England in 1603 to England in 1714

In the 17th century, many changes took place in England, and they have been documented in the history of the countries that form the region. Below is a look at the three distinct changes which include the Stuarts and their monarchs, the rise of coal, and the English Civil War.

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The first major change that took place between that time was the Stuarts and their monarchs. When Elizabeth I died, the English monarch of the Stuarts, who were James VI of Scotland and James I of England, succeeded the throne of England (Mowry 102). Mary Queen of Scots was his mother by the second husband Lord Darnley, and the sister to Henry VIII, Margaret was the great-great-grandmother. In all, there was a total of seven monarchs in the Stuarts, and they included Charles I, James I, James II, Charles II, Mary II Anne, and William III. Between 1649 to 1660, there was no monarch (Mowry 104). The development of Commonwealth was under Oliver Cromwell.

James I of Scotland ascended to James I of England and this united both Scotland and England under one monarch. For James, the Divine Right of Kings was his belief, and he knew that he would only answer to God and no court would try him. He did not accept the interpretation of the doctrines of the church that was different from his and made it compulsory for people to go to church on Sundays (Mowry 102). He did not allow Catholics to celebrate mass and did not listen to the demands from Puritan to reform the church. He authorized the use of the King James Bible, which has been the norm in the churches to date.

The introduction of both Irish and English Protestants into Northern Ireland was the effort of James I. He made this possible through the scheme of Ulster Plantation, and ensure that he kept England at peace with entire Europe. As much as he was an intelligent man, the choices that he made of favorites rather than merits alienated Parliament, and he did not solve the political and financial problems of the country. By the time he died in 1625, the country was in bad debt.

Between 1625 and 1649, Charles I took over the throne after the death of his father. Contrary to his father, this man failed to share peace and love, and he embarked on a fight with Spain, and later with France. For him to be able to fight there was, all that he need was for Parliament to give him money (Mowry108). The Parliament was unhappy with the choices that he made on favorites, particularly the Duke of Buckingham, and thus they made things difficult.

In 1629, Charles I dismissed Parliament. He decided that he would rule alone for 11 years. He also believed in the existence of the Divine Right of Kings, just like his father, and this upset his subjects from Scottish. Many of these subjects were Puritans. He insisted that they should follow similar to his English subjects. This action resulted in the two Bishop Wars that lasted from 1639 to 1640 (Mowry 110). The financial state of Charles worsened to such an extent that he had to recall a Parliament. However, the same Parliament that he recalled condemned the style that he used to rule and this caused the country to go to a Civil War, In 1649, Charles I was executed.

Oliver Cromwell took over in 1649. His title was Lord Protector, and he reigned the Commonwealth, which was by then the newly formed republic in England. His parliament comprised of a few supporters who he chose and was neither popular at home or abroad. He did not like the Irish Catholics, and therefore he lay siege to Drogheda in 1649, pretending that his punishment was because of the massacre of the English Protestants that took place in 1641. He killed many habitats in that town. He conquered Ireland and declared war on the Netherlands, the greatest trade rival of England. He also came up with colonies in both the West Indies and Jamaica. Oliver faced opposition from the Scots, who supported Charles II as their rightful king, but he managed to establish a good reputation for the country by the time he died in 1658. His son Richard succeeded him, and he did not have any rule or wish. Therefore, the opponents of Cromwell overthrew him, and Charles II took over.

After Charles I was executed, his son took the title Charles II. In 1651, he and his troop invaded into England from Scotland to defeat Cromwell and restore the monarchy. His defeat caused him to flee to France, and he stayed there for eight years (Mowry 103). The Parliament invited him to go back to England during restoration, and he assumed the title King Charles II. He abolished the laws of Cromwell, which was against dancing and music. His extravagance made him marry Catherine from Portuguese, because of the large dowry that she would pay. He died in 1685.

James II succeeded Charles II to the throne. At that time, he had converted to Catholic, and despite the Test Acts of 1673 that barred Catholics from assuming the senior positions, he succeeded anyway (Mowry 100). The Glorious Revolution took place when James II's son-in-law, William III succeeded him, and he had to flee to France, where he died in 1701.

