Why did the civil war break out in 1642?

Authors Avatar
Why did the civil war break out in 1642?

Charles I ruled England without calling Parliament for 11 years between 1629 and 1640. Although some people were unhappy with changes in religion that he made and a lot more were unhappy about paying extra taxes like Ship Money, there was no sign of a rebellion against the king. Then, in 1637, Charles made a mistake which triggered of a chain of events leading to civil war.

As well as being King of England, Charles I was also King of Scotland. Scotland was a separate country with its own laws and parliament. In 1637 Charles tried to introduce the religious changes that he had made in England. The Scottish church was more puritan than the Church of England so when Charles tried to impose the English Prayer Book in Scotland the Scots thought this was much too Catholic and the first time it was used in St Giles cathedral in Edinburgh there was a riot. This led to a full-scale rebellion - the Prayer Book Rebellion - by the Scots in 1637.

Charles needed an army to put down the Prayer Book Rebellion but armies cost money. He imposed a new tax in England called Coat and Conduct Money to pay for an army's uniform, equipment and transport but English taxpayers refused to pay it. Then in the summer of 1639 Charles recalled his best minister, Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, back from Ireland. Strafford had used strict methods to rule Ireland and had a large army. He was known as 'Black Tom Tyrant' and was feared and hated. Many people believed Charles would use Strafford to make people in England do as they were told.
Join now!


In April 1640, Charles was forced to call Parliament to raise taxes to fight the Scots. Parliament refused to grant him money unless he stopped the religious changes of Archbishop Laud and got rid of unpopular taxes so, after only 3 weeks, Charles dismissed Parliament. In the summer of 1640 the Scots defeated Charles' English army and occupied northern England. Charles was forced to agree to pay the Scots £850 a day to stop them marching south. He did not have that kind of money so Charles was forced to recall Parliament.

This Parliament had Charles ...

This is a preview of the whole essay