Gabriel 2

English liberalism has a long historical journey, influenced by religious division in the 16th century. Liberalism is centered on individual rights against the government, such as due process, equality, freedom of expression, and freedom from religious constraints. The roots of English liberalism can be traced back to the Magna Carta in 1215, and it reached its peak in the 17th century with John Locke's support for tolerance. The Act of Supremacy in 1534 created religious division, but also led to the emergence of liberalism's key characteristics, such as separation of church and state and freedom of speech. Henry VIII's break from the Roman Catholic Church helped consolidate the national economy and contributed to the rise of liberalism and Britain's power. The Glorious Revolution in the late 17th century established parliament as the holder of state power and resulted in the Bill of Rights. England became Europe's first constitutional monarchy, ensuring individual rights and libertie Welcome to today's episode of the Conquest Chronicle. I'm Gabriel, and today we are going to uncover the historical journey of English liberalism. We'll explore that religious division in England from the 16th century onwards fostered liberalism's growth, leading to internal conflict with liberalism prevailing and consolidating itself in the end. But before we dive deep into the topic, we first need to know what this term stands for in the first place. The Oxford Dictionary defines liberalism as a political ideology centred upon the individual possessing rights against the government, including rights of due process under the law, equality of respect, freedom of expression, and from religious and ideological constraints. The term liberal had long been used to describe certain generously aristocratic and tolerant behaviours, and only reached its status as a distinctive social-political movement in the early 19th century. Nevertheless, the roots of English liberal thinking go way back to the Middle Ages, with the Magna Carta Libertatum, the Great Charter of Freedom, being issued in 1215. From then on, it slowly emerged, reaching its first peak in the 17th century. In that, John Locke, who is commonly known to be the father of liberalism, played a key role. His support for reciprocal tolerance highlights how English liberalism developed mainly through the religious conflicts in England in the 17th century. But how did these conflicting religious views emerge in the first place? The Act of Supremacy of 1534, issued by King Henry VIII, did not only centralise England, as Julia explained in her episode, it also created a fierce religious division within English society. Liberalism's most common characteristics, the division of powers, the separation between church and state, and freedom of speech and press freedoms, were in fact brought about through the necessity to manage and tolerate these conflicting religious views. So, although not their intention, we can say that advocates of the Protestant Reformation paved the way for liberalism. Furthermore, Henry VIII's break with the Roman Catholic Church consolidated the national economy, reduced still further the power of the nobility, and aided the commercial and financial classes. The emergence of liberalism and Britain's rise to power in commerce and manufacturing, therefore, did not coincide by chance. Both were intrinsically linked, as the demand of the rising economic classes compelled the state to adopt a more constitutionally liberal agenda. Through the seventeenth century, the religious division within England sustained, but the manner in which these conflicts were conducted changed. As atrocious the civil war had been, as bloodless and peaceful was the glorious revolution in the years to come. Glorious because it concluded a debate ongoing since the Magna Carta over who should hold state power, the monarch or parliament. The answer was parliament, whose rights were manifested in the Bill of Rights of 1689, which is still in force today. By the end of the seventeenth century, England had become what was Europe's first constitutional monarchy, a liberal state whose main function was to guarantee the rights and liberties of the individual. Liberal thinkers like Bloch claim that a state so constructed can be strong, but constrained. Strong because constrained. When it comes to constitutional liberalism, the insular England was a pioneering exception to the absolutistic regime in continental Europe. In 1943, the historian Shapiro wrote, and I quote, liberalism in England is not an acquired characteristic as it was among the nations on the continent. It was born in England, and there it has been carefully and steadily applied from age to age, from class to class, from problem to problem, end quote. And that, since the Middle Ages until today. This makes exploring the origins of liberalism more relevant than ever. Until then, I hope you'll tune in for our next and final episode. Bye bye.