Why was Charles I executed

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Why was Charles I executed?

• Dealing with pictorial sources
• Parameters of the question
• Key content
• Example essay questions
• Views of historians

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Pictorial sources

• You may have to deal with one pictorial source in
  the document exam
• Comparison question would have to assess its
  content, purpose, usefulness, reliability, etc
  with a written source
• Essay-type question in the exam you must use
  all of the sources would use the source as
  evidence to test a hypothesis

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Example sources
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(No Transcript)
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Parameters of the question

• Situation in 1646 popular desire for a
  settlement/ no desire for trial and execution/
  over-confidence of parliament that military
  defeat would inevitably force Charles to accept a
  compromise peace settlement/ a divided opposition
• Situation in 1649 unintended events had led to
  trial and execution/ abolition of monarchy and
  House of Lords

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Key content

• Surrender to the Scots
• Newcastle Propositions Presbyterian
  parliaments solution
• Politicalisation of the NMA mishandled
  disbandment
• Heads of the Proposals officers solution
• Agreement of the People Leveller solution/
  Putney debates
• Engagement and the Second Civil War
• Repeal of Vote of No Addresses Newport
  negotiations
• Prides Purge
• Trial and Execution

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Example essay questions

• There was no peaceful settlement between Charles
  I and his opponents in the period 1646 to 1649.
  Why not?
• Was it not possible for Charles I and his enemies
  to reach a compromise during the period 1646-49?
• The most important cause of the execution of
  Charles I was Charles himself. How far do you
  agree with this statement?
• How far can the execution of Charles I be
  explained by reference to the actions of the army
  and its supporters?
• To what extent were divisions among the kings
  enemies the main reason why a political
  settlement was not achieved between 1646-9?

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• Although it could not be foreseen at that time,
  the execution of Charles I was inevitable from
  the time of his defeat in 1646. Do you agree?
• How far can the execution of Charles I be
  described as a revolutionary act?
• The execution of Charles I cannot be understood
  without studying the religious outlook of his
  contemporaries. How far would you agree?

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Range of interpretations

• It was a necessary act carried out to safeguard
  the nation from further civil war
• It was a callous act of brutality, perpetrated by
  a small, unrepresentative minority against the
  wishes of the vast majority of the English
  people.
• Do not fall into the trap of suggesting that
  there is just two interpretations held by
  historians. The above points represent poles of
  opinion you may believe that the truth is
  somewhere between the two. But you must work out
  before the exam your own answer to the question!

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How interpretations have changed over time

• Whig view Charles was executed because he was a
  tyrant and an enemy of individual liberty (rise
  of parliament thesis)
• Marxist view Charles was a remnant of an old
  order (emphasis on class conflict)
• Revisionist caused by errors and
  miscalculations - focus on Charless character
  and record as a ruler complicating role of the
  politicalisation of the NMA

Long-term (inevitable)
Short-term (not inevitable)