In 1688, William III and Mary II became the sovereigns of England, Scotland accepted them, but Ireland was loyal to James II. William III and his army invaded Ireland, and they defeated James in 1690. In 1694, Mary II died, and William III had to rule alone until 1703 when he died.

Queen Anne, who was Mary II's sister supported the Glorious Revolution. In 1707, the Act of Union initially united all the kingdoms of both Scotland and England (Mowry 107). Queen Anne, therefore, became the last monarch because all her eighteen children did not survive beyond infancy.

Another significant change that took place between 1603 to 1714 was the rise of coal. In the 17th century, the population of England expanded significantly to approximately five million people who depended on coal (Yirmibesoglu, Gozde, and Fatma Cande 66). The industry of coal mining in England had to grow. Newcastle evolved into the epicenter of the industry of coal mining, and its coal seams were exploited. There was a high number of people who migrated from the rural areas into Newcastle, and they filled up the positions of expanding the mining industry. However, the long-time residents of Newcastle were not hospitable to them (Yirmibesoglu et al. 66). They perceived the miners as uncivilized second-class citizens, thereby creating a rift in the town. With the little knowledge about the dangers of the surface of the earth, miners were always situated in perilous conditions. The mining tunnels were damp, dark, and cramped. Many cases of cave-ins existed as much as fires, and floods. Throughout the 1600s, flooding caused the largest threat to the coal mining industry (Yirmibesoglu et al. 66). By 1610, the Parliament got a warning from one of the proprietors of the largest mines, who warned that since there was no drainage, the accessibility of coal in the city would reach its terminal stages by 1631. The estimate was not true. However, by 1631, they did not have a way of pulling water from beneath the mine to the surface and therefore, the operators of the mines depended on gravity tunnels for the drainage.

The sites where the miners could utilize the gravity tunnels were exhausted because the mines went deeper beneath the surface of the earth. By 1650s, the proprietors of the mine came up with creative ways that would enable the removal of water from their mines (Yirmibesoglu et al. 66). They initiated the use of many levels of pumps so that they would bring water to the surface of the earth. Some mines had nearby streams, and therefore their energies were tapped by water wheels. Most mines depended on horsepower for controlling the pumps. As much as there was intense research from the brightest minds of England, there was no answer to the mine drainage until 1712, when the precursor of a machine that later changed the whole world forever appeared in Dartmouth, a small town.

The final distinct change in Europe between 1603 to 1712 was the English civil war. From the very beginning, parliament had many advantages. The first one was that it held London. Therefore, the customs dues that emanated from the ports were an essential source of money. The fact that the navy supported parliament made it difficult for the king to get help abroad (Coates 38). Therefore, he advanced towards London, but on 13th November, he was stopped before he could get to London. In the next year, the parliamentarians pleaded with the Scots to mediate on their behalf on a promise that they would make England a Presbyterian. In 1644, a Scottish army got into England (Coates 40). The parliamentarians reformed their army and in December the same year, they passed a law which was to the effect that all the MPs should give up on their commands. In 1645, the parliamentary forces changed to the New Model Army. Later, the parliamentarians gathered strength slowly, and in May 1646, the king gave up and let the Scots win. Meanwhile, radical ideas flourished after the civil war. In the same year, John Lilburne published a tract referred to as London's Liberty in Chains. His demand was a republic. He also called for an abolition of the House of Lords and was to the idea that all men should vote, and the freedom of religion should also prevail (Coates 38). Since then, this change has always prevailed. All men can vote, and there is also the freedom of religion.

Some of the changes that took place in England have since been in place from the 17th century. The most distinct one is the appearance of the machine that would later transform the entire world. All these changes have been documented, and they contribute to the history of England.

Works Cited

Coates, Ben. The impact of the English Civil War on the economy of London, 1642-50. Routledge, 2017.

Mowry, Melissa M. The bawdy politic in Stuart England, 1660-1714: political pornography and prostitution. Routledge, 2017.

Yirmibesoglu, Gozde, and Fatma Cande Yasar Dincer. "Effects of the Rise of Britain In International Trade: A Global Power After Industrial Revolution." ICES 2018 (2018): 66.