учебный год 2023 / Kollokvium_2_Alezhko-Ozhevskaya
.docx2. Development of the judicial system under the Tudors
There were Central courts:
1) Court of Star Chamber (heard particular cases: against property, perjury (person lies in a court), maladministration, treason, sedition (person tries to organize the rebellion against the king), made by The Privy Council),
2) Court of Chancery (decided civil cases, for rich people) and Court of requests (for poor people) – then disappointed bcs there wasn’t man who supported it
3) Court of Admiralty (dealt with piracy cases)
4) Exchequer of Please (Court of the Exchequer)
5) Church Courts (had important role again bcs Britain became the protestant country)
There also were courts of the land:
1) The Great session (two times a year, dealt with murders, assaults, witch crafts)
2) The Quarter session
3) The Petty sessions, Manor courts, town courts
4. The Reformation and its consequences. Succession as a central issue for Henry VIII and Elizabeth I.
During the reign of Henry 8 there was the Reformation because of some reasons:
- As to economic causes Henry wanted to control the Church’s economics, before it was under Pope’s control
- And there was an individual reason bcs Henry wanted to annul his marriage with Anne Boleyn
Parliament passed several acts that supported the Reformation:
- The Statute in Restraint of Appeals prohibited appeals from English ecclesiastical courts to the Pope and prevented the Church from making any regulations without the King’s consent.
- The Ecclesiastical Appointments Act required the clergy to elect bishops nominated by the Sovereign.
- The Act of Supremacy declared that the King was the only Supreme Head in Earth of the Church of England.
- The Treasons Act made it high treason punishable by death to refuse to acknowledge the King as such.
The Tudor period is unique in that it is marked by succession difficulties in every generation. The greatest problem of succession had Henry 8. He had 6 wives and only one left him an heir. The first wife Catherine made him only one daughter Mary. Henry and Anne Boleyn also didn’t have sons. She was declared in adultery and executed.
Only Jane Seymour, his third wife, left Henry the son – Edward 6. The line of Tudors broke because Henry’s children were childless. Another crisis happened when Mary Stuart, Queen of Scotts, came to be looked as Elizabeth’s heir. The Catholics regarded Mary as the rightful Queen of England and she took that title.
The Scots were in the main Protestants, but Mary was a Roman Catholics. The English held her as a State prisoner. By 1587 Mary had been nineteen years a captive and there were calls for her death. After both confining and protecting her since 1568, Elizabeth reluctantly ordered the execution of Mary. Then the age of Stuarts were starting.
5. Tudor Parliaments.
Parliament on the one hand, was important to introduce changes, kings couldn’t do without it. But on the other hand, it was dangerous and kings tried not to use it.
It had some functions:
- Taxation
- Legislation (eg, to make legal religions)
- Forming a contract between the Crown and the nation)
Also there were some privileges:
- Freedom of speech
- Freedom of arrest (were arrested only for murder and treason)
- Personal access of the speaker of the Commons to the monarch
6. Government and society in the 17th century.
Government was inextricably bound together with the social hierarchy that dominated local communities.
The monarch ruled personally and the permanent institutions of government were being reshaped. Around the king were the court, officeholders, place seekers and floating body of royal servants (only members of the elite, educated at universities and law courts, many of whom had a grant tour of Europe where they studied languages and culture).
Parliament’s role in government was less well defined than the Privy Council.
It was convened when the king sought the aid of his subjects in the process of creating new laws or to provide extraordinary revenue (kings, lords and commons).
Members of Parliament served the dual function of representatives of the localities to the king and representatives of the king to localities.
Local government consisted sheriffs and mayors.
There were lords lieutenants to organize defense and raise an army.
There also were JPs, functions of whom were extended: they could remove the jury, realize people on the bail, make judgment without the jury in cases without capital punishment.
7. Ways of Parliament to protect itself from the Stuarts: the Petition of Right, the Triennial Act, the Bill of Rights.
The Petition of Right is one of the great charters of liberties. It was issued in 1628. It established some freedoms:
- Protection against arbitrary imprisonment
- Due Process of Law
- Protection against non-parliamentary taxation
- Freedom from quartering soldiers
- Freedom from martial law.
However, James ignored the petition because he thought it wasn’t a law, but just an asking and he wasn’t bounded by it.
The Triennial Act was introduced in 1641in order to king shouldn’t dissolve the Parliament. It said that the King should summon the Parliament every 3 years. In May King’s power to dissolve Parliament was removed and Charles was forced to accept this bill.
The Bill of Rights was issued in 1689. By this document the king of England couldn’t be catholic. Parliament had the power to make laws, control the budget and have freedom of speech. The king couldn’t be a judge and keep an army in time of peace. He could summon and dissolve Parliament, appoint and dismiss ministers and declare wars. Besides, he had a veto legislation. So, the King and the Parliament became to be cooperative to each other.
9. England in 1640 – 1649: The Long Parliament. Causes and consequences of the civil war.
The Long Parliament was summoned in 1640 and dissolved in 1653 by Oliver Cromwell.
It had 2 different tasks:
- To limit the King’s constitutional authority in order to protect the existence of the Parliament.
- To reconstitute the Church.
There were 3 acts of regulating activity of the Parliament:
- The Triennial Act (1641): king should summon the Parliament every 3 years to king shouldn’t dissolve the Parliament.
- The Nineteen Propositions (1642): to give powers to Parliament, suppress the rebellion, discuss political events because Parliament didn’t trust the king.
- The Grand Remonstrance (1641): the grievances against the king were registered.
The Civil War was from 1642 to 1646. It has causes:
- Lack of money
- Religious conflicts
- Charles personality
As the main consequence there was that England became a republic.
10. The Stuarts: religious tension and the emergence of the first political parties.
Religious tension intensified from 1686. James 2 tried to get rid of the Test Act, which prevented the Catholics from holding public employments, and allowed Roman Catholics to occupy the highest offices in the Kingdom. The King displaced Protestant offices from the army and got Catholics into their places. In the Declaration of Indulgence James suspended laws punishing Roman Catholics and Protestant dissenters.
The emergence of political parties started from two of them: Tories and Whigs. “Tory” had been a name of abuse for Irish Catholic bandits. Tories supported the monarch and Anglican Church, represented the interests of the aristocracy. Many royalists became tories. So, it was a conservative party.
“Whig” had been a term of abuse for Scottish horse thieves. Whigs supported Parliament and new protestant sects. They represented the interests of mercantile classes and dissenters. Many Puritans became whigs because it was a liberal party. So, the tory and whig groups were known by their disagreement over the despotism of the Crown.
11. Causes and consequences of the Glorious Revolution. The Bill of Rights.
The Glorious Revolution was in 1688 and as causes there were:
- Refusal of bishops to read the Declaration of Indulgence in their churches.
- Trial of seven bishops
- Birth of a catholic heir
It was not the bloody war, it hadn’t battles.
Firstly, the nobles invited William of Orange and Mary to invade England and depose James 2.
In November 1688 there was an invasion and then James 2 fled from England. Coronation of William and Mary took place in 1689 and William became the king despite he couldn’t.
Bill of Rights was issued in 1689. By this document the king of England couldn’t be catholic. Parliament had the power to make laws, control the budget and have freedom of speech. The king couldn’t be a judge and keep an army in time of peace. He could summon and dissolve Parliament, appoint and dismiss ministers and declare wars. Besides, he had a veto legislation. So, the King and the Parliament became to be cooperative to each other.