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Thesis england in 17th century
16th to 17th century England
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In 1603, James Stuart became King James I of England, uniting the countries of England and Scotland under a single ruler for the first time. The English Crown would have given James lots of wealth and prestige but it would also present him with many problems. This report will aim to explore both the positive and negatives aspects of four key areas - the political system, the social hierarchy, the economy and religion – and to assess the situation that James would have been in when he first began to rule England.
The Political System
The political system of England in 1603 was very different to how it is today. The national government consisted of three bodies: the Crown, Parliament and the Privy Council. The Crown theoretically had absolute
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Then there was the aristocracy, who were people with titles (such as duke, earl or baron). They either received their title by inheritance or were granted it by the king or queen. Usually they were rich and powerful with large households, and in total the aristocracy owned about 15% of the land in England. Therefore, since they had so much power and influence, it was vital that James maintained their loyalty and support. Unlike in France and Spain during this period, the aristocracy had to pay taxes which meant that the House of Lords often sided with the House of Commons in opposing the Crown’s request for taxation, which could pose a problem to James if he was ever in financial …show more content…
Since there was a higher demand for food and other necessities, there was lots of inflation. Prices rose considerably – food prices went up by about 75%! However wages did not rise alongside prices. One reason for this was the Statute of Artificers which set upper wage limits for skilled workers (such as butchers and carpenters) and meant that as prices rose their wages could not. Many people therefore would have been angry at the government’s mishandling of the economy and would be anxious for reform. The poor were harmed by inflation which resulted in them becoming poorer, but additionally the monarchy and aristocracy faced financial problems as they often rented out their land on long leases with fixed amounts of rent (so as prices rose the rent that they received was worth less). However, for some groups in society population growth proved beneficial. Many people who owned their land outright were able to make more money as the demand for food increased. Additionally there was a growing trade for wool which resulted in sheep farming becoming a worthwhile job. Merchants also grew wealthier and some were able to buy land and move up into the ranks of the gentry. The lesser gentry typically managed their land themselves instead of renting it out so did well financially and improved their wealth and status. This may have been a problem for James as if the gentry became
Due to the unstable political environment of the period 1399-1509, royal power varied from monarch to monarch, as parliament’s ability to limit this power fluctuated. There are several factors in limiting royal power, including the king’s relationship with parliament, royal finances and a king’s popularity, often due to military success. The most significant of these factors, however is the king's finances, as one of parliament's primary roles was to consider the king’s requests for taxation, and thus denying these requests would have been one of the few ways to effectively limit royal power.
The Elizabethan Deliverance - Arthur Bryant Reformation and Revolution 1558-1660 - Robert Ashton Elizabeth and her Parliaments - J.E. Neales Elizabeth and her Reign - Richard Salter Elizabeth I and religion 1558-1603 - Susan Doran Tudor England - John Guy Elizabeth I - David Starkey
There was a short time where all was calm right after the civil war. king charles the second and his father were both dead so Charles brother took over. this is king James the secondf and he was a Catholic sao he appointed many high positions in the government. Most of his sibjects were protestant and did not like the idea of Catholicism being the religion theyd have to abide by. like his father and brother king james the second ignored the peoples wishes and ruled without Parliament and relied on royal power. an English Protestant leader wanted to take the power away from james and give it to his daughter Mary and Her husband William from the Netherlands. William saled out to the south of england with his troops but sent them away soon after they landed
Burns, William E."Britain in the Late Middle Ages, 1272–1529." A Brief History of Great Britain, Brief History. New York: Facts On File, Inc., 2010. Modern World History Online. Facts On File, Inc. http://www.fofweb.com/activelink2.asp?
Lack of peasants and laborers sent wages soaring, and the value of land plummeted. For the first time in history the scales tipped against wealthy landlords as peasants and serfs gained more bargaining power. Without architects, masons and artisans, great cathedrals and castles remained unfinished for hundreds of years. Governments, lacking officials, floundered in their attempts to create order out of chaos. The living lost all sense of morality and justice, and a new attitude toward the church emerged.
