How accurate is it to say that the main cause of political instability in England in the years 1665 – 1685 was the Restoration Settlement? Both Charles and parliament’s handling of the country’s finances during the Restoration Settlement can be factored into the causes of political instability between 1665 and 1685. Whilst both the Convention and Cavalier parliaments granted Charles some funds, it was easily not enough. This lead to him having to increase taxes, and introduce the Hearth Tax, but neither of these raised nearly enough to stabilise things. From 1665 onwards, finances were still an underlying problem and perhaps if parliament had helped Charles initially by granting him more money, then the later problems, such as the financial …show more content…
Some of the responsibility for problems in the Restoration can then be passed to parliament and the fact that they seemed to demand too much after asking for Charles to take the throne. Having had a period without a monarch, and having much more freedom to do what they wanted, parliament made the mistake of thinking they had this freedom when Charles returned. This is may be why they passed so many acts and declarations, many of which the king was opposed to, and lead to political instability. Parliament’s over-ambitiousness can also be linked to the financial difficulties in the Restoration Settlement as they found themselves with more influence over Charles due to his lack of …show more content…
However, this was not always as successful as it could have been, particulary in the case of Danby, a strong Anglican and one who had been successful at creating an agreement with the Dutch in the form of a marriage between William of Orange and Charles’s niece. Sadly, this success did not continue so much when the Popish Plot revealed a lot of corruption and bribery which had not been hindered by the French funding. Charles make something of an attempt to save him when an attempt was made to impeach him by dissolving the Cavalier Parliament. But, like many dissolutions of parliament, they do not result in increased political stability. Although this instability could have been avoided if there had been better advisors appointed during the Restoration Settlement, who would not have been forced to resign after the Test Act was
One monarch who faced limited royal power due to his relationship with parliament was Henry IV. This uneasy relationship was mainly down to the fact that Henry was a usurper, and was exacerbated by his long periods of serious illness later in his reign. Parliament was thus able to exercise a large amount of control over royal power, which is evident in the Long Parliament of 1406, in which debates lasted from March until December. The length of these debates shows us that Henry IV’s unstable relationship had allowed parliament to severely limit his royal power, as he was unable to receive his requested taxation. A king with an amiable relationship with parliament, such as Henry V, and later Edward IV, would be much more secure in their power, as taxation was mostly granted, however their power was also supported more by other factors, such as popularity and finances. Like Henry IV, Henry VI also faced severely limited power due to his relationship with parliament.
Throughout Charles I’s Personal Rule, otherwise known as the ‘Eleven Year Tyranny’, he suffered many problems which all contributed to the failure of his Personal Rule. There are different approaches about the failure of Personal Rule and when it actually ended, especially because by April 1640 Short Parliament was in session. However, because it only lasted 3 weeks, historians tend to use November 1640 as the correct end of the Personal Rule when Long Parliament was called. There was much debate about whether the Personal Rule could have continued as it was, instead people generally believed that it would crumble when the King lost his supporters.
Bush, Michael. ‘Up for the Commonwealth’: the significance of tax grievances in the English rebellions of 1536, English Historical Review 106 (1991).
There was a short time where all was calm right after the civil war. king charles the second and his father were both dead so Charles brother took over. this is king James the secondf and he was a Catholic sao he appointed many high positions in the government. Most of his sibjects were protestant and did not like the idea of Catholicism being the religion theyd have to abide by. like his father and brother king james the second ignored the peoples wishes and ruled without Parliament and relied on royal power. an English Protestant leader wanted to take the power away from james and give it to his daughter Mary and Her husband William from the Netherlands. William saled out to the south of england with his troops but sent them away soon after they landed
Post reformation, Elizabeth faced a different type of challenge from nobility who were angered by the Tudor centralisation of government. Although the other factors are present, political, remains a consistent, underlying factor throughout the period. During Henry VII’s reign, there were two strong dynastically motivated challenges to the crown. Simnel and Warbeck in both 1486 and 1491 were both direct challenges to the throne. However, after the imprisonment of Edmund de La Pole in 1506 the Tudor rebellions changed from being direct challenges to the throne to indirect challenges against ‘evil misters’ for example the Amicable Grant in 1525.
There were several events that contributed to the Revolution of 1688. King Charles I attempted to create an absolute monarchy in 1630’s by dismissing the sitting Parliament. His actions resulted in the English Civil War, where Charles was easily overpowered by Parliament and was consequently captured by Cromwell and executed for treason. After the removal of Charles I, England entered a period of a “republic” where it was ruled by Oliver Cromwell, also known as the Lord Protector. Parliament offered Cromwell the position of king, but he refused in order to distance England from another monarchy. Soon after Oliver’s death, the Commonwealth attempted to name Cromwell’s son, Richard as his predecessor, but the people refused arguing that a theocracy would not be an improvement from the monarchial times. Charles II, the son of Charles was brought back from exile and appointed king in 1660.
