(1625-1689)

The Stuarts
and the Civil War Performer Heritage
Marina Spiazzi, Marina Tavella,
Margaret Layton © 2016
 The Stuarts and the Civil War

1. James I (1603-1625)
• Elizabeth died in 1603 without heirs.

• Mary Queen of Scots’ son James VI of Scotland became

the first Stuart king in England with the title of James I.

• He was a Protestant.

• He based his rule on the theory of the

‘divine right of kings’.
• He summoned Parliament only to ask

for money.

• He was interested in witchcraft.

• In his treatise Daemonologie (1597)

he declared his belief in black magic.
Performer Heritage
 The Stuarts and the Civil War

1. James I (1603-1625)
• He joined Scotland to England and Wales as one kingdom,
Great Britain.

• He introduced the Union Jack and a common coinage.

• He settled in London and took under

royal patronage Shakespeare’s
company.
• He ordered the building of the
Queen’s House at Greenwich
by Inigo Jones for his wife
Anne.

Performer Heritage
 The Stuarts and the Civil War

1. James I (1603-1625)

• The treaty he signed with Spain put an end to

Spanish claims English attacks

to the English on Spanish
throne ships
• Extreme

• Protestants, called Puritans, disapproved of the

rites and bishops of the Church of England.

• The king tried to solve the conflict between the

bishops and the Puritans.

Performer Heritage
 The Stuarts and the Civil War

2. The Gunpowder Plot

• James I authorised a new translation of the Bible.

• In 1605 some radical Catholics plotted to blow up the king

in the Houses of Parliament.

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 The Stuarts and the Civil War

3. James I and the Puritans

• The Church of England identified ‘uniformity’ with

the security of the State.

• Dissent was treated as treason.

• In 1620 hundred of dissenters – the Pilgrim Fathers –

left England for America on

the Mayflower and founded
New Plymouth.

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 The Stuarts and the Civil War

4. Charles I (1625-1649)
• Charles I succeeded his father James I in 1625.
• He married the Catholic daughter of the King of France.
• He could not avoid direct confrontation
with the Commons who were
strongly Protestant.
• The Puritan party held
a considerable majority
in Parliament.

A. Van Dick, Equestrian Portrait of Charles I,

1637-38, National Portrait Gallery, London.

Performer Heritage
 The Stuarts and the Civil War

5. Who were the Puritans?

The Puritans

• were extreme Protestants within the Church of England;

• thought the English Reformation had not done enough

to reform the doctrines and structure of the Church;

•wanted to purify their national Church by eliminating

every trace of Catholic influence;

• wanted a true balance of power between the king

and the Parliament.

Performer Heritage
 The Stuarts and the Civil War

5. Who were the Puritans?

The Puritans

• supported the Parliament;

• were linked to continental Reformed theology;

• believed that personal salvation depended on God;

• regarded the Bible as a guide to life;

• encouraged personal acts of mercy.

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 The Stuarts and the Civil War

6. The Civil War

Performer Heritage
 The Stuarts and the Civil War

6. The Civil War

The two parties

THE ROYALISTS
• also known as ‘Cavaliers’;
• sided with the king;
• let their hair grow long;
• included the lords, the gentry and officials
of the Church of England;
• were concentrated in Wales, Cornwall
and the west of England.

Performer Heritage
 The Stuarts and the Civil War

6. The Civil War

The two parties

THE PARLIAMENTARIANS
• also called ‘Roundheads’;
• supported Parliament;
• considered long hair sinful and cut theirs short;
• included London, the ports, Eastern England, the
Navy, the new gentry and small landowners, artisans
and Puritans.

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 The Stuarts and the Civil War

6. The Civil War

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 The Stuarts and the Civil War

7. Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658)

• An East-Anglian gentleman farmer.

• A brilliant leader in raising and training

cavalry composed of brave Puritan
soldiers.

• Commander-in-chief of the army in 1649.

• Appointed Lord Protector of England,

Scotland and Ireland in 1653.

Performer Heritage
 The Stuarts and the Civil War

7. Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658)

• Divided the country into eleven military regions under

major generals.

• Puritan rules were introduced, like execution for adultery,

the abolition of popular pastimes, games, dancing and
theatre performances.

• Inns, pubs and theatres were closed down.

• Christmas and Easter were banned and replaced with days

of fasting.

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 The Stuarts and the Civil War

7. Oliver Cromwell (1599-1658)

Performer Heritage
 The Stuarts and the Civil War

8. The end of the Protectorate

• After Cromwell’s death in 1658, his son Richard held

office for eight months.

• The Parliament voted the end of the Protectorate.

• In 1660 the army invited Charles II to return from

his exile in France.

• The monarchy was restored.

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