In 17th-century England, Parliament rose against the absolute power of the king, leading to two revolutions. For the first time in the world, a system in which "Parliament stood above the king" was established.
Basic Knowledge
In 17th-century England, dissatisfaction with absolute monarchy grew. Because Charles I ignored Parliament and imposed taxes, the Puritan Revolution(English Civil War) broke out in 1642. Cromwell led the parliamentary forces to victory, executed the king in 1649, and established a republic. However, Cromwell became dictatorial, and the disorder after his death led to the Restoration in 1660. Against the increasingly authoritarian James II, Parliament invited Mary and her husband William from the Netherlands in 1688 and changed the government without bloodshed. This was the Glorious Revolution. The following year, 1689, the Bill of Rights was enacted, establishing constitutional monarchy and parliamentary sovereignty.
1215 Magna Carta(John, King; taxation requires Parliament's consent)
1628 Petition of Right(rejected by Charles I)
1642-49 Puritan Revolution
1649 Execution of Charles I; republic(Cromwell)
1660 Restoration
1688 Glorious Revolution
1689 Bill of Rights→constitutional monarchy
In Depth (Background and Impact)
The philosopher Locke(1632-1704) provided the theoretical foundation of the civil revolutions. In Two Treatises of Government, he developed the theory of the social contract, arguing that government is created by contract to protect people's lives, liberty, and property, and that people may exercise a right of resistance and revolution when a government betrays their trust. This justified the Glorious Revolution and became an intellectual source for the American Declaration of Independence and the French Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen. With the establishment of parliamentary sovereignty(Parliament, not the king, holds supreme power), England began its tradition that "the king reigns but does not rule." From 1721, Walpole became the de facto first prime minister, and a responsible cabinet system(the parliamentary majority forms the cabinet and is responsible to Parliament) developed.
- Puritan Revolution = 1642-49, Cromwell, republic
- Glorious Revolution = 1688, bloodless, Mary and William
- Bill of Rights = 1689, establishment of parliamentary sovereignty
- Locke = Two Treatises of Government, right of resistance and social contract theory
- "The king reigns but does not rule"
- Prime Minister Walpole in 1721 = beginning of the responsible cabinet system
Points to Note (Easy to Confuse)
① Distinguish the Puritan Revolution(1642-49, violent, republic) from the Glorious Revolution(1688, bloodless, constitutional monarchy). ② Organize the three documents chronologically: Magna Carta(1215, King John), Petition of Right(1628, during Charles I's reign), and Bill of Rights(1689, after the Glorious Revolution). ③ Locke(right of resistance, liberalism), Hobbes(Leviathan, support for absolute monarchy), and Rousseau(The Social Contract, popular sovereignty) were different thinkers. ④ Cromwell led the parliamentary forces but became dictatorial, and the reaction after his death brought about the Restoration.
Practice
- What document was enacted in England in 1689 and established constitutional monarchy?
- Which Enlightenment thinker advocated the right of resistance in Two Treatises of Government?
- Which husband and wife were invited from the Netherlands during the Glorious Revolution?