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 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 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
   • They liked a settlement made through Parliament, so their story may flatter it
3. 2.

   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 lists the complaints against James II, so it gives a full picture of his rule
   • It shows what later states wanted from their rulers, since it became a model for them
   • It was written to explain William's landing in 1688, so it records that landing
   • It records Parliament's grievances, so it shows what was objected to, not a verdict
4. 3.

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

   • The Test Acts caused it, since they began the quarrel between Parliament and the crown
   • 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
5. 4.

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

   • It kept nobles close, but card A also names divine right and Colbert's finances
   • The move followed the revocation of the Edict of Nantes, so it was a result of 1685
   • The student is right, since card A links the move to his power and names nothing else
   • The student is right, because after 1682 no noble resisted him in any way
6. 5.

   Milo compares the sources of royal authority in cards A and C. What is 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
   • 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
7. 6.

   Noah compares the 1685 revocation of the Edict of Nantes (card A) with the 1687 Declaration of Indulgence (card B). What do they show?

   • Both acts show a king using religion to build his power, so religion explains each reign
   • Both ended toleration, since each king acted against people outside his church
   • Louis XIV's revocation led to James II's declaration, since one came before the other
   • One ended toleration and the other widened it, so the kings moved in opposite directions
8. 7.

   Card C gives a coronation oath in April 1689. Pia asks what card A reports for Louis XIV by contrast.

   • A finance reform with Colbert, which bound him as the oath bound William and Mary
   • No oath to any body of law, only answerability to God alone
   • An oath to the nobles of his court, sworn when he moved to Versailles in 1682
   • An oath taken after 1689, once William's example was known across Europe
9. 8.

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

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

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

    • 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
    • The Fronde caused each later change, since it came first and the rest followed
    • Events and policy shifted: the Fronde, Versailles in 1682 and the revocation in 1685