THE EARLY STUARTSJames I and Charles I

JAMES I – 1603-1625-believed in Divine Right-commissioned the King James Bible-published the Book of Sports-clashed with Puritans-court marred by scandal and corruption-tried to make peace with Spain and arranged marriage with his son and the infanta-hesitated to send troops to help Protestants in the 30 Years’ War

The Gunpowder Plot - 1605

A group of Catholics plotted to blow up the Houses of Parliament

Their plan was foiled when one of the conspirators warned a cousin to stay away on Nov. 5

Guy Fawkes was arrested

The conspirators were executed

CHARLES I – 1625-1649-tried to be an absolute monarch-Spent $ on wars-collected tariffs and duties such as ship money-quartered troops in people’s homes-imprisoned people without charging them with a crime-made peace with France and Spain-supported Arminianism

Forced to sign the Petition of Right in 1628No taxation without Parliament’s consentNo imprisonment without causeNo quartering of troops

Events of the Civil War CAVALIERS vs.

ROUNDHEADS

•Spring 1640 – The Short Parliament – Led by John Pym, refused to give the king $, so he dissolved it •1640 – The Long Parliament• 1641- The Grand Remonstranceis presented to the King•1642 – King and his supporters invadeParliament, fighting breaks out

Important Battles

EDGEHILL - 1642 In October, 1642, Charles I and his Royalist forces began marching on

London. The Parliamentary army attempted to block their way and engaged the Royalists at Edgehill on 23rd October. It is estimated that both sides had around 14,000 men.

Prince Rupert and his Cavaliers made the first attack and easily defeated Robert Devereux, the commander of the left-wing of the Parliamentary forces. Henry Wilmot also had success on the right-wing and this left the foot soldiers of both sides to fight it out in the centre. The Parliamentarians held their line and their calvary managed to attack the Royalist flank.

Prince Rupert's cavalrymen lacked discipline and continued to follow those who ran from the battlefield. John Byron and his regiment also joined the chase. The royalist calvary did not return to the battlefield until over an hour after the initial charge. By this time the horses were so tired they were unable to mount another attack against the Roundheads. The fighting ended at nightfall.

Robert Devereux decided to withdraw his men to Warwick. This left the Royalists free to march on London. However, Charles I decided to make his way to Oxford, which became his headquarters for the duration of the war.

A muskateer

MARSTON MOOR - 1644 In 1644 the Scots joined forces with Parliamentary forces to lay siege to the Royalist

held city of York. In June 1644 Prince Rupert and his Cavaliers set out to rescue the Earl of Newcastle and his forces. On 2nd July the Royalists confronted the Parliamentarians at Marston Moor.

Edward Montagu and Thomas Fairfax, the leaders of the Parliamentary forces, decided to withdraw from Marston Moor towards Tadcaster in order to cut off any attempt by the Earl of Newcastle to escape. Prince Rupert decided to attack the retreating troops. This resulted in the Parliamentary army being ordered back to Marston Moor.

That afternoon Oliver Cromwell and his forces charged John Byron and his cavalry. His men, instead of pursuing Byron's cavalry, regrouped and returned to protect the infantry that had now come under attack from George Goring and his cavalry.

The Earl of Newcastle and his Whitecoat regiment made a heroic last stand and resisted repeated charges by the Parliamentary army until no more than 30 were left alive.

The battle lasted two hours. Over 3,000 Royalists were killed and around 4,500 were taken prisoner. The Parliamentary forces lost only 300 men. The city of York surrendered two weeks after the battle, ending Royalist power in the north of England. Prince Rupert rallied the survivors and retreated to Chester where he attempted to build a new Royalist army.

Weapons  The Mortar This device is easy to manoeuvre and can be used by one man alone. An

explosive shell is fired high into the air and explodes on impact. Although it was difficult to aim, this weapon was the most destructive of those used in the Civil War.

  The Cannon The cannons used in the Civil War were very heavy and difficult to move. The

largest needed a team of 16 horses to move them. More commonly, smaller cannon were used but even these required at least 4 men to move them. For this reason they had to be put into position before a battle began. The missiles fired from the cannon were usually balls of iron, but sometimes stones were used.  After the cannon had been fired the soldiers operating it had to go through a strict procedure of cleaning, loading the weapon and loading the gunpowder before it could be fired again. Aiming was difficult and the cannon were more effective as a means of instilling fear into the enemy than actually causing damage.

The Musket There were two types of musket; the matchlock and the flintlock, which could be as long as five feet and had

a firing range of up to 300 yards. They were both loaded in the same way; gunpowder was poured into the barrel and packed in hard with a stick. Then the lead ball would be put in followed by wadding to hold the ball in place.

