Examination Questions on Period Six

7/28/2019 Examination Questions on Period Six

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Examination questions on Period Six (1603-1688)

1. To what extent was the great Civil War the result of religious causes?

Charles married Henrietta Maria of France who was catholic, but the country was protestant so many

people believed he was going to change the country catholic which they didn't want.

2. What were the aims of James I in his foreign policy? How far did he succeed in carrying them out?

James I aimed at peace, and thought to attain it through dynastic marriages. First aimed at Protestant

alliance, so married his daughter Elizabeth to Frederick of the Palatinate.

Outbreak of the Thirty Years' War in Germany. Frederick as a protestant was chosen King of Bohemia by

the Protestants there (1619), and the Emperor attacked him, not wishing for a protestant King. James led

Frederick to believe he would support him, but he did not. Frederick was defeated and lost all his

dominions.

James also aimed at Catholic alliance, so he planned to marry his son Charles to the daughter of the King ofSpain (1617). England disliked the "Spanish" match, which roused great opposition. (James also executed

Ralegh in 1618 to please the Spaniards) When that failed, he planned to marry Charles to the daughter of

the king of France. (This gave England a Roman Catholic Queen, whose sons, Charles II and James II, later

became Catholic.)

3. Say what you can in favour of the foreign policy of James I.

The king's foreign policy was dominated by a fear of Spain which was not shared by the English people.

The strife which had continued through the last years of Elizabeth was terminated sensibly enough by a

peace almost immediately after James's accession. But James was possessed by an extravagant

obsequiousness to Spain, which led to one of the most shameful incidents of the reign.

4. Summarize the chief complaints of James I's Parliaments. How far were they justified?

Quarrelled over:

a) King's theory of Divine Right. Parliament stood for theory that "sovereignty" lay with King and

Parliament;

James stood for theory that royal "prerogative" could over-ride Parliament.

b) Right of election to Parliament. James declared he could set aside an election (Godwin's case) (1604).

c) Taxation. James levied "impositions" which were not sanctioned by Parliament.

d) King's Ministers. Parliament "impeached" the king's Ministers (1621).

Freedom of speech. Parliament declared its right to freedom of speech (1622).

6. Give an account of the colonization of North America by the British in the reigns of James I and

Charles I.

Development of America:

Virginia was colonized in 1607-10. Successful under Lord De la Warr. Farther North, Pilgrim Fathers left

England (1620) under James I and sailed to New England. Under Charles I many more followed.Massachusetts‟ chief colony consisted of Puritans flying from Anglican persecutions. Maryland founded

(1634) by the Roman Catholic Lord Baltimore, as refuge for Roman Catholics.

Gimenez, María Alejandra



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Under Charles II, first advance again in the South. Where the Carolinas, called after Charles, were founded

(1663). Then in the North, settlements acquired from Dutch, by Treaty of Breda (1667), New York, New

Jersey and Delaware. Then Pennsylvania founded by William Penn, the Quaker (1680), who fled from the

persecutions under Charles II. Thus the colonies stretched in a strip all along the seaboard, and consisted of

persons of different religions, but all of English nationality.

7. What were the chief causes of the civil war?

The status of the monarchy had started to decline under the reign of James I. He was known as the "wisest

fool in Christendom". James was a firm believer in the "divine right of kings". This was a belief that Godhad made someone a king and as God could not be wrong, neither could anyone appointed by him to rule

a nation. James expected Parliament to do as he wanted; he did not expect it to argue with any of his

decisions. However, Parliament had one major advantage over James - they had money and he was

continually short of it. Parliament and James clashed over custom duties. This was one source of James

income but Parliament told him that he could not collect it without their permission. In 1611, James

suspended Parliament and it did not meet for another 10 years. James used his friends to run the country

and they were rewarded with titles. This caused great offence to those Members of Parliament who

believed that they had the right to run the country.

In 1621, James re-called Parliament to discuss the future marriage of his son, Charles, to a Spanish princess.

Parliament was outraged. If such a marriage occurred, would the children from it be brought up as

Catholics? Spain was still not considered a friendly nation to England and many still remembered 1588 and

the Spanish Armada. The marriage never took place but the damaged relationship between king and

Parliament was never mended by the time James died in 1625.

