5. English Civil War Flashcards
Why was religion a cause of the English civil war?
Charles appointed William Laud as the Archbishop of Canterbury.
He was one of Charles’ advisers and was very powerful.
By this point, there was very strong anti-catholic feelings and many criticised Laud saying he was trying to make the country catholic again.
Charles himself was married to a French Catholic who had a lot of influence over him
How did politics cause the English civil war?
Charles believed in the Divine Right of Kings (that he was appointed by God and was accountable to God alone, and it was a sin to believe differently)
Charles wasn’t a strong king as he hadn’t called parliament and brought in some bad ways to get money e.g. used parliament to get taxes to fight the Scots
The gentry were powerful in society and well represented in the House of Commons where many ridiculed Charles
‘No taxation without representation’
Who criticised Charles?
Sir John Hampton (imprisoned for not paying ship money) Nd Sir John puma were fierce critics of Charles and very popular
What was Parliament like when Charles became King?
He became King in 1625 and inherited a parliament that had been in dispute with his Father James 1 and he inherited advisers (inc. Duke of Buckingham) who had antagonised the House of Commons
The Stuart kings thought they should rule by the Divine Right Of King’s.
But the views of parliamentarians believed that a kings role was to approve all taxation and influence government
What happened with Parliament in the first few years of his rule?
Charles bypassed Parliament by collecting money from custom duties and a forced loan
He used martial law to impose his will which led to Parliament forcing Charles to agree to a Petition of Right in 1628 - it insisted that Charles address their concerns.
They also wanted to get rid of the Duke of Buckingham
Charles stopped this by dissolving Parliament and now ruling with it for the next 11 years (1629 - 1640)
How did ruling without parliament cause tensions?
It caused tensions between Charles and his subjects
Charles used many ways to raise money - in times of war the King was allowed to levy ship money on coastal countries to help protect them and pay for the navy
But Charles asked for it repeatedly from all countries and many refused to pay and were sent to prison without trial
Sir John Hampden was put on trial in 1637 for refusing to pay and he became a hero to those opposing Charles
What happened when Charles recalled Parliament in 1640?
They refused to grant him the money to raise an army to fight the Scots, until their own grievances were addressed. These were concerning money, religion and the role of the parliament.
He became aggressive and dissolved the ‘small’ parliament after only 3 weeks of arguing.
When he was forced to recall parliament again in November 1640, parliament was even more rebellious and John Hampden and John Pym led the opposition to the king
What was Charles given in 1641 addressing their grievances?
Grand Remonstrance
What clauses were there?
Abolishing ship money and custom duties unless approved by Parliament
Transferring control of army from king to parliament
Forcing monarchs to call a parliament at least every 3 years
Preventing the monarch from being able to dissolve Parliament
What did Charles do in response to this?
Charles blamed what he considered to be a minority of troublemakers
In January 1642, he used an army to march into the House of Commons and try to arrest the 5 leading opponents(inc. pym and hampden)
But they had been tipped off and escaped
This humiliated Charles and many thought he’d gone too far using an army
When did the English civil war start?
1942
Both sides claimed they had god on their side
1645 Charles was captured and imprisoned
What was the New model army?
It was set up in February 1645 and was the first-fully professional force
Officers apart from Oliver Cromwell were forbidden from being MPs.
Many soldiers had strong religious views with each regiment having a minister
Officers were promoted on merit, not class and soldiers were paid 8d per day and cavalrymen 2 shillings
What did Parliament what to do?
They wanted to dissolve the New Model army once the war was over. But some people in the army had other ideas
Many soldiers were radicals and had strong views on how the country should be run.
A split developed between parliament and the army radicals, although many senior officers (inc. Cromwell) were quite conservative and ready to deal with the King
What were the disputes between parliaments and the army?
They argued over unpaid wages, indemnity for crimes committed during the war, religion, who should have the vote and what to do with the King
What were the Putney Debates?
Two representatives from each regiment were elected and met at Newmarket to discuss these issues.
Some wanted ever man to be able to vote e.t.c
Further talks were held at Putney in October and November 1647.
Many soldiers were influenced by Leveller ideas.
