English Civil War
By Chris Anderson
Randolph-Henry High
School
• When Elizabeth came to power, she had to share
power with Parliament
• Parliament will gain more power under Elizabeth
• She saw Parliament as an integral part of English
Politics
• 1603: Elizabeth dies, Parliament attempts to gain
more power over national policy
• this attempt for more power will lead to a major
conflict between the crown and Parliament-erupting into a Civil War
Opposition to the Crown
• After Elizabeth comes James VI of Scotland--he
becomes James I of England
• James starts a new English dynasty--Stuart
• by 1603, he is already king in Scotland
• soon after his coronation, James and Parliament
begin to have problems
• James was not a good judge of people or situations
• he was used to working with the very weak
Scottish Parliament
James I
• James was not ready to handle the powerful
English Parliament
• James believed in divine right of kings-that he received all of his power directly
from God
• this belief in the divine right of kings will
worsen the relationship between the crown
and Parliament
• James will be somewhat dependent on Parliament-he keeps asking them for $
• James was not money wise--he kept spending $ on
himself and the government (parties, etc.)
• James kept asking Parliament for $, but Parliament
refused to give him all that he asked for
• in order to get all the $ he needed, James began
selling titles of nobility
• Parliament and James differed over his
foreign policy
• Parliament becomes very upset when James
ends the war with Spain--the peace treaty
ending the war placed England into debt
• James will infuriate Parliament again by
attempting to arrange a marriage for his son
Charles
• James wanted his son to marry a Spanish
(Catholic) princess
• Parliament feared that this marriage may
bring Catholicism back to England
• Luckily for Parliament, the marriage plans
did not carry through
• Religion was still playing a large part in the
politics of England
• most people in England belonged to the Church of
England
• people in the Church of England still questioned
the doctrine and rituals of the Church of England
• the Puritans will be a group that oppose the
doctrine and ritual of the Church of England
– they wanted to get rid of all remaining Catholic ritual in
the church
– Puritans in Parliament also wanted to purify the church
• When James became king, the Puritans in
Parliament asked James to sign a petition to make
Puritan reforms--getting rid of Catholic ritual--in
the Church of England
• James will reject this petition
• James told the Puritans to either conform to
the Church of England or he would force
them out of England
Charles I Inherits the Throne
• 1625: James I dies leaving his son Charles to take
over the throne
• Charles will inherit the problems that his father
also had
• Charles did not like the Puritans and also believed
in divine right of kings
• Charles also marries a Catholic--Henrietta
Maria--the King of France’s sister
Charles I
Henrietta Maria
• Charles will eventually go to Parliament asking
for $ to fight a war against France and Spain
• Parliament gives him some, but not all that he had
asked for
• Charles dissolves--breaks up--Parliament because
they did not give him all of the $
• he then will try to raise $ without Parliament
– he tries to force landowners to give him $, but they
refused
– those that refused the king, however, were placed in
prison
– many in England become upset with Charles’ actions
• Charles will also upset people when he demands
that his troops be boarded in peoples’ homes-billet
• Charles declares martial law--military rule--in
many parts of England
– in these places, the people lost their rights
• 1628: Charles recalls Parliament into session
• by 1628, Charles had already engaged in wars
with both France and Spain
• This recalled Parliament has decided that
they want to limit Charles’ power
• Parliament agreed to raise taxes for Charles’
wars if Charles signed the Petition of Right
Petition of Right
• 1.) the king could not collect taxes or force loans
without Parliament’s consent
• 2.) the king could not imprison anyone without
just cause
• 3.) troops could not be housed in a private home
against the will of the owner
• 4.) the king could not declare marital law unless
England was at war
• Charles will sign the Petition of Right, but
Charles’ behavior will remained unchanged
• nearly 1 year after he had signed the PoR, he again
disbands Parliament and vowed never to recall
Parliament back into session
• for the next 11 years, Charles rules over England
without Parliament
• Charles collected his own taxes and imprisoned
his enemies--direct violations of the Petition of
Right
• At this same time, Charles is also causing
problems with England’s religion
• he appoints a new Archbishop of Canterbury-William Laud
• Charles and Laud will persecute the Puritans,
denying the Puritans the rights to preach or
publish their works
• Both Charles and Laud will burn Puritan works
and publicly whip many Puritans
