Charles I: The events culminating in the Second Civil War Flashcards
Who did the King surrender to?
The King surrendered to the Scots and Parliament remained divided by tensions
How did many MPs feel towards the newly powerful parliamentary army?
Many MPs felt threatened by the religious views, political ambition and muscle of the army’s officers
- these tensions would not be resolved peacefully
When was the army coup?
December 1648 - known as the Pride’s Purge
What did the Pride’s Purge settle?
Settled the outcome of the conflict by effectively removing from the Long Parliament all those who were determined to continue negotiations with the King
-> imposing more radical views
What was the state of the NMA by 1646?
They were more radicalised
What was the root cause of the army purge?
The root cause lay in the balance of forces both inside and outside Parliament
What impact did the victory over the King at Marston Moor have on the War Party?
Whilst the victory over the King at Marston Moor had strengthened the War party, and paved the way for victory over Charles I, its dominance in Parliament was to be short-lived
What did the War party’s success on the battlefield suggest?
Success on the battlefield suggests its unnecessary to have an aggressive army
What did Parliament beginning in 1645?
Began arranging elections to seats in areas that had previously sympathised with the Royalists (e.g. Cornwell)
What were the replacement MPs like?
Generally conservative n their outlook.
How many new MPs were there by 1647?
235 MPs - nearly half of its total membership had entered Parliament, where they generally sided with the Presbyterians
Describe the key features of each period in the First Civil War?
- 1642-44: Marked by stalemate, military paralysis, indecisive battles
- 1645: War Party is dominant
- By 1646: Political Presbyterians most dominant faction (more conservative than radical independents)
What were the Presbyterian group also aided by?
The fact that Parliament’s victory had been achieved with help from the Scots
- keen to ensure that the terms of the Solemn League and Covenant were adhered to
What had the civil war encouraged in terms of religion?
- The growth of radical religious sects amongst the poor who criticised the Puritan moral code
- They started from the position that had existed among small groups of heretics in the middle ages, that the ‘inner light’ of direct experience of God freed the soul from the normal rules of behaviour
What did the ‘inner light’ mean?
Engagement with the Bible can establish a close relationship with God
- do not need to uphold conformity to Bishops
What had separatist congregations in London experimented with?
Experimented with lay preaching, open debate and discussion instead of formal services, even women’s meetings and women preachers
What were separatist congregations accused of?
Recruiting women without their husbands’ consent and servants without their masters’
Who joined the army fighting against Charles I?
Many of the most radical separatists and the most committed puritans joined the army
What did radical soldiers destroy early in the Civil War?
Spontaneously destroyed ‘popish’ ornaments in churches - such as statues and alter rails
What did the New Model Army become a hotbed of and who did this scare?
The NMA became a hotbed of radical views which horrified many who would go on to form the Presbyterian party
What outcome did many MPs particularly in the Peace Party prefer?
Many MPs (e.g. Holles) as well as former commanders Essex and Manchester favoured a quick peace settlement with Charles based around a Presbyterian national church, as per the terms of the Solemn League and Covenant
What did many people believe about the social order by 1646?
- Many people believed that social order was breaking down.
- The Presbyterian church appeared to offer structure, hierarchy and discipline at a time when the country seemed to be descending into religious anarchy
- social order requires religious hierarchy and stabilism
What did most seventeenth-century Englishmen regard as an important aspect national life?
Englishmen regarded religious unity as an essential aspect of an orderly national life
What was Charles’ view on the Presbyterians?
‘useful idiots’
What did Charles like about the Presbyterians?
He liked the social conservatism of the Presbyterian party, feeling this would benefit his cause
Why was Charles conflicted on how to deal with Parliament?
He understood that the longer he held out in reaching a settlement, divisions in Parliament would become more serious
Why was Charles conflicted over the religious settlement with the Presbyterians?
Whilst he disliked the idea of a single national Presbyterian Church, he did see the need for a framework that would ensure religious unity, and wanted to stamp out the troublesome radical sects
What did Charles continue to draw out?
