The English Revolution

Warm Up:
What is a revolution and why do
people rebel?

Parliament Limits the English

Monarchy
Queen

Elizabeth had frequent

conflicts with Parliament
The biggest obstacle to her becoming an

absolute ruler was Parliaments financial

power
When

Elizabeth died, the throne was

passed to her cousin, James Stuart,
who was already king of Scotland
(these two countries were not united
until 1707)

Charles I
When

James died, King Charles I came to

power
In 1628, Parliament refused to give Charles I
money until he signed the Petition of Right
The petition set forth the notion that the law was

higher than the King ( he signed this but did not

follow it)
In

January 1642, Charles tried to arrest

Parliaments leaders
Leaders escaped and Charles left the country but

raised an army

English Civil War

Civil

War lasted from 1642-1649

Charles supporters were called
Royalist or Cavaliers vs. Puritans or
Roundheads
Puritan supporters were called
Roundheads and their leader was
Oliver Cromwell
In 1649, the Puritans brought Charles
to trial, found him guilty, and
sentenced him to death

Oliver Cromwell
Established

a commonwealth:
republican form of government
He eventually became a dictator
Cromwell sought to reform society
They abolished activities they found

sinful such as the theater, sporting

events, and dancing

Restoration and the Glorious

Revolution
In

1659, Parliament asked the older son of

Charles I to rule England because they were sick
of military rule
Charles II restored the monarchy, the period of
his rule is called the Restoration
Habeas corpus is Latin meaning, to have the
body
Gave every prisoner the right to be brought before a

judge to determine punishment

A monarch could not put someone in jail for simply
opposing the ruler
Prisoners could not be held indefinitely without trial

Glorious Revolution
When

Charles II died, James II came to power

Englands first political parties were the Whigs who
opposed James and the Tories who supported him
James offended his subjects by flaunting his
Catholicism
William and Marys bloodless overthrow of King
James II is called the Glorious Revolution
England was now a constitutional monarchy,
where laws limited the rulers power
Laws limited the rulers power
Parliament drafted a Bill of Rights to make the power of

the King clear