The English Civil War

Overview Trigger Events Short & Long Parliament Polarization of Factions The War

Trigger Events

Its causes, course of events, and eventual settlement The English Civil War 1640-1648 Its causes, course of events, and eventual settlement

Overview Background Developments Prior to James I Conflict between King and Parliament The accession of James I Rising tensions under Charles II The Long Parliament The Civil War The Interregnum The Restoration of the Stuarts

Background The War itself was fairly brief; fighting was pretty much confined to the period 1642-5 the devastation was mild in comparison to the Thirty Years War like the Thirty Years War it involved a tangle of religion and constitutional issues unlike the Thirty Years War, it involved no foreign troops other than the Scottish, who would be formally incorporated into a single polity with the English in the early 18th century - the Act of Union (1707) to understand the war, it is necessary to review the legal, socio-economic and religious developments that preceded the accession of James I in 1603

Developments Prior to James I Rising influence of the House of Commons Begins in the 14th century The power of the purse Impeachment of royal ministers Rising influence of the gentry Control of local politics Increasing influence in Commons The depletion of the nobility in the 15th century 16th century advances Royal patronage Overseas trade & intermingling with merchant class

Developments Prior to James I The English legal traditions Ecclesiastical Courts Royal Courts aka “Prerogative Courts” Star Chamber (used Roman Law) Courts of High Commission (distribution of Ecclesiastical property) several others Common Law reflected medieval practices, such as jury trials Reverence for ancient customs & traditions Statutory laws versus legal holdings

Developments Prior to James I The English Reformation Begins as the most conservative Reformation in Europe retains sacraments retains episcopal structure Increasing resentment toward vestiges of papism Calls for purification and the emergence of Puritans Puritanism spreads among the influential gentry

The Accession of James I (1603-25) The debt legacy of Elizabeth The ideology of absolutism Unlimited royal authority The relationship between the king and the law Cultural animosity James was a Scot He had little appreciation of English Legal Tradition He embraced absolutist principles that were contrary to Parliamentarian traditions

Conflict between King & Parliament The impeachment of royal favorites The opposition leader: Sir Edward Coke Fierce advocate of English common law His Institutes make him a legendary figure during his own lifetime Conflict with James Coke’s imprisonment The legend lives on

Rising Tensions Under Charles I The Petition of Right – Parliamentary demands End of imprisonment without cause (habeas corpus) No taxation without parliamentary consent No martial law in peacetime No billeting of troops forced upon citizens Charles agrees in order to pass tax levies but then renegs Parliamentary outrage ensues Charles dissolves Parliamentary session

Rising Tensions Under Charles I (1625-49) Demands for Ecclesiastical Reforms Puritans call for presbyterial system meanwhile James’ wife practices Catholicism The ascendance of William Laud (late 1620s) mild Calvinism; persecution of Puritans, who flee to N. America revision of the prayer books introduction of the new prayer book in Scotland (1637) Religious Rebellion ensues determined Scots vs. apathetic English Charles convenes Parliament to obtain money to support troops

The Long Parliament Called in November 1640 and lasted 13 years Opportunity to force political concession from the crown Dissolution of royal courts Writ of habeas corpus reaffirmed Taxation without consent of parliament becomes illegal Parliament must assemble at a minimum of once every three years Impeachment and execution of Charles’ favorite advisor, the Earl of Stafford The emergence of Oliver Cromwell as a leader Attacks on the privileges of the Anglican Church the imprisonment of Archbishop Laud

The Civil War (1640-1648) Charles raises an army and declares parliamentary leaders to be traitors Parliamentary forces win decisive victory in June 1645 Initially Parliament sought concession from the king but after two years of inconclusive negotiations, royalist forces resumed the war at Charles prodding The Rump Parliament follows the defeat of Charles forces in 1648 early 1649 Charles declared a traitor and executed in London

The Interregnum (1648-1660) Oliver Cromwell established himself as the leading general of parliamentary forces during the civil war devout puritan ardent parliamentarian assumes control of the government in the early 1650s as Lord Protector; refuses the crown on several occasions dies in 1658 Profusion of religious factions during the Interregnum Levellers - salvation depended on the elimination of social hierarchy Ranters - radical preachers; some thought they were God Seekers - against religious sects; saw the end of the world approaching

The Restoration (1660-1688) After a brief interlude of rule by Cromwell’s inept son, Parliament invites Charles II to accept the crown in 1660 Charles struggles with many of the same problems that plagued his father and grandfather but Parliament’s supremacy remains unquestioned Charles was succeeded by his Catholic brother, James II, whose Catholicism made him highly unpopular James II places Catholics in positions of authority Shortly after the birth of a Catholic heir to the throne, Parliament began negotiations with William of Orange, a Dutch Protestant married to James eldest daughter, to replace James on the throne The Glorious Revolution was a bloodless coup in 1688

Summary Unlike the Thirty Years War, the armies of the English Civil War were not composed of mercenaries; for the most part political and religious convictions determined who would fight for the opposing sides; one indication of this phenomenon is the large number of women who volunteered to join the Parliamentarian armies The war helped to institutionalize many constitutional principles, including the supremacy of Parliament and the inviolability of English Common Law Although the restored Stuarts apparently embraced absolutist principles, the Glorious Revolution permanently ended the pretensions of English monarchs toward absolutism

James I Son of Mary Stuart Ruled England 1603-25 Wrote Concerning the Divine Right of Kings His favorite, the Duke of Buckingham undermined his popularity Engaged in ideological quarrel with Sir Edward Coke over prerogative courts

Charles I Maintained a lifelong devotion to the divine right of kings Even his advocates considered him less than brilliant and lacking people skills By Van Dyck, 1635

Archbishop William Laud 1633-45

Edward Coke, 1552-1634 Champion of Common Law against Stuarts’ support of royal prerogative Author of the Petition of Right, 1628 Rival of Francis Bacon

Puritans & Other Calvinists Were especially numerous in Scotland by the 1630s

Archbishop William Laud 1633-45

The Book of Common Prayer ignited a rebellion that led to war

Reaction to the Book of Common Prayer 1637

English Civil War, 1640-8 Actual fighting limited to 1642-5

Oliver Cromwell, 1599-1658 Member of the gentry who had profited from the dissolution Parliamentary leader of the New Model Army Ardent Puritan but advocated religious toleration Lord Protector, 1653-8

Marston Moor, 1644

The New Model Army 1645 Encouraged the emergence of Levelling Social Theories

England experienced virtually no censorship during the 1640s and part of the 1650s Radical ideas proliferated

Execution of Charles I, Jan 1649

Cromwell Dissolves the Long Parliament 1649

Charles II, 1660-1685 The Merry Monarch

James Duke of York became King James in 1685

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 brought about a restricted monarchy in 1689