Discuss the concept of balance of power in 17th century using the policies of William of Orange and Louis XIV?
Landing in Ireland on 14 June 1690, William spent less than three months in Ireland, although the war, of course, lasted longer. William presented some personal belongings to officers who fought for him while in Ireland, a number of which are on display in the National Museum of Ireland, including a glass decanter, a glass posset bowl, a bed coverlet and two pairs of gloves that he presented to Sir John Dillon of Lismullen, Co. Meath. According to family tradition William stayed there after the Battle of the Boyne. Another object on display in the ‘Soldiers & Chiefs’ exhibition is a presentation sword that William is believed to have given to William Bentinck, earl of Portland, in appreciation of his service at the Battle of the Boyne in 1690. Like many
Louis XIV balance of power?
France under Louis XIV was the superpower of Europe in the 17th century. His goals were to expand his empire and gain more prestige among the nations. One nation he fought repeatedly with was the Netherlands, under Prince William of Orange and wife Mary, daughter of James ll of England. Therefore William wished an alliance with other nations to counter France's aggressions. The opportunity arose when James ll became unpopular for various reasons, and many English nobles petitioned William to depose James ll. William then invaded England with his Dutch army and with English support, deposed James ll. Now England could ally itself with the Netherlands to oppose France. No other nations were powerful enough to challenge France until England and Netherlands became allied.
When and how did the British monarchy start losing its power? How did the British monarch become the powerless figure head of the present day?
If memory serves from my schooldays in the UK during the 1970s, the monarchy's loss of power can be simplified (oversimplified?) into 5 events:Magna Carta 1215The monarchy basically started losing material power with King John of England signing the Magna Carta [1215], which led to the rule of constitutional law in England. Translation: the beginning of the end of absolutism in royal rule in England. This was just 149 years after the Norman Conquest under William I.English Civil War 1642-51Commonwealth of England/The Protectorate 1651-60The monarchy continued to lose power by turns in the years since Magna Carta, culminating in the English Civil War. The Commonwealth of England (later, the Protectorate for the whole of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland) replaced the monarchy under Charles I of England, Scotland and Ireland. (We can safely generalise Charles I was a British monarch, even though history books conventionally identify him as "of England.")The Restoration 1660With the end of the Commonwealth/Protectorate in 1658-60, the monarchy was restored under King Charles II of England, Scotland and Ireland. However, Parliament limited Charles II's royal prerogative powers on constitutional grounds that he had no right to arbitrarily suspend laws enacted by Parliament. Translation: further loss of royal power.The Glorious Revolution 1688King James II of England and Ireland (and as James VII of Scotland) was overthrown by Parliamentary forces in a joint operation with Dutch forces under William of Orange, who then became "King Billy": William III of England, Scotland and Ireland (in addition to being Stadtholder of various areas in the Dutch Republic). But during William III's reign (jointly with Mary II), there was resistance to his/their validity to the throne (which is too involved to explain here).United Kingdom 1707-1800 / 1801-1927 / 1921-todayThe most prominent political feature of the UK that diluted the power of the monarchy was the Reform Act 1832 refashioned the British electoral system and extended the franchise. Translation: more power to the people and parliament.There are other important events in between those above, of course, but those are the ones most UK-educated people tend to remember at any given moment.
How did the British colonize India?
Britain came in the 1600s (with Sir Thomas Roe) when India was under the rule of Jehangir. India was a stronger nation back then. So, the British were contended to be traders. However, Nadir Shah's (of Iran) invasion of India in 1738, changed the picture (See: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nad...). The Mughal rulers were badly defeated and that signalled to the world that India was very weak. The East India Company immediately latched on and made use of the weakness. The timing was key. India had plenty of infighting. For instance, Tipu Sultan, who offered ferocious resistance against the Brits was undermined by our own rulers (Nizam of Hyderabad and Marathas) who surrounded the Mysore kingdom when British attacked him. The Marathas duly paid the price for the friendship with the devil with the Anglo-Maratha war in which they were badly defeated. British troops were well organized and used superior tactical & strategic skills on the warfield. French revolution and later the defeat of Napolean in 1815, distract the French from expanding their control in India. The British used this opportunity to kick out the other colonial powers from India.By the 18th century, India was under a crisis. The Aurangzeb's rule was quite bitter for non-Muslims and the Hindus were tired of Islamic rule. This gave rise to many Hindu kings (such as the Marathas). The East India Company rightly used this period to increase the divisions with their divide and rule policy. India had a very weak navy. Unlike islands like Britain or Japan, we didn't have enough incentives to build a strong navy. Naval superiority helped the British to gain and build the critical ports of India (Bombay, Madras, Calcutta) and build the empire from there. Britian was entering the age of industrial revolution at around the same time (1750) when Indian empires were weakened. The economic strength from industrial revolution gave the Brits an upper hand.
Question About Slavery and the Civil War?
To Knowledge: The Civil War was clearly about slavery. The South secceeded from the Union because the north tried to say that no new states can have slaves and that slavery was bad. The South finally got fed up with the North's meddling in its affairs. Abolitionists like John Brown became terrorists and attacked trains with Southerners on them in Harper's Ferry. As far as what incentive did a Southern soldier have, well, for one, he didn't want free blacks to compete with him for jobs. That is the most basic incentive anyone could have. When is the last time anyone who replied to my question quit his/her job to graciously give it someone else more needy? None of your arguments make any sense. I still don't know what a northern white guy's incentive was during the Civil War.
How did England become a democracy from a monarchy?
In 1215, King John was forced by the nobles to sign Magna Carta, which placed limits on the king's power and demanded that he seek the consent of the lesser noblemen over whom he governed before he could tax them. In the early 14th century, the need to consult the noblemen for their consent in an organized fashion had led to the development of a permanent Parliament.In 1649, King Charles I was executed on order of parliament for raising taxes, dissolving parliament for years and starting a civil war. The monarchy was replaced by a republic headed by Oliver Cromwell who proved to be a worse dictator than any King. After Cromwell's death, Charles II (son of the executed monarch) was asked by parliament to become King. In 1685, Charles II died without an heir and his brother, James II, became King. James proved to be as tyrannical as his father, and in 1689 parliament removed him from power and asked Mary II (James’ daughter) and her husband William of Orange to become King and Queen. It was at this point that Britain became a constitutional monarchy as parliament insisted that almost all executive power, including powers over taxation, be given to parliament, leaving the monarch as a figurehead. The final step in Britain’s move to becoming a full constitutional monarchy took place in 1721, under George I, when a single parliamentarian (Robert Walpole) became head of government in the office of First Lord of the Treasury, which later became known as “Prime Minister”. By this time Britain had the largest and most powerful Empire in history and the British people were the freest in the world - sadly they didn't share this freedom with the people of the Empire, which is why it eventurally declined. Finally the democracy came in 1918 with the Representation of the People Act which saw the size of the electorate triple from 7.7 million to 21.4 million. Prior to the passage of this act only 60% of British men had the right to vote and women had no right to vote at all.