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James I
James the first became king of England, during his reign he clashed with the English parliament because he imposed taxes without the parliamentary consent only to get rich, he also had to resolve religious conflicts in England, in fact he was asked to be tolerant of the Puritans -
Charles I
Charles the first became king of England and he was a the younger son of James I, he was engaged in a tough power struggle against the British Parliament, which opposed his absolutist aspirations to suppress the use of the Magna Carta. Another cause of clash was his religious policy: persevering the Anglican Church, he was hostile to the reformed tendencies of many of his subjects by these he was accused of being too close to Catholicism. -
Putney debates
Putney's debates were a series of discussions between members of the New Model Army concerning the composition of a new constitution for Britain. The Radicals wanted a constitution based on male suffrage, the two-year parliaments and a reorganization of parliamentary constituencies. The authority had to be attributed to the House of Commons rather than to the king and the lords. Some rights, including freedom of conscience and equality before the law, were considered inalienable. -
Oliver Cromwell
between 1649 and 1653 the country became nominally a republic, a true rarity in the Europe of the time. The republic was called the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, although all reports agree that Cromwell, during those years, ruled to all effects as a military dictator. He was often ruthless in repressing the mutinies that occurred in the ranks of his armies towards the end of the war, Cromwell showed little sympathy for the Levellers -
Commonwealth
The term Commonwealth is however vaguely used to describe the system of government that lasted throughout the period from 1649 to 1660. The Commonwealth was the first republic in the English-speaking world, although it became very quickly a military dictatorship of Cromwell, who exercised the functions of King, although he had not accepted the formal title. -
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The protectorate
from 1653 until 1659 three parliaments of the protectorate were established
- the first in 1654
- the second in 1656
- the third in 1658
