England and France in the Seventeenth Century

Constitutional Crisis and Settlement in Stuart England:

James I, a believer in the divine right of kings, failed to understand the importance of Parliament in governing England. He dissolved Parliament, trying to rule without it until England's involvement in the Thirty Years' War made it necessary to reconvene it. But after Parliament passed the Great Protestation in 1621, James once again dissolved it. Charles I, forced by wars, called for Parliament to vote funds, which it refused to do until he signed the Petition of Right in 1628. In 1642, Parliament seized control of the Army. This started the English Civil War (1642-1649). The middle class people were the Roundheads and the Anglican clergy and nobility and peasants who backed the king were Royalists or Cavaliers. The Roundheads allied with Presbyterian Scotland; the king called on Irish Catholics for help

Henry of Navarre takes over the French throne as Henry IV. He issued the Edict of Nantes, which granted religious tolerance to Huguenots. Sully, Henry's finance minister, reformed tax collection, stimulated trade and industry, and improved transportation. These changes led to increased power of the monarchy. The government suffered from corruption and mismanagement under Louis XIII. He appointed Richelieu as Prime Minister. Richelieu centralized the gov taking measured to increase the tax base, strengthening the military, and instituting the intendant system, which weakened the nobility. His policies strengthened absolutism. Louis XIV, taking the throne at age 4, had Mazarin as his regent. Mazarin protected Louis from the Frondeurs (nobles) who sought to limit the powers of the monarch and decentralize the gov. When Mazarin died, Louis declared himself his own Prime Minister (and said..."L'etat, c'est moi"). ...divine right theory... Jean Baptiste Colber

Some common words found in the essay are:
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Approximate Word count = 646
Approximate Pages = 3 (250 words per page double spaced)