1640-49 Flashcards
triennial act 1641
which stipulated that parliament had to be summoned at least every three years and if the king failed to do this, it could be done by several lords
acts passed limiting the king’s power
- parliament passed an act that any dissolution of parliament was to require the assent of the members of parliament themselves
- acts were passed which forbade the crown from raising money without parliament’s consent
- acts were passed which abolished the prerogative courts that had allowed the king to rule without parliament
grand remonstrance
listed all the grievances that parliament had with the king regarding his conduct of government
lead up to the first civil war
parliament sought to share control of both the army and the choice of king’s advisors. Charles was furious at this and marched into parliament with 400 soldiers demanding the arrest of five leading members. The men had already fled and all the action did was enrage parliament
how did parliament ensure victory during the first civil war?
- they reformed the tax system to allow for more efficient collection of money, thereby increasing the amount they had available
- an alliance was made with the Scottish, who had been watching the developments in England with interest
new model army
the army was reformed into the new model army, a reorganised fighting force which improved the ability of parliament’s military. it was based on more recent successful techniques and promoted officers based on merit rather than birth
When did Charles surrender?
1646
Second Civil War
Parliament’s harsh taxation an the treatment of its army formed resentment among the populace. Revolts around the country started, Charles had made an alliance with the Scots, promising to grant them religious
reforms that parliament was slow to implement, so they invaded England. The new model army marched to meet them and defeated the Scottish army , putting down revolts. Parliament had established dominance.
why did parliament still want to negotiate with the king?
asking central to any government therefore would have to negotiate and charles has to accept parliament terms
when was the army remonstrance presented to parliament?
20th november
what was the trigger that led to pride’s purge?
treaty of newport
why did parliament put of disscusion of army remonstrance for a week?
were hoping to rush charles into a last minute deal
what was pride’s purge?
stop some mps from going to parliament, only let in those who they trust to put king on trial. purge’s parliament of those mps in favor of negotiating with charles
the excluded mps were held under?
armed guards to prevent them taking part in debate which led parliament once again to adopt the vote of no addresses
how many of the excluded mps were arrested?
47, other kept away for fear of being arrested or stayed away in protest
what did the parliament revoke + attempt to try?
some of the less radical parliamentarians revoked the vote of no addresses + approached a settlement with the king
treaty of newport 1648
failed peace negotiations between parliament + king charles, aimed to end the second civil war but failed, leading to charles’ execution
what and when was the army’s response to the failed settlement?
dec 1648, pride’s purge was enacted, colonel pride who made up the new model army blocked entrance to the commons, banning a list of 180 political Presbyterians
what was this new commons body known as?
rump parliament
what did the army declare late 1648?
they declared that they would use martial law to bring the king to trial, accusing him of treason
how did the rump legitimize the trials?
they used the great hall at Westminster to house the trial, they also remove the king’s coat of arms and replaced it with the st georges cross. innovatively, it drew legitimacy from the people rather than the monarch
when was the king executed?
30th January 1649
who was the leader of long parliament in 1640?
john pym
long parliament called
nov 1640, pym seized opportunity. arrested laud + strafford steps to forbid financial strategies used by Cl to raise money outside parliament, pass 2 acts to ensure future security of parliament
strafford put on trial
april 1641, to be found guilty of treason he would have to be tried in the house of lords, knowing the lords wouldn’t find him guilty, they passed an act of attainder
strafford beheaded
may 1641, pym revealed the existence of a plot by catholic army officers to release strafford + dissolve parliament by force, this became known as the first arm plot, an angry mob surrounded parliament after the attainder was passed + charles was compelled to sign his death warrant
abolition of prerogative courts and ship money
a ‘middle group’ of moderates emerged in the commons, led by sir edward hyde and encouraged by allies in the lords such as lord falkland. they favored a settlement with both king + parliament and would become known as constitutional royalists
ten propositions
opposition drew up ten propositions to be considered by the king + requested he accept them before he left scotland to make peace/ they included significant extensions of parliamentary such as the right to approve the king’s advisers + measures to protect themselves from royal vengeance
mps return to westminister
oct 1641- rumours of rising in ireland. catholics attacking protestant settlers. tales of massacre with 200,000 deaths and landing of irish army landing in northern england. fear and distress was spread, but in reality only 2000 deaths
militia bill 1641
dec 1641- arthur haselrig presented the militia bill to provide an army under the control of parliament to tackle the irish rebellion. outraged moderates flocked to charles’ side
pym impeachment rumours
jan 1642- rumours of pym’s planning to impeach the queen reached the king
charles orders impeachment
3rd jan 1642- on 3rd jan the king ordered the house of lords to begin impeachment proceedings against the opposition leaders
charles arrives at house of commons
4th jan 1642- on 4th jan, he arrived at the house of commons with a warrant for the arrest of five leading members, including pym + hampden, backed by an army of 300 soldiers. but, the leaders had already been warned and fled.
