Charles the First

After James I's death hi 1625, his son became Charles I. Charles was known as a great supporter of the war with Spain and, like his father, he believed hi divine right of the King. His marriage to French Princess Henrietta Maria allied him to Catholic Church of Europe, which expected support and assistance.

To continue war policy and help Catholic Church Charles needed money from the Parliament. Advised by his Chief Minister in Buckingham he summoned three Parliaments, but the Commons refused to give the money. Instead in 1628, they made him approve the Petition of Rights which stated that the free men of England should not be called upon to lend the King money and should not be pressed for refusing to do so. Later Charles ignored his promise and ordered the dissolution of Parliament.

Parliament was now in opposition to the Crown; Charles got no money and had to withdraw from the war. English Crown was gradually losing authority at home and abroad.

Charles ruled without Parliament for eleven years, from 1629 to 1640. During this period he was advised by the Earl of Stafford and William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury. Laud persecuted Puritans in England and strengthened English Church hi Scotland. Finally the Scots rebelled and occupied northern part of England. Charles needed money to suppress the rebels so he summoned the Parliament in 1640 to vote the money. As soon as members of Parliament gathered they began to discuss the grievances instead of money, so the King dissolved the Parliament. As the Parliament lasted for a very little while, it was called Short Parliament.

Unable to fight with the Scots Charles summoned another Parliament on November 3, 1640. This Long Parliament (to the contrast with the previous one) was in session for 13 years; it was restored for a short tune hi 1659 and finally voted its own dissolution hi 1660.

Struggle between King and Parliament

The Long Parliament in 1640 first took the necessary measures to put an end to the King's tyranny — William Laud was impeached and taxes imposed by the King were declared illegal. Special measures were taken to regulate the work of the Parliament — Triennial Act made the sittings of parliament obligatory every three years and the Parliament could not be dissolved except by its own consent. The most important document of that Parliament was the grand Remonstrance, which criticised the doings of Charles I. It also demanded that the power of bishops be reduced and the government consists only of the ministers approved by the Parliament.

The Earl of Stafford was brought to trial, charged with treason and executed. In 1645, William Laud was executed too.

King decided to take revenge and arrest the most active leaders of the House of Commons. When he arrived to the House with his men, the leaders had already escaped. King's intrusion into the Parliament caused tremendous protest. The open struggle between the King and Parliament started.

Unlike many previous struggles it was not only the struggle between Parlu ment and King, but also the people's revolt against King's tyranny. In Uls revolt English people were divided in opinion — the King was sup-porte< by most of the nobles, Catholics and the gentry, on the side of the Parlia nent were the Commons, the Puritans, trading classes and yeomen. This iivision was also of territorial character — north and west supported Charles while London, industrial areas and southeastern countries were on the side of the Parliament.

King's supporters were called "Cavaliers" (from the Spanish "cabal-lero" — soldier). They were luxuriously dressed, good swordsmen and horsemen. The supporters of Parliament were called "Roundheads" because of their short hair. The Cavaliers were mainly Anglicans while the Roundheads united many Puritans.

The chief Royalist commanders were the King, Prince Rupert and the Earl of Newcastle, Parliamentary forces were led by Essex, commander-in-chief Fairfax, Cromwell, and Waller.

At first Charles I tried to carry on negotiations with the Parliament, but in August 1642 he declared war on it. At the beginning the well-trained Cavaliers beat the Roundheads but the situation changed when the Roundheads were joined by the detachments of peasants and workmen trained by Oliver Cromwell. Cromwell's armoured horsemen were called "Ironsides" because of their strict discipline and organisation. They were convinced of the justice of their cause and fought with full determination. By 1645, the Roundheads developed into the New Model Army formed according to Cromwell's ideas.

Task 2. Fill in the table representing the Cavaliers and Roundheads. Speak about the differences between them.

	Royalists (Cavaliers)	Parliamentary forces (Roundheads)
Appearance
How the name appeared
Supporting layers of society
Supporting areas
Religious beliefs
Supporting side
Commanders-in-chief