War and Radicalism, 1642-46 Flashcards
Give me five of Charles’ strengths at the beginning of the Civil War
1) Charles had a large number of wealthy supporters from the nobility. The Earls of Newcastle and Worcester provided £900,000 and £700,000 each for the Royalist cause
2) The Royalists benefited from the continued collection of feudal taxes and the sale of Crown lands, a source of income that parliament did not have access to
3) The leadership of the King himself was useful to the Royalists. Charles was a figurehead whom Royalist supporters could rally around. He also possessed a legitimacy and an established position in the constitution which could not be matched by parliament
4) Charles had a larger number of experienced officers, many of whom had gained experience in the Thirty Years’ War. The most renowned of these was the King’s nephew, Prince Rupert of the Rhine. At only 23, he became commander of the Royalist calvary and was famed for his dashing charges
5) The Royalists were united by a common purpose: defending the monarchy and established church from the innovations of political radicals and Puritans
Give me six of Charles’ weaknesses at the beginning of the Civil War
1) Although he was an enthusiastic war leader, Charles had little talent on the battlefield. He failed to capitalise on the advantages he gained in 1642 and 1643, and because the Royalist war effort was centred around the defence of the monarchy, the prospect of removing him as a commander-in-chief was unthinkable
2) The Royalists were unable to secure help from abroad. Henrietta Maria landed on the Yorkshire coast in 1643 with arms and troops from Holland, but this made little impact. Charles made peace with the Irish confederates and signed the Cessation Treaty with them in the same year. This paved the way for Irish soldiers to assist Charles, but they arrived in piecemeal fashion and a weak force of 2,500 was easily defeated by Thomas Fairfax at the Battle of Nantwich in January 1644
3) Charles was unable to secure outside help because he lost control of most key ports. Newcastle and King’s Lynn were the only major ports available to him in 1642, as well as a handful in the south-west
4) As he was unable to base himself in London, Charles moved his capital to Oxford. Although it was only 60 miles away from his old capital, it was far from his main supplies in south Wales
5) Charles struggled to resolve the differences between his senior commanders. In particular, there was a damaging feud between Rupert and Lord Digby
6) Money from traditional levies soon ran out and it was not until 1644 that Charles emulated parliament in instituting an excise tax
Give me six parliamentary strengths at the beginning of the Civil War
1) Parliament controlled London, the capital and the city with the largest population. London contained many of the printing presses that would assist in a widespread propaganda campaign and the blacksmiths and tailors that supplied the army
2) The strongest militia in 1642, the London trained bands, numbered 20,000 men by 1643. They had been highly trained and funded since the 1630s, and were drilled by professional soldiers
3) Controlling London gave the parliamentarians access to loans and funding from the City of London merchants
4) Political legitimacy was associated with the control of parliament itself. Parliament’s representatives were able to effectively administer the various government departments formerly managed by Charles’ councillors
5) Parliament controlled the navy and most of the ports (including London). This made it difficult for Charles to obtain help from the continent
6) The south and east of England, controlled by parliament, were the wealthiest and most agriculturally rich regions in the country. When parliament’s effective tax regime was implemented much more revenue was raised than Charles ever could, and grain from the south-east fed the army
7) The political leadership of parliament was relatively strong and united in 1642 and 1643, before the death of John Pym
Give me four parliamentary weaknesses at the beginning of the Civil War
1) In the early stage of the war, the parliamentarian armies were led by poor commanders. Parliament’s Captain-General, the Earl of Essex, was chosen because he was one of the few senior parliamentarians with military experience, having fought in the Thirty Years’ War and First Bishops’ War
