< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > introduction</h1>
The United Kingdom is located in the British Isles, west of continental Europe. The British Isles include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland. Great Britain includes England, Scotland, and Wales. What we usually call The United Kingdom refers to England (also known as English). The country of England developed from the island of England.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the growth of capitalism within feudal society</h1>
Ireland, the most backward ethnic group in the British Isles from the 16th to the 17th century, survived from primitive communes and clan elders. Over the past few hundred years, Ireland has always been invaded by England, the land has been forcibly occupied by the English, and the peasants have become the sharecroppers of the English landowners. Due to the stubborn resistance of the Irish to foreign aggression, England did not completely conquer Ireland for a long time. Until the last decades of the 16th century, British territory in Ireland was not large. Before 1603, Scotland and England were two independent feudal absolutists.
Scotland's social system was progressive compared to Ireland's, with agriculture and animal husbandry dominating and industry and commerce less developed. Most Scots believe in Calvinism (Presbyterianism, a type of Puritanism). In 1603, after the Scottish Stuart dynasty came to power in England, Scotland and England began to join under King James I, but did not merge. The social system in England was much more progressive than scotland before the Revolution. The sheep industry in England has a long history. As early as the 13th century, especially in the 14th century, England was already a supplier of wool to the Flandres and Floryns velvet industries, and the urban economy had developed since the 12th century.
Serfdom in England was abolished in the 14th century, giving rise to the germ of capitalist production in the 15th century. However, the development of the urban economy was mainly in the eastern and southern regions, and the western and northern regions were still feudal and backward agricultural economies until before the revolution. From the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th century, England was formally a typical agricultural country. The city was very small, except for London, which had a population of 200,000, and the residents of other cities generally did not exceed 20,000, and the total population of the city accounted for only a quarter of the total population of the United Kingdom at that time. As a result, the vast majority of the population lives in rural areas. The English countryside was centered on the estates of feudal lords, and the land became the property of the landlords.
After the 14th century, although the English peasants had been legally recognized as having personal freedom, they had no land ownership and had to rent the landlord's land and pay a regular rent to the landlord. Therefore, the peasants had to be dependent on the landlords. Before the British Revolution, there were generally the following types of peasants: (i) peasants who rented land at will. This peasant had less obligations to the landlords, had some political rights, and was a major component of the British subsistence class. (2) Generations of leased land farmers. This kind of peasant was transformed from the former serfdom after the dissolution of serfdom in England at the end of the 14th century, and its dependence on the landlord was even greater than that of the arbitrarily leased land farmer. (3) Rich peasants. This was the upper echelons of the peasants, who paid only a small amount of rent to the lords. (4) Poor peasants and peasant workers. The main property of the poor peasants was the huts, hence the name "hut people". A farmer is a landless farmer, employed by farmers and wealthy farmers.
In the English countryside, until the Revolution, the feudal lords retained the power of administration and adjudication over the peasants, especially the peasants who had been renting land for generations. The expansion and growth of capitalist handicraft workshops must have a large number of wage labor and a large amount of capital, and at the same time require a vast market. These conditions were realized through the process of primitive accumulation of capital, and the enclosure movement became one of the most important foundations of the whole process of primitive accumulation of capital in England. Enclosures had taken place in England at the end of the 15th century, but it was not intense at that time. After the geographical discovery, the wool weaving industry in Flandre, the Netherlands, developed rapidly, making wool expensive, and raising sheep became a shortcut to profit. In addition, after the geographical discovery, there was also a so-called "price revolution" in Britain, which led to currency depreciation, price increases, and the reduction of real income from ground rent.
All this caused the greedy British landowners to change the way the land was run. They engaged in large-scale enclosure for sheep breeding, initially by forcibly occupying public lands such as wasteland, pastures and forests, and then turning arable land into pastures, expelling sharecroppers and depriving peasants, especially those who had been renting land for generations. Peasants who have lost their land either become wage-labourers or beggars or vagrants. Another fact of the expansion of enclosure movements was the Reformation of Henry VIII in the 16th century.
During the Reformation, the confiscated monastic land accounted for almost one-sixth of the country's total arable land. The king gave these lands to the nobles, who in turn sold the land cheaply to the merchants, so that many merchants became new landlords. They ran farms on the land and expelled the original sharecroppers, thus further expanding the enclosure movement. In the 16th century, more than 500,000 acres of land were occupied in the British countryside, resulting in the destruction and displacement of thousands of peasants, resulting in the desolation of agriculture. At this time, the British countryside had become a world of sheep, and the sparsely populated and desolate scene was shocking. In his book Utopia, Thomas Moore described the British countryside of this period as "sheep eating man".
