History - The Seventeenth Century

16 important questions on History - The Seventeenth Century

When does the civil war starts?

1642

Which events led to the Civil War?

In the 17th century, some people tried to kill the king because he wasn't Catholic enough. Anger grew in the country at the way the Stuart monarchs raised money without getting the agreement of the House of Commons. 
Puritanism had grown in England. They regarded the luxurious lifestyle of the king and his followers as immoral and also anti-Catholic and suspicious of the apparent sympathy towards Catholicism of the Stuart monarchs.

Between what parties was the Civil War fought?

Between aristocratic Royalist Cavaliers and puritanical Parliamentarian Roundheads (haircuts) . The victory was for the Roundheads.
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What happened after the Civil War?

The CV ended with complete victory for the parliamentary forces. James's son, Charles I, became the first monarch in Europe to be executed after a formal trial for crimes against his people. The leader of the parliamentary army, Oliver Cromwell, became 'Lord Protector' of a republic with a military government which, after he had brutally crushed resistance in Ireland, effectively encompassed all of Britain and Ireland.

Which party won the Civil War?

The Parliamentarians

What period is Britain known as the Commonwealth?

1649 - 1660

Which conflict led to the civil war in 1642?

The fact that king Charles I of the house of Stuarts raised money without, as tradition prescribed, getting the agreement of the house of commons. Also Puritanism had grown and protested against the luxurious lifestile of the king and his folowers.

What was the Glorious Revolution?

By the time Cromwell died, his system of government had become so unpopular that the executed king's son Charles was asked to return and become King Charles II. 

However, the conflict between monarch and Parliament soon re-emerged in the reign of Charles II's brother, James II. Religion was his focus and he tried to give the Catholics full rights and to promote them in his government.

The Glorious Revolution followed (Glorious because it was bloodless) in which Prince William of Orange accepted Parliament's invitation to become king and queen.

Who was Oliver Cromwell?

The leader of the Parliamentary Army that won the civil war and the "Lord Protector of the Republic: 'the Commonwelth' He died in 1660 after which the monarchy was reinstalled.

Why is The Glorious Revolution an important event in English history?

Because Parliament allowed dissenters (those protestants who did not agree with the practices of Anglicanism) to practise their religion freely. This meant that the Presbyterian Church, to which the majority of the lowland Scottish belonged, was guaranteed its legality.

Who fought the Battle of the Boyne?

James II who had fled to Ireland. He gathered a Catholic Irish army but was defeated by Wiliam of Orange and his wife Mary who was James' daughter. From this incident came the 'tragic split'of Ireland, with fiercly anti catholics in the north ('Orangemen') and native Irish catholics in the south.

Who is installed as monarch after Lord Protector Oliver Cromwell?

Charles II, son of the beheaded king Charles I

What is the Glorious Revolution?

It is the revolution against James II who tried to promote catholics in his government, but was overthrown by parliament, after which Wiliam of Orange and his wife Mary (James' daughter) became king and queen.

What disasters hit Britain in 1665 and 1666

In 1665:  A war between James II and Prince Wiliam of Orange, ruler of the Netherlands. Wiliam won this 'glorious revolution' (so called because it was without bloodshed)


In 1666: the Great fire of London, which destroyed most of the cities wooden buildings (but also the bubonic plague).

Important dates in the 17th century (1600-1700)

  • 1642 = The Civil War begins
  • 1649 = Charles I is executed. For the first and only time Britain briefly becomes a republic and is called "The Commonwealth"
  • 1660 = The Restoration of the monarchy
  • 1666 = The Great Fire of London
  • 1688 = The Glorious Revolution

What king was executed in 1649?

King Charles I, the first monarch in Europe to be executed after a formal trial for crimes against his people. Britain briefly becomes a republic. In 1660 his son became king Charles II of the reinstalled monarchy

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