• Many Puritans will flee England and come to the
English colonies looking for religious freedom
William Laud
• Between 1630 and 1643, hundred of
Puritans came to the Americas--Great
Migration
• most Puritans did not leave England
but stayed to fight against Charles
• Charles and Laud also began looking into
the religious realm of Scotland
• they both wanted to establish the Church of
England in Scotland
• they tried to force the Calvinist Church of
Scotland to accept the Church of England’s
prayer book
• the Scots will deny the prayer book and
pledge their religious freedom
• the Scots are ready for war
Beginnings of Civil War
• In the early 1640’s, Scotland will invade England
• to defend England, Charles needed $
• to get $, Charles will recall Parliament after it had
been dissolved for over 11 years
• Parliament refused to talk about $ until they had
finished complaining about Charles
• Charles wanted nothing to do with the
complaining and will again dissolve Parliament
after only 3 weeks--Short Parliament
• Charles still needed $ and will recall Parliament
one more time
• members of Parliament wanted their complaints to
be heard
• Parliament will be mostly controlled by Puritans
• this Parliament will stay in session for a very long
time (20 years) and will be called the Long
Parliament
• the Long Parliament was determined to decrease
Charles’ power
• Charles’ special courts were eliminated by
the Long Parliament
• the Parliamentary members pass laws
requiring Parliament to be called every
three (3) years
• illegal taxation was ended
• the Long Parliament will imprison
Archbishop Laud and eventually execute
him
• With all of the problems already occurring in
England, more problems will arise with Ireland
• since the 1100’s, relations between England and
Ireland had been bad
• Ireland was Catholic and refused to accept the
Church of England
• the Irish were upset over England’s taking of Irish
land and giving it to Scotland
• 1641: the Irish rebel against the English
• Charles now had a major dilemma--both Ireland
and Scotland were rebelling against him
• Charles now needed the Puritan
Parliament’s help
• however, Parliament began to split into 2
distinct groups
• the Puritans in Parliament were against the
king
• the Royalist supported the king and opposed
Puritan control over the Church of England
• 1642: Parliament created the “Nineteen
Propositions”
• these propositions were designed to make
Parliament the supreme power in England
• Charles, however, refused to follow the
propositions
• Charles led troops into the House of Commons
and attempted to arrest 5 Parliamentary leaders
• Charles’ show of force meant that war between the
crown and Parliament was drawing very near
• Both sides begin to prepare for war
English Civil War
• Charles created an army composed of nobles and
landowners from the north and west of England
– these were called Cavaliers
– mostly cavalry and horsemen
• the Puritans of Parliament gathered their military
from the south and east of England
– these people were called Roundheads
• The leader of the Roundheads--Oliver Cromwell
• Cromwell was a very religious man and good
military leader
• he led the Roundheads to many victories in the
English civil war
• May,1646: the royalist forces--Cavaliers-surrendered to the Puritans
• Parliament will now have complete control over
English government
• Those Parliamentary members who opposed
the Puritans were removed
• the Puritan Parliament that was left behind
was called the Rump Parliament
• Charles did not surrender until 1647
• Charles will be put on trial and be executed
• his execution shocked the English people
New Government
• With the king now gone, Parliament
attempts to create Republican form of
government
• England will be declared a commonwealth-a state governed by elected representatives
• Parliament argued over reforms and did not
hold new elections
• 1653: Oliver Cromwell took over Parliament by
force
– Cromwell had been gaining lots of power and influence
because of his fighting in Ireland and Scotland
• Cromwell names himself Lord Protector and
dismissed the Rump Parliament
• for 5 years, Cromwell will rule over England as a
military dictator
Oliver Cromwell
Lord Protector to
England
• Cromwell forced very strict rules on
the English people
• dancing, swearing, and gambling were
outlawed in England
• swearing and missing church were
punishable by fines
• 1658: Cromwell dies leaving his son, Richard, to
take over England
• Richard was not like his father
• he was forced to resign
• the people of England had become frustrated with
the constantly changing government, tired of
military rule and civil war, and unhappy with
Puritan restrictions
• the military government eventually recalled the
Long Parliament to negotiate with Charles’ I son
who had been living in France
• Parliament seemed ready to reinstate the
monarchy
• however, the ideas of a representative
government and individual rights would
remain part of the English government
• no monarch will have absolute power in
England again