At the beginning of the 17th century, there was considerable development of industry and commerce in Britain, the urban population increased, and the prices of food, fuel and various agricultural products continued to rise. In this case, the enclosure movement has undergone new changes. At this time, the enclosure was not mainly based on pasture, but on the operation of farms. Therefore, artificial fertilizers, seeders, and improved rotational cropping systems began to be used in agriculture. In short, from the 16th to the 17th century, there was a profound change in the English countryside, which general historians called the "Agricultural Revolution". In essence, this change is the violent dispossession of the peasants' land, making them free labourers. This process of deprivation, which separates the producer from the means of production, is one of the main bases of the whole process of the primitive accumulation of capital. Another major basis of the primitive accumulation of capital was the brutal plundering of the colonies. Britain had always plundered its overseas colonies through war, the slave trade, and piracy.
At the end of the 16th century, Britain also made amazing progress in colonial plunder. In 1588, the British defeated the Spanish Armada, laying the foundations for maritime trade. At the turn of the 16th and 17th centuries, The British established a number of overseas trading companies, the largest of which was the East India Company established in 1600. The company began its colonial policy at the outset of its founding, first colonizing the area along the east coast of North America and seizing a number of strongholds along the northwestern African coast and the Indian Peninsula. The british pirate raids and the expansion of maritime trade were intertwined with the lands of the peasants and the lands of the gentlemen and nobles, which had accumulated for British industry. In addition to arable land, there are pastures, wastelands, forests and pond moorlands, which are public property in the countryside.
Every peasant can use these places to run side businesses, especially the poor peasants who do not have a share of the land, and they rely more on this public land to survive. In addition, most British farmers are engaged in wool side business. Sheep husbandry in England has a long history and is linked to domestic and foreign markets. Wool sideline is therefore a common phenomenon in rural Britain. This is one of the reasons why the British countryside was able to undergo fundamental changes later. From the 16th century onwards, the enclosure movement was widely carried out in Britain, which led to a profound change in the English countryside. After the great geographical discovery at the end of the 15th century, the world market began to form. This not only affected the economic changes in European countries, but also stimulated the development of British industry.
Enclosures had taken place in England at the end of the 15th century, but it was not intense at that time. After the geographical discovery, the wool weaving industry in Flandre, the Netherlands, developed rapidly, making wool expensive, and raising sheep became a shortcut to profit. In addition, after the geographical discovery, there was also a so-called "price revolution" in Britain, which led to currency depreciation, price increases, and the reduction of real income from ground rent. All this caused the greedy British landowners to change the way the land was run. They engaged in large-scale enclosure for sheep breeding, initially by forcibly occupying public lands such as wasteland, pastures and forests, and then turning arable land into pastures, expelling sharecroppers and depriving peasants, especially those who had been renting land for generations. Peasants who have lost their land either become wage-labourers or beggars or vagrants. Another fact of the expansion of enclosure movements was the Reformation of Henry VIII in the 16th century.
Marx once wrote: "In the period of real handicraft manufacturing, it is the supremacy of commerce that brings industrial superiority. So the colonial system had a major role at that time. That is to say, the colonial system is also a major element of the primitive accumulation of capital. In pre-revolutionary Britain, however, colonialism was only the beginning. From the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th century, the emergence and growth of capitalism in English agriculture caused profound changes in class relations, first of all by splitting a new kind of aristocracy from within the old aristocracy. The so-called new nobility is the bourgeoisized nobility. Far from opposing the development of industry, they "seek to find ways to derive benefits from it."
Thus the new aristocracy, economically combined with the interests of the bourgeoisie, became politically the spokesman of the bourgeoisie and, in the case of the revolution, became an ally of the bourgeoisie. Most of these new aristocrats appeared in the countryside near the cities of eastern and southern England, where enclosures were most intense. The western and northern regions were still dominated by feudal aristocracy, who maintained feudal exploitation and resolutely maintained the feudal system, and became the main social force of feudal autocracy. Catholicism was at the time the ideological weapon of most feudal autocratic states in Europe, and in England it was Englishism of a similar nature as Catholicism. The doctrine of the Anglican religion (i.e., Englishism) advocated complicated feudal hierarchical rituals, advocated the divine right of kings, and riots were sinful, and this religion undoubtedly defended the monarchy. Therefore, to oppose feudal despotism, we must first oppose the state religion. The English bourgeoisie and the new aristocracy were mostly Puritans.
The English Revolution of the 17th century had similarities with the Dutch Revolution, the German Peasants' War, and the anti-feudal movements of the early Middle Ages, all under the cloak of religion. But the religious struggle essentially reflects the contradictions of classes, feudalism and capitalism, and it contains the conflict of class interests. Bourgeois historians describe the English Revolution as a Puritan revolution. The reactionary rule of the Stuart dynasty in England was characterized by the preservation of parliament after its establishment at the end of the 15th century. The British Parliament is divided into upper and lower houses. Before the Revolution, the British Parliament had the power to limit the king, mainly the right to tax. In the early days of feudal despotism, the bourgeoisie and the new aristocracy also needed to use the royal power to eliminate the division of princes that hindered the development of industry and commerce and suppress the people's rebellion.
