AS Revision

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AS Revision

• Lesson 1 of 2

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Content

• Key questions
• What were the causes of the English Civil War?
• Different views of historians
• The early reign of Charles I, 1629-37
• Scottish origins of the Civil War, 1637-40
• The crisis escalates, 1640-41
• The Irish dimension, 1641
• The slide into war, 1641-42

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Key questions

• Why did the Civil War break out in 1642?
  (1629-42)
• Why did parliament win the first Civil War?
  (1642-1646)
• Why did the search for a settlement fail? (1646-9)

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What were the causes of the English Civil War?
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Different views of historians

• How have Whigs viewed the Civil War?
• War inevitable - Struggle between liberty
  (parliament) and absolutism (king). Parliament
  defended the rights and freedoms of the English
  people.
• Focus on religious and political factors (Rise
  of Parliament Rise of Puritanism)
• How have Marxists viewed the Civil War?
• War inevitable
• Focus on social and economic factors
• Rise of the gentry/ class conflict feudal
  regime vs rising gentlemen (But - doesnt work
  gentry fought gentry)

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• Criticism of the Marxist and Whig views
• Whig and Marxist explanations too simple/ Blinded
  by hindsight
• How have Revisionists viewed the civil war?
• War not inevitable focus on break down of trust
  between king and parliamentarians between 1640
  and 1642
• Short term factors Charles Is personality
  British factor divisive religious policies
• War was a surprising and unintended
  catastrophe/ war not possible in November 1640

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• Key Issues
• The relative importance of long term and
  short-term factors
• The breakdown of trust between king and
  parliament
• (11 Years tyranny or Personal Rule)

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The early reign of Charles I, 1629-1637

• Charles personality
• Divine right
• Lack of communication
• Financial grievances
• Inherited debt from father, James I
• Taxation tonnage and poundage ship money
  (Hampden case)
• Linked to fears of political absolutism

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• Religious grievances
• Charles allowed crown to be associated with
  Catholicism
• Henrietta Maria including terms of marriage
• William Laud Arminian High Church policies
  Beauty of Holiness guilty of popish
  innovations?
• Prynne, Burton and Bastwick
• Exploited by propaganda ? moderates joined
  parliaments cause
• Linked to fears of political absolutism

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• British factor
• Desire for uniformity
• Wars in Scotland and Ireland impacted on
  situation in England
• Scotland Bishops Wars necessitated recall of
  parliament/ end of Personal Rule
• Ireland Irish Rebellion issue of who commands
  the militia/ increased fears of Catholicism

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Scottish origins of the Civil War, 1637-1640

• Why were Charles policies for Scotland so
  ill-considered?
• Desire for uniformity impose Anglican style of
  worship
• cut off from Scottish opinion
• left Scotland at age of 4 only visited twice
  1633, 1641
• Belief in divine right

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• Events leading up to first Civil War
• October 1636 announced imposition of Prayer
  Book (no consultation with Scottish Parliament
  nor Kirk)
• Rioting St Giles Church, Edinburgh
• National Covenant calls for episcopacy
• Charles failed to recruit sufficient army -
  Fellow Protestants
• Covenanters formidable leaders with experience
  in Thirty Years War
• First Bishops War Treaty of Berwick

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Signing of the National Covenant
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• Calling of the short parliament, April 1640
• Advised by Wentworth
• (The Rise of Pym and grievances)
• Mismanagement of Charles and John Finch
• The Second Bishops War, Aug-Oct 1640
• Occupation of Newcastle
• The Treaty of Ripon ? calling of long parliament

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The crisis escalates, 1640-1641

• Great expectance there is of a happy
  parliament, where the subject may have a total
  redress of grievances.
• (Diary of Sir Henry Slingsby)
• Slingsby fought for the king but an opponent of
  the kings policies in Nov 1640
• Grievances built up during the personal rule
  alone is not a sufficient explanation for why
  people took up arms against the king

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• we have slid into the beginnings of a civil war
  by one unexpected accident after anotherSo that
  we scarcely know how we have come this far
• (Bulstrode Whitelock, 1642)
• Fought for parliament
• War was not something the kings opponents aimed
  at

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• Dismantling of the Personal Rule the initial
  tactics of Charles opponents!
• Remove those responsible for Personal Rule Laud
  and Strafford impeached Finch and Windebank fled
  to France
• Straffords execution Bill of Attainder
• Prevent a repeat of the Personal Rule Triennial
  Act, Act to prevent dissolution of parliament
• A United parliament

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The Irish Dimension, 1641

• Roots of crisis in plantation policies of James
  I and Charles I, consistent treatment of Irish as
  inferior, and religious tensions
• The Irish Rebellion, October 1641
• Importance
• Control of militia
• Increased fear of Catholic plot (exaggerations)

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The drift into war, 1641-42

• The growth of a royalist faction
• Root and Branch Petition
• Attacked episcopacy
• published
• Ten Propositions

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• Grand Remonstrance, Nov 1641
• Outlined alleged religious and political abuses
  over the previous decade
• Direct attack on royal authority
• Votes 159-148
• Five Members Incident, January 1641
• Accompanied by 400 guards violated parliamentary
  privileges attempting to arrest the five
  trouble-makers
• Left London for Hampden Court
• Militia Ordinance
• Nineteen propositions

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What were the causes of the English Civil War?
Essay plan

• Financial grievances
• Religious grievances
• British factor
• The breakdown in relations between king and
  parliament
• Errors and misjudgements of Charles/ Pyms Junto

Long-term causes
Short-term causes