Development of Constitutional Monarchy

1. Elizabeth I dies
2. Stuart family begins to rule England for the first time
3. Puritans want to purify the Church of England
4. Charles I becomes king
5. Charles I needs to increase taxes, Parliament forces him to sign the Petition of Right
6. Charles I dissolves Parliament
7. The Long Parliament meets and executes Charles I's chief ministers
8. Charles I leads an army into the House of Commons to arrest those causing trouble in Parliament
9. Civil War breaks out in England between the Roundheads and the Cavaliers
10. Oliver Cromwell successfully captures Charles I
11. Charles I is beheaded
12. Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector and declares England a Commonwealth
13. Cromwell attacks the Irish
14. Charles II becomes king
15. James II becomes king of England
16. William and Mary sign the English Bill of Rights

 2. Why do you think absolutism did not manage to rise and thrive in England when it rose and flourished in kingdoms like France, Russia, and Spain?

Because the English Parliament was extremely powerful, consisting of people who had high authority and voice in society. The Parliament beheaded Charles I and declared him public enemy – this event had come to remark the Parliament of England as a very powerful unit, in which it only worked to enforce justice. Many of the Parliament’s ideals were also appealing to the people.

3. Compare and contrast the ruler-subject relationship for one of the two pairs:

b) William & Mary of England and Peter the Great of Russia

The only thing they had in common was that they were all leaders of the nations. However, William and Mary had to sign the Bill of Rights in order to be crowned. They didn’t have absolute power because they were in a way controlled by the Parliament. They had to recognize certain degrees that the Parliament proposed, including:

1. Parliament was to meet frequently.
2. The crown retained the right to veto bills and to pardon whomever he or she chose.
3. Freedom of speech was guaranteed.
4. The crown was not allowed to interfere in the selection of members of Parliament.
5. The crown was to keep no standing army without the consent of Parliament.
6. People were to be free from cruel and unusual punishments, and they were guaranteed freedom from excessive bail.

Therefore they had to perform in favor of the Parliament and the people, in which that kept them fairly just. In contrast, Peter the Great of Russia acceded to power when he was only 10 (after the rule of his grandfather Tsar Michael Romanov). Though he was forced to rule jointly with his brother Ivan and sister Sofia at first, when Ivan died and Sofia was exiled, Peter the Great had all the power to himself. Therefore, he was ruthless and violent – he did what he wanted because no one was above him and there was no one to consult him; he could kill as many people who went against him as he wanted. Also, he was versatile at many fields, in which it provided him a solid power to control his people.