At the same time, in order to establish a standing army and a feudal bureaucracy, the king also needed the economic support of the bourgeoisie and the new nobility in order to maintain the luxurious life of the royal family. Therefore, the conflict between Congress and the king is not significant. However, the interests of the feudal rulers and the bourgeoisie were not identical. By the beginning of the 17th century, after the economic power of the bourgeoisie and the new aristocracy had grown and consolidated, all the policies under the feudal autocracy could no longer meet their demands. The king granted various privileges to the feudal nobles, maintained the guild system, and tried to increase the political and economic power of the feudal nobles and state religious monks, such as giving them monopoly rights. All these measures greatly hindered the development of industry and commerce, and thus the clash between the king and the Parliament occurred. This conflict began in the later years of Queen Elizabeth, the last Tudor king, and became even more intense in the Stuart dynasty. In 1603, the Tudor dynasty was followed by the Stuart dynasty of Scotland.
The sixth man of Scotland, James, after dominating England, was called James I. After James I succeeded to the English throne, he relied heavily on feudal nobles and monks to negotiate unlimited monarchy in an attempt to abolish the British Parliament. In terms of domestic policy, James I did not consider the opinion of Congress, arbitrarily levied new taxes, and vigorously expanded the power of the state religion and persecuted Protestants; in foreign policy, he maintained friendship with Spain, did not care about British maritime trade, neglected to establish a navy, and opposed outward development. All these reactionary measures aroused the hatred of the bourgeoisie and the new aristocracy against feudal autocracy.
In addition to the initiative of the citizens of London in 1628, Parliament filed a petition of rights to re-affirm Congress's right to tax and demand that the king remove the ministers. Charles I refused to sign and dissolved Parliament in 1629. Since then, Congress has not convened for 11 years. Charles I, during his reign without Congress, insisted on implementing many reactionary measures. He restored the Star Chamber Court (i.e., the Supreme Court) as an institution dedicated to the adjudication of political prisoners; restored the supreme council in the Church, and vigorously persecuted the Puritans. Charles I's favorite minister, Slaefford, and Archbishop William Lauder were the main players in carrying out these reactionary policies. The English people and the Puritans were persecuted by them and were imprisoned and executed innumerable. Large numbers of oppressed Puritans fled to the Americas. In addition to violent persecution, Charles I also expropriated violently.
The king's officials often demanded "gifts" and "voluntary loans" from wealthy citizens and new nobles for the king, and if they refused, they were arrested. In addition, there are some special fines, such as fines for violating the forest law, fines for land enclosures, and fines for anti-payment knight donations. Particularly outrageous is the fact that in 1634, the king, under the pretext of establishing a navy, levied a ship tax on coastal cities, and in 1635 expanded the scope of the ship tax. From 1629 to 1640, the feudal autocratic government implemented monopoly rights without restraint, monopolizing the market, causing a depression in industry and commerce, and prices rose. All this aroused the incomparable anger of the bourgeoisie, the new aristocracy and the broad masses of the people, and the revolutionary situation was created.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the struggle of the masses of the people and its significance for the formation of the revolutionary situation</h1>
The process of taking shape of the revolutionary situation is inseparable from the extensive movement of the masses of the people. From the 16th century to the beginning of the 17th century, with the development of British society, the contradiction between the masses of the people and the feudal rulers became increasingly acute. The land enclosure movement directly endangers the survival of farmers. Millions of peasants lost their land and became vagrants. In order to ensure the source of taxes and maintain the feudal order, the feudal rulers used laws to stop and restrict the enclosure movement, and although it was not fully implemented due to the opposition of the aristocratic landlords, they formulated "bloody legislation" to punish the wanderers. The peasants were deprived of their land and their bodies were often brutally persecuted, which led to constant riots.
In 1549, there was a massive peasant revolt in Novuk, in eastern England, led by Robert Kate. This uprising forced the enclosure movement from the 1540s onwards to be slightly moderated and allowed the self-employed peasants of the East of England to be preserved, who later became the main force of the New Model Army. By the early 17th century, the peasant movement intensified as the enclosure movement intensified, most notably the so-called "moor dweller movement" that broke out in the eastern counties. In 1607, peasants in the central counties also waged a widespread struggle against land enclosure. The peasants demolished the landlord's fence and regained the land occupied by the landlord. At the same time, in the first 10 years of the 17th century, the revolts of urban civilians were also constantly erupting.
