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Petition of Right Passed
The Petition of Right, passed in 1628, was the response of the English Parliament to aggressive attacks on rights of the nobility during the Thirty Years War: forced loans, unjust imprisonment, and quartering. The Petition, only signed by Charles because of the pressure to gain necessary funds for his war effort, restricted the rights of the monarch to levy taxes, causeless imprisonment, and martial law. This was signficant in that it represented a limitation on the rule of the king. -
Scottish Book of Common Prayer Imposed
Charles wanted political and religious unity in Great Britain. When he and his Archbishop William Laud, however, tried to reform the Presbyterian and Catholic systems of Scotland and their Book of Common Prayer to match those of the Anglican Church, the Scots revolted. Not only was this an initial sign of British disunity and the failures of absolutism, it also forced him to call Parliament, which passed the Grand Remonstrance, restricting kings' power and authority over religion. -
Battle of Newburn Lost to Scotland
When Charles I, poorly funded and staffed, lost the Battle of Newburn to the rebelling Scots, he was forced to sign an agreement where he would pay Scotland an annuity until a final treaty had been reached. In order to pay for this and for a new army, he called the Short and then Long Parliament. This Parliament, while it passed the important Grand Remonstrance, also established the weakness of English monarchs when it came to wealth, and their dependence on Parliament to raise taxes. -
Charles I Beheaded
To commit regicide is not a deed a country takes lightly. Charles I had very clearly offended both the English people and Parliament, whose New Model Army won the English Civil War. The interregnum period was a period of radicalization to be followed by the reactionary reappointment of Charles II. But the execution of Charles I itself represented the power of the consent of the governed in England - or rather, the power of no consent. Every English monarch that followed was very aware. -
Embarkation of William III in England
In June 1688, several Lords sent a letter called the Invitation to William to William of Orange, the daughter of the current English king, James II, who had been removed as the heir apparent to the English throne on the birth of his son. The very idea that Parliament would even sanction a usurpation of their throne, not to mention invite the perpetrator to do so, suggests that they had gained unspeakable power over the direction of their monarchy and of their kingdom. -
English Bill of Rights 1689 Passed
When William and Mary accepted the English Bill of Rights 1689 without even a semblance of a struggle, it was a clear victory for English Protestants and for constitutional monarchy. The Bill of Rights is a legally binding document that sets boundaries for the behavior of the royal family and the behavior of Parliament, but it gives Parliament definite rights that were noticeably absent before, such as the freedom of speech and the ability to keep and bear arms. These were a sign of limits. -
Sir Robert Walpole Becomes First Lord of the Treasury
Before Sir Robert Walpole, England had never had anything remotely close to a Prime Minister. Walpole popularized this office by showing influence in both the Parliament and the Cabinet, both of which together make up His/Her Majesty's Most Loyal Government in the United Kingdom even today. The connection between Parliament and the king of England was a new idea, and suggested that Parliament had become a more permanent and powerful institution, weakening the power of the throne.
