Absolute monarchs, and how England's Parliament limited the king

Grade 10 Social Studies Worksheet

Circle the best answer.

1. Read this first

   Use this

   Cards A to D, all summaries in our words, written today. Card A (France): Louis XIV was born in 1638 and became king in 1643, at four. While he was a boy, a civil conflict called the Fronde lasted from 1648 to 1653. He claimed to rule by divine right, answerable to no one but God. In 1682 he moved his court to Versailles so that nobles lived close to him and could no longer plot against him. With Colbert he reorganized the realm's finances and started manufactures. In 1685 he revoked the Edict of Nantes, ending religious toleration. His reign ended in 1715, after 72 years on the throne. Card B (England before 1688): The Test Acts of 1673 and 1678 kept Catholics out of office. Parliaments of 1679 to 1681, called the Exclusion Parliaments, were dissolved; the one of 1681 met at Oxford for a week. James II became king in 1685; his Parliament resisted exempting Catholics from the Test Act and was dissolved in July 1687. Also in 1687 his Declaration of Indulgence suspended the laws against people outside the Church of England. Seven bishops were prosecuted in 1688. Card C (England, 1688 to 1689): James II left for France just before William of Orange reached London on December 18, 1688. William summoned a Convention rather than claim the throne by conquest. On February 6, 1689, it resolved that James had abdicated, and the crown was offered to William and Mary together. A Declaration of Rights was read on February 13; the Bill of Rights became law in December 1689. At the coronation on April 11, 1689, William and Mary swore to govern by the laws Parliament agreed on. Card D (how the story was told): Whig historians, who told English history as a steady march toward liberty and Parliament, made William their hero because he summoned a Convention rather than conquer. Parliament's own history pages add that Parliament changed over a number of years after 1688, and that the Bill of Rights was mostly concerned with James II's misdeeds and became a model for later statements of rights.

2. 1.

   Card A summarizes Louis XIV's reign as the Palace of Versailles presents it. Ari asks what a reader should use it for.

   • His claims and court as the palace tells them, not how ordinary French people lived
   • Why the Fronde began, since card A names the Fronde and gives its years
   • How French people judged the revocation of 1685, since card A dates the revocation
   • How his rule was judged in his lifetime, since a palace draws on his own court
3. 2.

   Card D says William's choice of a Convention made him the hero of Whig historians. Bo asks what that tells a reader.

   • They wrote in 1689, so their praise shows how the Convention was seen at the time
   • They liked a settlement made through Parliament, so their story may flatter it
   • They agreed with card A that kings answer to God alone, so they favored the crown
   • They proved the Convention was lawful, since a hero acts within the law
4. 3.

   Card D says the Bill of Rights was mostly concerned with James II's misdeeds. Esme asks what that suggests about the Bill as a source.

   • It was written to explain William's landing in 1688, so it records that landing
   • It shows what later states wanted from their rulers, since it became a model for them
   • It records Parliament's grievances, so it shows what was objected to, not a verdict
   • It lists the complaints against James II, so it gives a full picture of his rule
5. 4.

   Jun asks which development on card B best shows that mistrust of a Catholic king grew before James II took the throne.

   • James II's Parliament resisting exemptions in 1687, since it was the clearest clash
   • The Convention of 1689, since it ended James II's rule and showed the mistrust
   • The prosecution of seven bishops in 1688, since it shows the mistrust began that year
   • The Test Acts of 1673 and 1678, and the Exclusion Parliaments of 1679 to 1681
6. 5.

   Cards B and C list events before James II lost his throne. Kira asks which claim the cards support best.

   • The Bill of Rights caused it, since Parliament listed his misdeeds and then crowned William
   • William's landing was the single cause, since James II left right after it
   • Several events combined, among them the dissolved Parliament, the bishops and the landing
   • The Test Acts caused it, since they began the quarrel between Parliament and the crown
7. 6.

   A student says the move to Versailles alone explains why French kings stayed absolute. What do you answer, Luz?

   • The move followed the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, so it was a result of 1685
   • The student is right, because after 1682 no noble resisted him in any way
   • It kept nobles close, but card A also names divine right and Colbert's finances
   • The student is right, since card A links the move to his power and names nothing else
8. 7.

   Milo compares the sources of royal authority in cards A and C. What is the difference?

   • Louis XIV claimed divine right; William and Mary received the crown from a Convention
   • Louis XIV became king as a child, William and Mary as adults, so age explains the difference
   • William and Mary claimed divine right; Louis XIV received the crown from a Convention
   • Louis XIV claimed divine right; William and Mary did too, once the Bill of Rights passed
9. 8.

   England changed how it chose its ruler from 1688 to 1689. Ren asks which continuity cards B and C still show.

   • A monarch still ruled; the change was that Parliament's laws now bound the crown
   • James II stayed king until the Bill of Rights became law in December 1689
   • Parliament took over the monarch's powers, since it offered the crown to William and Mary
   • The change was complete in 1688, when James II fled, and the oath merely recorded it
10. 9.

    Card D says Parliament changed over a number of years after 1688. Tala asks what that does to the claim that 1689 ended royal power.

    • It supports the claim, since a Parliament that changed had taken over from the king
    • It weakens the claim; the Bill was one step, and the change came over years
    • It leaves the claim alone, since the Bill of Rights became a model for later statements
    • It shows the changes of 1689 were repealed within a few years, so royal power returned
11. 10.

    Louis XIV reigned 72 years, from 1643 to 1715. Zee asks what card A shows about change inside the reign.

    • Events and policy shifted: the Fronde, Versailles in 1682 and the revocation in 1685
    • The Fronde caused each later change, since it came first and the rest followed
    • No change; one king ruled from 1643 to 1715, so a reign that long stays the same
    • His power grew steadily to 1715, as the dates on the card show year by year