3. “I would know by what power I am called hither
... I would know by what authority, I mean
lawful; there are many unlawful authorities in
the world; thieves and robbers by the high-ways
... Remember, I am your King, your lawful King,
and what sins you bring upon your heads, and
the judgement of God upon this land. Think
well upon it, I say, think well upon it, before
you go further from one sin to a greater ... I have
a trust committed to me by God, by old and
lawful descent, I will not betray it, to answer a
new unlawful authority; therefore resolve me
that, and you shall hear more of me.”
4. In other words…
By saying this it proves how much Charles believed in
the Divine Rights of the King like his father
- “Remember, I am your King, your lawful King”
God gave him the right to rule
- “I have a trust committed to me by God”
Wanted absolute monarchy
He did not like the parliament imposing rules and
telling him what to do
- “…I will not betray it, to answer a new unlawful
authority”
5. About Charles I
Succeeded James VI and I in 1625
Not popular at all
Needed lots of money for himself
- Imposed lots of taxes such as ship money, tonnage
and poundage etc without parliament approval
Court of Star Chamber
- He could basically do whatever he wanted here
- Tried people spoke out against him (Seditious libel)
6. About Charles I cont…
Lost patience with Parliament
- Attacked them
- Beginning of Civil War
Charles defeated by Parliament after 7 years
Oliver Cromwell takes over
Executed Charles for treason after Trial of the King in
1649
More about Charles I: Conrad’s post and Julie’s post
7. Today…
Though absolute monarchy doesn’t exist anymore ,
many countries are still led by dictators
Leaders who like Charles still believe it is their
birthright to rule
- “I have a trust committed to me by God, by old
and lawful descent” –Charles I
- Jonathan’s blog about Charles and dictatorship
One example is North Korea’s Kim family
When Kim Jong-il died on Dec 17th 2011 the title of
supreme leader went to his son Kim Jong-un
8. Today cont…
He has control and command of all North Korea’s
military (KPA)
Direct authority and command over the KPA’s other
security organizations (Ministry of State Security,
Ministry of People’s Security, Guard Command,
country’s civilian reserve forces etc)
Basically …. the dictator of a country by birthright
People in this country have limited freedom of speech
and say over their rights
9. In Conclusion
Just because you have absolute power doesn’t mean
you can do whatever you want
If you anger enough people they will rebel