8- Give an account of the relations between King and the Parliament between the accessions of James I

(1603) and the dissolution of Charles I”s third Parliament (1629).

James I quarrelled over:

King‟s theory of Divine Right: Parliament stood for theory that „sovereignty‟ lay with King and parliament,

James stood for theory that royal „prerogative‟ could over-side Parliament.

Right of election to Parliament: James declared he could set aside an election (Godwin„s case 1606)

Taxation: James levied „impositions‟ which were not sanctioned by Parliament (Bate‟s case 1604)

King‟s ministers: Parliament impeached the King‟s ministers, i.e. prosecuted them in the House (1621).

Freedom of speech: Parliament declared its right to freedom of speech (1622).

Charles‟s effort to rule without parliament:

1- Tried to get on without parliament and therefore had to do without appeals for money.

2- Tried to raise money in other ways, distrait of knighthood, shipmoney, sale of monopolies.

3-Used „prerogative‟ powers and „prerogative courts‟ to try persons objectionable to the King. Starchamber

and High Commission.

9- Account for the defeat of the Royalist in the Civil War.

The Parliament and the Royalist appealed to the scots, who decided to support Parliament. Charles brought

over Irish, but they were ineffective, compared with the Scots.The Cromwell Army was now fully trained,

and left its own district to fight in the north. Great victory at Marston Moor. This led New Model Army,

with good cavalry and good officers, to “go everywhere”. The Battle of Worcester took place on 3

September 1651 at Worcester, England and was the final battle of the English Civil War. Oliver Cromwelland the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalist, predominantly Scottish, forces of King Charles II. The

16,000 Royalist forces were overwhelmed by the 28,000 strong "New Model Army" of Cromwell.



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10- Account for the failure of the Commonwealth to survive:

Parliament was not representative of the country for elections not free, and large body of royalist not

represented.

Parliament consisted of intolerant persons who wished to persecute other forms of religions, and this

Cromwell and the army would not allow.

The army hence could not agree with either of the other parties of the state. The „instrument of government‟

and „humble petition‟ are written constitutions and show the difficulties of settling of the two Houses.

11- What were the chief difficulties which faced Cromwell as Protector, and how did he try to overcome

them?

1- To prevent restoration of the Stuarts: achieved because France and Spain at war, and both wanted

England‟s help, so neither would help Stuarts.

2- To maintain Protestant religion: offered terms to Spain, cost of the war to be borne by Spain, Calais to be

restored to Britain, trade to be allowed with Spanish colonies, English to be unmolested by Inquisition.

Spain refused terms, 1654.

Offered terms to France, cost of war to be borne by France, Dunkirk to be British, persecution of Vaudois to

cease, France accepted terms in 1655. Hence military alliance with France in 1657 obtained concession for

Protestants, and fought Spain, which was bigotedly intolerant.

3- To advance English commerce, hence war with Dutch, our commercial rivals.

12- Show the influence of either Scotland or Ireland on English history between 1629 and 1660.

Scotland:

After 1st Civil War, Scotland wished to force England to become Presbyterian. Cromwell opposed this and

offered to Charles I to maintain Episcopacy in England, but he rejected it. Scots invaded England but were

defeated. They entered Scotland and put Argyll in power.

Charles I restored order, revived trade, developed flax industry, raised an army, improved Protestant

church. Called Irish Parliament. But when Long Parliament met, Irish rebelled fearing worse treatment at

hands of Puritans (1641). First took form of attack on Scottish Presbyterians in Ulster. Long Parliament

declared for no toleration for Catholic religion in Ireland, and for the confiscation of land of rebels.

Charles II had the same idea and was defeated, he was forced to make peace and accept General Monck as

governor.

Ireland:

In 1649 Irish supported Charles I. Cromwell went over and took Drogheta and Wexford. Land confiscatedand settlement made by English. Catholic religion suppressed as far as open worship concerned.

Called representatives from Ireland to the „Barebones‟ Parliament and granted free trade with England.

13- How much of the work of the Long Parliament was permanent?

The work of this Parliament for the first nine month was the abolition of the arbitrary power of the Crown.

Now at last, after nearly forty years some of the questions at issue between King and parliament were to be

definitely settled. Parliament was not to be adjourned or dissolved without its own consent, and that in

future, Parliaments must be summoned every three years.

