The Stuarts

On Elisabeth’s death the throne passed into the hands of the Stuarts.

James VI of Scotland was crowned as James I of England.

Scotland and England were peacefully united under the same king.

He was: serious and learned and practised the theory of absolute monarchy since he believed he was king by divine right. As a result he summoned only three times the Parliament in order to raise money. His behaviour aroused great hostility from the Parliament.

The Gunpowder plot

Great hostility came also from the Catholics.

They organized a plot in order to blow up the House of Parliament on 5^th November 1605.

They were discovered before the plan could be carried out.

Charles I

James I died in 1625 and the throne passed to Charles I his son.

He shared his father’s beliefs and so he lead the country as an absolute monarch causing great hostility from Parliament.

Religious Differences and the Puritans

During the reign of Charles I, the country was affected by religious differences:

1. Catholics were feared because of their tendency to intrigue;

2. Anglicans lead the Church of England

3. Puritans’ political importance increased since they were elected to Parliament by the emerging wealthy class.

Petition of Rights

In 1625 Charles imposed taxation without parliamentary consent. This made him very unpopular.

In 1628 presented the famous Petition of Right in which the two most important points said that no taxes should be levied without parliamentary consent and that nobody should be imprisoned except on a formal and justifiable charge.

The king rejected the Petition since he believed that his power should not be restraint.

Long Parliament

In 1640 the king had to call the Parliament in order to raise money he needed for his campaign against the Scots.

The Commons, organized by Puritans’ leaders, refuse to grant the king’s request and when it became apparent that they meant to limit the Royal power The House of Lords sided with the king. In 1642 a Parliamentary army was created and Civil War broke out.

The Civil War

During the war, The Catholics, the gentry and the aristocracy sided with the Royalists while the emerging wealthy middle class sided with the Parliament.

The Parliamentary army was lead by the Puritan leader Oliver Cromwell who broke the Royalists’ resistance at Naseby in 1645.

Charles I was executed in January 1649. After the Civil War, the monarchy, the House of Lords and the Anglican Church was abolished. The Royal family went to exile to the court of Luis XIV in Paris.

Cromwell and Commonwealth

A republic was instituted in London under the name of Commonwealth. Cromwell became its Lord Protector because of his great military skills and remarkable personality. On his death, in 1658 nobody seemed to be willing to succeed him as a consequence the Republic collapsed.

The Restoration

The monarchy was restored in 1660. Charles II was called back from France after he had promised to pardon all the rebels except for the regicides and to re-establish the Anglican Church as the Church of England.

Charles II

Charles II had a fine mind and he successfully manipulated domestic and foreign policies to his advantage. During the Restoration the two forces which had fought against each other in the Civil War organised themselves into two opposite groups in Parliament:

1. The Tories who preserved the alliance between the Crown and nobility
2. The Whigs who represented the emerging wealthy middle class.

These two groups were to become the future Liberal and Conservative parties

London during the Restoration

During the reign of Charles II London counted 300.000 inhabitants. In 1665 and 1666 two catastrophes hit the city: the plague and a fire. The plague hit mainly the poor people and after it a fire destroyed most of the oldest section of London such as the slums who were soon rebuilt in stone and brick.

Colonization and Commerce

Throughout the 17^th century English colonization and commerce expanded in India and in the New World. London companies thrived on trade with America and West Indies and in the far east India and China. They brought great profits to a new class of merchants whose political power grew, together with their wealth.

James II

When Charles II died in 1685 and the throne passed to his brother James II. He was Catholic and his main aim was to impose his religion on the country which was mainly Protestant. The result was the Revolution of 1688 which ended with the deposition of the king without shedding any blood and it was called therefore “Bloodless Revolution”.