Background to the bourgeois revolution In 1640, a great event which was to shock the world took place. It was the bourgeois revolution in Britain. The revolution completed the transition from a feudal society to a capitalist society, and from then on, Britain became an ad vanced capitalist country Before the beginning of the House of Tudor, the Wars of the roses had greatly weakened the feudal noble class. And the development of capitalism in Britain made the new lords and the bourgeois richer than ever. But they felt this wasnt enough They wanted to get rid of the controls to get more power in the government The Stuarts had been Kings of Scotland since the 14 th century. When Elizabeth died childless, James VI of Scotland, descended from a sister of henry VIll (Elizabeth's nephew ) was the heir to the English throne. He thus became king of both countries as James vi of Scotland and james i of england. Then england and Scotland were brought together under one king. And this was the real beginning of the unification of the two countries Two years after James I came to England, he was the target of an assassination plot a group of English Catholics planned to kill him by blowing up the House of ords when he opened the parliament on 5, November 1605. The plot was called Gunpowder Plot". The plot originated from the long-standing grievance(E), since English Roman Catholics had been subjected to severe penal (f ian) laws during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. When James I came to the throne, many English Roman Catholic believers expected that some relief be given by the new king. But James I didn t give any promise and made no change. So, Robert Catesby, a member of the Catholic gentry proposed to right the wrongs by blowing up the Parliament house and the king as a prel iminary to a revolution. They hired Guy Fawkes to be the principal agent in the conspiracy. Guy Fawkes was a courageous and skillful ad venturer and an expert in mine(b E). But at the last moment, Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the parliament when he was preparing the explosives. He was found with matches in hi hand and a barrel of gunpowder at his side. The whole of parliament was frightened and the plotters were arrested or executed. Now, November 5th is still called Guy Fawkes Day. On this day a figure representing Guy Fawkes(effigy H &)is burnt amid brilliant fireworks James i believed that kings should be responsible only to God and not to any rliament. In his view, the kings will was the only law. He thought that all reforms dangerous, so he was against any reforms demanded by the puritans. From F he took the doctrine of the " divine(神圣的) right of kings”. He was determined to make the English church under his control. As a result, he cruelly4 Background to the Bourgeois Revolution In 1640, a great event which was to shock the world took place. It was the bourgeois revolution in Britain. The revolution completed the transition from a feudal society to a capitalist society, and from then on, Britain became an advanced capitalist country. Before the beginning of the House of Tudor, the Wars of the Roses had greatly weakened the feudal noble class. And the development of capitalism in Britain made the new lords and the bourgeois richer than ever. But they felt this wasn’t enough. They wanted to get rid of the controls, to get more power in the government. The Stuarts had been Kings of Scotland since the 14th century. When Elizabeth died childless, James VI of Scotland, descended from a sister of Henry VIII (Elizabeth’s nephew), was the heir to the English throne. He thus became king of both countries as James VI of Scotland and James I of England. Then England and Scotland were brought together under one king. And this was the real beginning of the unification of the two countries. Two years after James I came to England, he was the target of an assassination plot. A group of English Catholics planned to kill him by blowing up the House of Lords when he opened the parliament on 5, November 1605. The plot was called “Gunpowder Plot”. The plot originated from the long-standing grievance (委屈), since English Roman Catholics had been subjected to severe penal (刑罚的) laws during the reign of Queen Elizabeth. When James I came to the throne, many English Roman Catholic believers expected that some relief be given by the new king. But James I didn’t give any promise and made no change. So, Robert Catesby, a member of the Catholic gentry proposed to right the wrongs by blowing up the Parliament house and the king as a preliminary to a revolution. They hired Guy Fawkes to be the principal agent in the conspiracy. Guy Fawkes was a courageous and skillful adventurer and an expert in mine (地雷). But at the last moment, Fawkes was caught in the cellars of the parliament when he was preparing the explosives. He was found with matches in his hand and a barrel of gunpowder at his side. The whole of parliament was frightened, and the plotters were arrested or executed. Now, November 5th is still called Guy Fawkes Day. On this day a figure representing Guy Fawkes (effigy 肖像) is burnt amid brilliant fireworks. James I believed that kings should be responsible only to God and not to any parliament. In his view, the king’s will was the only law. He thought that all reforms were dangerous, so he was against any reforms demanded by the puritans. From France, he took the doctrine of the “divine (神圣的) right of kings”. He was determined to make the English church under his control. As a result, he cruelly