The British and French experiences of democracy and government were very different in the nineteenth century. Whereas the British government continued uninterrupted throughout this period, the French government collapsed and was reformed on several occasions. Whereas the British tended to experience gradual change and a progressive growth of suffrage rights, the French tended to experience violent upheaval followed by violent repression; nonetheless, by the outbreak of the First World War, both nations had healthy and liberal societies where the vast majority of white men could vote.

Charles V was Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (which spanned central Europe and, most notably, Germany) and had significant influence in Europe. When Luther was summoned to appear at the Diet of Worms, he initially refused because he believed that the church would arrest him on his way there; that is what the church had done before with people who vocally opposed it. Frederick of Saxony advocated on Luther’s behalf and convinced Charles to provide Luther with an escort to the Diet under the Emperor’s flag, meaning that he would be completely safe. It was only through Charles’ protection that Luther agreed to appear before church and secular leaders.

The Chartist movement emerged in the early 1830s and continued to be influential up until the early 1850s. The Chartists were working-class activists who sought to extend voting rights to all the adult men in Britain. They also demanded a series of other reforms designed to liberate the working classes from the shackles of the Industrial Revolution and reform Britain’s requirements for voting and holding office that excluded the majority of the population.

Oliver Cromwell was a fervent Puritan who served as a military commander and leader in the English Civil War that overthrew King Charles I of England. After the king was deposed and executed, England became a commonwealth that was led by the Rump Parliament, and in 1653, Cromwell was declared Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland, and Ireland, essentially becoming a dictator with unlimited power. Upon his death in 1658, he was briefly succeeded by his son, Robert, but Robert lacked the strength of his father and the monarchy was restored in 1660 to King Charles II.

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 is so-called because it was largely devoid of bloodshed. The reigning monarch, James II, had challenged the autonomy of Parliament and worried the country with his Catholic sympathies. So, Parliament invited the Dutch monarch William to come over and seize the throne, which he then did. As a condition of his coronation, William had to promise that the constitution and Parliament would have supremacy over the crown. And thus, the Glorious Revolution ensured the supremacy of constitutionalism in Britain.

Chartists, although they did have some socialist inspiration, primarily sought to reorganize the British state to render it more equitable. Among the reforms envisioned in their massive, multi-million signature petitions were universal male suffrage, the secret ballot, salaries for parliamentary representatives and annual elections, but not popular initiatives.

Although the Levellers did want to expand the electorate, they were only one part of the Parliamentarians, who were only one side of the fight during the Civil War. All of the other answers describe tensions that led to the war--increased taxation, fears over Catholicism, and the inability of Parliament and King Charles I to work together.

After the end of the Tudor line, the King of Scotland, James VI of Scotland, was invited by Parliament to take the throne of England and untie the two nations under one Stuart monarchy.

Bastille Day celebrates the anniversary of the storming of the Bastille fortress, July 14th, 1789; which was the beginning of the French Revolution.

The Reform Bill of 1832 was enacted by the British government in response to widespread political unrest in urban areas during the early 1830s. The Reform Bill extended suffrage to the urban middle class and restructured constituencies to reflect the population shift to urban areas. As such, the urban middle class was greatly empowered by the Reform Bill of 1832.