English Revolution Significant Events Timeline

English Civil War

Causes

Charles not ruling according to the law is the most significant cause because it covers a lot of the other causes such as collecting money without parliaments consent and invading the house of commons, Also the reason he broke the law for ruling is because his advisers were unpopular. Charles acting against the established laws caused anarchy among the people and parliament because he had broken all the laws about being a king. He used the Court of Star Chamber to illegally convict people and limit their freedom of speech and he used his powers as king to dissolve parliament 4 times for 14 of his 24 year reign as king. I believe that the civil war would still have occurred but may have taken slightly longer than it did in reality.

Components

The most important components of the civil war are the Battle of Naseby, Charles escaping to the Isle of Wight and the Battle of Preston. The Battle of Naseby is the most significant because it signaled the end for the royalists and almost secured victory for the parliamentary forces. The Battle of Naseby was more than just a huge loss of ground for the royalists but it was also a huge morale loss because Charles gave up almost after that and was captured. The escape of Charles also proved to me that it was more of a shock that they were holding the king captive and that the parliamentary forces weren’t ready to capture and contain a king. The Battle of Preston is my final reason because it was the last battle of the civil war and ultimately put a temporary end to the monarchy in England.

Consequences

The most significant consequence of the civil war is that England lost their monarchy and became a republic temporarily. Cromwell establishing a new government is a major turning point for England and the UK because for the first time ever wasn’t a monarchy and as a result caused England to take a step back and reconsider over 1000 years of monarchy and stable government. Cromwell making England into a republic was also the first time that puritanism was such a big religion in England. The major reason that this is the most important consequence is because of the modern tradition of England and the immediate association of the monarchy to England.

Cromwell and the Republic

The two most significant events during Cromwell’s time were him imposing the blue laws and parliament inviting Charles II back and restoring the Monarchy because they shaped England’s legacy as a nation. Cromwell imposing the blue laws is huge for me in shaping Cromwell’s legacy as a ruler because he became completely drunk on power and completely hypocritical. Cromwell has left a lasting legacy because of those blue laws because his blue laws are very similar to Hitler and his holocaust, persecuting a religion in the name of saving a country. Parliament inviting back the Monarchy shows just how bad Cromwell was not just in the eyes of the commoners but the people in power because after committing regicide you have got to be a pretty good ruler and Cromwell wasn’t so England went back to the way it was.

Charles II and the restoration of the Monarchy

Parliament passing the test act was a very evident sign that parliament had no intention of granting any religious freedom to anyone who wasn’t protestant and really showed that they weren’t much better than anyone else that they had either evicted or killed before Charles II. I think that was a sheer act of defiance because they knew who the heir to the throne was and he was catholic and they were protestant so they built a literal and metaphorical wall saying no Catholics allowed but as we all now know that didn’t go very well for them. The test act was truly in my opinion a terrible plan from the start and England had a chance to right the ship after Charles I and Cromwell’s religious persecution but decided not to.

James II and the Glorious Revolution

The two most significant events during the glorious revolution were James II breaking the test act and William and Mary signing the Bill of Rights. James II breaking the test act was hug for me because it showed that he wanted to bring England into a era of progression and religious freedom but parliament again lost it and decided that the borders do govern what happens inside their country. As a result of this they brought in William and Mary to run the country after facing no resistance on the invasion. William and Mary signing the bill of rights is the last major hurdle in the final process of the monarchy becoming nothing more than a figure head and gave parliament the real power which is what they have been fighting for since the 1620’s and finally brought an end to the English revolution.