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James I Rises to the Throne
When James I became the King of England, it was clear Parliament was gaining power, influence and support. In 1604, James ended a war with Spain and made peace with their longtime rivals. However, 20 years later and shortly before James' death, England went to war again due to pressure from the Parliament. When James I rose to power, he allowed for Parliament to gain power meaning this is a step towards a limited monarchy. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:James_I_of_England_Schloss_Ambras -
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Seven Steps to a Limited Monarchy in England
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Charles I Rises to the Throne
Charles I tried to completely rule England without any limits and to rule as an absolute monarch. Instead, he helped England move toward a limited monarchy. He began to levy taxes and quartered troops within the houses of the people and imprisoned anyone who dared to defy him. This greaty lowered the popularity of Charles I which greatly benefited Parliament. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_I_detail.JPG -
Scotland Rebellion
The rebellion in Scotland played a major part that divided Charles I and Parliament. Funds were needed by Charles to fight this rebellion but Parliament did not trust Charles enough. Charles went onto levying taxes and quartering troops without permission causing a divide. When the rebellion was proving to be more trouble-some than Charles perviously thought, the Long Parliament was established
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Establishment of Long Parliament
The Long Parliament was full of land-owners and merchants who resented the King's taxes. When they were convened, they gained widespread influence and power. Parliament began to prohibt levying taxes without their consent and established rules where the king could not dissolve the parliament. This greatly limited the king and future monarchs http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:LongParliament.jpg -
Parliament Invaded by Charles I
Chalres I invaded the Parliament intending to arrest several of his opponents but instead, they all escaped. Given permission by the House of Commons, the Parliament was able to raise an army of their own. This led to the Civil War which eventually took down Charles I. http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Charles_I_detail.JPG -
English Civil War
The war was between the King's supporters known as Cavaliers and the Parliament's supporters known as Roundheads. The Civil war led to Parliament's victory and the exectuion of a monarch, King Charles I. By winning this civil war, Parliament was once gaining even more power allowing them to easily limit future monarchs. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/English_Civil_War#mediaviewer/File:Battle_of_Naseby.jpg -
Death of Oliver Cromwell
Oliver Cromwell led the Parliament to a victory over Charles I and gained control of England. He titled himself as Lord Protector and dissolved the Parliament when asked to disband his expensive army of 50,000. This of course took England away from the course to a limited monarchy. With his death, England was able to move towards a limited monarchy with King Charles II. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oliver_Cromwell#mediaviewer/File:Oliver_Cromwell_by_Samuel_Cooper.jpg
