How Did Charles II Have Absolute Government

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Charles II of England Charles II of England was the eldest son of Charles I, an absolutist ruler in England during the 1600s. Charles I fought in the English civil war against Oliver Cromwell, however lost and was executed public on charges of treason. Oliver’s tyrannous rule left England in tatters. Luckily, Charles II restored England after Cromwell’s rule, coining him the nickname of the “restoration king” due to his restoration of the arts. Although named that, Charles II was not very politically skilled, like many absolutists, but his political relationships helped him restore his kingdom. Charles II had an individual relationship with the absolute king Louis XIV (Fraser). Despite this, the two had very different styles of ruling. Louis had absolute power with no advisors to restrict him. He strategically did not let any nobles gain too much power so that he could have complete reign over France. Meanwhile, Charles II ruled in a constitutional monarchy. Thus, Charles did not have absolute rule because his power was restricted by parliament (Fraser). Since the 1200s, english kings have been responsible to guarantee certain rights to their people due to the Magna Carta. Though, in 1681 Charles II dissolved parliament despite his belief in power sharing (Fraser). This act was …show more content…
As a constitutional monarch he did have to get parliament's approval for taxation, however he took trading upon himself. England had territory in the new world and traded it for alliances, goods, or profit. As exemplified in the primary source Charles II’s grant of New England to the Duke of York, Charles II traded New England for a promise of rare goods, such as beaver skin, and loyalty to the Duke of York (Wileman). Thus, by the practice of selling land in the new world, Charles II was helping revive England’s