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The Protestant Reformation started with a German monk named Martin Luther, who opposed the Roman Church's practice of selling indulgences. Luther's protest in 1517 captured the imagination of German princes, whose awakening sense of nationalism made them wary of submitting to a foreign (Italian) pope. The protest also attracted members of Germany's growing urban middle class, who had become critical of the church for its worldliness and catering to the old, rural aristocracy. Soon, central Europe would be divided between Catholics (loyal to Rome) and Lutherans, and Luther's movement would give rise to even more radical forms of Christianity. Men like Ulrich Zwingli (Switzerland) argued for a literal, fundamentalist interpretation of Scripture, and a strict moral discipline. A Protestant "ethic" was slowly developing that shunned ostentatious displays of wealth (associated with the aristocracy), rejected the frank sensuality of the Italian Renaissance, forbade most games and dancing, and encouraged hard labor. John Calvin (1509-64) became the most influential reformer after Luther. Calvinists believed in predestination, the idea that there was an "elect" group of people who were predestined by God for salvation. Calvinists would come to Massachusetts starting in 1620, establishing the Plymouth colony. They too insisted on the strictest moral discipline. The success of Calvin and Zwingli in turn encouraged even more radical forms of Protestantism, such as Anabaptists, Spiritualists and Antitrinitarians. In very short order, the Protestant Reformation would lead to a splintering of Western European Christianity, and a long period of religious conflict and warfare. I discussed the last phase of the Protestant Reformation, which came during the reign of English King Henry VIII. Henry initially had no quarrel with the Pope or the Catholic Church. However, in 1527 he sought a divorce from his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, because she was not bearing him a male child to inherit the throne. The Pope refused to grant Henry’s divorce, since Catherine was a member of the Spanish royal family and Spain was a big supporter of the Church. Henry eventually decided to break away from the Catholic Church. In 1534 his Parliament passed the Act of Supremacy which made him the head of a new church, the Church of England (also called the Anglican Church). So the Reformation in England was more for political reasons than religious ones. Nevertheless, when England broke away from the Catholic Church, it opened the door for many people to embrace the new, more radical religions that were taking hold in some other parts of Europe. One such religion was Calvinism, which stressed God’s power over man. In England, followers of Calvinism became known as Puritans. They felt that the Anglican Church had not gone far enough in separating itself from Catholic religious practices, and wanted a more sweeping Reformation. Henry VIII finally had a son, but the son died after having been king for only 6 years. After that, Henry’s first daughter, Mary I became Queen. Mary was a Catholic, and during her 5-year reign (1553-1558) she tried to restore the Catholic Church in England. She was particularly brutal to Protestants who refused to switch, and many were executed. Although "Bloody" Mary died in 1558, English Protestants never quite got over this period. Even when she was succeeded by Elizabeth I, many felt they would be better off going somewhere else. It is during Elizabeth’s reign (1558-1603) that things calm down and England begins to prosper. As a Protestant, Elizabeth restores the Church of England, but retains most Catholic rituals and sacraments. This compromise is known as the Elizabethan Settlement. The compromise did not please the more die hard Puritans, who hoped that Elizabeth's successor, James I, would be more sympathetic to their cause. But James (r. 1603-1625) made clear that he was not interested in undertaking further reforms of the Anglican Church, thus fueling the Separatist movement in England that would in 1620 give birth to the Plymouth colony. James had been able to smooth over many of the differences that arose between him and his subjects, and had a long, successful reign. However, his son, Charles I (r. 1625-1649) had no such luck. Married to a French Catholic, Charles was suspected of having papist (pro-pope) leanings. His lavish spending and elaborate court also offended Puritan middle class sensibilities, as did his belief in absolute monarchy. In 1642, when Charles raised his army against an irate Parliament, he touched of the English Civil War. Those who supported Charles (largely the pro-Anglican aristocracy) were known as Cavaliers. The urban, middle class Puritans who opposed him were called the Roundheads. By 1645, the Roundheads, led by Oliver Cromwell, had won a number of decisive victories, and Charles himself was captured and finally beheaded in 1649. The execution of Charles I is a critical event in English history, and in the history of western civilization. Although subsequent kings would try to establish absolute rule in England again, for all practical purposes the age of absolute monarchs in England was coming to an end. After Charles' execution, Cromwell established England as a Puritan republic, abolishing the title of King and setting himself up as a military dictator ("Lord Protector"). From 1649 until his death in 1658, Cromwell instituted many of the measures demanded by the Puritans, creating in England the kind of strictly regimented society previously established by reformers like Zwingli and Calvin on the European continent. However, a decade of Puritan rule would take its toll on the English people, who began to bristle under the harsh system. After Cromwell's death in 1658, they began to consider restoring the monarchy to power. In 1660, the Parliament invited Charles II (Charles I's son) to return to England and become king. This is known as the Stuart Restoration. Because it was Parliament that had restored the monarchy, it was clear to everyone that the king's powers could no longer be considered absolute; instead, power would be concentrated more and more in the hands of Parliament. Cavaliers, who had supported Charles I during the English Civil War, gradually developed into the Tory political party, standing for the interests of the landed aristocracy and the monarchy. Roundheads, who had supported Cromwell and the Puritans, gradually developed into the Whigs. They stood for the interests of the urban middle class and for Parliamentary authority. Instead of bloodshed, these parties would begin to settle their differences in a political process, and England was well on its way to developing a limited, constitutional monarchy instead of an absolute one. This notion of limited monarchy was made very clear with the reign of King James II (1685-88). Although he was the brother of Charles II, James quickly alienated Parliament by his openly pro-Catholic stance and his attempts to restore royal privilege. When his Catholic second wife bore him a son in 1688, the Parliament took action. Determined not to have a Catholic as heir to the English throne, the Parliament asked James' oldest daughter Mary, and her husband William of Orange to seize the throne. (Mary was James' daughter by his first wife, who had been a Protestant.) In what became known as the Glorious Revolution (1688) William and Mary peacefully claimed the English throne, and James II fled to France, where he lived the remainder of his life in exile. The new king and queen understood the supremacy of Parliament, and never again would an English monarch attempt to restore absolutism. A much different outcome would prevail in France, where absolute monarchy would flourish under the reign of King Louis XIV (r. 1643-1715). More on France and absolutism on 1/30. |