During the Stuarts, the only people who had the liquid cash to pay for the needs of the modern government were primarily the middle-class and gentry, which were represented by the parliament. The “awkward, hand-to-mouth expedients” (38) of the Stuarts agitated by the differences in expectations of governance, brought them into conflict with their primary tax base. The impatience of the eventual rebels was exacerbated by their Stuart’s disregard for the traditional balance between the crown and the parliament, as they were Scottish royals who had only dealt with a very weak
With any new monarch’s ascension to the throne, there comes with it changes in the policies of the country. From Elizabeth’s new council, to Henry’s documented polices and even to William the Silent’s inaction in response to threats were all policies that needed to be worked out by the new rulers. This group of rulers all had something in common; they chose to let their people make their religious preference solely on their beliefs but they all differed in their ways of letting this come about. This was monumental for the time period in which they lived, but it was something that needed to be done to progress national unity.
On December 11, 1689, in his last act as the King of England, James II fled to France with his wife and son. He threw the Great Seal, the symbol of the King of England, into the Thames River. He did this to signify that no one on earth had the power to strip him of his crown and his divine authority except himself. Even after all his dignity had been lost, James adhered to his beliefs. Ironically a fisherman caught the symbol in his net a few days later. A workingman, the lowest rung on the political ladder, now held the power, symbolically and literally. England’s people had become autonomous.
When examining the bloody and often tumultuous history of Great Britain prior to their ascent to power, one would not have predicted that they would become the global leader of the 18th century. Prior to the Treaty of Westphalia, which ended the Thirty Years War, the Spanish and the Holy Roman Empire held much of the power in Europe. Only with the suppression of Catholicism and the development of national sovereignty did Great Britain have the opportunity to rise through the ranks. While much of continental Europe was seeking to strengthen their absolute monarchies and centralized style of governing, in the 17th and 18th centuries Great Britain was making significant political changes that reflected the ideals of the Age of Enlightenment. The first of the political philosophers was Thomas Hobbes who first introduced the idea that the monarch ruled not by “divine right” but through the consent of the people. This was a radical idea with ramifications that are reflected in the great changed Great Britain made to to their government in the 17th century. Through a series of two violent civil wars between the monarchy and Parliament and the bloodless civil war known as the Glorious Revolution, Parliament was granted the authority to, in essence, “check” the power of the monarchy. The internal shifts of power in Great Britain and the savvy foreign policy skills demonstrated by the British in much of the conflict happening in continental Europe can be credited with England’s rise to power.
The primary issues that fueled the Civil War in 1642-1649, the Commonwealth in 1649-1660, the Stuart Restoration 1660-1688 ...
The government in New England is divided into three bodies: The governor, the council and the Assembly.
Although there were still clear boundaries between rich and poor, this no longer played a practical role in the political system. However in France the rigid system which dictated the social and economic standing of all the country's citizens, from the King to the poorest peasant, was still very prominent. The King was second only to God, while the clergy and nobles, many of them very wealthy, paid no taxes and the peasants lived in poverty serving the landlords and carrying the weight of the rest of France through the heavy taxes they were forced t... ... middle of paper ... ... restricted the growth of industry and trade and the increase in food prices led to riots among the lower classes.
Moreover, the high demand for jobs also resulted in a significantly higher wage than before for both genders. This meant peasants’ lifestyle was greatly enriched. Some bought or rented spare land that once belonged to a deceased owner. From their new land, peasants became richer and
A1. England was run by a Parliament and per history had very limited involvement of the monarchy or direct rule by the king. As well as the colonial legislatures; members were elected by property-holding men and governors were given authority to make decisions on behalf of the king. This system our leadership and how it controls its people the reason many
The period leading up to the Civil War was a period of great change. In 1603, James I was crowned king and this was the first time that England, Scotland and Ireland all had the same monarch. These were very different countries in terms of their main religion. In the past, these religious divisions had resulted in the Gunpowder Plot (1605). In addition, there were many tensions between Parliament and Charles’ predecessor king James I. During James I’s reign, the king suspended Parliament for 10 years between 1611 and 1621. This did not leave a good state of affairs for his son Charles I to inherit when he was crowned king in 1625.