14- Describe the work of Oliver Cromwell after the death of Charles I.



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Cromwell had supreme influence and used it for moderate republicanism: quarrelled with scots that

objected to Army´s support of independents, and wished to enforce Presbyterianism on England, he

opposed it and hence 3rd war.

Pride‟s Purge set up single chamber of government, council of State and the Rump Parliament. Cromwell

can rule “neither with Parliament nor without”. He and his Army quarrel with Rump and dissolve it.

Cromwell tried to settle the country by rule of major-generals in eleven districts. This army-rule so

unpopular he called another Parliament and he was asked to become King. He refused but set up Revised

Protectorate with a nominated Upper House, larger Lower House. The two Houses quarrelled over theirpowers, and Cromwell dissolved them.

15. What exactly were Cromwell’s powers from 1654-58? Why did he fail to establish a permanent

republican government?

Cromwell was head of the State, and his rule rested on the army. He was a true military dictator. He was to

rule England for the next six years, and this experiment is of interest because it shows the typical successes

and failures of such system. His repressions made him unpopular, and yet he was bound to refuse liberty

to his opponents. He crushed Ireland and forced her into submission.

Establishing a Republican Government failed because of:

• Parliament was not representative of the country for elections not free, and large body of Royalists

not represented.

• Parliament consisted of intolerant persons who wished to persecute other forms of religion, and this

Cromwell and the army would not allow.

• The army hence could not agree with either of the other parties of the State. The “Instrument of

Government” and “Humble Petition” are written constitutions and show the difficulties of setting powers

of the two Houses.

16. State the main facts of Oliver Cromwell’s dealings with a) the Irish, and b) the Scots.

Cromwell and his supporters opposed to Scotland wish to force England to become Presbyterian and

offered to Charles I to maintain episcopacy in England; but Charles chose Scots alliance, so in 1648 Scots

invaded England on Charles‟s behalf. Cromwell defeated them at Wigan, at Warrington, and at Preston.

Entered Scotland and put Argyll in power.

When Charles I died Scotland supported Charles II, who promised to set up Presbyterian in England.

Cromwell invaded Scotland, and won battle of Dunbar. Scots forced to make peace and accept General as

Governor.

In 1649 Irish supported Charles I. Cromwell went over and took Drogheda and Wexford. Showed great

cruelty and put Drogheda garrison to death.

The English confiscated land and settlement. Catholic religion suppressed as far as open worship

concerned.

Cromwell‟s policy in Ireland is in opposition to his usual toleration. He believed Ireland would supply

armed forces for the Stuarts and that “severity” would check this. He failed and his policy inflicted great

suffering and ruin in Ireland. Population fell by over one-third in this period.

18. Describe the main events of the three Anglo- Dutch wars of the seventeenth century

The first Dutch war in 1652 was to secure commercial advantages a collision between the Dutch and

English fleets near Dover was the beginning of the war and Cromwell was in charge of the battle.

During the second and the third Dutch war Charles II made an alliance with France, which gain advantages

as France had no fleet equal to the war.



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19. Both Charles I and Cromwell found it impossible to govern with Parliaments. Why?

It was impossible for Charles I and Cromwell to govern with Parliaments because these ones pretended to

abolish the arbitrary power of the Crown, and the squire brought by the Parliament attacked the

misgovernment of the King, and summed up his political creed by declaring that “the powers of Parliament

are to the body politic as the rational faculties of the soul to a man”.

20. Was Charles II’s foreign policy advantageous to England?

The second foreign policy wasn‟t advantageous to England because Charles gave up Tangier in order to

please Louis XIV, and the French ambassador was the chief supporter of a disastrous policy. Louis XIV‟s

powers and ambitions were extending, and when the revolution of 1688 came, his ascendancy was

threatening all Europe.

21. What were the causes and results of the English naval wars with the Dutch?

The cause of the naval war was that the Dutch had shut the English out from trade in the East Indies. An

informal “sort of war” was going on between the English and French sea, and England Claimed to seize

French goods on Dutch ships, a claim which the Dutch resisted. Finally there was a question of honour, the

English men-of-war in the Channel, and the Dutch were naturally averse to recognizing such a right.