The Rise in Political Power of 17th Century England and France In the seventeenth century, the political power of the Parliament in England, and the Monarchy in France increased greatly. These conditions were inspired by three major changes: the aftermath of the reformation, the need for an increased governmental financing, and the reorganizing of central governments. These three points were each resolved in a different way in both England and in France. The first major point which eventually increased political power was
It is no secret that Charles II was a strongly disliked man especially by the English Parliament. Charles II was reluctant to acknowledge the uprising in Virginia known as Bacon’s Rebellion that was towards William Berkeley, and waited until it was over with to grant Virginia the charter in 1675. “Sir William Berkeley had fused a governing body which seemed to work first for its own ends and only secondly for those of other Virginians, one might argue Charles II did a majority of Virginians a favor,” even though granting the carter was a slap in the face to Nathaniel Bacon. Charles II claimed he had divine right to rule and Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell, was very unhappy creating a Civil War between the two. Like father like son, but Charles II decided in his later years to make more of a priority out
In 1780 George III was the monarch, and Parliament existed under an unreformed system of a mixed constitution of the Monarch, Lords, and Commons. The majority of Members of Parliament were represented by two main parties comprising of the Whigs and Tories, with both coming from the landed aristocracy. Throughout the period of George III's reign there was a constant challenge for the government, a struggle between Parliament and King. The political rights of the vast majority of British men and women during the 18th century were very limited. Public opinion had been changing, pressuring the aristocratic cliques which had previously dominated British political life. Faced by reform and revolution, this essay will examine why the years 1780 to
King Charles I did not call parliament during his personal rule and because of this he was not able to ask parliament for money. Asking the parliament to consent for new or increased taxes had been the normal way Kings and Queens had raised money. Because King Charles was not able to collect Tonnage and Poundage due to unresolved financial difficulties (Source E) As King Charles I desperately needed money he needed other ways of obtaining it. Ship Money was a tax that was put on coastal areas to fund the navy as these areas are most likely to be needed to be defended from attackers. King Charles I decided to extend this levy to all of England in 1635. Concerted opposition started to gather momentum. Additionally many “monopolies” were put sold to various groups of people and these were sold for large sums of money. “Jesuits and Benedictines…dealing stocks rather than souls” (Source I). The first parliament that King Charles I called during his personal rule was in 1640. Charles desperately needed money in order to fight the Scottish war. The Scottish had crossed the border into England at the river tweed on 20th August 1640. They met little resistance and went on to occupy the Northern city of Newcastle. Charles had to pay the Scots 850 pounds a day for a treaty on the 21st October 1640. People were even being forced to “lend” money to the King and their refusal to do so could have them put into jail, “your people have been…required
Queen Elizabeth I notices the growing number of paupers in Great Britain. She and the Parliament had responsibility over these people and tried to figure out what to do. Parliament tried to avoid starvation and are struggling to have the authority over the public. Unfortunately, Great Britain suffered through economic situations. There were inflation of food prices. Prices in grain rose about 70% in the 17th percent. There was famine throughout the land. The workers’, especially the farmers, wages declined about 60%. Unfortunately, there was no source of relief because of the disintegrating feudal system (Boyer). The rest of the population mostly moved to provinces and towns. Only a few of the paupers had the ability to earn their own wages. Parliament sought help from numeral parishes. Although, there were misunderstandings within the paupers wandering place to place with no occupation. An act was issued later for this problem to punish the vagabonds and offer some poor relief. They were usually hanged (Bliss).
The need for power dictated much of the decision making process of the leaders during the European Renaissance, and one factor that greatly impacted the struggle of power was the dispute over who should have control over England’s throne and all of its assets. During this time period, power changed hands often and new kings emerged quickly and disappeared frequently. This was a time where the people questioned their authority and who was the rightful ruler of the land. (Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica) The Wars of the Roses, as they became known as devastated most of the upper noble class while the lower and middle classes were indifferent and relatively untouched by it. Starting in 1455, opposing factions met at St. Albans where the first king had been killed, which marked the start of the dynastic civil wars. David Ross noted in regards to the wars that,” In reality these squabbles were an indication of the lawlessness that ran rampant in the land. More squalid than romantic, the Wars of the Roses decimated both houses in an interminably long, bloody struggle for the throne.”(2). It was not until Henry VII defeated a Yorkist r...
In 1642, Britain was a divided kingdom, on the brink of Civil war. The arrogance and selfishness of Charles I led to resentment from Parliament. A further important factor in the outbreak of war was religion. When he began to impose catholic customs on the predominantly Protestant country, he ignited the hatred of men such as Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell rose from an unadorned, puritan background through the ranks of the military to become Major-General of the army and eventually Lord Protector. Many believe his exploits during the Civil Wars were a primary factor in Parliamentarian victory although the true extent of his role is the subject of debate amongst historians, as I have explored.
The challenges to the power of the Monarch was by the reign of James I (1603-25) the monarch was faced with an increasing effective Parliament, culminating in the temporary abolition of the monarchy in (1625). Consequently, the monarchy’s powers were eroded by both revolution and by legal challenges, which included the case of Proclamations (1611) , the monarchy could not change the law by proclamation. The law of the land, which required that the law be made by Parliament, limited the prerogative. In the case of Prohibitions Del Roy (1607) the Monarch had no right to act as a judge, and in the case of the Ship Money Case (1637), although th...
Although he was loved by the peasants, they didn’t have the power to protect him from the law. Not much is said about the effects of what he did, but it may have caused more uprisings and revolts against the uneven distribution of money in cities like Nottingham. It could also have caused the corrupt rulers to realize their wrongdoings and make the changes necessary to make things right again. But more likely than not, it aggravated the rich and made them enforce more restrictions on income.