To fire the matchlock, the most common type of musket, the soldier would empty gunpowder into a pan and cover it to protect it. He would then press a lighted piece of flax into a metal trigger called the serpent. When the gun was fired the lighted flax in the serpent would come down into the pan and light the gunpowder. The flame from this would then enter the barrel of the gun and ignite the gunpowder that had been poured into it and the lead ball would be fired.

  To fire the flintlock was slightly easier but more expensive. The pan would be filled in the same way but the

serpent contained a piece of flint which, when it struck the pan, would produce a spark which would ignite the gunpowder.

Both weapons were dangerous and clumsy to use. Some of the longer muskets needed a rest to balance the barrel on because they were too heavy to hold. They were impossible to reload quickly and were most effective when a group of musketeers fired a volley of shots at the enemy.

  The Pike The Pike was one of the most commonly used weapons on the Civil War battlefield. The pike was a long

wooden shaft with a steel point on the end. They were cheap to make, soldiers required very little training to use them and they could be very effective especially when used in a group. Pikes were supposed to be sixteen feet in length but often soldiers sawed a few feet off the ends to make them easier to carry.

The Pikemen often formed the front line of an army. Operating together they had to lower their pikes to prevent a cavalry charge from breaking the ranks. The cavalrymen's horses would be injured by the pike and would fall to the ground unseating his rider who would then be an easy target for the musketmen or for the sword. If the army was surrounded then the pikemen would form a circle and lower or raise their pikes to provide a 'hedgehog' of cover.

The New Model Army

Naseby - 1645 In February 1645, Parliament decided to form a new army of professional

soldiers and amalgamated the three armies of William Waller, Earl of Essex and Earl of Manchester. This army of 22,000 men became known as the New Model Army. Its commander-in-chief was General Thomas Fairfax, while Oliver Cromwell was put in charge of its cavalry.

Members of the New Model Army received proper military training and by the time they went into battle they were very well-disciplined. In the past, people became officers because they came from powerful and wealthy families. In the New Model Army men were promoted when they showed themselves to be good soldiers. For the first time it became possible for working-class men to become army officers. Oliver Cromwell thought it was very important that soldiers in the New Model Army believed strongly in what they were fighting for. Where possible he recruited men who, like him, held strong Puritan views and the New Model Army went into battle singing psalms, convinced that God was on their side.

The New Model Army took part in its first major battle just outside the village of Naseby in Northamptonshire on 14th June 1645. The battle began when Prince Rupert led a charge against the left wing of the parliamentary cavalry which scattered and Rupert's men then gave chase.

While this was going on Oliver Cromwell launched an attack on the left wing of the royalist cavalry. This was also successful and the royalists that survived the initial charge fled from the battlefield. While some of Cromwell's cavalry gave chase, the majority were ordered to attack the now unprotected flanks of the infantry.

Charles I was waiting with 1,200 men in reserve. Instead of ordering them forward to help his infantry he decided to retreat. Without support from the cavalry, the royalist infantry realised their task was impossible and surrendered.

By the time Prince Rupert's cavalry returned to the battlefield the fighting had ended. Rupert's cavalry horses were exhausted after their long chase and were not in a fit state to take on Cromwell's cavalry. Prince Rupert had no option but to ride off in search of Charles I.

The battle was a disaster for the king. About 1,000 of his men had been killed, while another 4,500 of his most experienced men had been taken prisoner. The Parliamentary forces were also able to capture the Royalist baggage train that contained his complete stock of guns and ammunition.

The Battle of Naseby was the turning point in the war. After Naseby, Charles was never able to raise another army strong enough to defeat the parliamentary army in a major battle.

The war ends, but the tension continues . . .“Pride’s Purge” creates the “Rump

Parliament”Charles I is executed in 1649The Commonwealth is establishedCromwell runs the Puritan “republic”

Cromwell’s made Lord Protector

THE RESTORATION - 1660Charles II becomes kingRules 1660-1685

Religious issues1662 – Act of Uniformity – all churches had to

use the Book of Common Prayer1672 – Test Act – all government officials

have to take an anti-transubstantiation oath

Big disasters1665 – outbreak of plague1666 – Great Fire of London

Total estimated cost of the destruction was 10 million pounds

James IIRepealed the Test

ActDissolved ParliamentAppointed Catholics

to high positions

THE GLORIOUS REVOLUTION 1688William and Mary

take over1689 – sign the

EnglishBill of Rights – makes

England a limited monarchy