Urban civilians, oppressed by the burden of taxation and threatened by unemployment and high prices, became even poorer and bankrupt, so they often rioted. The insurrection of the urban populace during this period was often linked to peasant uprisings, which further expanded the mass movement. All these mass movements, although not yet the beginning of the revolution, shook the foundations of feudal absolutist rule and created the conditions for the struggle of the British bourgeoisie for power. The dissatisfaction of the masses with the feudal rulers and the growing spontaneous action of the masses are the most basic factors in the maturity of the revolutionary situation. But this alone is not enough, there must be divisions within the rulers.
As we mentioned earlier, by the beginning of the 17th century, the conflict between the British king and Parliament was becoming increasingly acute, which meant that the upper echelons of the rulers were divided, and that the upper rulers could no longer rule in the old way. This split, in turn, has encouraged the enthusiasm of the masses of the people in their struggle. All this marked the ripening of the Revolutionary Situation in England in the 1640s.
<h1 class = "pgc-h-arrow-right" > the beginning of the Revolution and the Civil War (1640-1642</h1>).
At the beginning of the revolution, Charles I introduced absolute despotic rule to Scotland, asking the Puritans of Scotland to recognize him as the head of the church, which led to the Scottish Revolt of 1637. In 1639, rebels in Scotland occupied the north of England, which became the prelude to the outbreak of the English Revolution. Charles I, who needed funds to quell the rebellion in Scotland, attempted to increase the new tax. Thus, in April 1640, the King convened parliament. The lower house of Parliament was mostly represented by the new nobility, and the most important leaders of the opposition in the past, such as John Pi1, M, john Hampton, etc., were elected to Parliament.
Immediately after the restoration of Parliament, it made its own demand that the king punish his favored subjects and stop all illegal taxes that were imposed without the consent of Congress. Charles I refused to accept these conditions and dissolved the Parliament on May 5 of the same year. Because of its short existence, history is called "Short Congress". Congress promulgated the Star Court and supreme council that abolished the ship tax, the forest law, patent rights, and the persecution of political prisoners and Puritans promulgated by the king in the absence of Congress, and demanded a trial of Slafford and William Lauder. The citizens of London have been active in support of Congress's demands. Under the pressure of the masses, the king had to execute Sdrafour and William Lauder. The long-term Congress won the initial victory. The further struggle of the Parliament against the king for a long time was also achieved in the revolutionary situation of the masses. At this time, the movement of the working people in urban and rural areas was generally unfolding.
At the end of January 1641, a national uprising broke out in Ireland under the leadership of the Catholic Church, which further strained the situation of the revolution in England. This situation has given impetus to further struggles in the long-standing Congress. In 1641, Congress passed the Reformation, also known as the Law of Roots. Under this act, the episcopal office was abolished, the presbytery was established, the state religion was changed to presbyterianism, and the church was separated from the king and subordinated to Parliament. In November 1641, Parliament passed the so-called Great Protest. The main contents are: the demand for the free development of industry and commerce, the establishment of bourgeois presbyterian churches, the formation of a government responsible to the Congress, etc. But the Great Protest makes no mention of improving the situation of working people in urban and rural areas, especially among peasants who have lost their land. The Great Protest, therefore, is only a programme of government for the British bourgeoisie at the beginning of the revolution.
The content of the Great Protest means that the British bourgeoisie and the new aristocracy do not want to carry the revolution through to the end, but only to win the king's political concessions and establish a constitutional monarchy in England to ensure the development of the capitalist economy. During the long congressional discussion of the Religious Act and the Great Protest, the bourgeoisie leading the revolution and the new aristocracy began to divide into two factions. One faction is the Presbyterian faction, i.e., the Right. The social base of this faction is the representative of the upper echelons of the bourgeoisie and the new aristocracy, including the "newly enfeoffed nobility". They are called Presbyterians because the organizations that lead them are the Elders and synods.
This faction advocated the establishment of a Presbyterian church that subordinated the church to Congress. The other faction is the independent faction, the one to the left. The social base of this faction was the petty and middle bourgeoisie and the new aristocracy, as well as a part of the peasantry in the east of England. They were called independents because they opposed the subordination of the Church to Congress, demanding freedom of belief and the complete independence of the diocese or synod. Although there were contradictions between the two factions, they were not clearly exposed in the early days of the revolution.
< h1 class="pgc-h-arrow-right" > concluding remarks</h1>
The dominant denominator in the long-term Congress was the Presbyterians. There are profound contradictions between the masses of the people and the strata of the bourgeoisie and the new aristocracy, but they still support the long-term Parliament in the general goal of opposing feudal absolutism. After the long congress passed the Great Protest, Charles I decided to deal with the congress.