English Rulers essays

English Rulers essays The English rulers from the time of James I till William and Marys reign, encountered many problems economically, with parliament and with the people. Many of the mistakes they made have occurred many of times throughout history and could easily have been avoided. By looking at problems endured by the English rulers of this time, one can easily find problems that through simple measures would have been prevented. James I inherited a rich English thrown, and although many of his problems were caused by little accord of his own, his personality caused many problems; he fiercely believed in the divine right of kingship and his own importance, but found great difficulty in gaining acceptance from an English society that found his rough-hewn manners quite unbecoming. James saw little use for Parliament. His extravagant spending habits and nonchalant ignoring of the nobility's grievances kept king and Parliament constantly at odds. He came to the thrown at the zenith of monarchical power, but never truly grasped the depth and scope of that power. If James had merely allowed Parliament some power, to appease the English people, acceptance for him would have been much easier. Charles I inherited his fathers beliefs in the divine right of kings, and found little use of Parliament, this ultimately led to his downfall in a showdown with Parliament. Charles required money for armies, which English people did not support, and by dismissing Parliament numerous times angered the people. England disrupted into civil war, in which Charles still would not bow down to Parliaments demands. Both Charles and James I would have been much more successful had they been lenient with Parliament and have saved more money for matters that evolved the English people. After the Civil War in which Cromwell came to power, he still disagreed with the laws Parliament wished to pass and with the English army forced matters his own way. Cromwell was...