England under Stuarts(1603-1714) Royal Absolutism
Stuart rulers
James I
Charles I
The Puritan rule
Charles II
James II
William and Mary
Queen Anne
Under the stable rule of the Tudors, the people learned that loyalty to the
Crown was the greatest of virtues and disloyalty the worst of crimes. Yet, Ironically, a
mere forty years after Queen Elizabeth died, there was a bloody civil war in England in
which the people executed their kings. What were the causes of this dramatic reversal of
events? On the one hand, the Stuarts were inept rulers, and on the other hand, Elizabeth
bequeathed to them a whole lot of problems along with the throne. Her religious
settlement left the Catholics and the Puritans dissatisfied. Parliament had become more
aggressive and difficult to manage. Public finance was also in an unstable condition.
When Queen Elizabeth died in 1603 without an heir, James VI of Scotland was made
King James I of England. He was the grandson of Margaret, the daughter of Henry VII.
Margaret was married to James IV of Scotland and they had a son James V. When James
V ruled Scotland, his relations with England were not on good terms. In a battle with
Henry VIII, James V died and left his country to his infant daughter Mary. Mary later
became known as Mary Stuart, who married Francis II, King of France. But as he died,
she came back to Scotland and married one of her cousins Lord Darnley. A son was born
to Mary Stuart, later, Scotland had witnessed a civil war between Mother and son for
power. Subsequently, Mary Stuart came to England and lived under the mercy of Queen
Elizabeth. Meanwhile, she made an attempt to restore Catholicism in England which took
her life. We know that Elizabeth had a relationship with Stuarts. Accordingly, Elizabeth
nominated James I of Scotland as the new ruler of England after her. Thus Stuart dynasty
began in England.
Unlike Tudors, Stuart period England witnessed various political events. An outstanding
feature of the Stuart regime up to the glorious revolution of 1688 was the struggle
between the royal power and the parliament. There were several reasons for the conflict.
1. Theory of Divine Right of Kings. The Stuarts preached the theory of the Divine
rights of Kings. They said God made the king and the king made the law. The king
was above the law of the country and no earthly power could try him for any
breach of law.
2. Absence of Foreign danger: In the Tudor period people had the fear of foreign
enemies like Spain, France, Scotland, The Pope, and others and the people were
always prepared to help and cooperate with their sovereigns to overcome their
enemies. But in the Stuart period, there were no such common foes.
3. Tactlessness of the Stuarts: The Stuarts were foreigners in England. James knew
Scotland but no England. Charles knew neither, they never felt the pulse of the
nation, and they never tried to study the demands of the people. They lived in their
own dreamland and had neither the patience nor the inclination to know the reality
of the country. The Tudors always aimed at the welfare of the country. They were
tactful and wise; they never did anything against the wishes of the people. There
was perfect harmony between the crown and the parliament. They gave a legal and
constitutional form to all their acts and never violated the law of the country. The
Stuarts violated the law of the country and ruled the country according to their
sweet will.
4. Arbitrary taxation.
The early Stuarts raised money by illegal means like monopolies, forced loans,
and additional duties called impositions which put a heavy burden on the ordinary
People.
5. The hostility of the Puritans: The puritans who were a major section of the
Protestants were antagonised by the Stuarts. They were the majority in the House
of Commons and as such, they were opposed to James and Charles who supported
the Anglican church. When James I ascended the throne he received a petition
called the Millenary Petition supposed to be signed by 1000 Puritans asking for
some tolerance of Puritanism. But the King did not like to tolerate Puritanism for
he was of the opinion that once the authority of the bishops was overthrown the
monarchy itself would be threatened. The Puritans were always on the lookout to
get opportunities to assert their demands, they created permanent headaches for
the Stuarts. The Parliament criticised the arbitrary taxation of James I, declared
monopolies illegal and it also gained the right of impeachment of certain big
officers. It began to control the King’s financial policies.
6. 11Years of Tyranny:
The Parliament kept up the same attitude to monarchy in a vigorous manner
during the rule of Charles I also. The parliament asked to stop the king’s
favouritism and submitted a petition to the crown called Petition of rights1628 for
further rights and privileges. At this critical junction, the king had no other way
other than dissolving the parliament and decided to rule without parliament from
1629-to 1640. These eleven years of his rule were termed eleven years of tyranny.
Charles ruled like a tyrant, and broke all the conditions of the petition of Rights;
Puritans were heavily suppressed, imprisoned the puritan leaders, and those who
refused the Anglican religious policy were exiled, fined, or imprisoned. The king
began to rule with the help of the army and introduced many more new taxes like
ship money. The civil war became inevitable.