17TH CENTURY ENGLAND

TIME-LINE OF EVENTS 1603-1689

THE HOUSE OF STUARTS
 JAMES I (1603-1625)

• When Queen Elizabeth I died without any children, her

closest relative, King James VI of Scotland, became the
heir to the throne.

• He was crowned King James I of England on 25th July

1603 and this began a period of reign by the House of
Stuart.

• James I of England believed in the Divine Right of

Kings, which is the idea that kings receive their power
from God and are responsible only to God.

• He ordered an English translation of the Bible, which

became known as the ‘King James Bible’.
 CHARLES I (1625-1649)
• Charles I became king on 27th March 1625. 
• He was married to Henrietta Maria, a French Catholic
princess.
• Charles I instructed his chief church leader, Archbishop
William Laud, to make the Church of England anti-Puritan, since
most people at that time were Puritans.
• He believed in the Divine Right of Kings.
• He got rid of Parliament in 1629 and ruled on his own until
1640. This time is known as the Personal Rule.
• He raised money by collecting a tax called Ship Money, which
was collected by Charles from the whole country during
peacetime.
• By the summer of 1642, Charles I decided that Parliament had
become his enemy and needed to be defeated by force. This began
the English Civil War.
• On 30th January 1649 Charles I was executed for high treason.
Short Parliament (13 April 1640 – 5 May 1640)

- The first Parliament called by King Charles I, after 11 years of attempting

Personal Rule.
- King’s reason to call the Parliament was because he needed to obtain money
to finance his military struggle with Scotland in the Bishops' Wars.
- It was dismissed after 3 weeks.

Long Parliament (3 November 1640 – 16 March 1660)

- It was called by King Charles I, six months after Short Parliament and within
weeks of the defeat of the English in the Bishops' Wars.
- The King was reluctant to summon another Parliament but the expense of the
wars had left him desperately short of money.
- It was formally dissolved in 1660.
 The English Civil War (1642–1651)
was a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between
Royalists (‘Cavaliers’) and Parliamentarians (‘Roundheads’)
over the manner of England's government.
 OLIVER CROMWELL

• Oliver Cromwell was an English

military leader and Member of
Parliament.

• He was the prime mover behind the

decision to execute the King Charles I in
1649.

• He was 1st Lord Protector of the

Commonwealth of England, Scotland
and Ireland (1653-1658).
 First English Civil War
Date 1642–1646
Location England and Wales
Result • Parliamentarian - Covenanter victory
• Outbreak of the Second English Civil
War

Second English Civil War

Date February 1648 – 30 January 1649
Location England and Wales
Result Execution of King Charles I
The Interregnum in the British Isles.

Third English Civil War

Date 1649–1651
Location British Isles
Result Decisive Parliamentarian victory
Establishment of the Commonwealth of
England
 CHARLES II (1660-1685)

• Charles II was the first son of Charles I and

Henrietta Maria.

• He was restored to the throne after years of

exile during the Puritan Commonwealth.

• He became King of England, Ireland, Wales

and Scotland in 1660.

• The years of his reign are known in English

history as the Restoration period.
 JAMES II (1685-1688)

• James II was a king of England,

Scotland, and Ireland, and the last Stuart
monarch in the direct male line.

•. He was the second surviving son of

Charles I and Henrietta Maria.

• He was deposed in the Glorious

Revolution (1688) and replaced by William
III and Mary II.
 GLORIOUS REVOLUTION (1688)

The Glorious Revolution of England

was a blood-less coup which led to
the overthrow of King James II in
1688 and the establishment of
William III and Mary II as monarchs.

The Glorious Revolution changed the

role and powers of the Kings of
England from those of an Absolute William III and Mary II
monarch to a Constitutional
monarch.
 BILL OF RIGHTS (1689)
The Bill of Rights is an Act of the Parliament of England that deals
with constitutional matters and sets out certain basic civil rights.

The most important Articles of the

English Bill of Rights are as follows:

No armies should be raised in peacetime,

No taxes could be levied, without the
authority of Parliament,
Laws should not be dispensed with, or
suspended, without the consent of
Parliament.
 Sources:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_English_civil_wars
https://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Civil_War
http://www.putneydebates.com/Civil%20Wars%20Summery.html
http://history.parkfieldict.co.uk/stuarts/the-english-civil-war
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/timeline/civilwars_timeline_noflash.shtml
http://www.anglotopia.net/british-history/ten-interesting-facts-figures-english-civil-war/
http://www.newworldencyclopedia.org/entry/English_Civil_War
http://www.historyinanhour.com/2013/02/11/english-civil-war-key-battles/
https://www.cs.mcgill.ca/~rwest/link-suggestion/wpcd_2008-09_augmented/wp/e/Engl
ish_Civil_War.htm
https://www.landofthebrave.info/bill-of-rights-1689.htm
https://www.landofthebrave.info/glorious-revolution.htm
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-II-king-of-Great-Britain-and-Ireland
https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-II-king-of-Great-Britain
http://historysheroes.e2bn.org/hero/timeline/3
http://www.historyonthenet.com/english-civil-war-oliver-cromwell/