1st Civil war - Charles I Flashcards
Why Civil war - The existence of opposing sides
- Many MPs didn’t like Pym’s policies as they encroached on the Kings prerogative - Caused constitutional royalists to form
- Prescence of Scots in English politics
Why Civil war - Failure of settlement between the two sides
- Death of Bedford diminished possibility of compromise between the two parties
- Implication of the king in a number of plots
Why Civil war - Ideological differences to fight over
- Charles couldn’t dissolve the long parliament as he needed an army to send to Ireland
How did people decide who to fight for - Parliamentarians
- Felt strongly about puritanism
- Those who pushed fr a tougher stand against the king e.g. Lord Brooke
- Most lower classes supported whoever the leading family in their area supported
How did people decide who to fight for - Royalists
- Wished to preserve existing structures and practices in the CofE
- Notable = Hyde and Falkland who wished to protect the constitutional balance - Saw Pym’s Junto as posing a greater threat than the monarch
Royalists in the first civil war - Council of war in Oxford
Effective administrative organisation in the early years of the war - Is the military, political and religious alliance between Parliament and the Scottish Covenanters
Royalists in the first civil war - Prince Rupert
Joined Newcastle’s forces at Marston Moor in July 1644 - Ended in a major royalist defeat
The First Civil War - Edge Hill 1642
- Charles marching from Nottingham but blocked by Parliamentarians here - Led to battle in October
- This left a path to London but Charles delayed - could have ended the war here
- Outcome = Indecisive - attempt at a peace treaty 3 weeks later but failed as Parliament got rid of the Bishops to pleases the Scots
Solemn League and Covenant - 1643
- Royalist plan to attack London in Pincer movement
- Managed to take Bristol but nothing else - Did scare parliament though which led to them joining the league which meant Scotland gave the parliamentarians troops in exchange for Presbyterianism being made the main religion in England
- 21,500 Scottish troops joined the fight
- Parliament introduced a new tax = Assessment
Emergence of the new model army and Oliver Cromwell
- Eastern association turned into the new model army - Known for it’s discipline and Fighting ability - ‘Know what they fight for and love what they know’
- Cromwell believed some parliamentary leaders e.g. the Earl of Manchester had made armies elsewhere which had given the Royalists a chance to recover and had extended the war by 2 years
- Parliamentary leaders believed members such as Manchester didn’t want to win the war and instead wanted a compromise with the King
Marston Moor 1644
- Charles brought 10,000 troops from Ireland
- 27,000 Parliamentarians Vs 18,000 Royalists = Biggest battle of the war
- Cromwell believed some parliamentary leaders e.g. the Earl of Manchester had made armies elsewhere which had given the Royalists a chance to recover and had extended the war by 2 years
Displacing Essex and Manchester
- Majority believed the New model army could defeat the king
- Self - Defying ordinance meant all serving officers had to resign and seek reappointment - Manchester and Essex were not re-hired and were replaced by Thomas Fair fax
Naseby 1645
- Parliament won as…
- King’s decision to fight whilst outnumbered two-to-one
- Strength of the Royalist army after getting rod of Manchester and Essex
Reasons for Royalists Defeat - Royalist Mistakes/Weakness
- Charles had a lack of military experience - Hired generals due to status and not experience
- Oxford Council suffered from limited authority
- Differing views within the party
- Clubmen hampered the royalist forces
- Charles’s Irish troops were counterproductive - seemingly reinforcing parliaments anti-catholic propaganda
Reasons for Royalist Defeat - Parliament Success/Strengths
- London was their base - New Model Army promoted Generals based on experience
- Had control of the navy which allowed them to supply forces effectively
- New tax - Assessment was very effective
Did religious motivation led the new model army to success
- Religious separatists recruited into the army by Oliver Cromwell improved discipline and dedication in pursuit of God’s cause
Professional discipline led the new model army to success
- Training, regular pay and professional discipline were very important
- These factors helped maintain the spirit and establish mutual respect and loyalty between officers and men
