Absolutism 5

1. The Puritans were a group of religious reformers who wanted to further purify the Anglican church of Roman Catholic elements. They wanted to end elaborate vestments and ceremo-nials, the position of the altar in the church, and the giving and wearing wedding rings, as well as abolishing bishops. James I and Charles I were sympathetic to Catholics and allowed for the archbishop of Canterbury to try to have rituals and ceremonials on all churches.

2. Parliament came into conflict with James I by arguing with James at every meeting between 1603 and 1640. Puritans made up a high percentage of the House of Commons and wanted to purify the Anglican church of Catholic practices. Parliament bickered with Charles I over the pro-Catholic policies of William Laud. Charles dissolved Parliament from 1629 to 1640. Parliament believed taxation without consent was a sign of despotism and did not trust the king with an army. Parliament tried from 1640 to 1660 to limit the power of the monarch and make arbitrary government impossible. Since Parliament controlled money collecting and raising armies, kings had to rely on them for power.

3. King Charles was afraid of a Scottish invasion and reinitiated Parliament in 1640. Ever since Ireland was conquered in 1171, the English have ruled it harshly. When the English con-verted to Anglican, the Irish remained Catholic and united under their religion and econom-ic and political oppression. Parliament did not trust Charles with an army, so he was unable to make peace with the Scots or Irish. Charles recruited an army from the nobility and its cavalry, the rural gentry, and mercenaries and fought the parliamentary army of militia from London, country squires with business connections, and volunteers. The English civil war lasted from 1642 to 1649 and did not resolve the problem of sovereignty but did cause Charles to be beheaded.

4. The parliamentary forces defeated the royal forces, set up a commonwealth, and had its leader, Oliver Cromwell, declared Protectorate. However, he was a military dictator. Initial-ly, the army had prepared a constitution, known as the Instrument of Government (1653), that included a lord protector and a council of the state, but after disputes, Cromwell tore up the document. He continued the standing army, proclaimed quasi-martial rule, and di-vided England into twelve military districts with each governed by a major general. He was tolerant and allowed all Christians, except Catholics, to practice their faith. Cromwell identified Irish Catholicism as sedition and crushed a rebellion in Ireland in 1649 savagely. The press was censored, sports were forbidden, and theaters were closed in England. He en-forced the Navigation Act of 1651 that required English goods to be transported on English ships. This helped develop a merchant marine and brought about a short and successful war with the Dutch. He welcomed Jews to England.

5. The Restoration of 1660 reestablished the monarchy under Charles I’s son, Charles II. Both houses of Parliament were restored with the established Anglican church, the courts of law, and the system of local government through justices of the peace. It did not settle how Puri-tans, Catholics, and dissenters from the church should be treated as well as the constitu-tional position of the king.

6. James II was a Roman Catholic who appointed other Catholics to positions in the army, uni-versities, and local governments. His own appointed judges sided with him. He appeared to be bringing back absolutism. He issued a declaration of indulgence granting religious free-dom to all. Seven bishops of the Church of England petitioned the king to rescind the indul-gence because they believed it was an illegal act. They were imprisoned in the Tower of London, but were acquitted. In June 1688, James’s second wife produced a male heir that appeared to be a Catholic dynasty. The fear of a monarchy supported by France and ruling outside the law propelled a group of eminent people to offer the crown to James’s Protes-tant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband William of Orange. In December 1688, James II and his wife and son fled to France and early the next year, William and Mary were crowned king and queen of England in the Glorious Revolution. Divine-right monarchies were destroyed. William and Mary accepted the throne from Parliament and thus showed its supremacy. William’s acceptance of the Bill of Rights showed the supremacy of Parliament.

7. Within each province, an oligarchy of wealthy merchants called regents handled domestic affairs in the local Estates. The federal assembly of the States General handled foreign af-fairs but had to be checked by the Estates. The States General appointed a representative, the stadholder, in each province. The stadholder carried out ceremonial functions and was responsible for defense and good order. Holland was the strongest and wealthiest province and was where the Estates assembled. The Dutch were not monarchial but were republican. They had an oligarchy that stressed middle-class values. It was a confederation, not a feder-ation. They were tolerant and welcomed people of different faiths.

8. The Dutch religious tolerance enabled them to keep and obtain intelligent and hard-working non-Christians who contributed to the society. It attracted a large amount of foreign capital and investment, and the Bank of Amsterdam was the leading bank and Europe’s best source of cheap credit. Fishing was the main part of the Dutch economy and stimulated shipbuild-ing. They imported and exported everything in bulk, eliminated charges and becoming the cheapest distributor.

1. James I of England—believed in divine right and that he was above the law. He believed he has total royal jurisdiction over the liberties, persons, and properties of English men and women.

2. Thomas Hobbes—sovereignty is ultimately derived from the people, who transfer it to the monarchy by implicit contract. The power of the ruler is absolute, but kings do not hold their power by divine right.

3. John Locke—people set up governments to protect life, liberty, and property. A government that does not respect life, liberty, and property becomes a tyrant. If there is a tyrant, people have the natural right to rebel against it. Economic liberty and private property with related to political freedom.

4. Oliver Cromwell—a military dictator who ruled through his army. He divided England into twelve military districts. He savagely put down rebellion. He supported British industries and the immigration of Jews.

1. Sovereign—the ruler or permanent head of a state, especially a king or queen.

2. Absolutism—a political system in which the power of a ruler is unchecked and absolute.

3. Constitutionalism—the limitation of government by law. There is a balance between the authority and power of the government and the rights and liberties of the subjects.

4. Cabinet government—the leading ministers, who must have seats in and the support of a majority of the House of Commons, formulate common policy and conduct the business of the country.

1. Dutch Estates General—a federal assembly that handled matters of foreign affairs.

2. Cabal of Charles II—the king’s council of five men who served as his major advisers and members of Parliament, acting as a transition from the executive and legislature.

3. Instrument of Government—a constitution that would have allowed a lord protector and a council of state had Oliver Cromwell not torn it up.

4. Dutch East India Company—the Dutch company that traded in the East Indies. They cut into Portuguese control in East Asia and seized the Cape of Good Hope, Ceylon, and Malacca.

5. Glorious Revolution—the peaceful revolution that occurred when James II’s Protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband William of Orange became King and Queen of Eng-land without any blood. The Bill of Rights was signed, and Parliament was superior to the monarchy.


1. Beelzebub was an angel, second in commander, in the council of Hell who suggested the angels of Hell go to the world of man and try to enslave as many humans as possible.

2. The civil war in heaven broke out when God anointed His Son as a Lord over them all. A rival faction of angels led by Lucifer contested God’s power. It was a back-and-forth battle, but God one and pushed the faction out of Heaven.

3. Eve awoke and complained of nightmares that tempted her to eat the forbidden fruit of the Tree of Knowledge. God saw this peril and sent Raphael to explain how Satan was the cause of the dream and to warn them against future temptation.

4. Adam and Eve now had new knowledge and power. However, they were now licentious. They begged God for forgiveness of their souls. God banished them from the Garden of Eden so they could experience mortality and suffering.

5. Michael told Adam and Eve that though they were being expelled from the Garden, they would begin a series of great empire and produce great heirs. They were happy to be given a second chance.

6. Lucifer wanted to enslave all of the humans and force them to do what he wanted.