The Stuart dynasty began with King James I in 1603 and ended with Queen Anne’s death in 1714. While the Stuarts are sometimes overshadowed by their more famous Tudor predecessors, their reign witnessed some of the most significant and volatile times in British history.
From civil wars and witchcraft to the Great Fire of London and the execution of a king, here are 12 facts about the Stuart period.
1. There was more than one civil war
Some may think of the English Civil War as a single event, but there were actually three separate wars fought between King Charles I and Parliament between 1642 and 1651.
The first took place from 1642 to 1646, the second in 1648, and the last between 1649 and 1651.
The causes of the English Civil Wars were deep and complex but centred around a struggle for power between the king and Parliament – with political, religious, and economic divisions at the heart. They were part of a wider conflict, known as the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, which also involved Wales, Scotland, and Ireland. Soldiers from the three countries fought in all the conflicts.
The human cost of the wars was significant. Up to 200,000 people lost their lives – which was the equivalent of 4.5% of the population. This was a loss as proportionally large as that of World War I.
2. The hysteria around witchcraft was real
Witchcraft was a criminal offense in Britain until 1735, punishable by death. Witches were believed to be the Devil’s helpers on Earth and, alongside other methods, were identified by so-called ‘Devil’s Marks’, such as a wart or mole.
Witch hunting had roots in the 15th century, but was still rife in 17th century England. Even King James I himself wrote a book called Daemonologie, which was intended to convince sceptics of the reality of witchcraft.
A particularly terrible period of 14 months struck East Anglia between 1645 and 1646 with the arrival of Matthew Hopkins, who became known as the ‘Witchfinder General’. Hopkins had 68 people put to death in Bury St. Edmunds alone, hanged 19 in Chelmsford in just one day; and, over his career, was responsible for more than 300 executions.
Unfortunately, these events were not uncommon. In August 1612, the famous Pendle Witches – three generations of one family – were marched through the streets of Lancaster and hanged. Across Western Europe, some 200,000 ‘witches’ were also burnt, tortured, or hanged between 1484 and 1750.
3. William III and Mary II were Britain’s only joint ruling monarchs
After The Glorious Revolution of 1688, which involved the bloodless overthrow of Catholic King James II, Mary, the king’s Protestant daughter, was invited to reign.
Married to the Dutch William of Orange, Mary and William’s match had been political, but the pair developed a genuine love for each other.
So, Mary refused to rule without William by her side and the couple became the first and only joint sovereigns of Britain.
Notably, after their coronation in 1689, William and Mary signed the Bill of Rights. This placed limits on royal power, broadened parliamentary rule, and declared that Englishmen held certain civil and political rights. We can see this as the beginning of parliamentary democracy in Britain as we know it today.
4. Charles I remains the only English monarch to have been tried and executed for treason
On 30th January 1649, King Charles I was executed for treason outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall. His trial and execution were the first of their kind in England – and remain so to this day.
Charles’ execution came after he and his forces were defeated by Parliament in the civil wars. While he was executed for crimes against his country during the conflict, the tensions between the king and Parliament stretched back much further.
Like his father, Charles I believed in the divine right of kings and saw the monarch as above the law. On many occasions, he’d attempted to rule by himself – dissolving Parliament three times in the first four years of his reign alone (one time for 11 years!).
During his sentencing, the king was declared a “tyrant, traitor, murderer, and Public Enemy”. On the morning of his execution, Charles requested a thicker-than-usual shirt to dress for the icy weather, so that spectators wouldn’t think he was shaking with fear.
5. Queen Anne was pregnant 18 times, but none of her children survived to adulthood
Queen Anne was England’s last Stuart monarch. However, the reason why the Stuart dynasty ended without an heir in 1714 is lesser-known.
Tragically, Queen Anne suffered numerous unsuccessful pregnancies, many of which ended in stillbirths. By 1700, Anne had been pregnant at least 17 times, but only five of these children had been born alive. Of those that survived, just one lived past his third year.
This was William, Duke of Gloucester, who was born at Hampton Court Palace in 1689. However, William sadly died at the age of 11 – just a few months after Anne’s 18th and final pregnancy, which also ended in stillbirth.
It’s widely believed that the reason behind Anne’s miscarriages and stillborn children was because she suffered from an immune disorder called antiphospholipid syndrome, which causes the body to attack itself. Other historians have also put it down to excessive drinking.