2) From the beginning of the war, and particularly after the death of Pym, there were divisions over strategy. The ‘War’ party favoured fighting the war in order to impose a settlement on the King and the ‘Peace’ party favoured a negotiated settlement. Before his death in December 1643, Pym was able to manage both sides relatively effectively
3) At the beginning of the war, parliament did not have an effective system of taxation, despite the wealth available from areas under its control
4) There was a general reluctance from officers to engage the Royalists and pursue the King himself. Essex was actually ordered to ‘protect the King’s person’ as the parliamentarians believed they were fighting to rid the country of Catholic influence and the ‘evil councillors’ at Court
The Battle of Edgehill - after some minor skirmishes, the first major battle of the war took place in October 1642, at Edgehill in Warwickshire. Perhaps as many as 25,000 troops took part, and the battle is usually reckoned to be a draw. Give me three examples of the limitations of both sides that were demonstrated at the Battle of Edgehill
1) The Earl of Essex withdrew towards Warwick after the battle, leaving the road to London open
2) The Royalists had the opportunity to capitalise on the disintegration of the parliamentarian army, but Prince Rupert allowed his calvary to leave the battlefield and pursue the fleeing troops. This lack of discipline from Rupert’s men would cost the Royalists on a number of occasions throughout the war
3) Charles decided not to march on London immediately after the battle, despite the road being open to him. Instead, he just set up base at Oxford and his eventual advance on London was halted at Turnham Green, just outside the capital
Spearheaded by Pym, parliament introduced a number of new taxes in 1643. These taxes helped to prepare for another two years of fighting, but what were they?
1) An unpopular excise tax (on everyday goods) was levied in counties under parliament’s control
2) A land tax, known as the assessment, was levied weekly and later monthly. It was particularly successful. The counties of the Eastern Association alone paid more per year in assessment than Charles raised from all Ship Money receipts in 1635 and 1636
3) The use of sequestration was increased
Despite losing York after the Battle of Marston Moor, the Royalists were able to achieve a number of victories in mid 1644 - what were these victories?
1) At the end of June, they defeated Waller at Cropredy Bridge, in Oxfordshire
2) They decimated Essex’s army at Lostwithiel, Cornwall, in September
3) A successful Scottish campaign began when Scots Royalists defeated the Covenanters at Tippermuir in September
In February 1645, an ordinance was passed creating the New Model Army. Give seven reasons why the NMA was unique
1) It was a single national force of 21,000 men
2) Members were well paid, with infantry receiving eight pence per day
3) Promotions were based on merit rather than social class. Cromwell famously said, ‘I had rather have a plain russet-coated captain that knows what he fights for and loves what he knows, than what you call a gentlemen and is nothing else.’
4) Members of the army were deeply religious, and genuinely believed they were fighting a just war in the name of God
5) All infantry wore the same (red) uniform
6) Discipline was strict and soldiers could be fined for swearing
7) The army contained an intelligence department responsible for collecting information about enemy movements
Who was placed in charge of the NMA and why was he a better choice than the Earl of Essex?
Thirty-three-year-old Sir Thomas Fairfax was placed in charge of the NMA as Lord General. Unlike Essex, he wanted to defeat the King decisively and showed the energy and determination to do so. Cromwell was appointed lieutenant-general of horse, effectively making him second in command
What was the Self-Denying Ordinance and why was it introduced?
At the Second Battle of Newbury in October 1644, parliament failed to achieve victory despite outnumbering the King’s army by more than two to one. Cautious tactics from the Earl of Manchester. a member of the ‘peace’ faction, were responsible. Cromwell and other members of the ‘war’ party passed the Self-Denying Ordinance in 1644. This necessitated all MPs and Lords to resign their military commands. This was intended to remove commanders who had performed poorly, such as Essex and Manchester, with whom Cromwell had a personal disagreement with after Newbury. The Ordinance was revised in April 1645 to allow some MPs to be reappointed
When was the Battle of Naseby; who won and why?
