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History · Europe in Transition: From Feudalism to Industrialization

Chapter 10 : The English Revolution, Social Change and Constitutional Developments

Table of contents53 sections
  1. 1.The English Revolution, Social Change and Constitutional Developments
  2. 2.Background and Early Stuart Rule
  3. 3.James I (1603–25)
  4. 4.Charles I (1625–49)
  5. 5.Key Terms
  6. 6.📌 Exam Tidbits
  7. 7.Causes of the English Revolution
  8. 8.Historiographical Debates
  9. 9.Religion as a Cause
  10. 10.Taxation and Economic Friction
  11. 11.The Outbreak of Conflict
  12. 12.Key Terms
  13. 13.📌 Exam Tidbits
  14. 14.Fermentation of Ideas
  15. 15.Radical and Religious Groups
  16. 16.Political Philosophy
  17. 17.Key Terms
  18. 18.📌 Exam Tidbits
  19. 19.Commonwealth and Protectorate (1649–1660)
  20. 20.The Road to the Republic
  21. 21.The Commonwealth (1649–1653)
  22. 22.The Protectorate (1653–1660)
  23. 23.Socio-Economic and Foreign Policy Changes
  24. 24.Key Terms
  25. 25.📌 Exam Tidbits
  26. 26.Restoration of 1660
  27. 27.The Two Restorations (per G.M. Treveleyan)
  28. 28.Constitutional and Financial Settlement
  29. 29.Religious Conflict and the Clarendon Code
  30. 30.Foreign Policy and Land Settlement
  31. 31.📌 Exam Tidbits
  32. 32.Socio-Economic Changes
  33. 33.Agrarian Relations
  34. 34.Commercial Expansion
  35. 35.📌 Exam Tidbits
  36. 36.The Revolution of 1688
  37. 37.Context and Causes (Rule of James II, 1685–8)
  38. 38.The Glorious Revolution
  39. 39.Constitutional Settlement (1689–1701)
  40. 40.📌 Exam Tidbits
  41. 41.Consequences of the Revolution
  42. 42.Historiographical Views
  43. 43.Financial and Administrative Expansion
  44. 44.Commercial Revolution
  45. 45.Emergence of Political Parties
  46. 46.📌 Exam Tidbits
  47. 47.Intellectual and Cultural Trends
  48. 48.Science
  49. 49.Music and Art
  50. 50.Literature and Drama
  51. 51.Political Theory
  52. 52.📌 Exam Tidbits
  53. 53.Quick-Recall Box

Chapter preview

The English Revolution, Social Change and Constitutional Developments

Background and Early Stuart Rule

The dynastic change from Tudor to Stuart occurred after the death of Elizabeth in 1603 (after her long rule of forty-five years). The transition was relatively peaceful despite weak contestants like Lady Arabella Stuart and Lord Beauchamp.

James I (1603–25)

  • Background: Already the ruler of Scotland (he had been on the throne since he was thirteen months old, and by the age of nineteen, he had taken effective charge). He was thirty-seven when he became the ruler of England, as the son of Mary Queen of Scots.

  • Character: Described by critics as 'the wisest fool' or 'impractical king'. He was an educated theological scholar but struggled to manage the English parliament. Holdsworth comments that 'he could criticize a theory, but he could not judge a man'.

  • Ideology: Strongly believed in the 'divine right' of kings.

  • Early Religious Conflicts:

  • Millenary Petition (1603): Presented by Puritan clergy on his way from Edinburgh to London to redress abuses in the English church.

  • Hampton Court Conference (1604): Organized by James to address religious factions. Abandoned due to his changing mood, but resulted in authorizing a new translation of the Bible (completed in 1611), which gave impetus to the Bible-reading Puritan movement.

  • English Church Settlement (1559): Under Elizabeth, it was a cautious compromise in which Calvinist and Catholic elements were blended. Both groups expected concessions from the new ruler.

  • Parliamentary Conflicts:

  • Other economic issues included the Cockayne Project (1614–15), which was a failure to reform custom revenue.

  • Unpopular Ministers: Earl of Salisbury and George Villiers. Parliament insisted royal subsidies required faith in the spending minister.

Charles I (1625–49)

  • Character: A political novice with a less flexible approach than his father, governed by unpopular advisors.

  • Personal Rule (11 Years): No parliament called between 1629 and 1640. Peace signed with France and Spain due to lack of funds.

  • Religious Measures:

  • Patronized Arminians (stressed royal authority over the Church), bitterly opposed by Puritans (clashed over predestination and worship forms).

  • William Laud (1573–1645): Given unrestrained influence, made Primate of England…

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