The English Civil War
1642-1651
Unknown artist’s depiction of King Charles I’s execution, 1649.
Bell-Ringer
What threat exists in the United States of the
military taking control of the government, as it
has in so many other countries? What means
does the United States have to protect itself
from a takeover by the military?
Origins of the E.C.W.
★ When Charles I came to power, he faced an increasingly aggressive
Parliament that resisted new taxes and the king’s efforts to extend his
personal control.
★ Charles found ways to do both, including refusing to call Parliament
into session between 1629-1640.
★ Religious tensions brought conflicts over his authority to a head.
★ Puritans, Protestants who wanted to purify the Church of England of
any Catholic customs, saw Charles as doing the exact opposite.
★ After a Scottish rebellion over these policies, Charles decided to call
Parliament into session. Bad idea.
★ Once called into session, reformers in Parliament wanted to undo what
they saw as Charles’s tyranny.
★ Some members of Parliament were more moderate in changes and
challenges to the king’s power; some were more radical.
★ Both groups’ hands were forced in January of 1642 when Charles and
his soldiers invaded Parliament and tried to arrest those who
challenged his power.
★ Both sides, Parliament leaders and Charles, ended up organizing
armies to square off.
★ Though divided over politics and church government, the Puritans
united behind an obscure member of Parliament, Oliver Cromwell,
who reorganized the Parliamentary troops to engage Charles’s army.
Roundheads & Cavaliers
★ The nickname “roundhead” was
given to supporters of Parliament
during the war.
★ “Cavaliers” was given to supporters
of King Charles.
In this woodcutting from the mid-1600s, the Roundheads with their dog “Pudel” are squaring off against the
Cavaliers with their dog “Peper.” See the similarities in the haircuts of the dogs and men?
The Execution of a King
★ Charles’s forces would eventually be overwhelmed after years
of fighting.
★ Charles would end up trying to negotiate with some factions in
Parliament, which prompted some to purge those members from
Parliament.
★ The leftover members, known as the “Rump Parliament” created
a high court to try Charles I.
★ They found him guilty of attempting to establish “an unlimited
and tyrannical power” and pronounced a death sentence, which
was carried out on January 30, 1649.
The Fall-Out
★ After the execution, the “Rump Parliament” abolished the monarchy
and House of Lords (upper house of Parliament).
★ They set-up a Puritan republic with Oliver Cromwell as chairman of the
Council of States.
★ Cromwell did not tolerate dissent from his policies. He would mount
campaigns into Ireland and Scotland to put down dissent, as well as
attempts at restoring the monarchy under Charles’s son, Charles II.
★ Eventually, the monarchy was restored after Cromwell died, and while
tensions over the power of the king flared up with the Glorious
Revolution of 1688, England now has a constitutional monarchy as its
government.
Death masks were actually a somewhat common practice back then.
Afterthought: Cromwell’s Head?!
★ Cromwell died in 1658.
★ When Charles I’s son, Charles
II, ascended to the throne he
had Cromwell dug up,
beheaded, and had the head
displayed on a spike for over
20 years!
★ After being lost to a storm and
passing down to private
collectors/museums, it was
reburied in 1960!