-
Jun 15, 1215
Signing of the Magna Carta
In 1215, King John granted his citizens the right that he could not make laws without the consent of parliament. This documented attempted to make it clear that nobody was above the rule of the land, including the king. -
1558
Large Scale Migration into England
During the Protestant Reformation, Protestants fleeing Germany and France found their way into Anglican England. Frustrated by the overbearing presence of the Emperor, the Reformation helped shape the mentality of freedom of choice & democratic society. Immigrants brought with them their new ideas and experiences from their past home and helped make England a mixture of cultures and therefore England became home to revolutionary ideas that often rejected the views of institutionalized authority. -
1560
John Knox and the General Assembly
The General Assembly is a group of ministers and elders who meet to discuss how to practice Presbyterianism based on what Jesus said in the Bible. Some members were worried that Queen Mary of the Scots was going to disallow their assembly, but John Knox, leader in the Scottish Reformation argued that the Queen should have no say in when the assembly should gather. -
English Civil War
(1642–1651) Mainly fought between the Roundheads (supporters of Parliament) and the Cavaliers (supporters of King Charles) over the correct way to rule over England. After having dismissed Parliament so many times and constantly disregarding their requests, Charles had grown increasingly unpopular and fled to northern England where he gathered support. Charles I was executed and his son Charles II eventually fled to France. -
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution was a seemingly bloodless transfer of power from James II to William of Orange. James II failed as an absolute monarch because he could not secure enough popularity even though he ruled under the ideology of the Divine Right of Kings. English factions encouraged protestant Mary (daughter of James) and her husband William to seize the throne. William's army marched into England but James fled to France and the couple took over the throne. -
John Locke publishes "Two Treatises of Government"
(1632—1704) John Locke, vanguard of the Enlightenment period, argued the idea of the social contract and that while a person may be born into a state of nature and freedom, by giving up some personal liberties, in return he should be protected by the government and the government must respect the liberties he retains. This means man should have the right to choose their ruler and impeach their ruler if they feel he is doing a poor job at protecting his liberties. -
English Bill of Rights
New ruler of England, William and Mary accepted more of a power share with Parliament than any other previous monarchs had. This created a permanent shift of the relationship between the monarchs and Parliament. The Bill created a separation of powers (Montesquieu), limits the power of the monarch through checks by Parliament, and encourages freedom of speech.This document essentially completed the transformation from an absolute monarch to a constitutional monarch ruling style.
