The Stuarts

Summary
The end of the Tudor dynasty led to many religious disagreements and a new age of radical
politics. The new line of kings provided by Scotland , the Stuarts, brought about misfortune and
unsteadiness to the nation, as they had no understanding of the increasingly democratic manners
of England.
The Stuarts were the first kings of the United Kingdom. King James I of England who began
the period in 1603 was also King James VI of Scotland, therefore the separate kingdoms of
England were now united under a single monarch. His strong beliefs and opinion sparked
conflict between the Crown and Parliament, for he strongly trusted in the divine right of kings.
The debt that he inherited when Elizabeth died brought him at the hands of Parliament and the
mistake of naming Sir Edward Coke as Chief Justice ultimately limited the kings power. Despite
being successful in ruling without Parliament between 1611 and 1621 in a time of peace, the
need for money resolved the Stuarts to recall Parliament.
Charles I reign began in 1625 and by 1629 in his determination of a kings divine right, disolved
Parliament and thrived brilliantly on managing his own budgets and administration for some
time.However, by 1637 Charles had begun to make a series of mistakes that would lead to great
political and religious debates. He married a French Catholic and appointed as Archbishop of
Canterbury an enemy of the Puritans, many of whom were highly placed in the house of
Commons. Archbishop Laud re-established many Catholic practices into the Anglican Church
which were very much disliked. When the use of a new prayer book for their church services was
ordered, Scotland was so angered that they decided to invade England in 1639. As Charles was
short of money to fight, he had to recall Parliament in 1640 as only they had the necessary
money needed to fight a war .
Unwilling to respect the agreements he had made with the members of Parliament, in 1642
Charles attempted to arrest five MPs which resulted in the breaking point of the Civil War.

The country was divided between Crown and Parliament ,the Cavaliers and the Roundheads.
The civil war concluded in 1645 at Naseby where the Royalist army was defeated . The outcome
was a parliamentary victory for Oliver Cromwell and the dramatic execution of King Charles I
on the 31st of January 1649.
Consequently, England became a Republic for the first time in its history for a short lived period
of eleven unproductive years from 1649 - 1660.At first England was ruled by Parliament, but in
1653, Oliver Cromwell, commander of the army, became Lord Protector of England. He
remained so until his death in 1658. Cromwells son had neither the intention of becoming king
nor the competence of one and declined the crown when it was presented to him.
In 1660, free ellections were arranged to return Charles II to his rightful throne; Charles I son
whom had escaped to France after his fathers death. The new King was quick to make peace
with his fathers enemies, but still the Parliaments power weakened as Charles too, had very
strong beliefs in his divine rights and greatly admired Louis XIV the all-powerful ruler of
France.
Throughout Charles's reign, religious toleration dominated the political scene much to the
dismay of Parliament who was strongly Anglican. Under these circumstances the first political
parties in Britain emerged, the Whigs that considered the authority of the crown dependent on
the consent of the Parliament; and the Tories which were the inheritors of the Royalists views .
As Charles II had no heirs to the throne, his brother James II succeeded him after the kings
death in 1685. As king, James tried to impose his Catholic faith to the disapproval of many. As a
result he was detested because of his acts of persecution on the Protestants. Torries and Whigs
had to join forces to find a new Protestant king.
James II was forced to renounce the crown in the Glorious Revolution of 1688. Parliament
asked William of Orange, who was married to James' daughter Mary a Protestant, to take the
throne.The English Bill of rights in 1689 establish the new found partnership between Crown
and Parliament. William and Mary of Orange were joint monarchs and upholders of
Protestantism, followed by Queen Anne in 1702, the second of James II's daughters and the last
Stuard sovereign.

