Course of Events of the English Civil War

1
Course of Events of the English Civil War
2
Causes

• conflict between Parliament and the Stuart kings
  about royal authority (divine right), religion,
  money, and foreign policy (royal authority v.
  rights of Englishmen)

3
Causes

• Puritans v. too much Roman Catholic James I
  afraid Puritan reforms would remove control of
  church from the king
• Right to raise taxes James raised customs and
  courts approved (had war debt from Eliz. and
  expensive living)

4
Causes

• Too friendly to RC Spain
• Charles I tried to attack Spain failed and
  Parliament cut him off
• forced to sign Petition of Right

5
Causes

• asserted four principles no taxes may be levied
  without consent of Parliament no subject may be
  imprisoned without cause shown (reaffirmation of
  the right of habeas corpus) no soldiers may be
  quartered upon the citizenry martial law may not
  be used in time of peace.

6
Causes

• In return for his acceptance (June, 1628),
  Charles was granted subsidies. Although the
  petition was of importance as a safeguard of
  civil liberties, its spirit was soon violated by
  Charles, who continued to collect tonnage and
  poundage duties without Parliament's
  authorization and to prosecute citizens in an
  arbitrary manner.
• Dismisses Parliament until 1640

7
Causes

• Charles faced war with Scotland over former
  church land and religion Catholic wife was
  becoming more influential
• when army collapsed, Charles was forced to
  summon Parliament (Long Parliament)

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Long Parliament

• It sent Strafford and eventually Laud to the
  execution block. It dictated that the king must
  summon Parliament at least every three years and
  cannot be dissolved without its own permission.
  It outlawed all non-parliamentary taxation.

9
Long Parliament

• It abolished the special royal law courts that
  had been the chief instruments of Charless
  Eleven Years Tyranny. In less than a year
  (1640-41) Parliament destroyed absolute monarchy
  in England

10
Long Parliament

• Refused to let Charles have an army to put down
  Irish revolt
• radical Puritans in Parliament abolished bishops
  in the Anglican Church

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Control of army and Church Splits Upper Classes

• Growing political and religious
  radicalism of the House of Commons gave Charles
  what he had until then lackeda royalist party
  that would fight to reassert his prerogatives. He
  attempted to arrest his parliamentary opponents
  in January 1642. By summer England was at war

12
Control of army and Church Splits Upper Classes

• Both Parliament and Royalist claimed to be
  supporting traditional English political and
  religious rights
• London, most towns, the middle class, and
  southwest England supported Parliament
• Rural areas and northwest supported Charles
• Divisions between Royalists and Parliament did
  NOT correspond to Englands economic, social, or
  regional divisions

13
Cromwell and the New Model Army

• Defeated the king in June-July 1645
• Charles surrendered a year later
• Groups in Parliament and Cromwells army
  quarreled and split
• Charles escaped and raised a new army in
  November, 1647

14
Rump Parliament

• Cromwell purges opponents in Parliament, and
  recaptured the king
• After initial hesitation, Cromwell had Charles
  executed in 1649, abolished the monarchy and
  House of Lords, and set up a Commonwealth with
  the Parliament as its government

15
Interregnum

• Cromwell attempted to rule with Parliament and a
  written constitution, but quarreled with
  Parliament as bitterly as had the Stuarts
• In 1655 he installed an open military
  dictatorship to keep Parliament from disbanding
  his army and persecuting his coreligionists

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Interregnum

• Cromwells death in 1658 made General George
  Monck the most powerful figure in England
• Monck recognized that Parliament was the only
  alternative to military dictatorship and that
  restoring Parliament also required recreating the
  monarchy. In 1660, a Convention Parliament
  under his protection invited the son of Charles I
  to return from France and take up the crown.

17
Restoration

• Charles II (son of Charles I) becomes king
• Known as the Merry Monarch
• Restored theatre, sporting events, dancing,
  music, Christmas celebrations, etc. that had been
  banned under the Puritans
• Habeas Corpus Act (1679)
• Had no legitimate heir, so brother James is the
  next king

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James II

• James II was Catholic
• In violation of English law, several Catholics
  were appointed to high positions
• When Parliament argued, James dismissed it
• When James son was born, the English were afraid
  of a dynasty of Catholic kings

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Glorious Revolution

• In 1688, some members of Parliament invited
  James Protestant daughter, Mary, to overthrow
  her father for the sake of Protestantism
• She and her husband William became joint rulers
  and agreed to become constitutional monarchs
• Signed the Bill of Rights which officially
  limited their powers (along with the Magna Carta
  and Petition of Rights, these are the basis of
  the constitution of England)