What were the causes of the English Civil War?<\/p>\n
The English Civil War was sparked by a flawed religious policy which had the effect of reviving an older constitutional crisis. The reigns of James I (1603-1625) and Charles I (1625-1649) created combustible political conditions in the British Isles that were ignited by short-term factors after 1639.<\/p>\n
Constitutional conflict between Parliament and Crown had been an endemic feature of Stuart rule (Coward, 1994; 133-134, 151-152). Charles I held a strong belief in his divine right to govern. This clashed with the idea of consent within the political nation as represented by Parliament. Charles I suspended Parliament from 1629-1640, preferring to rule through arbitrary mechanisms which ensured that political tensions remained simmering. Charles I had tried to raise revenue by means such as the ‘Ship Money’ tax of 1635, but without Parliamentary consent this proved difficult to collect.<\/p>\n
Charles I’s arbitrary rule may not have resulted in a civil conflagration had he not pursued an inconsiderate religious policy. His appointment of Bishop Laud, who attempted to introduce elements of quasi-Catholic High Anglican worship, incensed English puritans (Royle, 2004; 22). More significantly, the introduction of the Anglican Book of Common Prayer to Scotland in 1637 was disastrous in a primarily Presbyterian religious culture. It resulted in a Scottish army invading England in 1639.<\/p>\n
Charles I needed money to repel the invasion and was forced to recall Parliament in 1640. However, rather than acquiescing to his demands, it naturally took a more critical and oppositional stance towards his rule. Charles I’s decision to enter Parliament in 1642, in a failed attempt to arrest five of its most critical MPs, was the most significant short-term factor that prompted the civil war. It shattered his relationship with Parliament (Bennett, 1997; 107), and created a political schism that could only be settled through war.<\/p>\n
Bennett, M. The Civil Wars in Britain and Ireland, 1638-1651. Oxford: Blackwell.<\/p>\n
Coward, B. 1994. The Stuart Age. England, 1603-1714. London: Longman.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
The causes of the English Civil War.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1941,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n