Key Event Details - 1st War

Question 1

What was the significance of the Battle of Edgehill

Answer 1

• First Major battle of the Civil War
• Inconclusive
• Royalists made a significant tactical blunder by not persuing the retreating Parliamentarian Army, instead raiding baggage train

Question 2

What was the significance of the battle of Turnham Green

Answer 2

• Royalist Army was defeated by the London Bands
• Royalists prevented from taking London and Descisivly winning the Civil War.

Question 3

What was was Parliaments demands with the Oxford Treaty Negotiations

Answer 3

• New Parliaments every three years
• Bishops removed
• Catholics prosecuted to the fullest extent under existing laws
• Effectivly a softened Nineteen Propositions

Question 4

Why Did Charles not accept the Oxford Treaty?

Answer 4

• Royalist armies were winning in the North and West
• Prine Rupert optiomistic about victory
• Charles was willing to become a Martyr in the cause of Monarchy - “I shall either be a glorious King than a Patient Martyr” - letter to Duke of Hamilton
• Henrietta Maria returned in Spring 1643 with weapons and promisies of Troops from the contient (France) (Weapons Denmark Christian IV and Henry of Orange)
• Attached to the idea of Divine Right and he felt it was deeply distateful to negotiate with Parliament

Question 5

What happened as a result of the failure of the Oxford Treaty

Answer 5

• Lord Faukland was so devistated that he deliberatly threw away his life in a Cavalry charge at the First Battle of Newbury
• Peace faction deminished - Clarendon increasingly isolated and War faction member Lord Digby replaced Faukland as Secretary of State

Question 6

What was Parliaments Compulsory Loans ordinace?

Answer 6

• Similar to forced loans of Charles
• All those worth £10 pa in Land pay 20% of annual income to Parliament
• Those worth £100 pa in goods pay £50
• To be repaid “Upon the Public faith”

Question 7

What was the Weekly assesment ordiance

Answer 7

• Weekly assesments using the Ship Money Formula
• Each county to provide money on a weekly basis chaging to monthly later
• Foundational to Parliamentary finance

Question 8

What was the significance of the Sequestration ordinace?

Answer 8

• In the aftermath of the collapse of the Oxford Treaty
• Commisionars given power to sequester Royalist estates to manage them and send profits to Parliament

Question 9

What was the significance of the Royalist Capture of Bristol

Answer 9

• Royalist gain control of the nations second largest port and a significant arsenal
• Now control a port suffient to recieve large shipments of Troops and Weaponry from the continent

Question 10

What was the significance of the Battle of Roundaway down

Answer 10

• Parliament army defeated by Prince Maurice
• Lead to royalist capture of Exeter
• Only Plymouth still held out for Parliament in the south west

Question 11

What was the significance of the Siege of Gloucster?

Answer 11

• Second Tactical blunder by Charles
• Descision to siege and not storm the city gave Parliament time to regroup and ultimatly relieve the city
• It was the sole city that prevented all of Charles armies linking up and advancing together towards London

Question 12

What was the significance of the First Battle of Gloucster?

Answer 12

• Parliament defeated the royalist army besieging Gloucster and prevented the cities capture

Question 13

Why did Royalist fortunes fade post Newbury

Answer 13

• The failure of Oxford Treaty negotions convinced Parliament that only complete military victory could end the war
• The defeat of Charles at gloucster marked the change between royalist advatage due to thier short term advantaged and Parlaiment and their long term advantages

Question 14

Whta was the significance of Parliaments impressment ordinace

Answer 14

• Paliament could now conscript soldiers to serve in the Parliamentarian army

Question 15

What was the significance of the Cessation Treaty?

Answer 15

• While simily intened as a ceasefire with Catholic Irish rebels so charles could close the irish front and bring all his troops to bear on Parliament
• It was a tactical blunder
• That lead to rumours that the King would use foreign Catholic armies against Parliament
• Ultimatly pushed parliament to proceed with the solemn leauge and covenent

Question 16

What was the significance of the Solemn Leauge and Covenent?

Answer 16

• Parliment ally with Scotland becuase the scottish fear that a Royalist vicotory would mean the reversal of the 38-40 reforms.
• Parliament agreed to a scottish Presbytarian church
• Was opposed in Parliament due to imposing of a scottish religious policy and that it would prevent any future peace deal with the King
• Was ultimatly passed after the Charles signed the Cessation treaty with the Irish

Question 17

What was the significance of the battle of Marston Moor

Answer 17

• Combined armies of Fairfax, Manchester and Covenanters effectvly destroyed the royalist armies in the North

Question 18

Why did Parliament fail to use thier momentum following Marston Moor to achieve victories in the following months?

Answer 18

• The Earl of Essexs army became bogged down in the southwest - his army became demoralised and he began to favour the “Peace” Facton, as a result the “War Faction pressed for his removal.
• The covenantes became distracted by a new front opening in the highlands lead by the royalist Earl of Montrose

Question 19

What was the self denying ordinance?

Answer 19

• An act of Parliament that forbade MP’s or Lords to also hold officerships in the army
• If you did you had to resign from one or the other by 40 days after the bill was passed on 3rd April 1645

Question 20

What was the significance of the self denying ordinance?

Answer 20

• By Decemeber 1644, there was growing political rifts in Parliament between the Presbyterians and the Independents
• ## This disunity in parliament was beginning to affect the army as what was best politically was not always best militarily

Question 21

Why did the treaty of Uxbridge fail?

Answer 21

• While the King had lost his short term advantages by early 1645
• Parliamentary disunity was on the rise
• Earl of Montrose was achiving some successes in Scotland
• Charles felt that the Parliamentarian side would tear itself apart and request his return

Question 22

What were the demands of the treaty of Uxbridge

Answer 22

• Charles would subscribe to the Solemn league and covenent
• And allow for his perogative to be limited by joint agreement between Scottish and English Parliaments

Question 23

What was the significance of the battle of Nasebury

Answer 23

• Catasrophic loss for the King, his army decimated
• Virtually ended Charles’ hope of a military victory
• Parliament outnumbered Charles 14,000 to 7500
• Rupert wanted to sue for peace but Digby pushed Charles to make battle
• Kings personal correspondance captured, including his idea to bring a catholic army to England

Question 24

What was the significance of the battle of Langport

Answer 24

• The kings second largest army defeated

Question 25

What was the significance of the surrender of Bristol

Answer 25

• Rupert surrendered Bristol
• Royalists loose major port

Question 26

Describe the defeat of Montrose

Answer 26

• Was defeated by the covenanter Leslie at the battle of Philiphaugh

Question 27

What was the reason the King surrenedered to the Scots?

Answer 27

• Surrendered to the Scots at Newark
• The scots promised to respect his conscious and ensure his safety
• Hoped to exploit the tensions between England and Scotland

Question 28

What was the significance of the surrender of Oxford?

Answer 28

• End of the first civil war