In June 1645, at Naseby in Northamptonshire, the New Model Army outnumbered the Royalists by nearly two to one. The discipline of Cromwell’s calvary in particular helped to secure victory, particularly as Rupert’s men left the battlefield once again in pursuit of plunder
The First Civil War lasted four years. This was due in part to the fact that the two major settlement proposals failed. In February 1643, treaty negotiations began at Oxford. Talks broke down on 14th April as Charles could not agree to further restrictions on the organisation of the Church of England. In January 1645, the Uxbridge Treaty negotiations opened.
The King, parliament and Scots were all represented at Uxbridge, although talks were initially proposed by the English parliamentarians and Scottish Covenanters. The Covenanters had been associated with the ‘peace’ party in Westminster, as both groups favoured a Presbyterian religious settlement.
What were the four key demands of the parliamentarians and why did Charles feel confident rejecting these demands?
1) The Solemn League and Covenant to be taken by the King
2) Bishops to be abolished in England, Scotland and Ireland
3) Parliament to control key military appointments
4) Parliament to consent to declarations of war and peace
As the Treaty discussions took place before the power of the NMA was demonstrated at Naseby, Charles never took the negotiations seriously. He still believed in an outright Royalist victory and was confident that the Scots and the English would become more divided if he rejected the Treaty. Negotiations were over by the end of February.
What events led to Charles’ giving himself up to the Scots?
In July 1645, a month after the Battle of Naseby, the last major battle of the war took place at Langport. The Royalists were easily defeated. Rupert was expelled from Bristol in September and the city was taken back by the parliamentarians. The siege of Chester - the longest of the war at fifteen months - was ended in January 1646. By now, Charles knew he had no choice but to surrender. He gave himself up to the Scots rather than the English parliament on 5 May 1646.
The Leveller movement emerged in 1645. The Levellers became particularly influentials in the aftermath of the Civil War, and they developed their own plans for a written constitution, ‘An Agreement of the People,’ between 1647 and 1649. What were four of the Leveller’s main demands?
1) The abolition of the House of Lords to make the House of Commons the central body in the political system
2) Universal male suffrage
3) A new written constitution
4) Equality before the law and religious freedom
What impact did the Levellers have?
The Levellers were undoubtedly revolutionary, as they demanded a complete overhaul of the political and legal system, the vote for every man and an end to imprisonment for debt. However, they did not advocate bringing women into the voting franchise, and some Levellers suggested those receiving poor relief should not vote. The fact that parliament imprisoned Lilburne for his beliefs in 1645 suggests that they were viewed as a threat. Their beliefs were never popular with the gentry as the implementation of a Leveller political programme would result in them losing most of their power.
Who were the Fifth Monarchists and what did they believe?
Although not politically active and influential until after 1649, the millenarian ideas associated with the Fifth Monarchists were becoming increasingly popular. They believed that the fifth great empire (after a Greek, Roman, Persian and Assyrian) would come to earth imminently with the return of Jesus. Millenarians therefore believed that people should prepare for the return of Jesus.
Who were the Ranters and what did they believe?
A small group of preachers, calling themselves Ranters, appeared in London around this time. They argued that those predestined to be saved by God were incapable of sin and could therefore ignore man-made codes of social morality. Critics of ranters feared, therefore, that they were engaging in immoral sexual behaviour, drinking, swearing and criminal activities. There is, however, doubt about whether they were a significant force of whether they even existed at all. Sources discussing the Ranters were all written by their natural enemies, those conservatives who would benefit from a population too fearful to stray away from the Protestant path.
Who were the Diggers/True Levellers and what did they believe?
The Diggers, or True Levellers, were led by Gerard Winstanley and were equally scandalous in the eyes of the political nation. They claimed that the ownership of land was based on man-made laws and that there was no evidence in the Bible to suggest they should be followed. The Diggers set up rural communes for the poor on common land. They became notorious after Charles’ death in January 1649.
The Newcastle Propositions: Parliament offered Charles an initial settlement proposal while he was in custody of the Scots at Newcastle. The people now dominating parliament were ‘political Presbyterians.’ They pushed to restrict religious freedom and bring more radical elements under control. The Newcastle Propositions were drawn up in July 1646 and consisted of what six demands?
