The English Civil War- a Condensed Version
My upcoming series, War of the Four Gods, is very loosely based on the English Civil War (1642-51). Since it took place during the final years of the Thirty Years War there’s some overlap when it comes to major players. I’ll be profiling some of them in upcoming posts. My version of the tale takes place a few years after the end of my fake Thirty Years War, mostly because of that overlap. There were a few characters I didn’t want to take out of the action so they could go fight elsewhere, which is what really happened. See Prince Rupert and Alexander Leslie. Five points to Ravenclaw if any of you can guess which Desolate Empire characters are based on those two.
Enough background; on with the tale. The English Civil War had its roots in a long-running conflict between its king since 1625-Charles I-and Parliament. The major issues were financial, political and religious, frequently interwined.
Charles I was Protestant, but his religious convictions were always in question, partly due to his Stuart heritage but also due to his own actions. He married a Catholic princess of France and let her practice her Catholicism openly. He failed to support the Protestant side in the Thirty Years War, even though his own sister was a symbolic head of their cause. He also made an ill-advised attempt to bring together the Church of England, Scotland’s Calvinist church and the Irish Catholics, all of whom he ruled. He only succeeded in ticking everyone off. He took a heavy hand politically as well, simply ruling without Parliament whenever it disagreed with him and levying taxes without their consent. Needless to say, none of this went over very well.
Violence broke out during the two “Bishop’s Wars” of the late 1630’s, when Charles tried to force a specific form of worship on the Scottish Calvinists. Both of these ended badly for him, but he wasn’t deterred. He continued to engage in a tug-of-war with Parliament when rebellion broke out in Ireland and it all came to a head when he personally appeared to arrest five rebellious members. They got away, and in the resulting uproar, Charles was run out of London. He established his headquarters at Oxford for the rest of the war.
The war that broke out after was a fractured business. Naturally, it was difficult for many English citizens to choose sides, and both Parliament (called Roundheads) and the Royalists (Cavaliers) often forced the issue. Allegiances often came down to very local level, based on the views of the local aristocracy and other community leaders. Both sides drew support from local recruitment efforts, though the city of London remained a fervently Parliamentarian base.
The first big battle at Edgehill was largely a draw, though the outcome put the Royalists in a strong position to march on London. That they failed to do so at that time meant they’d never get another chance. Even though the Royalists saw some early victories, they were hampered by Charles’s indecisiveness and infighting in his court. Stronger personalities like the queen’s and Prince Rupert’s tended to dominate discussions and the king waffled between them frequently.
Parliament had its own problems, with a lack of clear leadership in the beginning. As the war dragged on, some important personalities emerged. Sir Thomas Fairfax showed himself to be a competent, charismatic military leader, and Oliver Cromwell broke onto the scene with his brilliant command of the cavalry at the Battle of Marston Moor, a decisive victory for Parliament. He later developed the New Model Army, an impressively modern military force that would run roughshod over Royalist resistance.
Slowly, the Royalists were pushed out of nearly all of their territory, a great many of its leaders and partisans going into exile in France. Charles himself remained on the run and finally surrendered to the Scots, with the understanding they’d protect him from Parliament. In subsequent negotiations, he showed himself to be untrustworthy, and Parliament finally decided there was no scenario in which he could continue to rule. In time, he became their prisoner, was tried and executed.
After brutally quashing rebellions in Scotland and Ireland, Parliament attempted to rule, but was eventually dissolved when Oliver Cromwell took over as Lord Protector, in effect a military dictator. He ruled until his death, but his son failed to hold things together, and quickly reached an agreement in which Charles II was allowed to return from France and rule once more.
At least 100,000 English citizens died in the conflict, and even more Scots and Irish. To this day, the English Civil War has a strong hold on the English psyche and imagination, some of its major points still hotly debated by historians, and strong opinions held about Cavaliers and Roundheads by members of the public. Re-enactments are still a popular activity.
To be notified when the first book in my series comes out, click the cover below!
by 
Bookmarked this so I’d have the background!
Good idea!