English Civil War

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The English Civil War

From the moment of his coronation in 1625 there was friction between Charles I and Parliament, finally leading to the Civil War, a truly profound political event in 17th century Britain, between the Royalists and the Parliamentarians under the leadership of Oliver Cromwell. The Stuart kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland were ripped apart by religious and political unrest, and as neither side was willing to back down over the principles that they held, war was inevitable. The accepted starting point of the English Civil War is August 22nd 1642, when Charles I unfurled his standard at Nottingham. We have been looking at the events in the years leading up to this.

The Civil War was largely caused by a struggle for power between Charles and the Parliamentarians. Each wanted to be in control of the army, control England’s religious future, and be in charge of collecting taxes. Charles I and his father James I believed that they had a Divine Right to be in control of the country; that Kings were appointed by God, and could not be wrong.

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The state of Monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth: for Kings are not only God’s Lieutenants upon earth, and sit upon Gods throne, but even by God himself they are called Gods.
- James I, in a Speech to the Lords and Commons of Parliament at Whitehall, 21 March, 1609.

At the beginning of Charles’ reign, Parliamentarians, who were mainly Protestant, were horrified when Charles married Henrietta Maria, a Catholic princess from France. England’s relations with France were not good, and as well as marrying a Catholic, Charles introduced High Anglicanism, or what we know today as the ...

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