To What Extent Did The First English Civil War Provide A Stable Government
I disagree to an extent that the civil war was the intended outcome of an effort to reform the monarchy and secure a stable government. Parliament wanted political reform in England but did not seek to abolish the monarchy or start a war, they just wanted a balance of power between the monarchy and parliament, however King Charles I refused to compromise.
The first English civil war was caused by a political and religious divide across England, Scotland and Ireland and in parliament. Although England was a puritan country, King Charles I married a Catholic, Henrietta Maria; this caused distrust between parliament and the crown as some MPs were worried that the king wanted to convert England to Catholicism. This fear was strengthened by the …show more content…
If not for this Charles would have simply chosen to dissolve parliament again when things stopped going his way, rather than starting the first civil war. The Members of Parliament knew this and so ensured in advance that parliament would be able to go through with its policies without the threat of Charles being able to stop it. It can therefore be assumed that parliament was willing to take measures to guarantee the political situation in England was amended. However Parliament was very much divided over how harshly they should oppose the king and his methods of ruling England, some individuals, such as Oliver Cromwell thought that since the parliamentary side was winning the vast majority of battles it must be the will of God that the King is fully defeated; another Member of parliament who strongly opposed the king John Pym, who was a leader on the Committee of Safety and organised parliament’s military strategy and negotiated the allegiance with Scotland, which he realised was a fundamental factor to remove King Charles I from power. These particular individuals were willing to go to any lengths to gain parliamentary control of England, including going to war however other MPs were more inclined to make peace with the
The first English civil war was caused by a political and religious divide across England, Scotland and Ireland and in parliament. Although England was a puritan country, King Charles I married a Catholic, Henrietta Maria; this caused distrust between parliament and the crown as some MPs were worried that the king wanted to convert England to Catholicism. This fear was strengthened by the …show more content…
If not for this Charles would have simply chosen to dissolve parliament again when things stopped going his way, rather than starting the first civil war. The Members of Parliament knew this and so ensured in advance that parliament would be able to go through with its policies without the threat of Charles being able to stop it. It can therefore be assumed that parliament was willing to take measures to guarantee the political situation in England was amended. However Parliament was very much divided over how harshly they should oppose the king and his methods of ruling England, some individuals, such as Oliver Cromwell thought that since the parliamentary side was winning the vast majority of battles it must be the will of God that the King is fully defeated; another Member of parliament who strongly opposed the king John Pym, who was a leader on the Committee of Safety and organised parliament’s military strategy and negotiated the allegiance with Scotland, which he realised was a fundamental factor to remove King Charles I from power. These particular individuals were willing to go to any lengths to gain parliamentary control of England, including going to war however other MPs were more inclined to make peace with the