Chapter 15Part 4

The English Civil War

King v Parliament Since the reign of James I (1603-1625)

and through the reign of his son and successor, Charles I (1625-1649)….a struggle with Parliament over taxes and civil liberties

Both monarchs believed in “Divine Right” of kings and in absolutism

Both defended Anglicanism

Parliament Included many Puritans (English

Calvinists)

and Presbyterians (English Calvinists who favored the Scottish Presbyterian organization of John Knox… Congregationalist

James I Not as astute as Elizabeth Flaunted his wealth and male lovers Diminished the prestige of the

monarchy

Gunpowder Plot 1605: Catholics had expected that James would be more tolerant toward them than Elizabeth…were wrong

The Gunpowder Plot James ordered Catholic priests out

of the country Guy Fawkes rented a house near the

Houses of Parliament Planned to blow up the king and

everyone in Parliament on November 5, 1605

At the last minute, Fawkes and gunpowder was found by guards in the cellar

Guy Fawkes Day James I ordered that Fawkes be

tortured until he gave up the names of his co-conspirators

He did and was killed…so were his friends

James I ordered a popular celebration with bonfires on Guy Fawkes Day (Nov. 5)

James I Was head of the Anglican Church Not a friend to Catholics OR to the Puritans

Constant conflict with Parliament over money

BUT he was fairly lazy with follow through concerning persecution and the like

Charles I 1625-49 Twice dissolved Parliament (1629

and 1640)

Went to war with the Scots to force the Episcopal type of organization on their church

King …Archbishop of Canterbury…Bishops

Scots resisted. They liked their freer congregational organization

Charles I Also had his sidekick, Archbishop

Laud, persecute Puritans

Many fled to the New World in the Great Migration of the 17th century

Charles I ran out of money

The Scots were dangerously close to winning the war (called the Bishops Wars)

Charles called parliament together to get the money he needed to fight

Charles was asked to sign The Petition of Right in exchange for the money…he won’t

The Petition of Right Only Parliament had the right to levy

taxes No one imprisoned without due

process of law All had the right to habeas corpus

(trial) No forced quartering of soldiers in

private homes Martial law could not be declared in

peacetime

Note Soldiers had been quartered in

private homes to save money (very unpopular)

Some English nobles were arrested for refusing to lend money to the crown

Charles dissolved Parliament in 1629 Did not get $ from Parliament so

ruled without Parliament 1629-1640 called the “Thorough”

The Thorough Charles I ruled as an absolute

monarch for eleven years He raised money using Medieval

forms of forced taxation Those with a certain amount of

wealth were obligated to pay “Ship Money”: All counties were

now required to pay to outfit ships when before only coastal counties did

BUT Religious persecution was the

biggest cause of the Civil War

The Short Parliament 1640

Charles had tried to force the English Prayer Book on the Scots

They fought back (again)

Parliament was reconvened but again refused to raise taxes for the king unless he agreed to the Petition of Right

He dissolved Parliament after 1 month

The Long Parliament 1640-1648

1640 The Scots invaded Northern England and Charles was desperate

He agreed to certain demands of Parliament

By this time the Puritans had the majority in Parliament against the King’s Anglican minority

Additional demands included

Abolish the Star Chamber Ship money was abolished Common law courts supreme to the

King’s Courts Parliament not to be dissolved unless it

consented Parliament had to meet a minimum of

once every 3 years (Later the Triennial Act)

The leaders of the persecution of Puritans were to be tried and executed (including Laud)

Charles I Consented to the Petition of Right

and the new demands and did get the money from Parliament and then…

An Irish Rebellion broke out and Parliament would not give Charles more money

He had several Parliamentarians arrested

Charles declared war on his opponents in Parliament

Civil War The Cavaliers supported the king

Clergy and supporters of the Anglican Church

Most of the old gentry of the North and West

Irish Catholics who were more afraid of Puritans than of the Anglicans

Civil War Roundheads (Calvinists) opposed the

king Were mostly Congregationalists and

Presbyterians

Alliance with the Scots (had to promise in return that after the war England would adopt the Presbyterian organization)

Most businessmen and some nobles Were led by Oliver Cromwell and his

New Model Army

Later in the war… The Roundheads became divided Divisions between Puritans,

Presbyterians and non-puritans developed late in the war

Charles I surrendered to the Scots Parliament ordered the army to

disband Cromwell refused

Prides Purge 1648 A part of Cromwell’s New Model

Army removed all non-puritans and Presbyterians from Parliament

Left Parliament with only 1/5 of its members

Was called a Rump Parliament

Done without Cromwell’s knowledge

1649 Charles I was Beheaded

The first king in European history to be beheaded by his subjects

The king’s wife and two sons fled the country

The Interregnum 1649-1660 (Cromwell)

New Sects Emerged Levellers: Radical religious

revolutionaries who wanted social and political reforms to a more egalitarian society

Diggers: denied Parliament’s authority and rejected private ownership of land

Quakers: Believed in an “inner light” (a divine spark within all persons), rejected church authority, were pacifists, allowed women to preach