The constitutional monarchy in England was marked by the absolutism of the monarchs, who used the throne for revenge and abuse of those who were against their thinking. Because of these abuses, the people wanted freedom and because of the struggle for the throne, the revolution of 1688 originated, which ended when William of Orange dethroned the king and took power.
To prevent the new monarch from falling into absolutism, Parliament forced him to respect a “Declaration of Rights” .
Since the English Parliament was formed in the Middle Ages, the life of the State has been transformed, England has progressed and grown thanks to the fact that the great affairs of the State were debated in public and with the widest guarantee, while in other European States the absolutism of The Kings hardly consented to the discrepancy of opinions.
Reign of Charles II (1660 — 1683)
Carlos II, son of Carlos I, took the throne and bloodily avenged the death of his father. He had many of the parliamentarians who had sentenced him beheaded and had Cromwell's body removed to hang on a gallows. After several days of display, the body was burned.
The outstanding facts of this reign were:
- The creation of the Habeas Corpus law , according to which every prisoner had the right to complain against his judge, if after 24 hours of confinement he had not been judged (Habeas Corpus is a Latin phrase that means "here is my body", implying that the prisoner makes present your person to be judged).
- The appearance of 2 rival parties:the Torys and the Whigs . The first conservatives and the second liberals. These matches lasted until the 19th century.
Reign of James II, (1683-1688)
Upon the death of Carlos II, his brother Jacobo, who was an intransigent Catholic, succeeded him. His first concern was to reconcile the English Crown with Pope Innocent X and thus ended the conflict created by Henry VIII, as a result of his divorce.
As Parliament and the English people rejected Catholicism, the king soon became unpopular and a revolution was prepared to overthrow him.
Revolution of 1688
William of Orange, Statuter of Holland, was married to Mary, daughter of James II, and therefore was called to succeed him on the throne; but James had a son by his second wife and therefore William of Orange lost hope of being an English monarch. In such a situation, the main English lords and numerous parliamentarians invited William of Orange to occupy the throne of England, counting on the help of the people, who wanted public liberties.
William prepared an expedition in Holland, embarked with 13,000 men and landed in South London. James II had no army to defend him and fled the capital, throwing the kingdom's great gold seal into the River Thames.
The invading prince entered London without shedding blood and seized power under the name of William III. The dethroned King fled to France (1688).
The constitutional monarchy
To prevent the new monarch from falling into absolutism, Parliament forced him to respect a “Declaration of Rights” , with the following principles:
- Only Parliament could create taxes.
- Every English citizen had the right of initiative in making laws.
- The JURY was established to resolve criminal trials.
- Parliament was supposed to meet frequently.
From this time, England began its prosperity and reached great power.
The English maritime power
Due to its geographical configuration, isolated from Europe, forming an archipelago, England was forced to defend its coasts. The experiences left by the wars of the Normans, William the Conqueror, the Hundred Years and the expedition of the Invincible Armada commanded by Philip II of Spain, highlighted the need to defend the territory by forming a large fleet. For these reasons, England became a maritime power from the beginning of the Modern Age. At the same time, the need to transport to the Metropolis the products of its distant colonies forced England to form a powerful and varied merchant fleet. The shipyards of the Kingdom, which were the most advanced in Europe, served as a model for the Dutch and Russians.
Almost simultaneously with the development of English trade in the seventeenth century. the so-called Industrial Revolution took place.
The industrial revolution
The name Industrial Revolution is given to the series of events of an economic and social nature that occurred from the 17th century on the occasion of the appearance of the First Machinery .
The invention of the weaving machine, the application of hydraulic power and the mechanization of plows caused tremendous social upheavals. When the workers of England and France saw that machines were advantageously replacing men, they undertook a bloody struggle against machinery. In many cases, factories were even set on fire and destroyed. Unemployment and hunger wreaked havoc among the lower layers of the population, due to mechanization.
However, the Industrial Revolution meant a decisive advance in the field of economic prosperity of the peoples. The greater the manufacturing production, the greater the commercial exchange.
At the same time, a class consciousness arose among the working masses that did not exist before. The machine generated in the proletarian his characteristic revolutionary spirit.
In the 19th century, this Revolution intensified and gave rise to the formation of socialism.
English parliamentarism
Since the English Parliament was formed in the Middle Ages, the life of the State has been transformed. The balance of the bicameral system, that is, of two Chambers (Commons and Lords), resulted in a complete control of the governmental acts of the Crown and, consequently, the legal solution of the most delicate problems.
England progressed and grew bigger thanks to the fact that the great affairs of the State were debated in public and with the widest guarantee, while in other European States the absolutism of the Kings hardly allowed the discrepancy of opinions.
Parliamentarism has been one of the bases of the greatness of England.