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King Charles I Ratifies the Petition of Right
This document produced a rough outline of what a king could and could not do. The fact that King Charles I ratified it is significant because it was a willing reduction of power. However, it is at the beginning instead of the end of this timeline because King Charles I did so under duress and is, therefore, not completely willing. -
The Beginning of the English Civil War
In this Civil War the king of England and his upper class supporters fought against Parliament and their middle and lower class supporters. This war was essentially a conflict over which group should have more power and also demonstrates the public's more pronounced and emerging belief that Parliament should have greater power over the king. -
King Charles I Executed
This event is significant because the English people deposed their own ruler as he did not respect their rights and did not adhere to the laws and regulations these people believed a monarch should follow. -
Beginning of the Commonwealth of England
England acting as a commonwealth demonstrated that the English people did not need or rely on monarchs as much as the monarchs, or even the Englishmen might have thought. As a result, the general populace was able to justify a decrease in power of monarchs and increased power for Parliament and the general public. -
Parliament Forces King Charles II to Recall the Declaration of Indulgence
This was an action where the powers of Parliament clearly extended beyond the implicit powers of an absolute monarch as the king's act was overruled and essentially replaced by an act of Parliament. Parliament's actions clearly displayed, not only for historians now, but also for England's population of the time, the dwindling power of the English monarchy. -
The Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution was a fairly bloodless change of power within England and ended with Parliament, the voice of the English people, appointing William of Orange and his wife Mary as the new King and Queen of England. This event is significant because the people decided they needed a new ruler and then chose their own rulers with minimal violence. Therefore, the "rulers" of England owed their political power more to the general English populace. -
Parliament Passes the Bill of Rights
With this act, the English monarchy formally and willingly reduced its own power and provided much more power and authority to the Parliament, which represented more of the general puplic. As such, the English monarchy legally and willingly gave up its absolute powers.
