Lesson 18: The Constitutional Monarchy of England

The Struggle between Parliament and the King's Power

At the beginning of the 17th century, England began to be ruled by the Stuart dynasty. King James I, who came from Scotland, was a fervent advocate of the doctrine of "divine right of kings" and longed for the arbitrary power of the king. He believed that kingship was a gift from God and that kings were sent by God to rule on earth and were sacrosanct. He imposed taxes without the approval of the parliament and put the parliament in opposition to the king's power.

James I's words and actions were grossly inconsistent with the English tradition of legal politics. In 1215, England promulgated the Magna Carta, which defended the privileges of the secular nobility and stipulated that the king had no right to levy taxes without consultation, gradually establishing the basic principles of "limited royal power" and "king under law". Parliamentary system. The upper house was composed of nobles, while the lower house was composed of knights and representatives of commoners.

The onset of the revolution

After James I, Charles I continued his monarchical policy and ignored the power of the Parliament. In 1628, the Parliament presented a Petition of Rights to the King, reiterating that Charles I could not impose taxes without the consent of the Parliament; he could not arrest people without the judgment of the court; and he could not station troops in the homes of the inhabitants in times of peace. This petition expressed the intention of the council to limit the king's power. Charles I first agreed to it under false pretenses, but after receiving the appropriation, he dissolved the parliament, and the conflict between the parliament and the king's power intensified.

In 1640, the parliament reconvened and the deputies continued to criticize the king's autocratic power. Charles I became furious and sent his army to break into the parliament and tried to arrest the members who opposed him, thus provoking a civil war. After several years of repeated struggles, the parliamentary army defeated the king's army and Charles I was guillotined in 1649. Subsequently, England was declared a republic.

However, the power of the republic fell into the hands of the army headed by Cromwell, and the Parliament was not real. Parliament honored Cromwell as the "Lord Protector", and Cromwell held sole power. The revolution abolished the monarchy but did not end the rule of personal dictatorship.

The Bill of Rights

In 1660, Charles II, son of Charles I, accepted a conditional invitation from Parliament to become King of England. The English monarchy was restored, but the king's powers were greatly limited. Charles II was succeeded by his brother, James II. James II was a Catholic who restored Catholicism and autocracy in England and carried out a counter-attack, which provoked the people to revolt.

In 1688, the English Parliament decided to depose James II and invite his daughter Mary and son-in-law William to England, which was called the "Glorious Revolution". In 1689, Parliament passed the Bill of Rights, which reaffirmed the "rights of the English from time immemorial", such as the right of Parliament to meet regularly, the right to discuss state affairs and freedom of speech, the right of taxation to Parliament, and the freedom of petition. The Bill of Rights also provided that the King could not repeal laws, nor stop their execution, nor levy taxes without the permission of Parliament. Parliament also stipulated that no Catholic could be King of England in the future, and that the King of England could not marry a Catholic. The Williamses accepted the Bill of Rights and the demands of Parliament.

On the basis of the Bill of Rights, England established the supremacy of Parliament in the political life of the country and gradually formed a constitutional monarchy. From then on, disagreements could be negotiated in Parliament and unnecessary violence and civil war were avoided.

Britain executed a king, expelled a king, and ushered in a new monarch. On the surface, the monarch was retained, but the monarch took over the crown from Parliament and pledged to abide by the Bill of Rights and obey the laws of Parliament, which showed that Parliament's power was superior to that of the King.

（713words）