charles leaves london
10th jan 1642- by jan 10th, the king abandoned london for the safety of his family + retired to hampton court. he moved the court to his northern capital of york
nineteen propositions
june 1642 parliament issued nineteen propositions as the basis for a negotiation settlement. it included the demands of: parliament should oversee the education of the king’s children, suggests that their primary purpose was to state the case for parliament + rally support. both sides attempted to protect themselves by raising forces
problems of 1640-42
- when parl assembled in nov 1640 charles was in a weak position
- his actions during the 1630’s and in 1640 were condemned
- his privy councillors were divided into competing factions
- he was dependant on parliament to grant him the money to pay the scots
- charles had no choice but to agree to the reforms
- root and branch bill was discussed in the commons in february 1641. the hard-lined proposal to abolish episcopacy endangered the united opposition to charles’ policies + advisers. for the moment pym managed to divert attention onto other issues
perpetuity act
ensured that parliament could only be dissolved with its own consent
act of attainder
an act of parliament that effectively acts as a death warrant. the act only required a suspicion of guilt, and, as long as it was passed by both houses and signed by the monarch, no trial was required
battle of edgehill 1642
- first major encounter of first civil war
- after initial success, the royalist cavalry advanced too far and gave their parliamentary opponents an opportunity to re-enter the fray
- the battle ended in a draw, with essex retreating to the safety of warwick castle
- the road to london was open for charles but instead he headed to oxford
- 3000 men died
battle of marston moor 1644
- royalist army (18,000 men) commanded by prince rupert and the marquess of newcastle
- the combined forces of the english parliamentarians under lord fairfax, the earl of manchester, the scottish covenaters under the earl of leven (27,000 men)
- the royalists were annihilated (4000 men died)
- persuaded the commons to sign a solemn league and covenant with the scottish forces, bringing aid to parliamentary forces, helping parliament win
battle of nateby 1645
- parliaments new model army (13,000 men) commanded by sir thomas fairfax
- royalists (8500 men) commanded by the king
- the royalist army collapsed, 1000 men died + 4500 captured by 1646 charles was more a fugitive than the commander of any army and surrendered to the scottish army
why parliament won?
- parliament’s war machine was more effective- as a consequence of the new model army and the self-denying ordinance, parliament reshaped its military high command and created a professional army
- had foreign assistance e.g. the scots
- allegiance of the much richer parts of england
- had large numbers
- pym was able to stop the growing religious divide in parliament
- geographical location (river thames) helped them get supplies in
why royalists lost?
- charles wasn’t a war leader, he frequently ignore the advice of those more experienced
- lacked foreign assistance
- controlled less wealthy territories
- navy is on parliament’s side
- the news of charles’ treaty was shocking he angered people + so lost civilian support
self-denying ordinance
april 1645 the self-denying ordinance was pressed in parliament and it made all military leaders would resign their commands to facilitate the creation of a single new model army
solemn league + covenant 1643
pym persuaded the commons to sign a solemn league and covenant by which the scots agreed to support english parliamentarians bringing effective aid + helped with battle of marston moor
newcastle propositions
parliament offered charles its own proposals at newcastle in july 1646. newcastle propositions consisted of following demands: parliament would nominate the key officers of state, parliament would control the militia for 20 years, bishops would be abolished and a presbyterian church would be created for an experimental three years
representation of the army
mid june- it demanded the explusion of 11 presbyterian mps and reasonable religious toleration as well as fresh elections with a wider electorate
heads of proposal
the army leaders wanted a fair settlement with the king so presented the heads of proposal for negotiation. the proposals included: parliament would control the militia and the nominations for key officers of state for 10 years, there would be a continued use of bishops in the church but a restriction on their coercive powers, triennial acts would be repealed and replaced with biennial parliaments
putney debates
october 1647- number of discussions between members of new model army and levellers concerning the makeup of the new constitution for britain. levellers wanted a constitution based upon the principle ‘one man, one vote.’ the gulf between the radicals and the leading officers became clearer. levellers argued for complete religious freedom and annual parliaments elected by all adult males. the army argued that the voters must have enough property to prevent them from easy migration
the diggers
advocated absolute human equality including between men and women, that the earth was a precious ‘common storehouse for all.’ wanted to abolish monarchy and house of lords
the ranters
they believed god was in all people, that you can sin if you want. they rejected the bible, hell and imposed morality.
