The Parliament of England convened again in 1629. There were many disagreements about religion and the organization of the Church of England. Charles gave support to the "High Church" group, but the parliament gave their support to the "Low Church" group. Charles supported Arminianism, but the parliament's House of Commons tried to make Arminianism illegal. To stop the House of Commons, the king again dissolved the parliament. Some members of parliament in the House of Commons tried to continue their session, but the king put them in prison. Charles continued to support Arminians in the Church of England, with the inclusion of William Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury ("the chief bishop of all England"). The population disliked Laud and the Arminians, and disliked Charles's taxes. Between 1629 and 1640, the king controlled the government alone. There was no parliament. This time has the name "Personal Rule" or the "Eleven Years' Tyranny".
This made Charles very unpopular with the people, who did not like the different taxes they had to pay directly to the king, since Parliament could not vote to give him any budget. Many also did not like the King's closest adviser, William Laud, who was trying to force the Church of England to use the same Anglican Prayer Book and stop the many other Protestant denominations that were becoming popular at that time.
When the king and the Archbishop then tried to force a Prayer Book on Scotland, which was even more Protestant (Calvinist), armed rebellion broke out there. The Wars of the Three Kingdoms started in 1639 with the Bishops' Wars.
The members of Parliament, angry at the things that had been going on for 11 years, did not want to give him money to fight his war. Instead, they spent the session complaining about what had been going on in the country for the last 11 years. So after only three weeks, Charles dissolved Parliament again. For this reason, it was known as the Short Parliament. Without enough money, Charles lost the war badly, and had to pay the Scots even more money that he did not have.
These wars were a failure for the king, and his position forced Charles to convene the Parliament of England in 1640. Parliament voted that the King had to call Parliament, and could not shut them down again. Charles had no choice but to agree. This Parliament is known as the Long Parliament, because it ended up lasting for twenty years, until 1660.
Charles was in a weak position, and he had to agree to acts of parliament that took away many of his royal powers. Laud and Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford were both impeached and later were executed. Parliament also tired to take control of the army away from the king. Many political conservatives were not pleased with this plan. Acting on the advice of his wife Queen Maria Henrietta, the king went with soldiers to the House of Commons in 1642 and tried to arrest his political enemies. They had gone. After this failure, the king left London and went to travel the country to look for help. With a collection of his political friends, Charles began the English Civil War with an army at Nottingham, and then moved to Oxford.
The army of Parliament got the upper hand in this war, and Charles, after a crushing defeat in 1646, went to the Scots for protection. They decided to hand him over to the Parliament of England in 1647.
The war was a failure for the king, and Charles was made a prisoner. The king got out of Hampton Court Palace in 1647 and ran away to Carisbrooke Castle, on the Isle of Wight.
The governor of the Isle of Wight was on the side of Parliament and made the king a prisoner again. While he was being held at Carisbrooke Castle, Charles made an agreement with the Scots who joined his side, and the fighting started again in 1648.
Charles's many enemies then fought among themselves in spring 1648. Because he was still making trouble for them even while he was captured, Parliament voted to put the king on trial.
The army then removed the conservatives from parliament in a political purge in December as an insurance against more fighting. The men left in parliament then formed a court in order to hold a trial of the king. The court gave the king the death penalty. This had never been done to a king of England before.
At the trial he was found guilty. He was decapitated in a public execution outside the Banqueting House of the palace at Whitehall. Some of the members of Parliament who were opposed to killing king Charles were purged, and from this time on, what was left of the Long Parliament became known as the Rump Parliament. This Parliament took complete power in England, and there was not a new king at all until 1660.
Pepin the Short
Pepin the Short or Pippin (714 – September 24, 768), often known as Pepin the Younger or Pepin III, was King of the Franks from 751 to 768.
Pepin was the son of Charles Martel and Chrotrud (690 - 720), and was born in Jupille, Belgium.
In 740 Pepin married Bertrada of Laon. She was the daughter of Caribert of Laon. They had two sons and a daughter who lived long enough to become adults:
Pepin died at Saint Denis and is buried in the basilica with his wife, Bertrada of Laon. His sons, Charlemagne and Carloman, were each King of half the Kingdom of the Franks after him.
Sense and Sensibility
Sense and Sensibility is a novel by Jane Austen. It was her first novel, and was published in 1811. The novel is mostly about two sisters, Elinor and Marianne Dashwood, and their life and loves. The story takes place in southern England in the 1790s.
Austen paid to have the book published. The publisher got a commission on sales. She made a profit of £140 (almost £5,000 in 2008 currency) on the first edition, which sold all 750 printed copies by July 1813. A second edition was advertised in October 1813.
Pride and Prejudice
Pride and Prejudice is a book by Jane Austen. It was published in 1813. It was made into a movie in 1940 and again in 2005. There were two BBC television productions, in 1980 and 1995.
"It is a truth universally acknowledged, that a single man in possession of a good fortune must be in want of a wife". (first line)
The story starts with Mr. Bingley, a wealthy, handsome young gentleman, who comes to town and rents a place near the Bennet family. He comes with quiet Mr. Darcy and his pretty sisters. Jane Bennet and Mr. Bingley begin to spend a lot of time with each other, even though the sisters of Mr. Bingley try to cut the attraction. Mr. Bingley is loved and admired by almost every woman in the town. Mr. Darcy is disliked by everybody, because of his arrogant way of talking and his mean attitude. Elizabeth Bennet, the second daughter of Mrs. Bennet, seems to despise Mr. Darcy. She despises him even more after he refused to dance with her at the ball.
Elizabeth soon grows to admire an officer named Wickham. He seems to equally hate Mr. Darcy. He tells her a sad story about how Mr. Darcy was mean to him. This story makes Elizabeth hate Mr. Darcy even more. Meanwhile, Mr. Darcy begins to fall in love with Elizabeth.
Bingley slowly begins to declare his proposal of marriage to Jane, when he suddenly has to leave to Netherfield. Netherfield is the house he lives at most of the time. He did not plan to leave for a long time but his sisters use this chance to move Bingley and Jane away from each other. The sisters follow Bingley to London. Bingley's quick leave makes Jane sad and confused. Elizabeth finds out that it is because of his sisters.