Why and how did the constitutional state triumph in England and the Dutch Republic?
Puritan OccupationsThese twelve engravings depict typical Puritan occupations and show that the Puritans came primarily from the artisan and lower middle classes. The governing classes and peasants made up a much smaller percentage of Puritans, and most generally adhered to the traditions of the Church of England. (Visual Connection Archive)
WWHILE MOST EUROPEAN NATIONS developed absolutist states in the seventeenth century, England and the Netherlands evolved toward constitutionalism, which is the limitation of government by law. Constitutionalism also implies a balance between the authority and power of the government, on the one hand, and the rights and liberties of the subjects, on the other.