1. Fight for Democracy & The English Civil War

2. Canadian Democracy
Most of the democratic traditions of government that Canada has today come from Britain
A number of events in British history would lead in time to democracy in Britain

3. Roots of Democracy in Britain
During Middle Ages, kings began to ask nobles for advice, or ideas, about government.
Soon councils of nobles and church leaders formed in most of Western Europe
The English called their council Parliament.

4. Magna Carta Signed in 1215 Means Great Charter
Was an important landmark on the way to democracy

5. Magna Carta – Mr. Zoller

6. Recognized individual freedoms and gave rights to feudal nobles and to towns
Promised church leaders some freedoms
Required king to consult an elected parliament
King could not introduce new taxes without consent of parliament
Said that the king had to rule lawfully/obey the law

7. Parliament in 1295
Parliament was made up of a House of Lords and a House of Commons
Lords (included bishops and other high officials of the Anglican Church) inherited their places in the House of Lords

8. House of Commons was made up of wealthy landowners and townspeople, who were elected to represent people of property
Most people did not have a right to vote or sit in parliament

9. Tudor Era in Britain
Tudor monarchs, especially Elizabeth I, accepted the democratic traditions that had been gained by the English people in the past.
Tudor monarchs also tried hard to keep parliament on their side.

10. Stuart Monarchs Elizabeth I died in 1603
James I, a Stuart, became king of England
The Stuart monarchs did not respect the democratic traditions → this would lead to serious conflict between the monarchs and parliament

11. James I
Wanted to rule as an absolute monarch – there would be no limits on his powers

12. He introduced the idea of the Divine Right of Kings – king’s powers came from God and he was God’s representative on earth
Since the king was God’s representative, he could not be questioned by ordinary people

13. James I
Parliament did not like James’ idea of the Divine Right of Kings
James often acted like a tyrant – cruel and unjust leader
Picked incompetent (unskilled) people to advise him and gave them titles
Was always short of money

14. Tried to find new sources of money without consulting parliament, which would have been the proper thing to do.
Parliament said they would only give the king tax money if he gave it more powers
Did things to anger the Puritans
King died in 1625 and left behind a divided nation and a lot of unhappy people

15. Charles I
James’s son, Charles I, also believed in the Divine Right of Kings

16. Charles enjoyed the good life (liked art and expensive things) and was always in need of money
His advisors were disliked a lot.
Charles had alienated a lot of people.

17. Fight With Parliament Charles tried getting money from Parliament
Parliament said it would only agree to more taxes if Charles respected its wishes
Charles would not agree to do so
He looked for different ways to raise money – ship money, forced people to make loans to Crown, customs duties, etc.

18. He also forced people to take in and feed his soldiers
Sold noble titles to anyone who would agree to support him or give him money
Set up the secret Court of Star Chamber – people could be convicted, imprisoned, and fined – they had no rights

19. Parliament’s Reaction
Charles was partly successful trying to rule without parliament
He still had money problems
He recalled parliament hoping it would be more willing to give him money this time
Parliament told Charles that they would not give him any money until he stopped his illegal activities and signed a document called Petition of Right.

20. Petition of Right, 1628
Petition was a big step in the growth of English democracy
By signing it, the king agreed to three things:
Only Parliament can collect taxes
The king can send no one to prison without trial
No one, not even the king, can force citizens to house soldiers unless the citizens want to

21. Charles is Defiant
Charles dissolved parliament and was determined to rule without it
King was still desperate for money.
He and his advisors still tried to find different ways to raise money

22. In 1629, Charles asked for more money
Parliament passed a resolution, or formal statement, that said three things:
King cannot change English Protestantism
King cannot tax the English people unless Parliament says he can
If the king does these things, he commits the crime of treason – he turns his back on the country and its laws

23. Charles is in Trouble
People in England and Scotland were all angry at Charles
He still needed money, but parliament was not willing to give it to him
Instead, they executed two of his closest advisors
Parliament also wanted to make sure that the king would never again have absolute power

24. They wanted to change the king’s role and take away most of his powers
Parliament was divided between those who supported the king and those who supported parliament
Charles decided to arrest the radical parliamentary leaders and punish them

25. He gathered 500 soldiers and invaded the House of Commons where he tried to arrest the leaders
The radicals escaped and parliament called for an army
People became so angry that Charles headed north to Nottingham, where he declared war on parliament (see p. 34)

26. Why did English Civil War Start?

27. Civil War
Civil war broke out between those people who supported the king and those people who supported Parliament
The two sides were very different – they had different religions and dressed differently

28. Cavaliers or Royalists
Cavaliers fought for the king – they were mostly rich Anglicans or Catholics
They dressed in fancy clothes and wore wigs with long curls.

29. Roundheads
Puritans fought for Parliament. They were English Protestants who wanted to purify the Anglican Church.
They dressed simply and wore their hair very short – they got the nickname Roundheads

30. Oliver Cromwell He was the leader of the Roundheads
His army was better than the king’s Cavaliers.
In 1643, Roundheads defeated the Cavaliers.

31. Trial of the King
Winners of the war put Charles I on trial for the crime of treason – they said he had turned against England and its laws
Charles was found guilty and beheaded in 1649.
This was first time that anyone had put a king on trial and then put him to death before a crowd of people.

32. Cromwell in Charge
In 1653, Cromwell took control of English government.
He became a military dictator.
The Puritans began to change English society.
They closed the theatres and said no one could play sports.
All this lasted until Cromwell’s death in 1658.

33. Restoration People in England grew tired of the Puritans.
In 1659, Parliament voted to restore, or bring back, the monarchy to England.
In 1660, the oldest son of Charles I returned to England and was crowned Charles II.

34. Charles II Charles II rejected the idea of the divine right of kings
He tried to avoid religious problems by asking Catholics and Puritans to be tolerant of one another – they should respect one another’s beliefs and customs

35. The “Merry Monarch” English people liked Charles II
He encouraged theater, sports, and other entertainment
He loved to have fun

36. Habeas Corpus Act Parliament passed Habeas Corpus Act in 1679
Said that the government had to charge someone with a crime before putting a person in prison
Habeas corpus is Latin for “you should have the body.”
It is an important protection of a citizen’s rights
Not even the king could take away this legal right from his people

37. Glorious Revolution
Charles II died in 1685 and his brother James became king
James II was Catholic and wanted the monarchy to have more power
The two political groups – Tories and Whigs – that had power in England did not want a Catholic king
They said James’s oldest daughter, Mary, who was Protestant should become queen.

38. In 1688, Mary and her husband, William, left the Netherlands and arrived in England with an army.
James II had no support and fled to France

39. Mary and William became queen and king of England and Scotland
The English had rebelled against their king without anyone being killed

40. English Bill of Rights
Before William and Mary could become monarchs, they had to sign an English Bill of Rights
It said that only Parliament can make laws
It also said that the king must obey the laws that Parliament passes
The Bill also gave members of Parliament the right to speak freely while in Parliament – the king could not arrest them if he did not like what they said.

41. Constitutional Monarchy
Within 60 years – 1628 to 1688 – Parliament passed the Petition of Right, the Habeas Corpus Act, and the English Bill of Rights – this showed that England did not want an absolute monarch
Instead, they wanted both democracy and a king – this is called a constitutional monarchy.
England had a monarch, a body of laws, and elected officials to protect the rights of its people.