The Second Civil War Flashcards
1
Q
How did the parliamentarian side change by 1646?
A
- the twin parliamentary factions have been labelled political Presbyterians and political independents
2
Q
Who were the key leaders of the political Presbyterians?
A
Denzil holles + Philip Stapleton
3
Q
What were the key ideas of the political Presbyterians?
A
- Charles should be given the benefit of the doubt and returned to parliament now that the evil councillors were out of the way
- the NMA was a hotbed for radicals + too expensive to maintain
-generally conservative in social and political views - willing to accept settlement on minimal terms
- supported the Presbyterian church to support social revolution
4
Q
A
5
Q
Who were the key figures in the political independents?
A
-Henry ireton and Oliver Cromwell
6
Q
What were the key ideas of political independents?
A
- more radical in nature
- disliked the authoritarianism of Scottish Presbyterianism
- wanted considerable measures of religious toleration
- allied with the NMA - seen as security against Charles
- liberty of conscience
7
Q
What key leaders died by 1644?
A
- john hampden
- john pym
8
Q
How did the old peace party begin to see Presbyterianism?
A
- as a way to bring the war to an end
9
Q
How long did the war and peace party last?
A
- 1642-44
10
Q
Who were the most influential group in parliament by 1646?
A
- political Presbyterians
- most of the country would have favoured them because of their peace policy
- in 1646, if Charles had accepted reasonable terms presented to him by the political Presbyterians,then the political independents and NMA would have gone along with the agreement
11
Q
What were the July 1646 Newcastle propositions?
A
- presented by the political Presbyterians
- main features :
- religion = Charles was to accept the establishment of Presbyterianism in England for 3 years
- militia = Parliament was to control the militia (armed forces) for 20 years.
- Parliament = the triennial act was so remain, guaranteeing regular parliaments as a limit on the power of the monarch
- royalists = only 58 royalists were not to be pardoned - thus encouraging others to accept defeat
12
Q
What was Charles’ response to the Newcastle propositions?
A
- he stalled
- had no intention to agree with them - but he did not say this directly in order to allow divisions among his opponents to develop
- settlement was hampered by parliament’s political divisions ; which were deepened by religious differences
- winter of 1646-7 - further instability was created when the political Presbyterians tried to get the king to agree to a revised, more lenient version of the new castle propositions - also sought to impose:
-demobilising the NMA but keeping a smaller force to go to Ireland to crush the Irish catholics - creating an alternative ‘safe’ army based on the London trained bands
13
Q
What was the Decleration of dislike?
A
- 1647 - denzil holles’ abuse of the NMA
- argued NMA were “enemies of the state”
- problem of parliament - owed the army £3 million
- politicised the NMA
14
Q
What was the NMA’s response to the declaration of dislike?
A
- the NMA faced 2 main issues:
-had £3 million owed by parliament (arrears) + they were disbanded before this money was paid - possibility of being charged with offensives committed during the war - as parliament had not passed an indemnity act
- NMA elected speakers to get their points across + engage in political discussions after the Decleration of dislike (elected agitators) - would help lead the NMA to reach a settlement
15
Q
When did the NMA kidnap Charles ?
A
- June 1647 by radical cornet Joyce
- this made the NMA significant in the politics of settlement
16
Q
What was the June 1647 humble remonstrance?
A
- produced by the NMA
- declared that they would not disband until their grievances were met - included the indemnity + removal of the Presbyterian faction
- army began a slow march towards London to put pressure on their enemies in Parliament
17
Q
How did Charles view on Presbyterians?
A
- liked the social conservatism of Presbyterianism
-understood that the longer he held out to find a settlement, divisions in parliament would worsen - whilst he disliked the idea of a single national Presbyterian church - he did see the need for a framework of unity
18
Q
What was the July 1647 heads of proposals?
A
- main points:
- reform parliamentary representation
- parliamentary control of the army and navy
- parliamentary appointment of great officers of state for ten years
- religious settlement that maintained the national church with bishops, but no coercive power
- act of oblivion that exempted only a few royalists from punishment
19
Q
Why was the NMA’s control of Charles significant?
A
- allowed them to negotiate directly with him and present their own settlement plan
- by negotiating with both the king and parliament during the heads of proposals - ireton and Cromwell showed their desire for an essentially moderate settlement - their willingness to compromise with Charles divided the army
20
Q
What was the October 1647 agreement of the people?
A
- associated with the NMA and the levellers
- called for a biennial parliament
- Called for free and fair elections + full male enfranchisement
21
Q
When were the Putney debates?
A
- October - November 1647
22
Q
Who attended the Putney debates?
A
- fairfax, Cromwell, and ireton (grandees)
- radical levellers : Thomas rainsborough
23
Q
What was discussed at the Putney debates?
A
- discussed a new constitution for England - ireton proposed the heads of proposals as a less radical settlement than the agreement of the people
24
Q
What was Charles’ response to what was discussed at the Putney debates?
A
- he fled to the Isle of Wight in November 1647 mistakenly believing he had support there but actually ended up in the custody of parliamentarian supporters
- did not want to accept defeat at the hands of parliament
- terrified of the rise of the levellers
25
What was the December 1647 engagement?
- Charles was a secret agreement with the engagers (a faction of the Scottish Covenanters who were disappointed with their alliance with English parliament)
- in this, Charles agreed that England would have a three-year period of Presbyterianism in return for the Scots’ help in invading England against parliament and restoring him to power
- Scots saw the agreement as securing their position in Scotland - with 3 years adequate time for Presbyterianism to establish itself
- helped trigger the second civil war
26
What did parliament pass in January 1648 as a result of the engagement?
- vote of no adresses - stated that in effect, there would be no further negotiation with Charles
-parliament was again united - Presbyterian party united with the army and the independents again to see off the threat Charles posed
27
When did the second civil war break out?
April 1648
28
What was the Windsor prayer meeting of April 1648?
- during the second civil war
-NMA gathered at Windsor to pray before facing their enemies
- reflected on bible passages and preachers declared that Charles was the ‘man of blood’
29
Why was religion such a significant reason for the NMA’s success?
- godly officers
- chaplains
- minority - alienation from the rest of society reinforced their own self image of godliness - which led to high morale
30
What happened at the beginning of the second civil war?
- Charles tried to bring in catholics from the Irish confederation into his parliamentary alliance
- as agreed to by Charles, the Scots invaded England
31
How did the Parliamentarians win the second civil war?
- the engager invasion of northern England was badly coordinated with the uprisings in england and wales, so the NMA was able to mobilise and suppress the insurrections before dealing with the engagers
- NMA defeated royalist forces at the battle of Preston in August 1648
32
What were the consequences of Charles’ behaviour?
- his duplicity showed he could not be trusted to reach a peaceful settlement through negotiations
- his willingness to reignite the war showed he did not care about the loss of life
- by some, his decision to start another war was viewed as a rejection of gods judgement - put the independents back into ascendency
33
What mistakes did Charles make in the second civil war?
- his alliance with the Scot’s in the December 1647 engagement united parliament + the NMA
-led to the vote of no addresses - negotiations were now much more difficult
- Charles had overestimated his support - the rebellions that broke out in spring were not that popular (in places like Kent and essex)
