#OTD in 1649 Charles I, King of England, Scotland and Ireland, was executed outside the Banqueting House at Whitehall, London.Charles had been found guilty of attempting to "uphold in himself an unlimited and tyrannical power to rule according to his will, and to overthrow the rights and liberties of the people" and sentenced to death by beheading.
The following is an excerpt of Charles's final speech, which he apparently made on the scaffold:
"As for the People, truly I desire their liberty and freedom, as much as any whosoever; but I must tell you, that their liberty and freedom consists in having of government by those laws, by which their lives, and their goods may be most their own. It is not for them to have a share in Government, that is nothing Sirs, appertaining unto them. A Subject and a Sovereign are clean different things; and therefore until that be done, I mean, until the people be put into that liberty, which I speak of; certainly they will never enjoy themselves."
So far as I understand this, Charlie appears to have said that the people could only have liberty via good law and government, which they had no part in i.e. they must entrust their freedom to a higher power. Or something like that.
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