King Charles II example essay topic

In the 17th century, England was marked by two revolutions known as the English Revolution or the Puritan Revolt and the Glorious Revolution. The Puritan Revolt was a conflict between the English monarch and the Parliamentarians, which resulted in the establishment of a republican commonwealth (! ^0 English Civil War! In 1688, the Glorious Revolution broke out, an event that culminated in the removal of King James II and the establishment of Parliament power over the monarch (! ^0 The Glorious Revolution! Through these two revolutions, the English monarchs realized that they were responsible to their people.

Ill will between the English monarch and the Parliamentarians evolved gradually ever since James VI of Scotland succeeded Queen Elizabeth I in 1603. As King James I of England, he had little understanding of its Parliament or the changing conditions of England (Lee and Paik). In addition, he inherited an enormous royal debt and a religiously divided nation when he succeeded to the thrown. As a king, he hardly summoned the Parliament.

Moreover, when he needed to raise funds, he levied his own impositions instead of using Parliament-approved revenues (Lee and Paik). He introduced his concept of divine rights of monarchy, which strained his relationship with the Parliament even more. Under this concept he stated that the monarch had divine right to authority and was only responsible to God, rebellion was the worst political crime, and if a king ordered something evil, one should react with passive disobedience and be ready to accept penalty for not following orders (Lee and Paik). Along with his ruling policies, his religious policies aroused opposition from the Parliament. The Puritans (made up most of Parliament) requested the monarch to reform the English Church. In response, James I displayed anti-Puritanism and supported the Anglican episcopacy (Lee and Paik).

Furthermore, James I aroused suspicions of showing favoritism to the Catholics. He settled peace with Spain, which was a fervent Catholic nation, attempted to limit penal laws against Catholics, and arranged his son!'s marriage with the daughter of Henry IV of France, a Catholic monarch (Lee and Paik). When James I died, the succeeding king inherited these bitter feelings between the English monarch and the Parliament (Lee and Paik). The next king-in-line was Charles I. Like his father James I, he levied his own tariff and duties, collected discontinued taxes, imprisoned those that didn! t pay, and posted troops in private homes (Lee and Paik). Hence the Parliament presented the king with the Petition of Right in 1628, which stated the king cannot force loans or taxation, imprison freemen without due cause, and allow troops to be billeted in private homes.

Apparently the king was not pleased with this, so he dismissed the Parliament and did not summon them until 1640 (Lee and Paik). During this period of time, Charles I attempted to impose religious uniformity in Scotland. The Scots resisted and rebelled. Due to this incident, Charles I was forced to call the Parliament due to a lack of resources for war. The Parliament demanded that they would not help unless the king removed the causes of political and religious grievances; Charles refused. Hence the Scots defeated the English army, and Charles unwillingly summoned the Parliament once more, vowing to follow their demands (Lee and Paik).

The Parliament convened in 1640 was known as the Long Parliament because it stayed in session for nearly twenty years. During this session, the Parliament abolished the courts that had enforced royal policy, prohibited levying of taxes without the consent of the Parliament, and compelled the king to summon the Parliament every three years (Lee and Paik). The Parliament presented the Grand Remonstrance to the king, which summarized popular and parliamentary grievances against the crown. In response, Charles I invaded the Parliament in an attempt to arrest his opponents, but he failed. He left London and raised an army, while the Parliament also raised their own army. A civil war engulfed England for the next four years (Lee and Paik).

Led by Oliver Cromwell, the Parliamentary army defeated the English monarch and established their own form of government called the Puritan commonwealth (Coleman). Under this form of government, the monarchy and the House of Lords were abolished and the Church of England was weakened. In addition, a one-house Parliament was made supreme, aided by a council of about forty men with Cromwell as the leader of the Commonwealth. Cromwell sponsored a program of religious toleration, put down rebellions in Ireland and Scotland, and revived the English navy. When there was dissension with the Parliament, he disbanded it, just like the previous monarchs (Coleman). Cromwell, as the Lord Protectorate, introduced a military dictatorship, and his rule was no more effective than Charles!'s rule and was just as harsh and detested (Craig 589).

Hence, when he died in 1658, the monarchy was restored (Coleman). The Glorious Revolution soon followed the restoration of the monarchy in England. England returned to the! ^0 status quo of 1642, with a hereditary monarch, a Parliament that met only when the king summoned it, and the Anglican Church, with its bishops and prayer book, supreme in religion.! +/- (Craig 589) However, King Charles II had secret Catholic sympathies and favored religious toleration (Craig 589).

As a result, the Parliament passed the Clarendon Code, which reestablished Anglicanism. In response, Charles II issued a Declaration of Indulgence in 1672 nullifying all laws against Roman Catholics and non-Anglican Protestants. In reaction to this declaration, the Parliament issued the Test Act, which excluded Roman Catholics from all public offices. This act aimed mainly at James, the king!'s brother, who was the heir to the throne and a devoted Catholic. When James II became king of England, he made changes within the government to befit the Catholics and removed supporters of the Anglican Church. At this time, the Parliament wished for Mary, James!

Protestant daughter, to succeed James II. However, a son was born to James II by his Roman Catholic wife, a male Roman Catholic heir (Craig 590). To prevent further Catholic monarchs from coming to the throne, the Parliamentary opposition invited William of Orange, Mary!'s husband, and Mary to invade England to preserve the Anglican Church and parliamentary government (Craig 590). When they arrived in 1688, they were received without opposition, and James fled to France.

In 1689, the Parliament declared William and Mary II the new monarchs of England, bringing an end to the Glorious Revolution (Craig 590). During their reign, they issued a Bill of Rights that established Parliamentary rule, limited the powers of the monarchy, and granted civil rights to the English nobility. The monarchs were to rule by the consent of the Parliament and be in subject to laws (Craig 590). The Glorious Revolution was a victory for the aristocracy due to the fact that only the privileged classes were given civil rights and although there was shared power in the government, not everyone!'s voice was heard. Thomas Hobbes and John Locke are two eminent philosophers of the 17th century England. They hold opposing views regarding human nature, political authority, and rebellion.

Thomas Hobbes views humans in a pessimistic manner, believing that! ^0 people are innately selfish and grasping, ! +/- (Perry) and he states that competition and dissension characterize human relations (Perry). Hence he believes that only absolutism can achieve peace and a civilized life among humans. Since power is given to one person, all man must follow his will and judgment. If they do not follow that person!'s will or judgment, they can be reasonably called rebels (Perry).

On the contrary, Locke regards humans as essentially good and humane. He believes that all humans are born with natural rights of life, liberty, and property. Hence he supports a political government that can protect the natural rights of humans, that being a constitutional government, ! ^0 in which the power to govern derives from the consent of the governed and the state!'s authority is limited by agreement! +/- (Perry). Regarding rebellion, he states that those who fail to protect the natural rights of humans are the true rebels because they have been chosen to protect the rights of humans but have failed (Perry).

Craig, Albert, et al. The Heritage of World Civilizations. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Prentice- Hall, 2000.! ^0 English Civil War.! +/- [Online available] web 31 May 2002. Perry, Marvin, Joseph R. Peden, and Theodore H. Von Laue.

Sources of the Western Tradition. 2nd ed. Boston: Houghton Mifflin Co., 1991.!