English Civil War 1625-1649

Causes:

Charles’ advisors were unpopular

This had a very great affect on the civil war because Charles was already pushing Parliaments buttons, so bring in leaders that upset the people by offending their religious beliefs was not a good choice. The one of the  leaders that he brought  in, Archbishop decorated all of the puritans church’s with paintings and carvings. The result of this was a lot of angry puritans, whom make up most of England’s population at this time. They rebelled against the advisors by destroying all the carvings, stained glass, and paintings. It also caused parliament to make the choice for passing the grand remonstrance. Meanwhile all this is going on Charles’s closest advisor Strafford was trying to find a way to get money for Charles without using Parliament. He found ways such as taxing the people for ship money, forcing people to make loans to the crown, he would take peoples land and tell them if they wished for it back they would need to buy back. If Charles picked different advisors these conflicts probably would have been avoided which might  have  resulted in avoiding the whole English Civil War.

http://ed101.bu.edu/StudentDoc/Archives/ED101fa10/rajensen/Content_2.html

This is what a Puritan Church back looked like back in the 1600’s

Most significance components of the Civil War:

Solemn league and covenant

Parliament and Scotland made an alliance with each other. Part of the agreement to make this alliance was that parliament had promised that they would introduce Presbyterianism to England and in return they would give them there support in war. Their support was a huge help in many victories for parliament, as parliament as also able to better their army with the help of the Scots and become much stronger. This could have had a alternate ending, if the Scots didn’t help out parliament,because they would not have been able to dominate the royalists during the Battle of Naseby.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fourth_Presbyterian_Church_(Chicago)

Here is a picture of a modern day Presbyterian church

The battle of Naseby:

This was a crucial time for the Royalists, they had lost a large part of their army, much to big to recover from. Almost insuring that there was no chance for the royalist to win the war. This was a major turning point because this battle would decide if Parliament or the royalists would win the Civil war.

Charles surrenders

After the lost of his army at the battle of Naseby, Charles had no choice but to surrender to the Scots. They presented him with some reasonable peace terms that Charles had refused. If Charles had only accepted the peace terms, the whole coarse of events could have been change. Charles would have had no reason to run away, so he wouldn’t have made an alliance with the Scots.

Consequences

Charles on trial

Charles being put on trail was by far the biggest consequence from the battle of naseby.  If Charles had never been put on trail then his authority wouldn’t have ever been questioned  and his execution would have been avoided.  His execution had an immediate effect because almost right after his death England became a republic. Many people were unhappy with the republic.

`http://madamepickwickartblog.com/2010/04/what-goes-around-comes-around/

Here is a picture of Charles on trail

Cromwell and the Republic 1649-1661 :

 

Cromwell dismisses Parliament:

Cromwell made the decision to shut down Parliament and rule without them. This is extremely hypocritical because ruling without parliament and not obeying laws is the reason that Cromwell worked so hard to get rid of Charles. This shaped the event by showing how similar and maybe even worst Cromwell was in comparison to Charles.

http://www.swcs.com.au/paradoxofpower.htm

Here is a picture of Cromwell standing before parliament telling them to disband

Blue Laws :

Cromwell made up very strict rules for all the people of England to follow and obey. They were based off of Puritan beliefs and imposed their morals and social order on the English people. Cromwell called these rules the blue laws. Wednesdays were for fasting and Sundays the shops were closed. This made they Puritans of England happy, but  the rest of the people were very upset. This really shaped the event, and show how much of an all ruling leader Cromwell had become.

Charles II and Restoration of the Monarchy 1661-1685 :

Parliament passes the Test Act:

 

After Charles II made an alliance with France, he agreed to become a catholic, and therefore tried to make living life in England as a Catholic easier for the people. Parliament didn’t like this so they passed the the Test Act. This made it so that Catholic people could not be in high positions of government. This was a significant event because it showed that Charles had no real authority and that parliament was the real one pulling all the strings

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Prime_Minister_of_the_United_Kingdom

this is a picture of parliament passing the test act

James II and the Glorious Revolution 1685-1689 :

 

James II abdicates the throne – Glorious Revolution December 1688

This was when William invaded England to claim the throne, Charles was unable to gather enough supporters to defend his crown so he abdicate the throne and left England. The Glorious Revolution was significant because it was the first time the monarch (king or queen) was chosen by Parliament not hereditary right. This was a big deal and had a huge impacted on the monarchy.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/civil_war_revolution/glorious_revolution_01.shtml

Mary and William agree to the Bill of Rights December 16 1689:

The bill of rights was a document stating that the monarchs powers are limited and that indicated the rights of Parliament. Marry and William agreed to these terms which was a big deal. This meant that Parliament was supreme and the real government of the country.This had very major long terms effects and is even still in effect in today’s society.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_of_Rights_1689

Here is a copy of the  bill of rights