Topic > An analysis of the social factors contributing to the English Civil War and the French Revolution

Problems began to arise in England and France when monarchs decided to consolidate central control (absolutism) and raise taxes to afford their lifestyle (in France) and war (in both countries). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay The political difficulties of English King Charles I stemmed from his desire to be an absolute monarch and from being seen as a sympathizer of the Roman Catholic Church. The former was shown several times, as he did not call Parliament into session from 1629 to 1640; this period is also known as Personal Rule. Soon after calling the Short Parliament in April 1640 he would not listen to anything they had to say, yet he was forced to listen when the Long Parliament was inaugurated in November of the same year. They immediately began to pass bills against Charles' personal rule, one of which was the Triennial Law (1641), in which they declared that Parliament should be convened at least once every three years. The detonating factor in this uneasy relationship occurred in January 1642 when Charles attempted to arrest five Members of Parliament who were significant opposition figures. With this he violated parliamentary sovereignty. The first was at the beginning of his reign. He offended the people by marrying a French Catholic princess in a predominantly Protestant country. In terms of economics, Charles I found that relying on the House of Commons for grants and taxes often made relations between the monarchy and Parliament difficult. Despite being granted tonnage and poundage for only one year by Parliament (1625), Charles continued to collect these taxes against approval. This only reaffirmed the belief that Charles was a potential absolutist. During his personal rule (1629-1640), he revived the old taxes. These included seizing knighthood, strengthening the ancient borders of the royal forests, collecting ships' money, and using the Star Chamber Court to raise funds by collecting taxes and fines. During this time period, his minister Thomas Wentworth implemented Thorough's unpopular policy (collecting money owed to the crown to strengthen it). Charles' need for money to finance an army against the Scots following the First Bishops' War (1638) was what prompted him to call the Short Parliament in 1640. When the Second Bishops' War ended, the agreement was that the English would paid the Scots a large sum, to get this money he had to call Parliament again. Ultimately, it was the members of the Long Parliament who were tasked with leading the rebellion against the king. Political problems originated in France when Louis XVI, the unimposing and prepared ruler, came to power in 1774. He faced increasing resistance from the local parliaments, in response to this, Louis XV's chancellor, Ren? Nicolas de Maupeou, began to abolish them. However, this was considered an unpopular action as it appeared to replace local control with central control. Desperate to be popular, Louis XVI dismissed Maupeou and recalled the parliaments (1774). This allowed the parliamentarians to see how fragile their power was, which explains their subsequent resistance to the king. Under Louis XVI's control the parliaments became resistant to royal decrees, especially new taxes. During this period there were riots and calls for an election of the General State. At that time, they realized that when voting by states, the First.