17th Century England

James I

King James VI of Scotland became James I of England in 1603, thus stating a new dynasty called the Stuarts. Though he was willing to work with parliament he believed in the divine right of kings and that ultimate authority rested with him. He initiated the end of the long war with Spain in 1604.

James I died in 1625 at the age of 58.

Charles I

Like his father, Charles I also firmly believed in the divine right of kings.

1625 – Charles I dissolved parliament after they refused to raise additional taxes to fund the failed Spanish war. He forced people to pay taxes and imprisoned anyone who refused.

1628 – Charles was forced to call Parliament after a series of failed wars left him desperately in need of money. The Petition of Rights was drawn up, which banned the levying of taxes without the consent of parliament and also banned arbitrary imprisonment.

1637 – Charles proposed religious changes in Scotland, a move that sparked off riots in Edinburgh. Charles waged two successive wars against the Scots, failing miserably both times.

1640 – The Scots attacked England and captured Newcastle. Charles was forced to sign a peace treaty and hand over Northumberland and Durham to the Scots.

1641 – The Scots withdrew from northern England after Charles abandoned all attempts to impose religious changes in Scotland.

1640 – Desperate for money, Charles had no option but to call parliament. Parliament passed a series of Acts, which stated that henceforth parliament could not be dissolved without its consent and that parliament must necessarily be called every 3 years.

1641 - Pym, who led the opposition against the king, demanded that the king hand over control of the militia to the parliament, a move that was not welcomed for fear that Pym may well supplant the arbitrary royal government with something far worse. England is dangerously divided between those who were pro and anti bishops and the Church of England.

January 1642 – Fearing for his safety Charles fled London following the uproar that ensued after he entered the Commons, which was typically out of bounds to kings, and attempted to arrest five MPs for treason.

March 1642 – Parliament declared that its ordinances would be deemed valid laws and that royal assent was completely unnecessary.

The English Civil War

With the parliament raising its own army in London and the king raising his in Nottingham, civil war looked imminent.

Three of the main advantages that parliament had, included:

Control over London, which gave them access to the custom dues from the port.

Support of the navy, which made it difficult for the king to get assistance from abroad.

Support of most of the East and Southeast of England, which were the most densely populated and also the richest parts of the country.

The first major battle of the civil war took place in October 1642 at Edgehill near Banbury. Persuaded by the parliamentarians, a Scottish army entered England in January 1644. Thereafter the parliamentarians went from strength to strength and the king was finally forced to surrender to the Scots in May 1646.

The Second English Civil War

In December 1647 Charles made a secret pact with the Scots, who then invaded England on his behalf. They were crushed and in January 1649 Charles was put on trial and found guilty of treason. He was beheaded on 30th January 1649.

On 17th March 1649 an act is passed by parliament, abolishing the House of Lords and the monarchy itself.

The Interregnum

Following the execution of Charles I the army, led by Oliver Cromwell, effectively held power over England.

Assisted by the Scots, Charles II initiated wars against England in 1650 and 1651. Following the failure of the second war, he fled to France.

Stationed in the Dutch town of Breda, Charles II issued a declaration in April 1660 promising freedom of religion and a general pardon to all except for the regicides who were responsible for the death of his father.

Charles II finally landed at Dover on 25th May 1660 after the Convention Parliament decreed the government of England should be divided into Kind, Lords and Commons.

Charles II

Though not particularly religious, Charles secretly leaned towards Roman Catholicism. However, parliament was determined to re-instate Anglicanism as the state religion and passed a series of acts called the Clarendon code, which in effect were designed to persecute non-conformists.

The Corporation Act of 1661 declared that all officials in towns must necessarily be members of the Church of England.

The Act of Uniformity 1662 declared that all clergy would have to use the Book of Common Prayer.

The Conventicle Act of 1664 forbade unauthorized religious meetings that comprised of more than five people unless they all belonged to the same household.

The Five Mile Act of 1665 forbade ministers who were non-Anglican from coming within five miles of incorporated towns.

Despite these acts, the non-conformists did not stop meeting or preaching.

In 1672 Charles II issued the Royal Declaration of Indulgence, which eliminated all laws against non-conformists.

Declaring that the king had no right to grant exemptions from the law, parliament passed the Test Act in 1673, banning Catholics and non-conformists from holding public office.

Despite religious conflicts during Charles II’s reign, trade and commerce thrived and the English economy boomed. Inherently interested in science, Charles II encouraged it and established the Royal Society of London for the advancement of Natural Knowledge. Isaac Newton was considered the greatest scientist of the 17th century.

The question of succession loomed large during Charles II’s reign. With no legitimate children, his heir apparent was his Catholic brother James. Charles dismissed two successive parliaments after they proposed to exclude James from the succession and he ruled without a parliament during the last four years of his reign. Charles died in 1685 at the age of 54 and his brother James became king.

The Glorious Revolution

James II promptly appointed Catholics to powerful positions earning the ire of the people and alienating himself. He added fuel to fire by issuing a Declaration of Indulgence in 1687 suspending all laws against Catholics and Protestant non-Anglicans.

Fearing that they’d have to tolerate another Catholic ruler after James’s son was born in 1688, a few nobles got together and invited Dutchman William of Orange, husband of James’s Protestant daughter Mary to bring in their army to overthrow James. William landed in Devon in November and within a month James II fled to France. Parliament responded by declaring the throne vacant and Mary and William were declared joint monarchs.

The Bill of Rights passed in 1689 forbade any Catholic from becoming King or queen. Furthermore no king could marry a Catholic or levy taxes or loans or suspend laws without the consent of parliament.

The Toleration Act of 1689 allowed non-conformists to have their own places of worship and their own preachers and teachers but they were forbidden from attending university or holding government positions.