by David Hebblethwaite

Created on: September 14, 2007   Last Updated: March 14, 2009

The English civil war was fought between the forces of Parliament and the crown, under King Charles I. The causes, however, began during the reign of his father, James I. James was king of Scotland when Elizabeth I died in 1603 and being her closest living relative, he inherited the throne of England. During his kingship the monarchy began to decline.

Being a firm believer in "the divine right of kings" he was unable to accept that an opposing view could be right. This led to many a clash with Parliament, not least over James' income, or custom duties, he was told that he could not collect it without their permission. James suspended Parliament, which didn't sit for ten years

When he did recall Parliament, in 1621, it was to discuss the marriage of his son Charles to a Spanish Princess. This didn't go down well with the members of the house. The memory of the Spanish Armada in 1588 was still fresh in their minds. So the marriage never happened. The rift was still evident when James died in 1625.

Although Charles was like his father in respect of his belief of "the divine right of kings" he was also a very arrogant man. There were constant arguments between the King and Parliament, usually concerning money or religion. This situation lasted for four years until 1629 when the gates to the Parliament building were locked, and remained so for eleven years.

To raise the money needed to run the country Charles used certain suspect methods such as the Court of Star Chamber. Anyone brought before the court was fined heavily. Titles were offered for rich men to buy, an early case of "cash for honours." If they refused then a fine was imposed that matched the price of the title.

Charles also clashed with the Scots, insisting that they use a different prayer book. The Scots resisted and in 1639 they invaded England. Charles didn't have the resources to repel the invaders so he had to recall Parliament in 1640. Parliament, unlike The King, had the authority to raise the money through taxes.

There were conditions attached to Parliament agreeing to fund the war with Scotland. In a demonstration of their power they demanded the execution of the Earl of Strafford, known as Black Tom Tyrant. Although he was one of the King's top advisors, even this couldn't save him; he was executed after a trial in 1641. The Star Chamber was abandoned, also at the insistence of Parliament.

This was an intolerable situation for Charles and after a failed attempt to arrest five members of the house in 1942 civil war was inevitable. Charles went to Oxford to raise an army, the rest, as they say, is history.

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