Three Revolutions Under The Same Parameters

Three Revolutions Under the Same Parameters

Mª del Pilar Hernández Mateos
Universidad de Extremadura

Introduction
The following essay aims at an examination of three main Revolutions of the
17th and 18th century: The Glorious Revolution, The American Revolution and The
French Revolution. Although the two last ones are quite separated in time –exactly one
century– from the first one,they share the influence of John Locke’s ideas as well as
those of other philosophers or thinkers of the Era.
That is the object of this paper: to analyze the relation between these three
moments in history, in which certain ideas and concrete goals in each occasion affected
the politics, the economy and the society not just in their respective countries, but from
a global perspective for thedevelopment of history.
As regards to the structure, there are ten sections: a short review of the situation
in England before the Glorious Revolution, then, the Bill of Rights belonging to that
revolution, and the British success during the first half of the 18th century; the situation
of the American colonies during the British success, until their first reactions and the
Declaration ofIndependence, being it followed by the Revolutionary War and the US
Constitution; and, the influence of the American uprising in France and the end of the
century. Finally, a conclusion and the list of sources used to prepare this essay close it.

Situation in England before the Glorious Revolution
The British monarchy had been restored in 1660, just two years after the death of
“Lord” Cromwellin 1658. The Parliament, always taking an important role in British
political matters, invited Charles I’s son to return from France, to be named King
Charles II. He would be, like his father, an absolute monarch: Charles I had ruled taken
all the power and control under him, and that had led to a civil war between Royalist
and Parliamentarians that came to end with the establishment of theCommonwealth,
headed by Oliver Cromwell (1653-1658).
Oliver Cromwell has been considered a controversial figure in the history of
England, but he could be certainly considered a dictator, since he dissolved the
Parliament in 1953 and he was to be called “Lord Protector”. When he died, his son
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Richard Cromwell succeeded him; although once again not without controversy for his
lack ofmilitary experience and the difficult financial position of the regime. He had to
call a parliament, but even he could not face the situation –mostly because of problems
with the army– and, finally, went into exile in 1659.
Then, in 1660, Charles came back to England for petition of the Parliament. He
signed the Declaration of Breda and made many promises in relation to the reclamation
of thecrown of England, Ireland and Scotland. –For some, the Restoration was the
return of the divine power.
Charles II reigned until 1685. This period was characterized by his attempt to get
religious toleration and formalize the Catholic faith, maybe because of his own leanings
towards it. During Cromwell’s Republic, a strong Puritanism was developed while
Catholics were seen as anti-Christ andrejected. On the other hand, his reign also saw
an appalling plague (1665), the Great Fire of London (1666) and a sequence of wars
with the Dutch between 1665 and 1667. In 1670, Charles signed a secret treaty with
Louis XIV of France, with the promise of converting to Catholicism if he supported the
French against the Dutch in the following war (1672-1674). Of course, Charles II would
receivesome subsides from France. These facts made him come into conflict with the
English Parliament, which he finally dissolved in 1681 to become an absolute ruler. He
did not have any legitimate heir, so he named his brother James, an unpopular Catholic,
as his successor. –This was in contrast with his decision of marrying his niece Mary to
the Protestant William of Orange.

English Bill of...