The Rise of the Stuarts Western Civilization II Marshall High School Mr. Cline Unit Three JC
James Continues Persecution To him, Elizabeth passed a legacy of religious unrest. When he took the English throne as James I, the country was ripe for religious rebellion. However, his ascension gave hope to the Catholics of England. Although James was a Protestant, his mother was the very Catholic Mary, Queen of Scots. Making matters even more hopeful for the Catholics, not only was his mom Catholic, she had been executed by the Protestant Elizabeth I. If anyone had reason to be sympathetic to the Catholic cause, it would be James I. Sadly for the Catholics, this was not to be the case. James clung to Protestantism and the policies of his predecessor, Elizabeth.
James Continues Persecution The Plot Is Hatched With this, religious tensions bubbled to the surface, and the Gunpowder Treason was born. In 1604, a small group of frustrated Catholics met to hatch a plan of rebellion. Led by Robert Catesby, they conspired to strike the very head of England, King James, and his parliament. By killing the Protestant rulers of England, the conspirators hoped to return Catholicism to the helm. In a plot that's become like legend to England's children, these angry men began by renting a vault in the ground floor of Westminster Palace. In a move that gave the treason its name, they filled the vault with barrel upon barrel of gunpowder.
The Plot Is Hatched To get the biggest bang for their buck, (pun completely intended) they chose November 5, the official opening of Parliament, as the day to light the proverbial - and literal - fuse to avenge years of Catholic persecution. All would have gone according to plan, had not one of the conspirators lost his stomach for the planned violence. The Plot is Foiled In October 1605, a member of Parliament received an anonymous letter warning him not to attend the opening meeting. Although it's never been proven, many historians believe the turn-coat was most likely a close relative of one of the would-be-victims of Parliament. Alarmed by such an odd plea, the recipient of the letter brought it to the attention of the royalty.
The Plot is Foiled In a smart move, King James decided to wait to act until the eve of Parliament's opening. He believed this would give them the best chance to catch the conspirators. On November 4th, the king's men swung into action. With precision and purpose, Westminster Palace was turned upside down. When the search led to the basement, the vault of gunpowder was not the only thing uncovered. The search also found Guy Fawkes, the conspirator believed to be in charge of the gunpowder, with matches and torchwood in his hands. Not ones to take plots of treason lightly, the crown arrested Fawkes and subsequently had him tortured. Although many accounts report he held strong for days, he eventually cracked and supplied the names of his fellow conspirators.
The Plot is Foiled What ensued was a nation-wide search for the remaining schemers. They were found in Staffordshire, England. Like their plan, their end was drama-filled. Several died in a full-blown shoot out with royal forces. Those who survived were rounded up and put on trial in January 1606. Not surprisingly, all of them were found guilty of high treason and were sentenced to horrific deaths. They were to be hanged almost to the point of death and then disemboweled. Finally, their bodies were to be chopped into several pieces.
The Plot is Foiled When the gruesome executions were complete, King James had bonfires lit throughout London in celebration. These bonfires became a tradition known as Bonfire Night, which continues to this very day. Each November 5th, Englanders gather to remember the Gunpowder Treason and to celebrate the safety of their king. As part of the festivities, children make paper replicas of Guy Fawkes or in times past, the pope, and then burn them in effigy amidst the bonfires and fireworks. They also wear Guy Fawkes masks, all the while, the crowd rings out England's popular rhyme: 'Remember, remember, the 5th of November; Gunpowder, treason and plot; I see no reason why gunpowder, treason; should ever be forgot.'
Divine Right of Kings For centuries, England held to the Divine Right of Kings, the belief that kings are given the right to rule by God. Therefore, kings are accountable to God alone. These days, England has definitely softened on this concept. However, when you take into account that two BILLION viewers watched the fairytale wedding of Prince William and Kate Middleton, you realize people on both sides of the Atlantic think these royals are still something very special. To put it mildly, the English crown has given us some remarkable characters, not the least of whom would be King Charles I. Although he doesn't currently get as much press as the current Prince Charles or the wife-killing Henry VIII, he is a central figure in England's history. Not only did he lead England to its 17th century civil war, he was executed for doing it!
Divine Right of Kings Yes, you heard that right. A king of England was actually executed by his people! For those of us who grew up playing baseball rather than cricket, the reign of King Charles is probably not familiar. In order to explain how his bad decisions caused the civil war, I thought we'd use the old 'three strikes you're out' metaphor. In this scenario, the English parliament will be our umpires, while King Charles will be our batter. His strikes will come in the areas of religion, money, and politics. With all this being said, let's play ball!
