The Stuart dynasty Charles I 1625 1649 Charles

The Stuart dynasty Charles I 1625 - 1649

Charles I • Charles I (1625 – 1649) His reign is characterised by continuous clash with Parliament • Divine right of kings to rule subjection of Parliament to the king’s will and opposition to all forms of religious dissent • he soon quarrels with Parliament over financial and political matters so he dissolves Parliament and rules without Parliament for 11 years. • obliged to call a new Parliament because of foreign and domestic difficulties: • he needs to send the army in Scotland to smash a rebellion which has broken out in the area; • imposes new taxes to find the financial resources required to pay the army; • he needs the Parliament’s approval he calls a Parliament in April 1640 but opposition to the king is very strong inside the parliament dominated by Puritans; Puritans want a true balance of power between the king and Parliament. This Parliament is dissolved after only three weeks – Short Parliament

Charles I • In 1641 a new Parliament is called because of the king’s usual financial difficulties. • This Parliament, called “Long Parliament”, lasts for 20 years; • The Long Parliament requests the abolition of illegal taxation and of arbitrary imprisonment. • It also demands that ministers should be responsible to parliament. Such requests are rejected by the king and make civil war inevitable. Royalists or Cavaliers support the king and the Anglican Church I Civil War 1642 - 1645 Parliamentarians or Roundheads

Charles I • The I civil war ends in 1645 with the imprisonment of the king on the Isle of Wight. II Civil War 1648 - 1649 • The King wins the support of the moderates in Parliament and of the Scots • The war ends quickly with the complete victory of the Puritan Army led by Cromwell. • The king is beheaded in 1649. Puritans vs Anglicans The term “Puritan” was the name given to more extreme Protestants within the Church of England. Puritans had a high sense of duty and morality and they did not want to live in a country which they believed was going to fall into moral decline. Also, they thought the English Reformation had not done enough to reform the doctrines and structure of the Church. In other words, they wanted to purify their national Church by eliminating every trace of Catholic influence. In particular, they disapproved of both the rites and the bishops of the Church of England.

The Commonwealth 1649 - 1660 • The king’s execution resulted in the abolition of the monarchy and the • • • creation of the “Commonwealth” or “Puritan Republic. After an unsuccessful attempt to rule the country with a representative parliament, Oliver Cromwell became “Lord Protector” of the Commonwealth (1653); Practically, Cromwell became a dictator and, though supported only by the Puritan minority and the army, he was strong enough to rule the country. When he died, both Royalists and Parliamentarians showed their dislike of Puritan repression and extremism and invited Charles, the dead king’s son to ascend his father throne. Puritanism and the Mercantile classes 1. Puritan austerity disapproved of all forms of entertainment so it was particularly suitable to the lifestyle of mercantile classes whose main value was “hard work”; 2. The Puritan theory of Predestination also was attractive to middle classes because it stated that success in business was a sign of God’s benevolence towards those who reached it; 3. The emphasis placed by Puritans on individual conscience as sufficient to reach individual’s salvation matched up the belief of mercantile classes in unrestricted individualism in business matters.

The Commonwealth 1649 - 1660 • Study questions 1. In what way can Charles I be called an absolute king? Charles I can be called an absolute monarch because he followed a policy of disregard for Parliament and of opposition to all forms of religious dissent. 2. What are the short and long Parliaments? The short Parliament was the Parliament called by Charles I who needed the Parliament’s approval to impose new taxes. It lasted for only three weeks and then was dissolved by the king. The long Parliament, instead, sat until 1653. In 1641 it asked the king to accept radical proposals for reform. 3. What interests did the House of Commons represent? The interests of the merchants and the landed gentry.

The Commonwealth 1649 - 1660 4. Why was the Puritan mentality well suited to the mercantile classes? 4. Because the merchants based their lifestyle on hard work and success in business, beliefs which were rooted in the Puritan creed of austerity, predestination and individualism. 5. What led to the Civil War? 6. The king’s refusal to accept the Parliament’s proposals for radical reforms.