Charles I (1625-1649) and the Civil War
Early Life
King Charles I succeeded his father King James I as the second Stuart King in 1625. He ascended the throne at a time when there was great pressure from Protestants to take up arms against the Catholic powers of Europe, mainly Spain. Though James I believed in peace and diplomacy, England had become embroiled, in what is known as the Thirty Years’ War (1618 to 1648), which was raging in Europe between the Catholic and Protestant countries.
King Charles I allowed England’s foreign policy to be directed by a deeply unpopular Duke of Buckingham. The Duke used bad judgment and launched a series of wars against Spain and France as a means of indirectly helping Frederick and Elizabeth to regain the Palatinate. When the Parliament tried to impeach the Duke, Charles dissolved the Parliament on two occasions. However, the need for funds for his war agenda forced him to call a third Parliament. In 1628 Charles was presented with the Petition of Right a declaration of the “rights and liberties of the subject", which he reluctantly agreed to. However, in 1629 he dissolved Parliament again, imprisoned its leaders and ruled without a Parliament from 1629 to 1640. Those eleven years became known as the “Eleven Years’ Tyranny”.
Religious Conflicts
The King, under advice by Archbishop Laud insisted that the three Kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland conform to Anglican practices. As a backlash to this policy, the Scottish National Covenant was formed against interference in the practice of religion. This resulted in the Bishops’ Wars between England and Scotland. To finance the war, Charles was forced to convene the Parliament in 1640, thus ending 11 years of his personal rule.
Confrontation with the Short and Long Parliaments
The short Parliament of 1640 was bitterly opposed to the King’s policies of Church and State. Rather than taking on the King frontally, the Parliamentarians impeached and sentenced to death the Archbishop Laud and the Earl of Stafford. Charles could not do much to help them.
The next crisis arose when the Irish rose against the English rule. A dispute arose between the King and Parliament as to who should control the Army against the Irish. The King’s attempt to arrest the five leading Parliamentarians opposed to him, resulted in civil unrest which forced the King and his family to flee London in 1642. Both the King and Parliament appealed to the people for support and it culminated in the first civil war. The Royalists were defeated in 1645-46 by a coalition of the Parliament, Scottish Covenants and a newly formed professional New Model Army.
Trial & Execution
King Charles I surrendered to the Scottish army rather than to the Parliament. In spite of him using devious plots to try and regain power, he was not successful. By his association with foreigners and Catholics he had damaged his position irreparably. The Army was furious with King Charles I for provoking a second war when he had lost the first, which they thought was a clear indication of God’s favour to the Parliamentarians cause.
In 1649, the Parliament appointed a High Court of Justice to try King Charles I for high treason. Charles refused to recognize the jurisdiction of the court. He was found guilty and sentenced to death on January 27, 1649. He was executed on Jan 30th; bringing to an end a troubled era in English history.
Note. Adapted from English Online. King Charles I of England. [Online] available from:
https://totallyhistory.com/king-charles-i-of-england/
[accessed: 14th September 2019].
Note. Adapted from English Online. Charles I. [Online] available from:
https://www.britannica.com/biography/Charles-I-king-of-Great-Britain-and-Ireland
[accessed: 13th September 2019].