Anne was succeeded by her second cousin, George I, who began the new Hanoverian dynasty.
6. There was no monarchy in England for 11 years
Shortly after Charles I’s execution, the monarchy and House of Lords were abolished, and England was declared a Republic. This period between 1649 and 1660 was known as the Interregnum (‘between reigns’).
In December 1653, Oliver Cromwell – political and military leader of the Parliamentarians during the civil wars – became Lord Protector of England. Essentially king in all but name, Cromwell’s strict Puritan rule enforced harsh laws around behaviour. Believing that ‘pointless’ enjoyment was a sin, Cromwell closed theatres and banned all celebrations – particularly those involving alcohol.
Following Cromwell’s death in September 1658, his son Richard succeeded him as Lord Protector. However, Richard lacked the political and military influence of his father and was forced to resign in May 1659. Due to a lack of clear leadership, the monarchy was restored under Charles II in 1660.
7. The Great Fire of London destroyed 85% of the city
On 2nd September 1666, the Great Fire of London broke out in a baker’s house on Pudding Lane.
Raging for five long days, the city was sent into chaos as people fled the streets and buildings began to collapse. On Tuesday 4th September, one of London’s greatest buildings, St Paul’s Cathedral, was surrounded by fire and the roof and walls caved in.
As many as 100,000 citizens were made homeless as a result of the fire and 85% of the city was destroyed. Between 1671 and 1677, a 202ft Monument to the Great Fire of London was built in commemoration. Today, it’s simply called ‘Monument’ by most.
8. Anne started her reign as Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland, but ended it as ruler of Great Britain
When Anne succeeded the throne in 1702, she was crowned Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland. But, by the time her reign ended in 1714, she was the ruler of the Kingdom of Great Britain.
This came after the Acts of Union in 1707 united the two independent kingdoms of England and Scotland. While the two countries had shared a monarch since 1603 (when King James VI of Scotland also became King James I of England), they’d remained separate states by law.
9. Oliver Cromwell was executed two and a half years after his death
On 30th January 1661, Oliver Cromwell’s body was removed from Westminster Abbey to be posthumously tried for high treason and executed.
This date was symbolically chosen as the 12 year anniversary of the execution of Charles I. Cromwell’s body, along with two others responsible for the king’s death, were hung from the Tyburn gallows in chains before being beheaded at sunset.
The bodies were then thrown into a common grave, while the heads were displayed on a spike outside Westminster Hall. They remained here until 1685 when a storm broke the spike and tossed the heads to the ground.
10. The Enlightenment period began during the Stuart era
The Enlightenment is the name given to a period of discovery and learning across Europe which occured between 1680 and 1820 and impacted the way we viewed the world.
The course of politics, science, philosophy, and communications was radically altered as Enlightenment thinkers throughout Europe began to challenge traditional authority; embracing the idea of rational change.
Various books, essays, laws, inventions, and scientific discoveries were published during the Enlightenment – including Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathematica (1686) and John Locke’s Essay Concerning Human Understanding (1689). The ideals of the Enlightenment period also contributed to the origins of the American and French revolutions.
After its peak in the late 18th century, the Enlightenment gave way to 19th-century Romanticism.
11. Those who signed Charles I’s death warrant were later brought to account
Shortly after Charles II took the throne in 1660, the king called the surviving 41 republicans who’d signed King Charles I’s death warrant to account.
The majority fled abroad or surrendered to avoid execution. However, the 10 who refused to beg for forgiveness were tried and sentenced to death.
12. Charles I wasn’t the only Stuart to lose his head
Charles I’s execution might be the most famous, but the ill-fated king wasn’t the only Stuart to lose his head.
In 1587, Charles’ grandmother Mary Stuart – better known as Mary, Queen of Scots – was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle, Northamptonshire. Mary was Queen Elizabeth I’s cousin and was sentenced to death after being accused of involvement in a plot to assassinate the queen.
Then, nearly a century later, in 1685, the Duke of Monmouth, Charles II’s eldest illegitimate son, faced the same fate. The Duke had attempted to overthrow King James II and take the throne for himself.
Monmouth’s execution remains one of the most gruesome in British history; the executioner’s axe is said to have struck Monmouth’s head several times before it was severed.
Final thoughts…
From civil wars and witchcraft to building the foundations of the parliamentary democracy we know today, the Stuart period was a time of intense change.
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