Strike One - Religion Charles' first swing and miss came in the form of religion. In the mid-16th century, King Henry VIII split with the Roman Catholic Church and declared himself head of the Church of England. Although there were a few attempts to bring the country back to Catholicism, Protestantism remained the religion of the state. Of course, this was a huge bone of contention with English Catholics, who were marginalized and even persecuted in the name of Protestantism. This strife led to mistrust as each side suspected the other of foul play. With this background in mind, it's not surprising the Protestant Parliament was outraged when Charles chose a Catholic princess as his bride. Their concerns were obvious; If such a marriage occurred, would the next king or queen be raised as a Catholic?
Strike One - Religion Even worse, his bride was from France. Would the marriage give Catholic France a foothold in England? Thumbing his nose at these concerns, Charles married his Catholic girl. Adding to this, he began persecuting the fundamental English Protestants known as Puritans. With this drastic move, the Protestants of England called, 'Strike One!' Strike Two - Money Strike two occurred when Charles decided to play foul with the treasury of England. First, he used the Star Chamber, or an English court of law in which the upper class was tried, to raise money for his own purse. During his reign, the Star Chamber inflicted heavy fines on those brought before it.
Strike Two - Money Charles also used the court to bribe the wealthy to buy noble titles. If they refused, they too were fined. Second, he forced all of England to pay Ship Money. Ship money, which was a tax used for the upkeep of the English navy, was historically only paid by coastal towns. However, Charles decided everyone should pay this tax since everyone benefited from the navy. Although he may have had a point, this unilateral decision infuriated the powerful men of the nation. With this, strike two was called! Strike Three - Parliament Strikes one and two were pretty big deals. However, strike three was one for the record books!
Strike Three - Parliament Strikes one and two were pretty big deals. However, strike three was one for the record books! It occurred in 1629, when Charles actually refused to let Parliament meet. Not only did he refuse them once, Charles kept Parliament from meeting for over a decade! This came to be known as the Eleven Years' Tyranny, or Charles I's Personal Rule. This didn't end until 1640, when Charles got into a tangle with Scotland and needed Parliament's money to fund the war. Of course, Parliament wasn't just going to hand him his money. They were going to make him grovel! Before agreeing to fork over the dough, Parliament wanted Charles' chief adviser, Sir Thomas Wentworth (the one he listened to instead of them), executed.
Strike Three - Parliament Civil War and Execution They also revoked the King's power to dissolve Parliament while also making it illegal for him to impose his own taxes. With his chief advisor dead and his money dwindling, Charles' hatred for Parliament grew. In 1642, he marched on Parliament with about 300 soldiers. His goal was to arrest a few of his biggest critics. Unfortunately for Charles, he had misread the loyalty of his fan base! Although many didn't agree with Parliament, the people still considered this body to be the representatives of the people. If Charles was free to arrest the powerful men of Parliament for criticizing him, how would the common men of England be safe from his whims?
Civil War and Execution With this, strike three rang out all over London! Within days of trying to arrest his opponents, King Charles realized his error and fled from London to Oxford. In Oxford, he worked to raise an army large enough to conquer Parliament once and for all. Instead of reviewing or recanting the strike call, Parliament refused to back down. With this, civil war began in 1642. As the people of England began choosing sides, teams seemed to fall along geographical lines. Those from the north and southwest favored Charles, while those in London and the southeast joined the Parliament's side. With the country so divided, it's surprising to note the war actually saw very few major battles.
Civil War and Execution In the first years of the war, the Royalist forces, those loyal to the king, had the upper hand. However, the tides turned when the Parliamentary forces made a military alliance with the Scots. Things got even brighter for them when Oliver Cromwell came on the scene. Cromwell, an educated member of the upper class, restructured the Parliamentary forces. Under his leadership, a soldier's placement in the military was based on his ability and not his status in society. In other words, the guys with the most skill made the starting line-up. This became known as the New Model Army. And, because of their new technology, with rounded metal helmets, they became known as the Roundheads.
Civil War and Execution With this restructuring, the Parliamentary forces became a force to be reckoned with. At the 1645 Battle of Naseby, this New Model Army won the day! Not only did they win, they left the battlefield with most of the king's men either dead or imprisoned. Making this defeat even more of a trouncing, they also captured the king's stock of guns and ammunition. Without weapons, and with very few men, it became obvious that Charles was captain of the losing team. Being unwilling to officially throw in the towel to Parliament, Charles fled to Scotland. Unfortunately for the bedraggled king, the Scots weren't his biggest fans.
Civil War and Execution Not only did they refuse to help him, they turned him over to the English Parliament. This is where you'd expect Charles to give up the game. Ironically, he did the exact opposite. Even though he was in the custody of his enemies, he still worked to rally followers to his cause. Since Charles was completely unwilling to relent, a few radical members of Parliament decided peace could never be made while he remained alive. With this, they called in a devastating play! In a shocking, game-changing move, King Charles I was tried and convicted of high treason against England, the country that had for generations held to the Divine Right of Kings.
Civil War and Execution In the year 1649, King Charles I, of royal blood, was beheaded by his very own subjects.