England: absolutism and the bourgeois revolution

Absolutism is a form of rule in which the monarch’s power is unlimited; in England it took shape in the 16th century under the Tudors. Henry VIII made himself head of the Church of England, and under Elizabeth I (1558–1603) the country became a strong naval power. From 1603 the Stuart dynasty held the throne; James I and Charles I struggled with Parliament and the Puritans, because the new nobles and merchants wanted capitalism to grow while the king wished to preserve the old order. The “Long Parliament” of 1640 put the king’s ministers on trial; civil war began in 1642, and Oliver Cromwell’s cavalry played a big part in Parliament’s victory. Charles I was executed in January 1649 and on 19 May England was declared a Republic; from 1653 Cromwell was Lord Protector. In 1660 the monarchy was restored (Charles II); in the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688 Parliament set aside James II and invited William of Orange to the throne; from then on royal power was limited by Parliament — a constitutional monarchy. In 1707 England and Scotland united to form Great Britain; from 1714 the Hanover dynasty (George I) ruled.