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English Civil War
A war b/w royalists and antiroyalists caused by Charles I's disregard for Parliament and the attacks on the Puritans, leading to the Calvinist Scots acting against him. When Charles realized he would need Parliament to cover the costs of war but would not meet the requirements, so the war began as England was split in two. It led to the replacement of English monarchy with the Commonwealth of England.
image source:http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_I_of_England_-_Van_Dyck.jpg -
James II Challenges Gentry
James offered Catholics the very encouragement the gentry feared. This move was a direct challenge to the gentry's power, so in 1688, seven of their leaders invited the Protestant ruler of the United Provinces to invade and take over the throne, James decided not to risk battle and fled to exile in France.
image source:
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_II_of_England.jpg -
Political Party Conflict
The Whigs had controlled the government for most of William III's reign and supported his war against Louis XIV because France favored James and the Jacobites. The Tories and the Whigs competed fiercely for votes. The election of 1700 produced a major upset when the Tories won by opposing renewal of war with Louis XIV.
image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_I_of_England_404446.jpg -
Government under Whigs emerges as powerful
The British government
was able to advance state-building to expand
its authority and its international power in
the 1700s. This expansion was the work not so
much of a monarch as of the "political nation":
the landowners and leading townsmen who elected almost
all the members of Parliament. Their control of the
nation was visible in the distribution of the 558
seats in the House of Commons.
image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:British_House_of_Commons_1834.jpg -
The War for Spanish succession
England's war with France over who would take over the throne in Spain. The Whigs believed in constitutional monarchism and opposition to absolute rule. They took over England's government during this time period. In doing this, they established their own ideas in governmant.
image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:King_James_I_of_England_and_VI_of_Scotland;_King_Charles_I;_King_Charles_II;_Queen_Anne;_King_James_II;_William,_Duke_of_Gloucester;_Queen_Mary_II_by_Sir_Godfrey_Kne -
England flourishes as they join with Scotland
As England and Scotland joined into one kingdom in 1707, the union created a Great Britain ready to exercise a worldwide influence. During this time, the government under the Whigs grew very powerful, as well as it's economy and the country as a whole.
image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:New_popular_edition_map_numbers.jpg -
Britain changing tactics
William Pitt tried to shape Britian's diplomacy to what he considered the needs of his state. "Reasons of state" centered
on security, which could be guaranteed only by force. Obvious goals were searching for reliable borders and weakening rivals. Leaders believed that the end (security and prosperity) justified the means (the
use of power). Attempting invulnerability, leaders felt justified in using the crudest tactics in dealing with neighbors.
image source: http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/F
