English Civil War 1642-1651

The English Civil broke out between 1642 and 1651 between the Parliamentarians and King Charles I's army. The Civil War was the beginning to many significant events, including the execution of Charles I and the rise of the Commonwealth of England. In this study task, I will discover the distinct causes that erected this war.

Some of the causes of the English Civil War include: lack of money, religion, foreign affairs, and King Charles' personality. It all started on January 4th, 1642. Charles called his troops to arrest five members of the House of Commons, but the attempt failed because they where warned and they fled before the troops arrived. Charles feared for his own selfish personal safety that people might turn against him, and so he left the London area. When he left London, he immediately he began recruiting soldiers and stockpiling military resources. On August 1642, Charles I officially began the war in Nottingham, and the Third Earl of Essex, Robert Devereux, was announced as the Parliamentary commander. Most of England took no sides in the civil wars. Both sides only had around 13 000 men during the first war. The Parliamentarians main aim in this war, is for Charles to have a more constructive attitude to parliament. But, unfortunately for Charles, Parliament was definitely luckier than the King's side. You see, the Parliamentarians could collect taxes to earn their money for resources, whereas King Charles I had to rely on donations to fund his armies from supporters. The Royalists' support mainly came from the North, West and Wales. Parliament was supported by the wealthier people from the South, East and also London. [Charles was] hoping for a quick victory, the war commenced on Edgehill by Essex on the 23rd October 1642.

The Lack of money proved to be a real big problem in the uprising of the English Civil War. When Charles was brought to the throne after his father (James VI) he had very little money. Straight after when the King came to the throne, the County Faction wanted Charles to go to war with the Catholics in Spain. According to bbc.co.uk, the County Faction was/is:“It is traditional to refer to the two factions in Parliament as Court and County; Court was effectively in the King's pocket, and County were MPs who tried to represent the views of the landowners.”So without the money, Charles decided to turn on taxes to spend on the war. The Parliament refused to pay enough, so Charles I knew the war was hopeless. Therefore, assembly accused Charles for inquiring for more money. As Charles was a strong believer of the Divine Right of Kings, he thought he did not have to rule with Parliament by his side. He then dumped the Parliament team, and they got furious. This anger was one of the many reasons the Civil War came to be.

Religion was also a major benefactor in the outbreak of the civil war. Charles' wife Henrietta Maria, was a strong French ...