The best short course, on the Web, in English history, is found at the BBC site. http://www.bbc.co.uk/  Go there and click on the history topic to get a quick course in significant English history events.

English history formed American's thinking so that Americans in 1700 repeated the same arguments that Englishmen used against Charles I in 1600.  To give you the flavor of history as it flowed between the travelers to and from England and New England, we will note a few events,

1739.  Handel is publishing music in London.

But politics and religion made life hard for Protestants (especially the variants who wanted less pomp in the church, and for those who wanted more freedom from arbitrary rule by the Crown.  It is important to understand the reign of Charles I, if one is to truly understand the feelings that drove families to New England in the 1630's. 

Charles I 1600-1649 --- Charles matured into a strong-willed Stuart monarch and an advocate of the divine right of kings. Charles was forced into conflict with Parliament that led to civil wars, first with Scotland in 1637, then with England (in 1642-46 and again in 1648), ending with his death by execution.

The most relevant aspect of his character, which hugely influenced contemporary events, was Charles' religiosity; he was a supporter of high Anglican worship which encouraged ritual and decorum. His marriage to Henrietta Maria of France, a Roman Catholic, added to his unpopularity.

Charles dissolved Parliament three times between 1625 and 1629.  (The Winthrop fleet started their sailings to New England at this time, in 1630. )   Charles ruled without summoning Parliament for 11 years. Unrest in Scotland - because Charles attempted to force a new prayer book on the country - put an end to his personal rule  without Parliament. . Funds to quash the rebellion were limited and Charles was forced to call first the Short Parliament then the Long Parliament. Conflict in the House led to a foolish decision, prompted by Henrietta, to have five members arrested and civil war erupted.

In 1642 the royal standard was raised by Charles at Nottingham against the Parliamentary forces. The king's supporters, known as the Cavaliers, came from the ranks of peasants and nobility who fought against the militia drawn from the emerging middle classes, Puritans known as the Roundheads. Led by Oliver Cromwell, the New Model Army routed the Cavaliers at Naseby in 1645 and Charles surrendered a year later to the Scottish forces. In 1648 he was put on trail for treason and the king was found guilty by one vote (68 to 67) and his execution was ordered for 1649.   Thus was the Glorious Revolution of England. 

The same arguments that Englishmen used against Charles I were used the next century by Americans against the Crown and Parliament.