Charles I: The failure to secure a post-war settlement 1648-49: divisions between Army and Parliament and the regicide Flashcards
What increased by the victory of the Second Civil War?
Fears regarding the radicalism of the army
What religious concept increased by the victory of the Second Civil War?
The victory gave leading officers of the NMA the confidence of knowing that providence was directing them, and they were emboldened in defying a Parliament which sought to reach an accommodation which Charles
What happened to the political state of England in the aftermath of the war?
- England was more politically divided than ever
- a number who had fought as Royalists in the SCW had actually fought for Parliament in the FCW
What happened to the Independent party?
The Independent party was in a state of collapse - the SCW had been too much for it
What became a stark reminder of the necessity of a settlement?
The rebellions in the Puritan heartland of Essex and Kent had been a stark warning that a settlement had to be reached quickly
Who was Lord Saye and Sele?
A central figure on the old Puritan network, a leading Independent, and a one-time member of the War Party
What did Lord Saye and Sele do in September 1648?
Got down on his knees to beg the King to come to terms
What did Charles to resort to instead of settling?
He resorted himself to martyrdom, signifying the extent of royal power he was still not willing to see eroded
- He ‘resolved rather to shipwreck my person than either my conscience or belief’
Who began trying to settle with the King after the war?
The Presbyterians and many Independents now moved to settle with the King
What did the House of Commons vote for and when?
28 April 1648: The House of Commons voted 165 to 99 not to alter ‘the fundamental Government of the Kingdom, by Kings, Lords and Commons’
What did this vote mean the Commons were willing to have?
Willing to reopen negotiations with the King, still seeing him as central to any settlement
When did Parliament repeal the Vote of No Addresses?
August 1648
What new round of negotiations did Parliament begin which would lead to what?
‘Treaty of Newport’
Where and when was the Treaty of Newport held?
At Newport on the Isle of Wight from September to November 1648
What did Army radicals and Independent MPs fight for at Newport?
They felt that the King had gone too far in deliberately inciting a second war and that he should be brought to account
What did the Presbyterian and moderate Middle Group majority in Parliament fight for at Newport?
Still believed it possible to negotiate a settlement favourable to their interests
What did Charles remain adamant about at Newport?
- Episcopacy was not to be abandoned entirely
- no Royalist leaders should be prosecuted for their actions in the recent war
- he continued in his refusal to take the Covenant or to impose it on others
What concessions did Charles make at Newport?
- Parliament as to be allowed to control the militia for a period of 20 years
- Could appoint state officials for 10 years (after, terms would be reviewed)
- Agreed that Presbyterianism would be the official state religion in England for a period of three years during which time the Westminster Assembly would consider the long-term form of Church gov for agreement by King and Parliament
When did the Grandees have a three day prayer meeting at Windsor Castle?
April 1648
What did the Grandees express during their three day prayer meeting at Windsor Castle?
They felt deeply betrayed by the King because they thought that while they had been negotiating in good faith he had duplicitously gone behind their backs in making The Engagement with the Scots and encouraging a new civil war
What did the Grandees believe it was their duty to call Charles?
‘to call Charles Stuart, that Man of blood, to an account for that blood he had shed, and mischief he had done’
Where was hostility towards Charles I particularly intense?
Among those in the NMA
- an esprits de corps had been forged in the ranks of the NMA by a common sense of suffering and achievement
What stiffened the NMA’s determination to keep fighting for their cause?
- Many soldiers felt they should not disband until there was created a land fit for heroes to live in
- Feeling of comradeship
- Stiffened their determination during 1648 not to abandon the cause for which they had fought by trying to reach a settlement with the King
Who passed the Army Remonstrance?
General Fairfax, the Council of Officers and Henry Ireton
When was the Army Remonstrance adopted?
November 1648 (by the NMA)
What was the Army Remonstrance?
Justification for the NMA’s intention to abandon treaty negotiations with King Charles and to bring him to trial as an enemy of the people
What did the Remonstrance proclaim>
- The sovereignty of the people under a representative government
- Divine providence would prove the righteousness or otherwise of the government’s actions
- Charles should be brought to account because he had broken the sacred covenant with his people and attempted to place himself above the law
What Leveller-inspired constitutional reforms did the Remonstrance propose?
