Challenging Royal Authority Flashcards
All 48 cards in this deck
What was the Pilgrimage of Grace, and when did it happen?
A large popular uprising in northern England in 1536 against Henry VIII's religious changes.
Who led the Pilgrimage of Grace?
Robert Aske, a Yorkshire lawyer.
Give one religious cause of the Pilgrimage of Grace.
Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries and his changes to the church which defied the Pope.
Give one economic cause of the Pilgrimage of Grace.
The pilgrims objected to increased taxes, especially as poor harvests in 1535 and 1536 had raised food prices.
How did Henry VIII react to the Pilgrimage of Grace after the Duke of Norfolk's pardon?
When rebels attacked castles in January 1537 he cancelled the pardons and had the rebels hunted down; Aske was executed in York on 12 July 1537.
True or false? The Pilgrimage of Grace forced Henry VIII to abandon the dissolution of the monasteries.
False. Henry treated the pilgrims as rebels and the dissolution went ahead; the last monasteries closed in 1540.
What is meant by the Divine Right of Kings?
The belief that the king was appointed by God and so had a God-given right to rule.
When did the English Civil War begin?
1642, when Charles I raised his standard at Nottingham and went to war against Parliament.
Give one cause of the English Revolution connected to taxation.
Charles I raised taxes such as Ship Money without Parliament's consent during his Personal Rule (1629–40), which many saw as illegal.
What was the New Model Army?
Parliament's full-time professional army, set up in 1645 and commanded by Sir Thomas Fairfax, with Oliver Cromwell leading the cavalry; officers were promoted on merit.
Who were the Levellers?
A radical group of the Civil War era demanding wider political rights; Cromwell did not support them.
What happened at the Battle of Naseby in 1645?
The New Model Army, under Fairfax with Cromwell commanding the cavalry, decisively defeated Charles I's army, effectively winning the first Civil War for Parliament.
True or false? Cromwell's Commonwealth lasted and prevented the return of the monarchy.
False. After Cromwell died in 1658 the republic collapsed, and the monarchy was restored under Charles II in 1660.
Give one economic cause of the American Revolution.
Colonists resented paying taxes, particularly to fund the British army, while having no representatives in Parliament in London.
What were the Navigation Acts, and why did American colonists resent them?
British laws saying colonial trade had to go in British ships and some goods could be sold only to Britain, so colonists could not trade freely for better prices.
What was the Boston Tea Party, and when was it?
A protest in December 1773 when colonists threw British tea into Boston harbour, angry at the Tea Act and being taxed without representation.
What was the Boston Massacre of 1770?
British soldiers in Boston fired on a crowd of colonists, killing five; it was used as propaganda against British rule.
Which 1781 battle effectively ended the fighting of the American War of Independence?
The Battle of Yorktown, where American and French forces made the British army under Cornwallis surrender.
Give one long-term significance of the American Revolution.
Its ideas inspired others to fight against authority, such as the French Revolution against Louis XVI.
What system of government did the Americans set up after independence?
A republic with a written constitution (1787), an elected Congress and a President as head of state instead of the British king.
True or false? The American Revolution immediately gave equal rights to women and African Americans.
False. Rights and the vote went mainly to white men, often only those who owned property; women could not vote and slavery continued in many states.
Give one similarity between the Pilgrimage of Grace and Parliament's opposition to Charles I.
Both challenged the king's authority partly over religion: the pilgrims opposed Henry VIII's break with Rome, and Puritans in Parliament opposed Charles I's church changes.
True or false? Religion was a motive for the Parliamentary side in the English Civil War.
True. Many Parliamentarians were Puritans who feared Charles I and Archbishop Laud were bringing back Catholic-style worship.
When was Charles I tried and executed?
He was tried in January 1649 as a tyrant and traitor, and executed on 30 January 1649. England then became a republic, the Commonwealth.
Give one long-term impact of the English Revolution.
Although the monarchy was restored in 1660, Charles II had a different relationship with Parliament, with royal power more limited.