The negotiations, ensuring a settlement could not be reached
What problems were there in the relationship between the Scots and English Presbyterians?
- The Scots claimed that the Presbyterian church was based on Divine Law
- but Parliament made it clear to the Scots that any religious settlement in England would owe its legal and moral authority to Parliament
Who was alarmed by the state of religious affairs and what did they dislike?
- The Independents were alarmed by the state of affairs
- they disliked the authoritarianism of Scottish Presbyterianism, and wanted a considerable measure of religious toleration
What did the Peace Party want in comparison to the Independents in terms of the army?
While the Peace Party wanted to disband the army, the Independents were willing to settle with the King and disband the New Model Army only if Charles accepted limitations to his power
Who became increasingly influential during the war?
The Independents had become increasingly influential in the parliamentarian army, in London and in some provincial centres, and drew their strength from the ‘middling sort’ in London
Who encouraged the growth of the independents?
Cromwell who had given them a power base in the New Model Army, which had defended independency up and down the country, wherever it went
What were the Independents sometimes known as?
The Congregationalists
What did the Independents reject the idea of?
An Established Church to which everybody was compelled to belong to
What did Independents regard as a true church?
As a gathering of ‘true believers’ - a voluntary association of like-minded people who agreed to form a church and to worship together according to their own lights
How did Independents separate from the Established Church?
Whether Episcopalian or Presbyterian, and formed their own Independent, self-governing congregations
- if there was to be an Established Church they asked to be allowed to worship outside its jurisdiction in their autonomous congregations according to their own consciences
What situation was England in by 1646?
It remained in an explosive situation
What issue was proving a stumbling block in 1646?
Along with Charles’ refusal to accept the result of the civil war, the issue of religion was proving a stumbling block, threatening to tear the victorious Parliamentarians apart
What two parliamentary factions emerged by 1646?
Political Presbyterians and Political Independents
How much difference was there between Presbyterians and Independents?
Very little (they actually united in England during the 1660s in the United Reformed Church)
What was the main difference between the Independents and Presbyterians?
- The Independents were defined by their insistence on allowing a degree of religious freedom which would also involve restricting the powers of the King
- whereas the Presbyterians were strong in Parliament, the Independents retained the support of the army
Who were the key figures of Political Presbyterians?
Denzil Holles and Philip Stapleton
Who were the key figures of the Political Independents?
Oliver Cromwell and Henry Ireton
Who was more radical of the two parliamentary factions?
- The Political Independents were more radical in nature, sometimes called the ‘War Party’
- The Political Presbyterians were more moderate in nature, sometimes called the ‘Peace Party’
What is a summary of the Parliamentary fragmentation?
- The Parliamentarians had not been a cohesive block
- They had been united against Charles, but as the war had progressed they had become divided by both political and religious consideration
- Moderate Puritans wanted to maintain the Established Church and to retain a reformed episcopacy: their aims were to purge the Church of the ‘remnants of popery,’ to improve the quality of the clergy, to promote preaching, to raise moral standards and to establish a stricter moral discipline over the whole population
- Presbyterians had the same aims as moderate Puritans but did not think that those could be achieved so long as the Church was governed by Bishops. They accepted the Established Church but sought to change along Scottish lines, so its government went from Episcopalian to the Presbyterian form. The Presbyterians also sought the replacement of the prayer book by a liturgy on more strictly Calvinist lines
What were the Newcastle Propositions?
The Political Presbyterians’ plan for settlement, presented to Charles in July 1646
What were the main features of the Newcastle Propositions?
- Religion: Charles was to accept the establishment of Presbyterianism in England for three years
- Militia: Parliament was to control the militia for 20 years. This was regarded as the likely remainder of Charles’ life
- Parliament: The Triennial Act was to remain, guaranteeing regular parliaments as a limit on the power of the monarch
- Royalists: Only 58 Royalists were not to be pardoned, thus hopefully encouraging others to accept defeat
What was Charles’ response to the Newcastle Propositions?
To stall - he had no intention of agreeing to them, but he did not say this directly in order to allow the divisions among his opponents to develop
