Why did the English Civil War break out in 1642? Year 8 Topic 2 Why did the English Civil War break out in 1642?

Charles I- why was he unpopular? Charles’ wife was Catholic- this made the British protestants suspicious and concerned that she would turn Charles into a Catholic! Charles’ lavish lifestyle made people angry- they thought he was using taxpayers’ money to buy expensive clothes, food and houses. Charles believed strongly in ‘the Divine Right of Kings’. This meant he saw himself as chosen by God to rule, and therefore was less inclined to ask parliament for permission with his decisions

Arguments about money Traditionally, Ship Money was only charged when England was at war – Charles I had charged Ship Money in peacetime. Traditionally, Ship Money was only charged to the people who lived around the coast – Charles I had charged Ship Money to all the people in England. Traditionally, Ship Money was used to build ships to protect the English coast – Charles I used Ship Money for all kinds of purposes. Magna Carta (the deal between King John and his barons made in 1215 and signed by every King afterwards) said that a King shouldn’t raise taxes without asking Parliament. John Hampden had refused to pay a tax when the King of England had asked for it. He was arrested and a court found that he had to pay the tax. However, this encouraged other people to refuse to pay taxes!

Arguments about religion Catholics in Ireland rebelled against King Charles. They rebelled against the English Protestants that were in charge of them. Ireland was out of control. Many pamphlets were issued during Charles’ rule regarding religious policies. Some of these were very critical of Charles; he was seen to be less strictly Protestant than the English and Scottish Protestants would have liked (Charles was Anglican and there was a rising tide of Puritans at the time). Charles tried to force Scottish Protestants to change the prayer book they used to an Anglican one, which sparked a rebellion. Archbishop William Laud drew up a Book of Common Prayer for Scotland which was immediately denounced in 1637 and never used.

Arguments about power Several times in his reign, Charles sent Parliament home; he wanted to try and rule without them so he could have his own way. From 1629-1640, Charles ruled without Parliament (‘personal rule’). This made MPs and lots of the public very angry. In 1640, he had to call them back to ask for tax money and more armed forces. They responded with demands, including that the Earl of Stafford, Charles’ close ally, be arrested. Unbelievably, Charles agreed to this (to keep Parliament onside) and had Stafford executed in 1641. Parliament demanded to be in control of the army in 1642, and Charles would not let this happen. He believed some MPs were plotting to overthrow him. In 1642 Charles took 400 men to Parliament and tried to arrest 5 MPs. They had fled, and no-one would tell Charles where they had gone. This hugely undermined Charles, and was effectively the spark that caused the English Civil War.

Websites http://bcw-project.org/church-and-state/the-kings-peace/ http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/charles_i_king.shtml http://www.bbc.co.uk/education/clips/ztbg9j6 http://spartacus-educational.com/STUshiptax.htm