with the king rather than local rule.

2. King James I and Charles I

James I of England (r.1604-25) : the conflict between Presbyterianism and Catholicism.
  • Mother: Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotland; father a Scottish noble.
  • James I, raised a Presbyterian, being a king in a country of Anglicanism, however, wanted to claim the "divine rights" of kings.

Rivalry between England and France over the Spanish Netherlands led to attempts to ease the tension of the two countries, hence, the marriage alliance between England and France, which led to strong negative reactions of the English parliament.

Charles I (r.1625-49) and parliament

  • Married the sister of king Louis XIII of France, allowed the practice of Catholic rituals.
  • What parliament feared: this would allow the king to ally with the Catholic monarchs of France and Spain and with the financial and military backing of the two, could easily crush parliamentary opposition.
  • What Charles thought: this would indulge his Catholic tendencies, win French support, and ease conflicts with France over the Spanish Netherlands.

Charles's policies toward Scotland and the consequent war forced Charles I to sit down and convene parliament for money, where the real confrontation began.

  • Charles tried to convert the Presbyterian church in Scotland to the Anglican church. That way Charles would be head of the church in Scotland as well as acquiring large amounts of land. 

  • Expenses in warfare against the Spanish, French, and especially the Scottish forced Charles I to petition for money from the parliament. So in 1640, after ignoring parliament for 11 years, Charles finally convened parliament.

  • Parliament agreed to grant Charles the money only on certain conditions, including regular convention of parliament and no further encouragement of Catholicism in England.

  • The biggest clash between parliament and Charles I was that between parliament's notion of shared rule and Charles I's notion of "divine right of kings."

The extent of the conflict between Charles I and parliament could be seen also from the attempt on the part of many MPs to abolish Anglicanism and adopt Presbyterianism.  Anglicanism, with its emphasis on hierarchy and with the king as the head of the church, contrasted with Presbyterianism that had a much flatter structure with the rule of the "elders". Presbyterianism would not allow the king as much power as under Anglicanism, much less than under Catholicism.  Under such sharp confrontations, the English Civil War, between the king and his supporters on the one side, and the Presbyterian/Puritan MPs and their supporters on the other side, began.

3. The English Revolution (1642-1660): timeline

  • 1629-40, Charles I ruled without parliament, and raised taxes on his own. 
  • 1640, Charles I reconvened parliament because of shortage of money to quell the Scottish uprising. Parliament tried to limit his power, so the two moved in two directions, preparing army on both sides. 
  • 1642, civil war broke out. Radical members of the parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell, formed the New Model Army. 
  • Charles was captured in 1646.  
  • The Puritans and the Presbyterians then fought over which should be England's dominant religion.  Cromwell, the leader against the king, "purified" the Presbyterians from his ranks.  The king escaped in the confusion.
  • The king was recaptured, tried, and executed(1648-49). 
  • England became a commonwealth under Cromwell (1649-60).

4. The English Civil War, Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) and his New Model Army

Oliver Cromwell:

  • Born of a gentry, Protestant family.
  • Graduate from Cambridge University.
  • Member of Parliament.

The New Model Army: Secret of Cromwell's success:

There was no use of mercenary soldiers. "the austere morality and the fear of God pervaded all ranks. It is acknowledged by the most zealous royalists that, in that singular camp, no oath was heard, no drunkenness or gambling was seen, and that, during the long dominion of the soldiery, the property of the peaceable citizen and the honor of woman were held sacred."

4. Trial and execution of Charles I (1649)

  • Trial and execution of the king as a king, not an ordinary human being.
  • Capturing, trying, and executing the king was historically unprecedented. 
  • Protestant belief in direct communication with God and challenge to divine right of kings.
 

5. The Restoration (1660) and James II
After the execution of Charles I, Cromwell declared England into a commonwealth, but it did not survive Cromwell's death for long.  Internal dissension led the former revolutionaries to restore Charles, the son of Charles I, to the English crown in 1660.  The restoration of 1660 certainly was a setback, but new restrictions on the king, such as the Triennual Act: making king summon parliament every three years.

While Charles II was careful not to repeat his father's fate, his brother, James II (1685-88), much less cautious than his brother, expanded the rights of Catholics through allowing Catholics to work in English government offices.

6. The Glorious Revolution (1688)
James II had a son with his Catholic wife in 1688.  Sensing the possibility of having a Catholic king, the English parliament took action, inviting James's daughter Mary from his earlier marriage with a Protestant wife, and her husband William of Orange, a Protestant prince of the Netherlands, to invade their father James.  James went on exile, and the Glorious Revolution, ending with a Bill of Rights asserting the rights of parliament, set the foundation of a constitutional monarchy in England.