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The death of Queen Elizabeth brought the reign of the Tudors to a close and ushered in the age of the Stuarts. James I (James VI of Scotland) inherited a state burdened with royal debt and religious divisions. James solved these issues in a way that did not make him popular, developing custom duties called impositions, and persecuting non-Anglicans. On top of this, he did not summon Parliament often and kept a scandalous court.
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This petition was drafted by Parliament in response to the unpopular policies of King Charles I. It served as a precursor to the English Bill of Rights, stating that there should be no taxes levied without Parliament, no soldiers quartered in the homes of civilians, no imprisonment without a trial, and no martial law. This was meant to help establish a better relationship between the people and the heavy-handed government of the Stuarts. https://bit.ly/364Fpmq
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It is the rule of Parliament that they may not dissolve the proceedings until each member agrees to it. During this time England was in turmoil, with civil war, fighting with Scotland, and dealing with the repercussions of the actions of the king (Charles I). It is agreed that this time was for the hashing-out discussion of ways that the government could be effective yet representative and not oppressive. Eventually, this would lead to the Bill of Rights.
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As Parliament and King Charles I grew more and more opposed to one another, tensions began to rise, with Parliament eventually passing the Militia Ordinance allowing them to raise an army. A war ensued (in three parts) that established the Commonwealth of England, based primarily on the sovereignty of Parliament, drastically limiting the role of the monarch to only work within the confines of the law and Parliament. https://bit.ly/3kS0SFl
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(See the post, The English Civil War Begins)
Pictured is, influential Parlimentarian and Lord Protector of the Commonwealth, Oliver Cromwell. https://bit.ly/3jQ7liz
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After the political chaos that proved to be the aftermath of the English Civil War, the restoration of a Stuart monarch, Charles II, to the throne, seemed like a miracle. However, his son James II had oppressive religious policies and was close to the Catholic state of France. Worst of all (for Parliament and the people), he was to have a Catholic heir- his young son... something that was considered unacceptable. Pictured is James II
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Parliament was displeased with James II but did not desire to return to the government model embraced during the war. As a solution, they invited the king's Protestant daughter Mary and her husband William of Orange to invade England and take over the throne. Parliament had learned from their mistakes and chose to preemptively put together a "Bill of Rights" for the new rulers. https://bit.ly/2TPMDom
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The culmination of all of these things and perhaps the most important development in the journey towards a limited monarchy was the Bill of Rights.
Before William and Mary could be crowned, they had to agree to Parliament's terms, to never go over the heads of Parliament, oppress the people, and to guarantee the civil liberties of all (Protestant) citizens. This shaped the monarchy into the constitutional one that exists today.
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