Oliver Cromwell
The English Civil War begun in 1642 and ended in 1651, began due to the actions of England's king, at the time, Charles I. Charles had been quite unfaithful to his country's religious beliefs, marrying a Roman Catholic princess and interferring with the way the Protestant churches in England and Scotland were run. He also would tax the country heavily without getting permission from Parliament, or the Congress of England.
Phase I[]
Charles I
Eager to simply rid himself of his rivals, the king sent a force to kill all the members of Parliament. However, the attack failed and Charles was forced to retreat northward of London and raise an army to fight Parliament. The war raged on for four years until the Scottish army became involved in the war and ultimately defeated and captured Charles I, ending the first phase of the English Civil War in 1646. Charles I, however, bribed/persuaded the Scots to restore him to power but when the Scots declared this, Parliament denied the Scots claims and declared war again on Charles, again, who now had the support of Scotland.
Phase II[]
Charles's efforts were in vain, as he not only lost the second phase of the English Civil War against Parliament, again, in 1649 but was also hung for treason against England.
Phase III[]
The Civil War began its third phase when Parliament declared further war upon Charles I's son, Charles II. After the Battle of Worcester, Charles II was exiled from England, ending the war, and the country now had a new government, the Commonwealth Of England. The new government was quite unstable and corrupt and was again, led greatly by Oliver Cromwell, who dominated Parliament as much as a dictator. However, after Oliver's death, England's government became far too unstable that the country was forced to restore the monarchy to power. With Charles II's return, Parliament was punished greatly and despite being deceased, Oliver was also punished, his body was dug up from Westminister Abbey, hung by chains and his head was cut off, leaving a grizzly reminder of the war.
Major Battles[]
- The Battle of Edgehill, occurred in 1642, land battle, stalemate
- The Battle of Lansdown, occurred in 1643, land battle, Royalist Victory
- The Battle of Newbury, occurred in 1643, land battle, Parliament Victory
- The Battle of Marston Moor, occurred in 1644, land battle, Parliament Victory
- The Battle of Naseby, occurred in 1645, land battle, Parliament Victory
- The Battle of Preston, occurred in 1648, land battle, Parliament Victory
- The Battle of Worcester, occurred in 1651, land battle, Parliament Victory