A King Returns to the ThroneA King Returns to the Throne

Chris AndersonChris Anderson

Randolph-Henry High SchoolRandolph-Henry High School

IntroductionIntroduction Charles II, son of Charles I, faced lots of danger during the civil

war in fact, he actually fought in the war on the side of the royalists Charles II had also witnessed his father’s execution Charles II was almost captured and executed but was able to

escape capture--he fled to the mainland of Europe– while in Europe, he wandered between nations to keep from being

captured– many European monarchs were friendly, others threatened to turn Charles

over to the English

the Puritans in England kept aware of Charles’ location in Europe

Charles II

Merry MonarchMerry Monarch May 26, 1660--Charles II returns to the throne of England his return ended the land and bloody English Civil War

and the harsh Puritan rule Charles’ return to the throne was called the Restoration Charles became known as the “merry monarch” because

of his love for social life--games, parties, etc. Charles will marry a Portuguese princess; they, however,

will have no children – Charles did have many illegitimate children by his many

mistresses

Merry Monarch (cot.)Merry Monarch (cot.) Charles II allowed the

English Parliament to gain more power

Charles publicly claimed he was a member of the Church of England; however, he was secretly a Catholic

1661, a new Parliament was elected--the Cavalier Parliament

1661, this new Parliament passed a series of laws called the Clarendon Code– this code made the Church

of England the official Church in England

– the law also said that only members of the Church of England could attend Universities and serve in Parliament

Merry Monarch (cot.)Merry Monarch (cot.)

This Cavalier Parliament also limited the power of the king– Parliament made Charles

II accept the Petition of Right signed by his father

– Parliament created a constitutional monarchy--a monarchy limited by a constitution

Charles did not agree to all Parliament did--but he never publicly disagreed with Parliament

1665--the Plague returns to England--killing nearly 100,000 people

1665--a terrible fire destroys most of London

Merry Monarch (cot.)Merry Monarch (cot.) Political parties began to

develop in England--they were based on the opposition to Catholicism

the parties developed as an argument over who would take over the throne after Charles II--he had no legitimate heir

James II was to be the new king--he was Charles’ II brother– there was one problem with

James--he was an open and practicing Catholic

1679: Parliament attempts to pass the Exclusion Bill– this bill would have kept

James from becoming king

James II

The Two PartiesThe Two Parties

WhigsWhigs

– members of Parliament who wanted to keep James from becoming king

ToriesTories

– members of Parliament who believed James should succeed his brother Charles II

The Two Parties (cot.)The Two Parties (cot.)

The Tories (supporters of James) were able to defeat the Exclusion Bill– the Tories were able to do this by accepting a

bill proposed by the Whigs--habeas corpus habeas corpus lawlaw

according to the habeas corpus law, a person could not be imprisoned by the king without just cause or without trial

Bloodless RevoltBloodless Revolt 1685: Charles II dies and

his Catholic brother--James II--becomes king– James’ becoming king ended

the peace between Parliament and the monarchy

– James wanted absolute power

– James ignored the Clarendon Code by electing Catholics to government positions

All of James’ actions made Parliament very upset--Parliament attempted to remain patient

Parliament was actually waiting for James to die and pass the throne over to his Protestant daughter MaryMary

Mary was married to William of OrangeWilliam of Orange--the ruler in the Netherlands

Bloodless RevoltBloodless Revolt 1688: James’ 2nd wife

bears him a son--a future heir to the English throne– James was to raise his son

as a Catholic--a fact that Parliament did not want to deal with; another future Catholic king

both the Whig and Tory parties united against James

Both the parties invited Mary’s husband--William of Orange--to invade and take over England

James hears of the plot and flees England--he goes to France

William & Mary will take over without a drop of blood being spilled

this is known as the Glorious Revolution

William and MaryWilliam and Mary 1689: William and

Mary come to power they agree to govern

England “according to the statutes in Parliament agreed upon, and the laws and customs of the same”

1689: Parliament passes the Bill of Rights

These Bill of Rights kept the king from raising taxes or maintaining an army without Parliament’s consent– this also gave individual

rights to the people:• right to trial by jury• outlawed cruel and unusual

punishment• limited the amount of bail• people had the right to

appeal to the king and free speech in Parliament

William and Mary

William & MaryWilliam & Mary

James will try to lead an unsuccessful revolt against William & Mary

because of this failed revolt, parliament passed more laws limiting the power of the monarch

Parliament also passed the Act of Act of SettlementSettlement--excluding Catholics from inheriting the throne of England

Parliament & the CrownParliament & the Crown The Bill of Right & Act of

Settlement illustrated the power that Parliament had gained over the monarchy– the monarch could not rule

without the consent of Parliament

England was not a democracy even though Parliamentary members were elected

Member of the House of Commons were elected– only property owning males

could vote--4% of the population

Members of the House of Commons were not paid– only the rich could run for

office therefore, Parliament was

controlled by a select few who owned property

Parliament & the Crown (cont.)Parliament & the Crown (cont.) 1702: William dies--

Mary has already passed the throne passes to

Mary’s sister AnneAnne 1702: Parliament begins

to create a new order of succession to the throne– on too many occasions,

monarchs had no children to take over

Anne had no living children to take over upon her death

Parliament, thus, decided that Anne would be succeeded by the children of the Protestant granddaughter of James I--SophiaSophia– Sophia was the wife of the

German elector of Hanover

Parliament & the Crown (cont.)Parliament & the Crown (cont.) When Sophia’s children

take over, a new dynasty takes over in England--the the House of HanoverHouse of Hanover

Parliament was afraid that the people of Scotland may want a Stuart on the throne, not a Hanover– Parliament feared that the

Scots may ally themselves with France and attack England

1707: Parliament issues the Act of Union of 1707Act of Union of 1707– this act united England and

Scotland into a new nation called Great Britain

– the Scots will give up their own Parliament and gain representation in the English Parliament

– the Scots will be allowed to keep their Calvinist religion, their own laws, courts, and education system

Queen AnneQueen Anne

She ruled from 1707 until 1714 Parliament increased its power under her she was not a very skilled leader and received help

from a cabinet--a small group of advisors from the House of commons– this 1st cabinet was made of both Whigs and Tories

– the two parties would constantly argue and quarrel

– to keep things orderly, later cabinets were constructed of the majority party

Queen Anne

George I & Robert WalpoleGeorge I & Robert Walpole 1714: Anne dies and Sophia’s son--George IGeorge I--took

over (this followed the Act of Settlement) George had been raised in Germany he spoke very little English because of his unfamiliarity with England and its

customs, George relied, heavily, on his cabinet eventually, the Whig party took control of the cabinet the leader of the Whig party was Sir Robert WalpoleSir Robert Walpole

George I

Robert Walpole

WalpoleWalpole Since Walpole was the

head of the Whig party, he became the head of the King’s cabinet

Walpole’s head position in the cabinet would be called the prime prime ministerminister--the chief executive of a parliamentary government

Walpole remained prime minister when George II became king in 1727

George II will encourage Walpole to take over more responsibility in the government– managing finances,

appointing government officials, requesting the passage of laws

Walpole (cont.)Walpole (cont.)

Walpole helped England to avoid wars

he allowed the American colonies to grow

George IIIGeorge III

1760: a new king comes to the throne--George III George III was the grandson of George II he was only 22 years old when he became king he expands the British empire by defeating France

– Great Britain gains control over Canada and all of France’s territory east of the Mississippi River

this war with France will be costly for England--it will eventually lead to Britain’s losing of its American Colonies

George III