It is during Queen Annes reign in 1707 that the Union Act was completed and Scotland and
England became known under one name - Great Britain. The countries had no longer two
separate Parliaments, however Scotland kept its own judicial and legal system as well as its own
Church.
During the Stuarts dynasty British Empire expansion also took place in Ireland, Scotland,
America, India and the Caribbean. International trade in goods and people began to enrich
England.In 1607 Jamestown, Virginia was established as the first British colony in North
America and in 1625 Barbados comes under British control. Between 1649 and 1652 Cromwell
conquers Ireland and Scotland. However, the West Indies, where the sugar was grown, were of
the greatest interest for their trading value.
Throughout the 17th century, Great Britain went through a revolution of thought- largely in
science, mathematics, philosophy, and astronomy.The perspective of the universe became
scientific-based, and religion lost status to science. The government overpowered the church
during this era, and people began to rely more on reason, than faith.
New scientific concepts and methods became more advanced, transforming the country and its
people. Family life saw the rising of the paternal authority , as the father was the one leading the
daily family prayers and reading from the new English translation of the Bible.

The 18th Century

Summary
At the beginning of the 18th century, William III sat on the English throne. The childless king
was confronted with the problem of who would succeed him. Most of the other Stuarts, who
were living in exile in France, were Catholic and would not be accepted by the Protestant
majority of Englishmen.However, the 1701 Act of Settlement had settled the matter by declaring
that all future monarchs had to be in communion with the Church of England. Queen Mary
Stuarts sister, Anne would become the next ruler, and after her death, the crown would pass to
the german Electress Sophia of the House of Hanover.
King William III died in 1702 and was succeeded by Anne, who ruled until 1714. By that time,
Sophia had also passed on, but her son, George I, became the king of England. He was disliked
by the majority of English people because of his lack of interest in ruling the country what is
more he didnt speak the peoples language.
Following his death in 1727, his son, George II, took on his royal duties. This George led
England straight into two wars, but didn't exercise political control on domestic affairs,
consenting authority to his ministers. Britain became involved in the War of the Spanish
Succession from 1702 to 1713. The Habsburgs of Austria and the Bourbons of France both
wanted to sit on the Spanish throne. Britain supported the Habsburgs, but renounced the war in
1713, gaining some territory and a valuable contract to supply slaves to the Spanish colonies.
After his death in 1760, George III succeeded him. His reputation suffered when he lost a few
important colonies during the American Revolution, but he was still in power at the turn of the
19th century.
There were some Englishmen who resented having the German Hanovers as kings. They were
called Jacobites, and they supported the remaining Stuarts, who twice led them in rebellion
against the current king. Both times, in 1715 and 1745, the revolts were unsuccessful, and the
House of Hanover remained on the English throne.

Politically, the 18th century was a dynamic period for Great Britain. As the century moved on,
the Whigs, supported by the Hanover kings, became dominant, while the Tories, some of whom
supported the Jacobites, faded into the background. Leading Whig ministers of the day included
the powerful Robert Walpole and William Pitt.
Great Britain was a rapidly growing nation in the 18th century. Its population doubled between
1721 and 1821, jumping from 7.1 million to 14.2 million. The economy was already strong as
the century began due to steady agriculture, a solid commercial and manufacturing sector, and
several scientific advances. As the century progressed, industrial development grew larger,
especially in the iron and textile industries. Factories sprang up across the country, boosted by
new discoveries in manufacturing techniques and fuel sources. Transportation networks spread
rapidly and as consequence cities such as Birmingham, Glasgow, Manchester and Liverpool saw
a sudden growth as trade blossomed. Britain was well on its way to becoming a fully
industrialized nation. The number of newspaper incresead and political disscusions among the
working people class was made possible.
This is also the century in which family life grasped the idea of affection and the advantages of
it. Not only parents were beginning to set aside the cruel methos of discipline but they were also
advised to give praise to their offsprings. Young girls were still being brought up to become a
feminin ideal and didnt have the same opportunities as young boys were given in a proper
education. However, Marriage and love were starting to go hand in hand and spouses felt more at
ease in expressing their devotion for one another . In poorer families the likelihood of their
survival was only dependent on the amount of hard labour one could take up. Parents and
children worked side by side in factories with little to get by. Children as young as three years
old would start learning a simple work task and almost all would be working by the age of six or
seven.
However, growing notion of individualism and privacy in the middle classes of this era
ultimately sought out to instill the thirst for power in young boys who would later become the
men behind the stronger trading and industrial empires, freed of slavery and cruelty.