The English ships were able to inflict great damage upon Holland‟s extensive commerce. In the course ofthe war no less than one hundred and twenty men-of-war and towards its close no Dutch merchantman

could show itself in the Channel.

The result of this was the important commercial concessions that gave to England.

22. Give a brief history of religious affairs during the reign of Charles II

Charles II was at heart a Catholic, but he was too prudent to declare himself.

Charles had made four promises in his Declaration signed at Brenda before his return to England, the

performance of these promises, however, being conditional upon the consent of Parliament.

The promise of liberty of conscience. Charles had tried to effect a compromise through a conference

between leading ecclesiastics; but the attempt was a failure, and it was left to a new Parliament to deal with

the question.

On the religious question the Cavalier Parliament proved itself to be more Anglican than even the ordinary

High Churchman, and between 1661 four Acts were passed against the Puritans, and a time of persecution

set in.

By the first of these Acts, the Corporation Act, no one could be a member of the municipal bodies which

governed the towns and controlled the election of Members of Parliament unless he took an oath denying

the lawfulness, under any pretext whatever, of taking up arms against the king, and received the

Communion according to the rites of the Church of England. This Act sought to deprive the Puritans of

their hold upon the towns and the House of Commons. By the Act of Uniformity every clergyman and

schoolmaster was obliged to take a similar oath of non-resistance and declare his “unfeigned consent and

assent” to everything contained in the Book of Common Prayer, in which six hundred alterations had just

been made, of a trivial character mostly, it is true, but in the anti-Puritan direction. No less than two

thousand clergymen refused to conform to this Act, and were deprived of their livings.

By the Conventicle Act religious meetings were forbidden, under penalty of imprisonment for the first, and

transportation for the third, offence. These Acts helped to complete the severance between the Church of

England and the more advanced Puritans. They are sometimes known as the Clarendon Code.

Lord Clarendon was impeached by Parliament, and retired into exile because the whole nation held him

responsible for the appearance of the Dutch fleet up the Thames.



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23. What were Charles II’s principal aims and how far was he successful in achieving them?

Charles tried first to secure French and help to make him independent of Parliament.

Tried to get toleration for Roman Catholics-by the Declaration of Indulgence suspending the laws against

Catholics and Dissenters. Parliament would not agree, and passed Test Act instead, obliging all holders of

office to be communicants of Church of England.

He sought to rule himself without the Parliament and looked for France‟s money, he made this to happen

24. Describe social life in town and country in the latter part of seventeenth century.

During the 17th century England became steadily richer. Trade and commerce grew and grew. By the late

17th century trade was an increasingly important part of the English economy. Meanwhile industries such

as glass, brick making, iron and coal mining expanded rapidly.

The status of merchants improved. People saw that trade was an increasingly important part of the

country's wealth so merchants became more respected. However political power and influence was held by

rich landowners.

At the top of English society were the nobility. Below them were the gentry. Gentlemen were not quite rich

but they were certainly well off. Below them were yeomen, farmers who owned their own land. Yeomen

were comfortably off but they often worked alongside their men. Gentlemen did not do manual work!

Below them came the mass of the population, craftsmen, tenant farmers and labourers.

At the end of the 17th century a writer estimated that half the population could afford to eat meat every

day. In other words about 50% of the people were wealthy of at least reasonably well off. Below them about

30% of the population could afford to eat meat between 2 and 6 times a week. They were 'poor'. The bottom

20% could only eat meat once a week. They were very poor. At least part of the time they had to rely on

poor relief.

By an act of 1601 overseers of the poor were appointed by each parish. They had power to force people to

pay a local tax to help the poor. Those who could not work such as the old and the disabled would be

provided for. The overseers were meant to provide work for the able-bodied poor. Anyone who refused to

work was whipped and, after 1610, they could be placed in a house of correction. Pauper's children were

sent to local employers to be apprentices.

In many towns wealthy people left money in their wills to provide almshouses where the poor could live.

25. The Revolution of 1688 was as important an event in European as in English history. Discuss

The Glorious Revolution of 1688-1689 replaced the reigning king, James II, with the joint monarchy of his

protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband, William of Orange. It was the keystone of the Whig

(those opposed to a Catholic succession) history of Britain.

