Why did the Civil war break out in 1642?

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WHY DID THE CIVIL WAR BREAK OUT IN 1642?

The civil war was a turning point in British history. It was caused by a combination of long term and short-term factors. Some of these causes were political, other were more economic and religious. Historians dissagree about which are the most important causes and who should take most of the blame for the start of the war. Some criticise Charles 1st for trying to rule without parliament. Others believe parliament pushed too hard for power or argue that things just ran out of control.

In my opinion, political was the most important long-term cause of the civil war. I believe this because as Charles wanted complete control of England and that he believed in the Divine right of king, he ruled for 11 years without parliament. This would have made parliament really mad, as they wanted a lot more power over the country. The more parliament pushed for power the angrier Charles got, as he wanted complete control. The more Charles ignored parliament the angrier parliament got, and when Charles ignored the Petition of Right parliament got really mad. As each side got more angry with the other the more they would want (in this case the more power they would want).

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Religion also contributed to the build up of tension because Charles married Henrietta Maria who was a French Catholic. After the gun powder plot Catholics were not trusted at all. Parliament did not want a French catholic Queen. Parliament thought Henrietta had a lot of influence over Charles decisions. He put more decorations in the church, parliament thought this was the queens doings but this didn’t only anger parliament it made the Scots angry too. The Scots declared war and this meant that Charles had to call parliament for money, when they wouldn’t give him money he raised money ...

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