the quakers
most socially dangerous radical group. they rejected the authority of state and church, they were only obedient to god. called out thoughts as the lord inspired them. believed god was in everyone. advocated for civil rights, gender, equality and abolition of slavery.
fifth monarchists
believed christ’s return was imminent. therefore was seen to be the duty of the true believers to seize control of the government and prepare the wat for the return of christ. turned anger onto cromwell and were behind most assassination attempts
26th december 1647
the king signed a secret agreement with the scots, where he promised to establish a presbyterian church in england for 3 years in return for their military assistance
may 1646-march 1647: failure to compromise
- cI surrendered to scots in april 1646
- cI received separate proposals from scots and parl
- scottish proposals was more generous, scots were dissatisified with parl religious settlements. cI delayed his response= scots handed him to england in feb 1647
- newcastle propositions from parl 1646
- cI delayed his answer
charles was responsible for the failure to compromise as he had 2 opportunities to compromise but refused both by deliberately delaying his answer
april-august 1647: failure to compromise
- june 1647 cI taken under army supervision to hampton court
- 5th june leading officers signed an engagement to stand with the army and established a general council. cromwell placed army unity above other concerns
- mid june representation of army by ireton
- 2nd aug head of proposals
charles was responsible for the failure to compromise as he refused yet again. parliament was also responsible as they hadn’t paid the army so that created division
september- december 1647: failure to compromise
- leveller influence in the army became more pronounced and many demanded more radical demands= oct 1647
- agreement of the people and presented to army general council by agitators
- putney debates
- debates ended by cI escape from captivity
- 26th dec signed a secret agreement with the scots
charles was responsible for the failure to compromise as he lost their trust escapes from captivity
january- november 1648: failure to compromise
- jan angry parl voted to hold no more negotiations with charles, army prepared for war
- april 1648 scots entered england triggering brief second civil war
- cI refused to abolish bishops for more than 3 years
- army presented a remostrance
- parl sent 4 bills to cI as a final demand. cI replied he would consider having some control of militia but had confided to friends he had no intention of doing so
charles was responsible for failure to compromise as he refused to abolish bishops for more than 3 years
december- january 1649: failure to compromise
- pride’s purge 5th dec commons was surrounded by soldiers from regiment of colonel thomas pride. he excluded 186 mps who supported continued negotiations, arrested 45
- this left the rump house of 240 of whom 71 would become active in trial and execution of cI
5th december 1648
the commons was surrounded by soldiers from the regiment of colonel thomas pride. he excluded 186 mps who supported continued negotiations, arrested another 45 who had been active in promoting further discussions. left a rump house of 240 of whom 71 were active in charles’ trial
the trial
- mps said the king was personally responsible for all the bloodshed and misery suffered by the kingdom since 1642
- the general council of the army decided that charles must be removed
- they resolved that this would not be done in a hole and corner matter
- colonel pride forcibly turned away those members who voted in favour of charles
charles’ demeanour
- charles conducted himself well at his trial
- he behaved with dignity and lost his stammer
- he refused to recognise the court
- he rejected the whole proceedings on the grounds that ‘a king cannot be tried by any superior jurisdiction on earth.’
- there is no doubt he had the better of the argument at his trial
cromwell’s role
- royalists portrayed oliver cromwell as a black-hearted man who forced his wavering parliamentary and army colleagues to accept the trial and execution when they had favoured clemency
- didnt speak publicly until late dec 1648
- he attended all but two of the trial sessions and his signature appears boldly on charles’ death warrant
reaction to the execution
- large numbers of charles’ opponents couldn’t bring themselves to be involved in his judicial matter
- charles was a man against whom the lord himself hath witnesses
- the execution was a cruel necessity
- rump to abolish both the monarchy and the lords to create a commonwealth
- charles’ execution wasn’t undertaken primarily in order to bring about a constitutional change
- the king’s execution marked the culmination of ten years of political failure
