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James 1, father of Charles 1, is crowned, He is a firm believer in the divine right of kings.
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Despite tension being high between Protestants and Catholics (30 year war in mainland Europe, aftershocks of the reformation) Charles I married a French Catholic Princess. That, along with his Anglican 'high church' Protestantism, he was viewed by some Puritans as possibly Catholic.
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Charles 1 succeeds his father James I to the throne. Like him, he is a firm believer of the divine right of kings (DRK)
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Charles I dissolved Parliament and ruled alone for 11 years. He raised tax through loop holes, levying ship money on inland counties, which faced wide resentment, especially from John Hampden in 1637, who refused to pay it.
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Willian Laud, a man who shares Charles I's religious views, is made archbishop of Canterbury. He is viewed by many as too close to catholic. He tries to impose his Anglican Protestantism on everyone using the Star Chamber court, further angering people.
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Charles attempted to force the use of the English Common Book of Prayer on the Presbytarian Scots. This led to riots.
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An agreement in Scotland to protect religious freedom, led to the Bishops wars
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The scots, angered by the enforcment of the English Book of Common Prayer, went to war with England. They advanced quickly, capturing Newcastle. This war bankrupted Charles, forcing him to summon Parliament.
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Unpopular royal advisor Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Stratford, is executed.
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Supported by thousands of Londoners, called for the abolition of escopacy (rule of the church by Bishops).
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Parliament summoned for just three weeks before being disssolved
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Charles I summons Parliament again, this time for 20 years.
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Requires the king to summon Parliament at least once every three years.
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Controversial within Parliament, with some MPs saying it was too radical. It was a document listing grievances against the king.
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Events in Ireland also had a profound impact on England and further destabilised the political situation. In October 1641, Irish Catholics launched a violent rebellion in Ulster, attacking Protestant settlers. Reports of massacres – often exaggerated in English accounts – spread panic and horror throughout England.
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Charles I entered the House of Commons and attempts to arrest 5 MPs. They have already been warned, and have left. This lead to war.
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By mid-1642, relations between king and Parliament had broken down completely. In June 1642, Parliament issued the Nineteen Propositions, a radical set of demands that included parliamentary control over the military, the Church, and the education of royal children. Charles rejected them outright, seeing them as an attack on his royal prerogative.
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Scots come into the war in early 1644
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On 22 August 1642, Charles raised his standard at Nottingham, symbolically declaring war on Parliament. The country was now divided: Royalists (Cavaliers) versus Parliamentarians (Roundheads).
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Royalists win. Again.
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The early phase of the war saw indecisive manoeuvres and a lack of clear strategy. The first major battle took place at Edgehill in Warwickshire on 23 October 1642, ending in a bloody stalemate. Charles advanced on London but was repelled at the Battle of Turnham Green in November.
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Royalists win.
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Removed members of Parliament from military command, paving the way for the formation of the New Model Army, a professional and ideologically motivated force.
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Parliament win under sir Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell. Marks a turning point in the war.
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William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, is beheaded
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Under Oliver Cromwell and Sir Thomas Fairfax, the NMA destroys the Royalists.
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The war effectively ended in 1646. Charles surrendered—not to Parliament, but to the Scots—on 5 May 1646.
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Oxford, the Royalist capital, surrenders on 24 June following the surrender of King Charles I.
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Charles escaped captivity in November 1647 and formed an alliance with the Scots in the Engagement, agreeing to impose Presbyterianism in exchange for military support. This triggered the Second Civil War in 1648.
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In June 1647, the New Model Army seized the King, frustrated by unpaid wages and fearing a conservative settlement. Over the summer, radical political groups like the Levellers began influencing the Army, calling for broader political reform in documents such as the Agreement of the People.
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Royalist uprisings broke out across England, notably in South Wales, Kent, and Essex. A Scottish army invaded from the north
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A Scottish army invaded from the north but was decisively defeated by Cromwell at the Battle of Preston (17–19 August 1648). The failure of the uprisings, combined with Charles’s duplicity, radicalised the political situation.
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Parliament was now dominated by moderates who still sought a negotiated settlement. But the Army, frustrated with delays and determined to hold Charles accountable, took control. On 6 December 1648, Colonel Thomas Pride forcibly removed around 140 MPs in Pride’s Purge, leaving the Rump Parliament in control
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The Rump put Charles on trial for treason in January 1649. Despite his refusal to recognise the court's legitimacy, he was found guilty
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On 30 January 1649, Charles I was executed outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall. His death shocked Europe and marked the first execution of a reigning monarch by his own subjects.