The First English Civil War (1642-1646) was the first phase of the English Civil War. The war began when King Charles I of England sent soldiers to arrest five members of Parliament accused of treason, leading to Parliament raising its own armies against the King. The Royalists held support in much of the north, Wales, the West Country and Cornwall. However the Parliamentarians held London, the Midlands, and much of the east, and the country was torn apart, with brother fighting brother, father fighting son, and uncle fighting nephew. The result of the war was the capture and imprisonment of King Charles, but Charles would later make a secret deal with the Parliamentarians' former allies, the Scottish Covenanters, leading to the outbreak of the Second English Civil War in 1648.
Background[]
Charles I and Parliament[]
James I of England had believed in the divine right of kings, but as a Scots outsider, threatened by Catholics, he had been forced to compromise. His successor, Charles I, felt more secure, which would be his undoing. As Prince Charles, he had traveled to Madrid to seek the marriage of the infanta. When this unraveled, he made his addresses to Spain's rival Catholic power, France, and married Princess Henrietta Maria of France, Louis XIII of France' sister.
On becoming King in 1625, Charles showed his reluctance to reign alongside Parliament. He dissolved it at the slightest provocation, from 1629 dispensing with it altogether. Instead, he introduced a streamlined (and less accountable) executive. A renewed and strenghtened Court of Star Chamber dealt with those who opposed his despotic ways.
His style set him against the Puritans, strict, "pure" Protestants who rejected the authority of any hierarchy of bishops. They would be ruled spiritually by their individual consciences and by scripture, and saw Charles' church as Catholic authoritarianism returned. The King's pet clerics, such as William Laud and Robert Filmer, did not disagree. Arguing for Anglicanism's Catholic roots, they rejected the Protestantism of Martin Luther and John Calvin, and preached the divine right of kings. Laud was anointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633. Charles shared their vision of an English Church whose clear hierarchy he controlled - not the association of autonomous local congregations the Puritans favored. In 1637, he tried to bring Scotland into line by enforcing the Anglican liturgy, and responded to resistance with the Bishops' Wars of 1639 and 1640. Charles won, but gave way on key demands and saddled England with enormous debts.
Parliament returns[]
King Charles I of England
To approve taxes to raise new revenue, he recalled Parliament. Angry at being sidelined for 11 years, it demanded reforms, so three weeks into the "Short Parliament" Charles dissolved it. But, needing money, he swallowed his pride and recalled it again. It passed the Triennial Act, meaning that Parliament had to be recalled every three years, and that the King could not simply decide to do without it. In 1641, he had to agree to a law forbidding him from dissolving Parliament. His Court of Star Chamber was outlawed too.
In an atmosphere of growing rancor, Charles became convicted that leading MPs had discreetly supported the Scots in the Second Bishops' War. Outraged, in January 1642, he went with his guards to Parliament to arrest key MPs. He found them gone - warned of his arrival. But the King's invasion of the chamber trampled all over the tradition of royal respect for the rights of Parliament's House of Commons. Trust broke down completely: King and Parliament were at war.
War[]
Feeling his authority imploding, Charles I was forced to flee his own capital. He traveled into the country to drum up support. Charles raised his standard at Nottingham on 22 August 1642: 2,000 noble followers rallied to the noble flag. Called Cavaliers, from the French chevalier, meaning "horseman" or "knight", they expected to fight on horseback; far fewer infantry - traditionally drawn from the lower classes - heeded the call. Expensively mounted and dressed, the Cavaliers wore their hair long and flowing - in stark contrast with the severely cropped Roundheads recruited by Lord Essex to oppose them.
Early encounters[]
The Cavaliers had the advantage at Edgehill, Warwickshire on 23 October, yet still contrived to throw away the victory. They scattered the King's enemies with ease only to lose their focus and fall to plundering. The Roundheads were able to regroup. In the end, the early encounter was inconclusive.
The King continued toward London, attracting new recruits as he went: Essex was waiting for him, west of the city at Turnham Green. His army, too, had grown with the addition of local volunteer militias from across southern England - so many that Charles did not dare attack. The two armies spent several months circling around one another, shrinking from anything but the briefest of attacks. Gradually, through these skirmishes, the Royalists were gaining ground, but at Newbury, in September 1643, their fortunes were reversed. Again, after a successful charge, they dissipated their advantage and the Parliamentarians secured the victory. Even so, neither side could really consider itself victorious and a lengthy stalemate ensued.
New Model Army[]
A significant voice in earlier political controversies, but marginalized once the shooting started, Oliver Cromwell now came into his own as a military commander. Having raised his own mounted militia in his native Cambridgeshire, he proved an able commanding officer annd had been appointed Lieutenant-General of Horse by the time of the Battle of Marston Moor in July 1644.
Even then, the battle could not have been won had it not been for the presence of Lord Leven's Covenanting Scots and the discipline they showed under heavy fire. From 1644, a Scots Civil War was continuing in parallel with the English conflict. The Royalists were led by former Covenanter James Graham, 1st Marquess of Montrose. Although he had his eye on the bigger British picture, his allies, clan chieftains, were pursuing local rivalries, and their efforts were fatally unfocused.
Back in England, Cromwell was establishing a New Model Army of 20,000 troops. Most were cavalry - Cromwell's specialty by now - but there were also foot-soldiers and artillery. They were known as Ironsides because of hte iron breastplates that they wore. They were trained and drilled - and enthused with the justice of the cause. Cromwell's efforts paid off at Naseby, Northamptonshire, in June 1645. Defeated, Charles was captured and imprisoned.
Gallery[]
