This is the essay for the 29th week of the 7th Grade Ron Paul Curriculum. It’s about the Divine Right of Kings.

The Divine Right of Kings

 

Feudalism was a type of social system used in medieval Europe. The people work for the king and the king works for the people. This ended with William the Conqueror. Henry VIII was the first king to believe in the Divine Right of Kings. The divine right of kings was a philosophy, where the king could do anything he wanted it didn’t need to be what the people wanted, he didn’t need the parliament’s permission either, because the king was divinely chosen by God and would only follow God. The divine right of kings caused rebellions due to its tyranny.

King James I of England was one of the kings to use the Divine Right of Kings. I shall explore how the Divine Right of Kings influenced the monarchy in England during James I reign and kings after him.

 

James I of England

James, I was born in Scotland in 1566. He was the son of Mary Queen of Scots. He became king in 1567. When the queen of England died in 1603, Elizabeth I didn’t leave any heir James I became king, because he was her closest living relative. Due to this James, I was the first monarch to be king of Scotland and England at the same time. He decided to make the Episcopal Church the state religion. This went smoothly in England but in Scotland, it didn’t go so well. James had lived in Scotland, so he knew the Scottish were a very stubborn people. That’s why he didn’t force the Episcopal church onto the Scottish. In 1625 he died of natural causes. His heir was his only son Charles I.

 

Charles I of England

Charles, I was born in England in 1600. When his father died in 1625 he became king. Charles started making changes to the church immediately. He changed the church to an Anglican church and appointed William Laud to the position of Archbishop of Canterbury. Charles was a strong believer in the Divine Right Kings. Due to that, he believed in Divine Right of kings Charles thought that he didn’t need the parliament’s approval. This caused parliament to disagree a lot with Charles and vice versa. He disagreed with the parliament so much that he eventually disbanded them in 1629. Charles ruled alone for 11 years until he re-established the parliament for financial help after the Bishop’s War. But before I can tell you about the Bishop’s War I need to tell you another story.

 

The Story of Jenny Geddes

Unlike his father, Charles was born in England and he didn’t know how stubborn the Scottish were. When Charles changed the church he started forcing it on the English and the Scottish. He knew he that if he changed the religion of the Scottish and the English he could change their culture. Because culture is religion externalized. The Anglican Church and the Laudian prayer book didn’t go over well for the Scottish. One time when a priest sent by Charles was reading the Laudian prayer book in a church in Scotland when a Milkmaid named Jenny Geddes noticed something wasn’t right. Unfortunately, Jenny Geddes figured out Charles’s plan and decided to stop it by throwing a chair in the face of the priest. Then other people in the church started throwing their chair’s too and this started the Bishops War.

 

The Bishop’s War

The Bishop’s War started in 1639 after the Scottish started rebelling. Charles fought back, but he lost. The Scottish Covenanters signed the Westminster Confession of Faith, which said that the English should respect the Scottish faith.

 

English Civil War

The English Civil War began in 1642. In the war, there were 2 parties. The Loyalists. These were King Charles I forces. There was also the Parliamentarian Roundheads. These were the people who supported the parliament. After 11 years of fighting the Loyalists were defeated and Charles I was put on trial by the parliament. Charles, I was condemned guilty and executed in 1649.

 

Oliver Cromwell

Oliver Cromwell was born in 1599. He was born into a noble family, but the family was actually poor. Cromwell used his nobility to get into parliament, but he still worked very hard. He opposed Charles tyranny and started gathering an army, even without any military experience. He allowed anyone into his army on the condition that they would fight against Charles I. Cromwell trained very hard and became a strategic and military genius. He helped the Parliament in the English Civil War. After the war ended Cromwell went to Ireland and Scotland to stop the remaining Loyalists. He was very brutal with his attacks on the Loyalists. When Cromwell returned to England the Monarchy had been disbanded. He was made the Lord Protectorate of England. Which was basically exactly the same as the king only differing in the name of the title. He died in 1658 and after his death his son Richard became king after him. But Richard reigned for only 6 months and then Charles II took over and reinstated the Monarchy.