Who was to blame for the war: Charles I or Parliament.

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11/2/2001                                                                        Prasshy.S

Who was to blame for the war:

Charles I or Parliament

        This essay consists of the causes of the Civil War and who was to blame for the war. In August 22nd, 1642 King Charles I declared war against his enemies in parliament. Many people were surprised, as they did not realize feelings were so bad and people had no idea that war was on its way. To identify that war could have been caused by either Charles or Parliament, we must look at the (causes) events that were before the declaration of war. Both Parliament and Charles would trigger these. However, who was responsible for the death of so many who fought for each side, which caused the Civil War?

        Charles I made many mistakes that caused the civil war or triggered the war. Charles’ reign did not start well as like his father, James I, he believed in the Divine Right of Kings. This, a political cause was not supported by parliament as most MP’s wanted more influence in the ruling of the country.

        Charles also didn’t help matter when in 1625 he married a French Catholic princess, Henrietta Maria. One problem with the marriage was that she was Catholic and Catholicism was not approved in England, as England was a protestant country. Another cause of concern was that the French had been enemies with England for centuries. The last cause for concern was not the country and religion that the princess was, but the influency she had over Charles. Charles asked Henrietta Maria for advice; he relied on her advice when it came to different decisions.

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        When Parliament tried to force Charles to call Parliament regularly- (by only granting custom duties for one year. These makings Charles call for permission) Charles decided to ignore Parliament and go ahead and collect the duties anyway. This dissolving Parliament in 1629-(until 1640). This meaning that Parliament was not used for anything to do with the running of the country. This, a political cause triggered the anger of Parliament as having no influence annoyed Parliament greatly.

        Now that Charles had no Parliament to grant him taxes he had to find other resorts to raise money. One method was ‘Ship Money’. ...

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The author covers the key events leading to civil war here and stays focused on the question throughout. There is some good detail in places and a conclusion is reached. At times, the answer could be improved through better grammar and structure. 4 out of 5 stars.