- The possibility of an elective monarchy
- parliament was to set a date for its own dissolution
- Parliament to be followed by annual or bi-annual Parliaments elected on a reformed franchise
- There was to be a written constitution with a declaration of parliamentary authority over the King and Lords
When was the Pride’s Purge?
6 December 1648
How many people voted for and against The Pride’s Purge?
129 MPs voted in favour and 83 against
What was the impact of the Pride’s Purge on the Newport negotiations?
- With Parliament still refusing to discuss the Remonstrance and apparently intent on implementing the Treaty of Newport Ireton initiated the train of events that would lead to the Prides’ Purge
- The purged Parliament annulled the treaty of Newport on 13 December 1648
Who stationed troops at the entrance to the House of Commons?
Colonal Thomas pride
- started the Pride’s Purge
Who did Thomas Pride refuse to allow into parliament?
Anyone who did not sympathise with the army’s cause
How many members was Parliament reduced to?
Only 150 members - it would be known as the Rump
Where were the removed MPs taken to?
A nearby pub called ‘Hell’ by the army
When did the Rump set up a High Court of Justice to try the King?
1 January 1649
Who refused to participate in the trial of the King?
The House of Lords
How did the Commons react to the House of Lords refusing to participate?
The House of Commons therefore declared that its own decisions would have the force of law since ‘the people are, under God, the original of all just power’
When was Charles arraigned?
20 January 1649
What was Charles’ charge?
Declared him to be ‘a tyrant, a traitor, a murderer and a public implacable enemy to the Commonwealth of England’
How did the King react to this charge?
The King attended his trial in Westminster Hall, but refused to recognise the authority of the court - so was excluded from the proceedings after the third day
What was the significance of Charles refusing to recognise the court’s legitimacy?
- Faced by Charles’ continued stubbornness, Cromwell was reinforced in his belief that it had become a ‘necessity’ to permanently remove Charles to try to settle the nation
- if they didn’t, he would continue to instigate further war
- this political pragmatism as reinforced by ‘providence’
What was the decision of Charles’ trial?
He was found guilty
How many people actually signed Charles’ death warrant?
Only 59 of the more than 150 members of the court could be prevailed upon to actually sign the King’s death warrant
Where did the execution take place and when?
In Whitehall on 30 January 1649
What phrase was used by the Independents during the English Civil War to describe Charles?
‘Charles Stuart, that man of blood’
How as the King to blame for the regicide?
His duplicity and refusal to settle
How was Parliament to blame for the regicide?
For splitting into two parties - the Presbyterians and the Independents - lacked the unified approach
How was the New Model Army to blame for the regicide?
For interfering in politics and preventing Parliament from reaching a moderate settlement
How were the Scots to blame for the regicide?
For trying to enforce religious conformity across the two Kingdoms and intervening in England’s domestic problems
What were the 3 reasons for the regicide?
- Religious radicals
- Republicans (political radicals)
- Social conservatives
How were religious radicals the reason for regicide?
- Millenarians regarded the final death of worldly kings as the necessary catalyst for the Second Coming of Christ
- Other Millenarians believed Charles had been guilty of sacrilege when he ignored God’s providential message of victory by the parliamentary forces in 1646
- Argued he was guilty of murder in declaring war against the people of England; as such he must be tried
- His trial and execution would enable England to place the crown on the head of a godly magistrate
How were republicans a reason for the regicide?
There were also those who may or may not have believed that Charles was guilty of the charges brought against him, but that the bloodshed of the past seven years had been the consequence of investing a single person with potentially semi-divine powers
How were social conservatives a reason for the regicide?
- Charles had proven himself sinful by declaring war against his people, by breaking the reciprocal bond between government and governed and by ignoring the victories against him
- it was a desire to cut a cancerous individual away from a fundamentally sound politic
- If Charles was removed and replaced by one who could reunite the gravitas of the office with respect for the incumbent, England would return to peace and stability
How did Sara Barber describe the social conservatives approach?
‘Within an explosive political situation, this was an essentially conservative approach’
