English Revolution

Introduction

The English Civil War is one of the historical events that have been well-documented. Authors from different parts of the world have done a lot of research on the given topic. There are different causes related to the English Civil War. Western Europe has had a lot of political, social and economic rivalry among the citizens and the ruling government. However, the English Civil War is a special movement because it is a revolution that saw the monarch and the Parliament rising against each other. It is the first revolution that leads to trail and execution of a sitting monarch. The English Civil War is a very complicated war. It cannot be attributed to a single cause, since many factors lead to disagreement between the Parliament and the monarch and the eruption of war in 1664. Many authors have researched the causes of the Civil War, and each has presented a differing opinion on the discussed issue. The paper lays a detailed focus on the key causes of the English Civil War.

Causes

The major cause of the English Civil War was the issue of religion. The Catholic religion was becoming a dominant religion. It had led to the issue of Catholicism, and many people were afraid that English religion will become dominant in England. Protestants expressed their fears that Catholicism would be imposed on them through invasion or internal rebellion. The issue only got worse when the monarch made an attempt to impose a prayer in Scotland and England. The attempt to remove some Anglican principles was also seen as another threat that was meant to impose Catholicism on people (Worden, 2009). A big number of English people were protestants, and they could not have imagined that they would have to join Catholic Church. These fears were also cemented by rumors that the monarchy had a plan to enforce Catholicism among English people and that he was a Catholic secretly operating (Worden, 2009). 

The issue of religion is one of the important factors that lead to the English Revolution. English people were Protestants, and they could not have agreed on an imposition of Catholicism. The religious differences between the monarch and the citizens are a major factor that played a stake in the Civil War (Stone, 2005).

Another key factor that caused the Civil War was the nature of leadership that monarch had used. Charles was a ruthless leader (Worden, 2009). He was egocentric, and always had serious problems while dealing with the Parliament. He did not respect the Parliament, and he suspended the cabinet for a long time. He is the first monarchy that was in rival with the Parliament (Worden, 2009). He never recognized the role of Parliament, and he only assumed that the role of Parliament was to pass the taxation policy needed to get finances for the government.

The Parliament, however, considered itself as a key arm that linked people to the government (Worden, 2009). They also argued that the monarchy was not entitled to the tax money, if it did not address the issues of citizens. This entire factor has led to a rivalry between the Parliament and the Monarchy. The differences led to other serious problems that caused the Civil War (Stone, 2005). The differences between the monarch and the Parliament continued to prevail, and the monarch threatened to arrest the members of the Parliament. All these issues played a key role in the English Civil War.

Also, Charles is known to have made an attempt to rule the country without the Parliament. He always dissolved the Parliament once he got the money that he wanted. He chose not to call the Parliament until 1640 when he needed, so that he could get some funds. However, this action infuriated the Parliament because they had not been called for more than a decade (Worden, 2009). These actions provoked the Parliament to start the mechanism of protecting themselves from being dissolved by the monarch without their consent. In addition to adopting measures to assist them, to solidify their powers, they also started attacking Charles advisor. At one point, they even attempted to execute the deputy monarchy. As each side tried to solidify its strength, it became eminent that the country became divided. It became eminent that the conflict was not going to end anytime soon. The North side supported the king, while the other regions, especially the urban centers, opposed the king’s ruling. With the existing differences, it became eminent that war was likely to arise (Worden, 2009). Despite the various diplomatic missions to end the differences, it became eminent that the war was not going to end soon.

According to Stone (2005), other key factors that contributed to the War were a lot of random changes, but the church and the government did not want to adjust to the new changes. Due to the reluctance to adopt the new changes, new intellectuals arose, and they started to fight for the new changes. These people wanted a reconstruction of England, and, for that reason, they were very vigilant to ensure that the new changes occurred.

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Why the Civil War Was a Revolution

There are many reasons that make the English Civil War a revolution, rather than just a normal war. At first, the war was fighting the king’s bad leadership. It was a war that led to the collapse of Charles rule (Stone, 2005). People were looking for changes, and they fought the war, so that they could bring the changes. The fact that the English Civil War was meant to overthrow the existing owner is a good reason to consider this war as a revolutionary one (Stone, 2005). One way or the other, it met the threshold of a revolutionary war. The War targeted the leader and his policies with the key intention of bringing reforms and shaping the nation (DeFronzo, 2015). Charles believed that he was the only divine ruler, elected by God. He also started 11 years of tyranny rule, where he was the only ruler. People wanted to change this situation and it was the reason why they were engaged in the war. It was after the Civil War that the monarchy was reformed. The supreme rights of the king were slapped, and he was limited through the powers of the constitution. The success achieved by this War makes it a historical event that shaped the politics of England.

Some people argue that the English Civil War was a religion war where Protestants fought with Catholics. It is evident that, at one point, Catholics killed many Protestants. However, this is not the only cause of the War (Stone, 2005). There were different factors that caused the War. It is erroneous to term the War as a religious war, rather than a revolution. From my perspective, the War was a revolution, because, even if some religious factors caused the war, there were a lot of changes that occurred after the War that affected religion. It is through this War that communities started to tolerate different religions. After the Revolution, the new leadership started tolerating the Protestant and Catholic Churches (DeFronzo, 2015).

The Civil War led to a lot of changes to the government. It led to serious changes in the government, even without a lot of bloodshed. It also reformed the functions of government, and a new form of government was formed (DeFronzo, 2015). The Parliament regained its position of the government’s controller. It regained the powers that had been taken away from Charles. The Parliament was able to gain strong control of the government. All the grievances that were raised by the Parliament were solved after the Civil War. The same is an indication that the War is a revolution and not just a civil war (Stone, 2005).

Finally, the Civil War led to the rise of civil liberty. People gained their rights of ownership and private rights. The Parliament also had an opportunity to debate all the important issues that were affecting the nation.

Conclusion

The English Revolution cannot be classified as just a normal war or a religious war. It is a war, caused by a combination of religion, social and political issues. The religious issues that caused the war include the imposition of Catholicism among Protestants. On the other hand, the political war between the Parliament and the King was a major contributing factor that led to the war. Although some people argue that the war was not a revolution, I believe that it was one of the revolution wars that shaped England. After the war, many changes arose in the country. Religious tolerance became eminent, and the politics of England was shaped. The Parliament has regained its powers, and it was in a better position to control governmental affairs.