THE STUART AGE (1603-1714)

THE STUART AGE (1603-1714)

Introduction:

            Queen Elizabeth did not marry and so when she died there was no legitimate heir to the throne in the Tudor dynasty. But before her death, she had expressed the desire that kings James VI of Scotland should be her successor. King James VI was the great-grandson of James IV who married Margaret, daughter of HenryVII thus the House of Tudor and the House of Stuart were connected by marriage. The Main occurs are given below.

Gun powder plot:

            James I (1603-1625)was the great-grandson of Henry VII’s daughter. When he asserted the throne, he called himself “king of Great Britain”. The Roman Catholics in England hoped for much from a son of Catholic Mary, king of Scots. As soon as he became king. James was inclined to be tolerant and waived the fine that Roman Catholics had to pay for not going to their Anglican parish churches. Encouraged by this move, Hundreds of Catholic priests from abroad came to England and James was forced to re-introduce the fines. This promoted the Gunpowder Plot of 1605. Robert Catesby and several others planned to expand the houses of Parliament so that the King Lords and common people would perish. The plot was discovered, and Guy Fawkes was captured by one of the conspirators. The result of this plot was that severe laws were passed against Catholics.

Publication of Authorized Version:

            One great event of immense literary importance was the publication of the English Bible, generally known as the Authorized Version. It was the work of  Forty-seven scholars and divine working for more than three years.

Colonial Expansion:

            During the rule of James I initial steps was taken for Colonial  Expansion. In order to promote colonization and several companies were formed and the most famous among them were “The London Company” and “Plymouth Company”.

Rump Parliament:

            Rule of the Rump, there was a division among the parliamentarians.  The House of Lords had been abolished. Nearly half of the members of the House of common had lost their seats. Through one hundred Pride’s Purge and thirty Presbyterian members were driven out of the Parliament. The rest were contemptuously called the Rump.

The commonwealth:

The commonwealth (1653-1658). The army triumphed over the independents of the Rump and the commonwealth was set up with Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector. He ruled the country for five years till his death in 1658, but before his death, a law had been passed enabling his son to succeed him. Richard Cromwell was a son of Oliver Cromwell, unlike his father,  he was a weak administrator.

Glorious Revolution:

           This is the great event in British history, the events of 1688–89 that resulted in the deposition of James II and the accession of William III and Mary II to the English throne. It is also called the Bloodless Revolution.

    The Glorious Revolution was an event in the history of both England and Scotland in 1688. The people of England and Scotland did not like the king, King James II because he would not let them vote or practice the religion of their choice. They invited William III of Orange-Nassau to take over as king. William was King James II's nephew and Mary's first cousin. He came to England with his wife Queen Mary, the daughter of King James II. They let the old king escape, so he moved to France out of fear. William signed the Bill of Rights and became king, and England became a constitutional monarchy.