Overview of concept of absolutism and English Civil War

1. Age of Absolutism

2. I. Age of Absolutism – Leads to Enlightenment
A. Characteristics of absolute monarchies
1. centralization of power
a. ruler has complete control
2. Concept of rule by divine right

3. B. Examples of absolute monarchs
1. Louis XIV of France “Sun King” – 1643-1715
a. actions to increase central, absolute rule
- total economic control
b. Importance of “theatre state” – look like a
king
c. Palace of Versailles = symbol of royal power
& spending
- Palace grander than any castles of
nobility
d. Parliament stopped meeting
“I am the
state.” -
Louis XIV

4. France’s Louis XIV – the “Sun King”
Absolute Monarch

5. Louis XIV’s Palace of Versailles

6. 2. Peter the Great of Russia – 1682-1725
a. Copied centralization/absolutism from the
west
- “Westernization” – borrowing from W.
Europe
- culture and dress
- Increased trade w/west
b. Reduced power of aristocracy & peasants
c. Built massive army to enforce will
d. Executed son for conspiring against him
e. Built St. Petersburg – “Window to the West”
Peter’s “Window to the West”

8. French Fashion Russian Fashion?

9. II. English Civil Wars & Glorious Revolution: Increased
Democracy in England
A. English Civil Wars – 1640s
1. Parliamentary forces vs. Royal forces of King Charles I
a. King ignoring rights of parliament
b. Increasing absolutism
c. Hostile towards Puritans

10. 2. Oliver Cromwell & Parliamentarians win.
a. Charles I beheaded
b. Military dictatorship under Cromwell
c. Catholics (mainly Irish)persecuted/deported
to Caribbean Barbados.
Oliver Cromwell

11. 3. Restoration of Monarchy; Charles II
a. Oliver Cromwell dies
b. Charles II is restored as King
b. Charles II dies; brother James II is King
c. James returns to absolutism & Catholic
influence
Monarchy Restored under
Charles IIDeath Mask of
Oliver Cromwell

12. Posthumous Execution of Cromwell
(Royalist revenge & Parliamentarian
resentment for Cromwell’s power grab)

13. B. Glorious Revolution – 1688-89
1. Parliamentarians joined with Protestants William of
Orange and wife Mary to overthrow King James.
2. James II is overthrown
3. Impacts of Glorious Revolution
a. England will never be Catholic again
b. Increased parliamentary power
c. Decreased royal power
4. English Bill of Rights - 1689
a. Crown needed parliament’s consent to levy
taxes or suspend laws William and Mary

14. 5. Development of political parties – Whigs & Tories
a. Liberal Parliamentarians = Whigs
b. Conservative Royalists = Tories
c. Evolved into modern English political parties

15. Historical Development of the British Two-Party System
The first signs of emerging political parties in England were apparent shortly before and after the English Civil War during the 17th century. During this period
parliament split into two made up of those loyal to the king "Cavaliers" and the republicans "Roundheads". The development of a party system, however, did not
come about until the king had been reinstated as head of state and loose groupings going under the name of "Tories" and "Whigs" - originally intended as insults -
began to develop.
The Tories found their support among the landed gentry and identified themselves strongly with the Anglican Church and the Crown. In contrast, the Whigs
represented the interests of large landowners and rich merchants, championed religious and political tolerance and stuck to the basic principle that the king's
ministers must have the trust of parliament. A strict dividing line between party and interests were present until well into the 19th century.
The first cabinet to be formed out of a parliamentary majority was called into being by William III as early as 1693. The first prime minister was named in 1721 and
acted as the head of the cabinet in the absence of the monarch. This development led to a situation in which the parties and their leaders gained great significance in
the British constitutional system.
Two of today's political parties developed out of these groupings during the 19th century. In broad terms, the reforming Liberal Party developed from the Whigs
and the Conservative Party from the Tories. Indeed, the Conservative Party is still referred to as the Tories today.
It was not until the end of the 19th century that the first elements of a third party began to emerge in the form of the Labour Party, which began to displace the
Liberal Party step-by-step as the main opposition party. This breakthrough was achieved by addressing directly the problems faced by the nation's working class, who
until the emergence of the Labour Party had voted mainly for the Liberals. The Liberal Party was regarded as the party of political and social reform, even if this
eagerness was often economically motivated. The working class was able to identify more easily with Labour Party candidates than members of the upper class and
representatives of business, who mainly elected Liberal members to parliament. (...) Ever since the end of the Second World War, Britain's political landscape has
been dominated by the Conservative and Labour Parties.
[Taken from: Stefan Melnik: Das Parteiensystem; in: Informationen zur politischen Bildung 214, "Großbitannien", Bonn BpB 1987]
Think about it:
1. What are some comparisons between the party system that developed in England and the party system of the U.S.?
1. The struggle between Conservatism and Liberalism will be a constant theme in Europe throughout the 18th and 19th centuries. Use the
reading and your own insight to identify/predict what you believe the guiding principles of each faction will be. Think about all aspects of
society and governing.
Conservatism Liberalism

16. Cromwell “Barbado’ed”
thousands of Irish &
Scottish

17. "Tobacco Island"
[Chorus]
All to hell we must sail
For the Shores of sweet Barbados
Where the sugar cane grows taller
Than the god we once believed in
Till the butcher and his crown
Raped the land we used to sleep in
Now tommorow chimes of ghostly crimes
That haunt Tobacco Island
'Twas 1659 forgotten now for sure
They dragged us from our homeland
With the musket and their gun
Cromwell and his roundheads
Battered all we know
Shackled hopes of freedom
We're now but stolen goods
Darken the horizon
Blackened from the sun
This rotten cage of Bridgetown
Is where I now belong
[Chorus]
Red leg down a peg
Blistered burns the soul
The floggings they're a plenty
But reasons there are none
Our backs belong to landlords
Where branded is there name
Paid for with ten shillings
Cheap labor never breaks
The silver moon is shinin'
Cools the copper blood
Where the livin' meet the dead
And together dance as one
[Chorus]
Agony, will you cleanse this misery?
For it's never again i'll breathe
The air of home
From this sandy edge
The rolling sea breaks my revenge
With each whisper a thousand waves
I hear roar
I'm coming home
Dark is the horizon
Blackened by the sun
This rotten cage of Bridgetown
Is where I now belong