THE Puritan Revolution, also called the English Civil War, transformed England's distribution and form of power in the 17th century,
With the Glorious Revolution these movements marked the change of government from an absolutist monarchist to a liberal-bourgeois state.
Background
The Puritan Revolution is a direct effect of the Protestant Reformation, the needs of the bourgeoisie and the rural aristocracy, which underwent intense commercial development.
The movement represented a challenge to the monarchy and the theory of divine right. This said that the king's power was transmitted by God and thus he had the legitimacy to govern his subjects.
In fact, the Puritan Revolution was a religious, political, social and economic insurrection. The interests of parliamentarians, monarchists and representatives of various Protestant groups in England were at war.
Causes
Queen Elizabeth I is an example of an absolute monarch in England
The discontent began after the death of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) of House Tudor. The queen refused to marry and left no successors. Thus came King James Stuart of Scotland, son of Queen Mary Stuart, to the throne.
Before the death of Elizabeth I, the expectation of some subjects, however, was that Mary, Queen of Scots (1542-1587), who was Catholic, would ascend to the throne.
She was a prisoner in England accused of plotting Elizabeth's murder. Queen Elizabeth I eventually agreed to the execution of Mary Stuart on February 8, 1587.
In addition to the direct threat to the throne, the queen also witnessed the change in the nobility, whose military role was no longer vital for England.
The nobles were also losing ground in government, while the House of Commons came to play a role close to that of the House of Lords in Parliament.
In turn, the gentry demanded a voice in Parliament and the Catholic Church lost its importance.
Furthermore, the petty bourgeoisie was sympathetic to the Puritans. They argued that the Anglican Church, established by Elizabeth I, was still very close to Roman Catholicism, with the imposition of rituals close to Catholicism in the celebrations.
The queen, however, refused any changes and disagreements formed the basis for the civil war.
Read more:
- English absolutism
- Protestant Reformation
Divine Right Theory
Created by Scottish tutors Calvinists, King James I, applied the defense of belief to the divine right of kings in ascending to the English throne.
The sovereign wrote four books in which he demonstrated that the monarchy was a divinely ordained institution. In this way, the king was responsible for carrying out God's will on earth and, in addition, he was above the law.
The king's train of thought came into conflict with Parliament in 1604. The Puritans confronted him demanding the reform of the Anglican Church - with the removal of the rituals - at the same time as the petty bourgeois pleaded for more political influence.
Contrary to expectations, the king stiffened his way of acting and made several speeches in Parliament reaffirming his divine right to rule.
On account of the position, he was confronted by constitutional lawyer Edward Coke on the grounds that the king is under the law and not above it.
King James I remained until his death on the throne with no change in the theory of divine right. Before he died, however, he threatened the Puritans with expulsion and in 1620 a group fled to America.
In James' place, he took on his son Charles I (1600-1649) who applied a policy considered efficient but benevolent. He also had as a mark his abhorrence of Catholicism and hated, more than his father, the Puritans.
Charles I's reign began to wither when he chose George Viliers, Duke of Buckingham (1592-1628), as his chief adviser. The latter voted against sending more supplies and troops to the Thirty Years War.
In this way, King Charles I dissolved Parliament and resorted to a forced loan. Due to lack of money, however, he was forced to call the parliamentarians again.
In the session, which took place in 1628, the king was forced to accept the document called Petition of Law. In it, the monarch committed himself:
- Respect the subjects;
- Order the end of the barracks of troops;
- Outlaw irregular taxes and arbitrary arrests.
Censorship of Religious Freedom
The king was still confronted, in 1629, with other laws that directly interfered with the kingdom.
That year, Parliament passed two resolutions. The first decreed an enemy of the kingdom whoever tried to bring innovations to religion - when he was clearly sympathetic to Catholicism.
The second resolution determined that anyone who stipulated the collection of customs duties without the consent of Parliament would be considered an enemy of the kingdom.
As a result of the resolutions, Charles I dissolved the Parliament, which would not be convened for 11 years.
People's Rights
The king's actions led the Puritans to appeal in defense of the Magna Carta and to the rights of all English subjects.
The basis of the inquiry was the theory of the divine right of royalty. For Puritans, this destroyed any appeals to the law, limited property rights and personal rights. In short, the English bourgeoisie believed that it was necessary to limit the king's prerogative to govern.
Disagreements between the King and Parliament materialized in 1640. At the time, King Charles I called on the members to finance the war against Scotland and was counterattacked by the High Commission.
The questions were not accepted by the king, who formed an army to fight the Parliament.
The army's first assault took place in 1641, when a rebellion against English rule over Ireland broke out. After that, many battles took place and the civil war effectively begins.
Thus, a new model for the management of the armed forces, the "New Model Army", approved in 1644 under the defense of Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658) in the House of Commons.
Oliver Cromwell
The execution of Charles I puts an end to the Puritan Revolution. Author: James Weesop
Cromwell was a member of the gentry and lived life like a gentleman. It was part of the Parliament since 1640. He was part of a wealthy family, argued that class distinctions were the pillar of society, and opposed the leveling of citizens, a condition touted by Puritans.
Cromwell's disagreements with King Charles I lay in the taxation of the citizen, the insecurity of property rights, and the lack of religious freedom.
Although he questioned the divine right theory, Cromwell sincerely believed that God had chosen him to lead the people against Charles I.
On January 1, 1649, King Charles I was accused of "a tyrant, a traitor, a murderer, a public and implacable enemy to the Commonwealth of England."
The judgment was rigged and of the 135 judges, only half appeared, with only those who supported Cromwell being allowed to sit.
Arguing that kings are accountable to the people and not just to God, Cromwell led the trial and Charles I was sentenced to death by beheading.
Consequences
With the death of Charles I, the monarchy was abolished and was declared a republic in England.
The Parliament was dissolved and in 1653 Cromwell assumed power with the title of Lord Protector of the Republic in a period known as "commonwealth".
When he died, his son Richard took over, who was considered weak in comparison to his father. Due to internal disagreements, in 1658, Parliament decides to restore the monarchy.
The parliamentary monarchy system was established after an agreement between the Parliament and William of Orange. Around 1660, Charles II (1630-1685) returned from Holland and assumed the throne.
Thus ends the war and England goes through the period known as the Restoration.
Know more:
- English Revolution
- glorious revolution
- Bourgeoisie
- bourgeois revolutions