Three Different Outbreaks: The English Civil War

Beginning in 1642, The English Civil War, as known as the Great Rebellion, was made up of three different outbreaks. The Great Rebellion consisted of King Charles I going to battle with Parliament. Battle began as the outcome of a fray over the power of the rights of Parliament and rule of the Crown (“English Civil Wars” 1). Throughout the early stages of war, the people of Parliament were set on seeing Charles I as king, but widened powers for Parliament. Setting the tone, the Royalists started winning victories in the premier phases of the English Civil War, but the Parliamentarians, people of Parliament, conclusively successed. As the war progressed through to 1652, King Charles I was executed, and Charles II was called to the crown
(Hickman 1). Parliament’s triumph placed the nation on a route to parliamentary monarchy.
Charles I, James I son, acted and therefore ruled the monarch immensely different than his father. A major personality difference between Charles and James was that Charles strongly believed in the divine right of a king. This meant that God has chosen the king, knowing that God could never be wrong, neither could any of his decisions or anyone appointed by him decisions could be wrong (”Causes of the English”). When witnessing the toxic relationship between his father, former king, and Parliament, he believed the Parliament was faulty. His conceit and arrogant actions was what lead him to finally get executed.
Along with the effects of a pompous leader, Charles I yearned to copy and act as his father.
James I was known for a petrous relation with Parliament and was very fond of an extravagant lifestyle, which would include money and power (Salgado 2). Charles I, like his father, would refuse to let Parliament meet. For a period of eleven years, called the Eleven Years Tyranny, Parliament members had been locked out of the doors of Westminster (“Causes of the English”). The Court of Star Chamber helped Charles I rule. To meet the rapacious requirements of Charles’s lifestyle, the court would heavily tax and fine the people of the kingdom. Wealthy men were influenced by the Court of Star Chambers to buy expensive noble titles. If not bought, Charles would require them to pay dues the same amount of money the title cost, anyway. Adding to the different fees, Charles ordered everyone in the country to pay Ship Money. Ship money was money paid by nearby villages and coastal towns for supplies and goods for the navy (“Causes of the Civil” 2). His logic behind this tax was that everyone, especially the coastal towns, benefited from the navy and they provided protection for the country. In the end, the population of England become fed up with all the taxing, but the people of England were not the only ones effected by Charles I poor ruling
abilities.
Charles I managed to cause a religious upset with Scotland and Ireland along with his own people. During the church services, Charles ordered that the Scots and Irish to use Protestant prayer books instead of their Catholic prayer books. This caused the Scots and Irish to become furious and sent a vast amount of troops to charge the king’s armies (Ohlmeyer 3). Charles’s and the other two nations agreed on ceasing fire, but never came to a lasting religious and political settlement. The English Civil War left almost a quarter of a million people dead. “The war left 50,000 Royalist and 34,000 Parliamentarians dead, while at least 100,000 men and women died from war-related diseases, bring the total death toll caused by the three civil wars in England to almost 200,000” (“Civil War” 4). In 1649, Parliament charged Charles I with treason and sent him to be executed. The execution of the king was devastating to the country of England and affected the country’s dynamics.
Following the execution of the king, Oliver Cromwell, former farmer then turned military and political leader, becomes England’s new ruler.
Life under Cromwell’s rule was grim for his supporters and the English population. Strict Puritan religious rule was forced upon the people of England. He even made theaters and sporting events illegal to attend, taking away some of the people's favorite pass times. Cromwell also declared England as a “republic”, but his actions showed a dictatorship ( Salgado 3). England changing from an absolute monarchy under the rule of Charles I to a “republic” with little power under the rule of Oliver Cromwell, shook the British foundation and lead the English people to crave a new king. In 1658, Cromwell finally died and the people could certainly get the new king they have been waiting for. The Restoration was when Charles II, son of Charles I, came to the throne in 1660 (“Civil War” 3). Charles II was nicknamed “Merry Monarch” for the reason of nullifying many Puritan rules and regulations formed by Oliver
Cromwell.
The way James I, Charles II grandfather, and Charles I, Charles I father, ruled England in the past affected the way Charles II would rule the country now. Charles II learned that by trying to rule by Divine Right alone will end up in disaster and trying to overrule the Parliament will make situations even worse, so Charles II ruled England under a Constitutional Monarchy (Hickman 2). Getting along with the English society was just as important as agreeing with Parliament. Charles II passed many reforms such as everyone is guaranteed a trial after getting arrested. There was a law against holding anyone in jail forever (“Causes of Civil” 3). Even Though The Church of England remained the official religion, Charles II treated both Puritans and Catholics the equally. Charles II in the end turned England into a new and improved country, and was a king all the people of England were waiting for.
During the time of the English Civil War, America had picked a side to support. Besides the Parliamentarians , The Royalist or Cavaliers was the oppose side. They were Puritans and consisted of Merchants and bourgeois (Salgado 4). Cavaliers came from a Spanish word meaning trooper or horsemen. To the Royalist, Parliamentarians were known as “roundheads.” This was referencing their shaved heads. North American colonies, particularly Virginia, seemed to have supported the Royalist. America had no relation with the English Civil War, but this shows how America was affected by it even though it was thousands of miles away. The Royalist did not triumph in the English Civil War, but if they would have history most likely would not be the same. England may of not became a Constitutional Monarchy and America would not have become a democracy like we have now.