The English Revolution was a struggle between Charles I and parliament for ultimate authority over the country. The French Revolution was directed against the absolute monarchy of Louis XVI. Both monarchs ruled under the idea of Divine Right, the doctrine that says that a monarch is subject to no earthly authority. Louis XIV and Charles I did a poor job ruling their country by starting wars and overspending to live extravagant lifestyles. One common factor of these revolutions was a financial issue, in particular, taxation. The English Revolution centered on the king’s concern to raise money without the consent of parliament and the French Revolution began with the French government’s concern to reform the tax system in France and thereby save
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However, Charles had no money to form a significant army and the first war came to a draw. Charles could not afford an army and Parliament, who he has ignored throughout his reign, refused to give him any funds. Instead, Charles leveed taxes without parliament’s consent through other ways such as fines, monopolies or extension of ship money. This extension is supposed to be for only port cities, but Charles made it a permanent tax even for places that had no coast (Hill, p.9). Without the use of Parliament, Charles had enough money to sustain his lifestyle during peace time. That changed when Charles discovered that the Scots were secretly meeting with France and was determined to use military force. To raise more money, he called on Parliament in April 1640. This Short Parliament insisted first on discussing grievances against the government including the abandonment of the royal claim to levy ship money and opposed to renewing the war against the Scots (L. Stone, p. 136). Charles considered these terms unacceptable and dissolved Parliament and raised a new expedition on his own. The Scots promptly invaded and controlled most of northern England. The impoverished King had to summon another parliament to grant him for the supplies he needed. The Long Parliament attacked his Government, abolishing courts that were not part of the common law system, removed judicial power of the Privy Council, ended all the illegal fiscal measures the king made to stay afloat, and impeached and later executed the Earl of Strafford and Laud. Charles’s failure in defeating the Scottish army strengthened the position of parliament and helped precipitate his own
However, Charles had no money to form a significant army and the first war came to a draw. Charles could not afford an army and Parliament, who he has ignored throughout his reign, refused to give him any funds. Instead, Charles leveed taxes without parliament’s consent through other ways such as fines, monopolies or extension of ship money. This extension is supposed to be for only port cities, but Charles made it a permanent tax even for places that had no coast (Hill, p.9). Without the use of Parliament, Charles had enough money to sustain his lifestyle during peace time. That changed when Charles discovered that the Scots were secretly meeting with France and was determined to use military force. To raise more money, he called on Parliament in April 1640. This Short Parliament insisted first on discussing grievances against the government including the abandonment of the royal claim to levy ship money and opposed to renewing the war against the Scots (L. Stone, p. 136). Charles considered these terms unacceptable and dissolved Parliament and raised a new expedition on his own. The Scots promptly invaded and controlled most of northern England. The impoverished King had to summon another parliament to grant him for the supplies he needed. The Long Parliament attacked his Government, abolishing courts that were not part of the common law system, removed judicial power of the Privy Council, ended all the illegal fiscal measures the king made to stay afloat, and impeached and later executed the Earl of Strafford and Laud. Charles’s failure in defeating the Scottish army strengthened the position of parliament and helped precipitate his own