A Warning From 17th Century England
One of the many year-end lists of best books of 2023 included a history of 17th Century England. It is titled “The Blazing World: A New History of Revolutionary England 1603-1689,” by Jonathan Healey. A brief description concluded, “This account of a time of religious and political turmoil, intellectual ferment, scientific innovation and media upheaval … abounds with contemporary resonances.” I was hooked.
Elizabeth I, daughter of King Henry VIII, ruled as Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 until her death in 1603. She died without an heir, so her cousin, King James VI of Scotland, succeeded to her throne, becoming King James I of England, and uniting Scotland, England, and Ireland under one crown.
The three countries had differing religious practices. Catholicism was dominant in Ireland. King Henry VIII of England had rejected Catholicism in the 16th Century and founded the Church of England, governed locally by bishops. Reformation in Scotland gave rise to the Church of Scotland, governed by local ministers and elders.
In 1625 Charles replaced his father, James VI and I, as king of England, Scotland, and Ireland. But the three remained sovereign states with their own parliaments, judiciaries and laws. That is when the politics became fraught. Charles, believing his position was divinely decreed, determined he could govern as he wished without the approval of parliament. His subjects opposed his policies as well as his marriage to the French Catholic Henrietta Maria. His religious practices were challenged by English Puritans and Scottish Presbyterians. His exercise of power was considered tyrannical. King Charles ultimately raised his own army and in 1642 engaged in civil war against English and Scottish armies. He was defeated in 1645 and, after surrender, escape, recapture, trial, and conviction, he was executed by beheading for high treason in 1649.
More battles followed as the monarchy was eventually replaced by a republic, the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland, headed by Oliver Cromwell as Lord Protector. The Commonwealth lasted until 1660, when Charles’s son Charles II was restored to the throne. Politics during his reign was described by Jonathan Healey as “intensely partisan, and increasingly bad-tempered, focusing on mockery and character assassination.” In 1685 Charles II was replaced by his brother, James II. Three years later, in the “Glorious Revolution” of 1688-89, a Catholic King James II was overthrown by his Protestant daughter Mary and her Dutch husband William of Orange.
Throughout the turbulent century printing presses churned out new types of publications – folios, pamphlets, broadsheets, dailies – printed in backstreets and sold on corners. Royalists, Parliamentarians, Puritans, and others spread their propaganda to a public eager for political news. Religious polarization turned violent. Kings accepted or rejected legislative and judicial decisions. Kings, parliaments and local government commissions vied against each other for dominance. Vote counts in parliamentary elections were manipulated. Pliable judges were preselected to guarantee desired outcomes in high-profile trials.
Kings believed that they ruled by divine right. Obedient followers allowed self-absorbed leaders to become ever more assertive and aggressive. All considerations fell to the single motivation to maintain power. The parallels are apparent today in the United States and many countries throughout the world. There is a lesson here for the 21st Century. Danger lies in delegating extreme authority to a single office or person.