Constitutional development in England in the 17th century summary This thesis deals with an important period in English constitutional history. It focuses on the position of English kings and their dispute with English parliament over decisive power in the state. It attempts to describe the main changes in position of the English king and considers significance of the 17th century especially for the later development of parliamentary form of English government. The thesis is divided into four main chapters. First chapter describes the system of English law including common law, case law or law of equity and important royal prerogatives of the king for example the right to summon or dissolve parliament, to appoint judges of common law courts and royal councillors and also events of previous century, specially establishing the Church of England when house of Tudor ruled in England. Furthermore it briefly follows the historical development of parliament and its powers. Next chapters are divided according to the traditional periods of the century to years 1600-1640, 1640-1660 and 1660-1700. Individual subchapters concentrate on reign of each Stuart king. Chief attention is given to the dramatic reign of Charles I. in relation to the English civil war and execution of the king. Dispute between English kings and...

This thesis examines the consequences and implications of the premature deaths of royal heirs in seventeenth-century Britain. In just four generations between 1603 and 1700 the Stuart dynasty suffered the loss of over twenty-five legitimate offspring before their twenty-first year. Several of these deaths had significant political repercussions, threatening both the continuity of the royal line and consequently the security of the nation. The cultural memory of these lost heirs continued decades and even centuries later. My work seeks to establish the historical significance of their long-lasting appeal by assessing their princely representation in life and analysing its development after death. This study is firmly located within visual culture. However, definitions and classifications of the “visual” are necessarily broad. The emphasis is upon the consideration of seventeenth-century British art as part of a wider cultural process. The opening chapter addresses an apparently obvious, though somewhat neglected, issue - the critical importance of royal heirs. Through examination of the imagery and ceremonial attached to Stuart childbearing and christenings, it asserts the real symbolic significance of princely progeny. Chapter Two develops the study of youthful princely representation. It assesses the portrayal of Stuart heirs as they matured and seeks to identify the principal characteristics. Specifically, it is argued that, from a young age, the projection of Protestantism and martial aptitude was crucial to the formation of their personae. Chapter Three analyses how deceased Stuart heirs were commemorated in the months and years immediately after their deaths. It is contended that the enduring memory of these princes was the result, not of official commemoration, but of the large-scale public response to their deaths. The loss of an heir not only threatened the future of the dynasty but also the stability of the realm. The fourth chapter explores how, through visual and cultural propaganda, the surviving Stuarts attempted to re-group and to assuage social and political anxieties. Chapters Five and Six assess the long-term legacy of these princes in the decades and centuries after their deaths, as well as the political circumstances which gave rise to their enduring memory. These concluding chapters reveal the extent to which memories of deceased Stuart princes lingered, asserting that their representations were often employed for negotiation of the issues and anxieties of later ages. Throughout, my work seeks to establish the importance of these lost heirs and protectors of the Stuart Protestant line. I have endeavoured to retrieve the reputations of princes who came to represent potent symbols of both promise and loss.

Constitutional development in England in the 17th century Abstract This thesis aims at a thorough analysis of this period and its critical evaluation. It is based on the English constitutional development since the time of William the Conqueror and its summary is an integral part of it. The author considers the 17th century to be one of the most important periods that defined the modern constitutionality and state system of England. The main topic of the thesis is the already mentioned analysis, especially the relationship between the English monarchs and the English Parliament during the 17th century. The author defines the 17th century by a dispute between a monarch and a parliament based on the division of powers, which has changed rapidly over time. The emphasis is on the fact that during this time there has been a significant reduction in the sovereign's ancient rights and the transfer of many powers to parliament. The author describes the change in the powers of the king and parliament, especially in the field of fiscal, executive and justice, church affairs, foreign policy and the right to convene and dissolve parliament. She also deals with the development of parliamentary privileges, such as freedom of speech, division of power, immunity in voting on parliamentary bills, etc. The structure of the...

This thesis surveys the impact of the Gunpowder Plot upon the Jacobean stage 1605-16. While historians have long dismissed the Plot as a failed attack undertaken by a group of disenfranchised radicals, its influence on the cultural imagination of English dramatists has largely been overlooked. By surveying details of the Plot itself, and the non-dramatic texts circulating in its immediate aftermath, it becomes clear that non-dramatic Protestant authors responded to the Powder Treason with fear and panic, writing alarmist and inflammatory texts designed to demonise Catholics. These texts include ballads, sermons, and poetry. This circulating Protestant discourse developed specific linguistic Gunpowder paradigms and motifs, which subsequently began to appear on the London stage from 1606. With close readings of a number of plays produced during this period, this thesis demonstrates that playwrights incorporated specific Gunpowder tropes into drama, leading to the creation of a number of Gunpowder plays in the years 1606-16. Gunpowder plays include motifs of undermining, witchcraft, possession, demonic activity, equivocation, treason, and sedition. They also often include depictions of the two women from Revelation, known respectively as the Woman Clothed with the Sun, and the Whore of Babylon. In addition, this thesis reveals that subsequent political events, such as the murder of Henry IV of France in 1610 and the Overbury Scandal of 1613-16, reinforced fear of Catholic terrorism, and were thus incorporated into drama during this period, often conflated with the Powder Plot by playwrights, and circumnavigated via the Gunpowder motifs established in 1606. Moreover, one Gunpowder play, Macbeth, emerges as the definitive dramatic response to the Powder Treason. This thesis seeks to establish that the Gunpowder Plot had such a profound effect on the Jacobean cultural imagination that it provoked a watershed in English drama.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The thesis lays emphasis on the establishment and exercise of English colonial policy and authority in Virginia during the 17th century. The thesis deals with the political bodies, administrative structure and framework of political system. Primarily is focused on the character, activity, the causes of conflicts and their resolutions. The thesis concentrates on the relations among the leading institutions in Virginia; e.g. Governor, Council of State, General Assembly, but also between Virginia and England. Further, tries to get hold of the ways of appointment of the governors, councillors and election of the burgesses. The thesis also describes the origin and development of the county and local system. Keywords: England, colonies, colonial administration, North America, the Stuarts, 17th century,