According to the Whig account, the events of the revolution were bloodless and the revolution settlement

established the supremacy of parliament over the crown, setting Britain on the path towards constitutional

monarchy and parliamentary democracy. This is way was an important event in English history.

26. Explain why Charles II succeeded in retaining his throne, and why James II lost it.

James II was forced to flee his kingdom after less than four years on the throne in the face of a foreign

invasion and desertions among his own military and civilian population. Yet Charles II, despite the fact

that his regime seemed in serious trouble by the late 1670s, managed to end his reign peacefully in his bed,

having maneuvered himself out of crisis with a skill and adroitness not typically associated with Stuart

rulers, and having significantly reinvigorated the powers of the monarchy in the process. It was aremarkable achievement, though one that came at enormous human cost.

27. Why and how did James II unite the most important sections of the English Nation against himself?



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Scotland and England joined against James II because he tried to remove the laws which stopped Catholics

from taking positions in government and Parliament. He also tried to bring back the Catholic Church, and

allow it to exist beside the Anglican Church. James almost certainly believed sincerely that this would

result in many returning to the Catholic Church.

28. Charles II and James II both wished to rule as absolute monarchs. Explain: a) the means adopted by

each for this purpose, and b) why Charles II succeeded and James II failed.

Charles II succeeded to rule as an absolute monarch because he got rid of the Parliament, he got more

power and he could go to war whenever he wanted.

But James II couldn‟t succeed in it because he wanted to have a strong Parliament and he couldn‟t take all

the decisions.

29. Describe the growth of the party system under Charles II.

After the English Civil War had established a protectorate in place of a monarchy under New Model Army

leader Oliver Cromwell, a period known as the Restoration began. During this time King Charles II (the son

of the previously executed Charles I) was restored to the throne but was under specific limits placed upon

by parliament. The Bill of Rights was enacted in 1689, and certain privileges were protected from intrusion

by any power including the monarchy. When the heir to the throne, James Duke of York was discovered to

be a Catholic a rift among parliamentarians arose on the issue of support for the Catholic king. The people

who wished to exclude James from the throne came to be known as Whigs, and the people who gave

support were known as Tories, or the Tory party. Both names inherently have negative connotations:

'Whig' means a horse driver in Scottish Gaelic, and 'Tory' means outlaw in the Irish Gaelic language. This

schism during the Exclusion Bill Crisis served as the starting point of the formation of political parties in

England. Although the bill was ultimately defeated in the House of Lords in 1681, the division of the two

political tendencies remained. It should be noted, however, that real party distinctions did not clarify until

a later time. The terms of 'Whig' and 'Tory' were used more as tendencies to support an opinion in policy:

rigid blocks of political coordination were yet to be constructed.

The Tories came to represent and support the Anglican Church, the gentry, and the maintenance of arelatively strong monarchy. On the other hand, the Whigs supported non-Anglicans (notably

Presbyterians), wealthy middle class people, and later industrial, mercantile interests. People following the

tendencies of Whigs were also generally supportive of the supremacy in parliament's power to govern,

while the authority of the monarchy was to be largely decreased. Although the main issue regarding the

Exclusion Bill Crisis was the religious affiliation of James II, it is possible that the Whigs desired a notable

decrease in the monarchy's authority by discontinuing the hereditary custom of passing the throne. The

Tories wished the opposite of the Whigs' plans. During the Glorious Revolution (1688-89) the two Whig

and Tory parties cooperated in discontinuing the Stuart dynasty and seating William III of Orange on the

throne of England, Scotland, and Ireland. It was during this period that the two parties, although their

differences were ameliorated to an extent, moved forward another step in fomenting their respective partyidentities. The idea of a limited constitutional monarchy was generally accepted by people of both parties,

in contrast to the absolutism of a king held by divine right. 'Toryism' became identified with Anglicanism

and the regional squires, while 'Whiggism' came to represent the wealthy middle class and aristocracy.

Until around 1714, political power was contested by both Whigs and Tories, when monarchs favored one

political tendency over another such as the case of Queen Anne's initial preference to the Tory party. A

group of Whigs known as the Junto Whigs increasingly dominated politics until Queen Anne dismissed the

Whig Ministry and replaced them with Tories in 1710.

Examination Questions on Period Six

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