1) Parliament would nominate the key officers of state
2) Parliament would control the militia for twenty years
3) Bishops would be abolished and a Presbyterian Church would be created for an experimental three years
4) Charles was to sign the Covenant
5) The King’s peace treaty with the Irish was to be annulled and the war in Ireland would resume under the command of parliament
6) Fifty-eight Royalists were to be exempt from pardon and punished for their involvement in the Civil War
Parliament and the Scots disagreed about two major issues in 1646. This made a settlement increasingly difficult. What were these two major issues?
1) First, they disagreed over who should have custody of the King. Because Charles handed himself over to the Scots in the hope that he would avoid a harsh punishment from parliament, the Covenanters believed they were in their rights to continue to guard him. Parliament believed that Charles should be handed over to the English in order to speed up the process of agreeing a political settlement.
2) Second, there was a long-running feud about the English religious settlement. The Scots believed that, according to the Solemn League and Covenant of 1643, the English Church should be modelled on the Scottish Presbyterian system. The system that was implemented in England in 1645 did grand the Covenanters’ wishes to abolish bishops, but crucially did not separate the authority of church and state.
Why did the Scots hand Charles over to the English eventually?
The Scots soon came to realise that their prisoner would not agree to their demands for him to implement a fully Presbyterian Church of England. There was also resentment from English MPs which was exacerbated when an intercepted letter revealed that Charles had been in secret negotiations with the Scots since the beginning of 1646. When it became clear that Charles was not going to agree to any peace treaties in the immediate future, the English paid the Scots for custody of Charles. The Scots left England in January 1647 and Charles was held at Holmby House in Northamptonshire.
Despite being defeated militarily, Charles still felt he was in a strong position in 1646 - give three reasons why.
1) He was still King and this gave him legitimacy and a wide support base among ordinary English (and Scottish) people. Most of the political nation, including his opponents in parliament, also accepted that he should be restored to the throne as quickly as possible.
2) As king, he was necessary to any lasting settlement. The only people considering the foundation of a republic were on the radical fringes of politics and were not taken seriously.
3) He knew that both the Scots and the English parliament were divided internally and disagreed with each other.
What was Charles’ attitude to the Newcastle Propositions?
Even before he received a copy of the Newcastle Propositions, Charles was aware of their probable content and always vowed he would not accept them. He believed that a Presbyterian Church would irreparably damage the power of the monarchy because obedience to the Crown had never been associated with the Presbyterian Church in Scotland. Letters sent to Henrietta Maria before the Propositions had been formally presented show that Charles never intended to negotiate, and stated that if accepted them he would lose his, ‘conscience, Crown, and honour.’
Although Charles did not intend to accept the Newcastle Propositions, he delayed his answer as long as possible in the hope that divisions amongst his enemies would increase. How did Charles drag out his rejection of the Newcastle Propositions?
1) When Charles eventually replied to the Propositions in August, he acknowledged a willingness to surrender control of the militia for ten years (rather than the suggested twenty) and experiment with Presbyterianism for five years, on the conditions that the Anglican Church would eventually be restored. He was adamant, however, that he would not take the Covenant personally.
2) In the autumn he suggested a Presbyterian settlement for three years; however, the assembly he proposed would consist of twenty Presbyterians, twenty Independents and twenty of his own nominees.
3) He was advised by some of his counsellors, including Henrietta Maria, that he should make concessions on the issue of church governance but both this issue and control of the militia were non-negotiable for Charles.
4) In May 1647, he offered to accept a modified version of the Propositions with Presbyterianism implemented for three years. He did this as he was already considering raising a Scottish army to help him regain the throne and was also considering continuing the war with French assistance. The revolt of the NMA shortly afterwards meant that any negotiations had to be delayed.