Where did the 1536 rising that grew into the Pilgrimage of Grace begin?
In Lincolnshire, at Louth, in October 1536, among people afraid that royal commissioners would seize their church's treasures.
Give one political cause of the Pilgrimage of Grace.
The rebels wanted Henry VIII's low-born adviser Thomas Cromwell, who was driving the religious changes, removed from the king's council.
Why did the rebels of 1536 call their rising a 'pilgrimage'?
To show it was a religious protest loyal to the king: they swore an oath to defend the Church and marched behind a banner of the Five Wounds of Christ.
What did the Duke of Norfolk agree with the pilgrims at Doncaster in December 1536?
A royal pardon for all, a Parliament to be held at York, and a pause in closing monasteries until then. The pilgrims then went home.
Why did the Duke of Norfolk negotiate rather than fight the pilgrims in 1536?
The rebels numbered about 30,000 or more, while his royal army was only a few thousand strong.
Give one impact of the Pilgrimage of Grace on royal authority.
Henry tightened his grip on the north: about 200 rebels were executed, and in 1537 the Council of the North was made a permanent body to govern the region for the Crown.
What was the Petition of Right (1628)?
A statement Parliament made Charles I accept, saying taxes needed Parliament's consent and people could not be imprisoned without cause. Charles dissolved Parliament in 1629 and ruled without it.
Why was Charles I forced to recall Parliament in 1640?
He needed money for war after the Scots rebelled against the new prayer book he and Archbishop Laud tried to impose on Scotland in 1637.
What happened when Charles I tried to arrest the Five Members in January 1642?
He entered the House of Commons with soldiers to seize five leading MPs, including John Pym, but they had escaped. The humiliation pushed the country towards civil war.
What were the Putney Debates (1647)?
Discussions in which New Model Army soldiers, influenced by the Levellers, argued with their officers, including Cromwell, about the vote; radicals wanted every man to vote, while officers wanted only property owners.
Who were the Diggers?
A radical group led by Gerrard Winstanley who, from 1649, farmed common land together, believing land should be shared and private property abolished.
Who was John Lilburne?
'Freeborn John', a radical pamphleteer whose ideas inspired the Levellers; he argued every free man, rich or poor, should have a vote, and was repeatedly imprisoned.
Which two institutions did Parliament abolish in 1649, after Charles I's execution?
The monarchy and the House of Lords, leaving the Rump of the Commons to govern with a Council of State.
What title did Oliver Cromwell take in 1653?
Lord Protector, after he had dissolved the Rump Parliament by force. He refused the crown in 1657.
What was the Glorious Revolution (1688)?
Parliament invited the Protestant William of Orange and his wife Mary to replace the Catholic James II, on condition they ruled with Parliament; the Bill of Rights (1689) confirmed Parliament's power.
How did the Seven Years' War help cause the American Revolution?
It left Britain with huge debts and troops in America to defend the colonies, so Parliament decided the colonists should help pay through new taxes.
What was the Stamp Act (1765)?
A British tax on printed papers in the colonies, such as newspapers and legal documents. Fierce protests forced its repeal in 1766.
What was the Declaratory Act (1766)?
Passed when the Stamp Act was repealed, it stated that Parliament had full power to make laws for the American colonies in all cases.
How did Britain punish Boston after the Boston Tea Party?
The Coercive ('Intolerable') Acts of 1774 closed Boston harbour until the tea was paid for, which united other colonies behind Massachusetts.
What was the Declaration of Independence?
The statement issued by the thirteen colonies in July 1776 rejecting British rule, claiming that all men are created equal and that people may overthrow a government that abuses their rights.
Who was Thomas Paine?
A radical writer whose pamphlet Common Sense (1776) argued for American independence and sold in huge numbers; he later wrote The Rights of Man.
When did Britain recognise American independence?
In the Treaty of Paris of 1783, two years after the British surrender at Yorktown.
Give one impact of the American Revolution on politics in Britain.
It boosted radicals demanding parliamentary reform at home, since 'no taxation without representation' also applied to most people in Britain, who had no vote.