Monarchy Restoration

King Charles I was born at Fife in Scotland on 19th November 1600 and was the son of James VI and Anne of Denmark. His father was to become King James I in 1603 after succeeding Queen Elizabeth I to come to the throne of England. At Baptism in December 1600 Charles was created Duke of Albany and in 1605 became the Duke of York. (Carlton, Charles. 95).

Charles had an elder brother named Prince Henry who overshadowed Charles in every manner; unfortunately he passed on when Charles was 12 years old. Charles became the heir to the throne of the 3 Kingdoms that included England, Scotland and Ireland. In 1625 he was to become the second Stuart King. It was during this period that there was immense pressure from the English Protestants for the intervention against Spain in the religious wars that were prevalent in Europe between the Catholics and the Protestants. (Murphy, Derrick, 215)

King Charles allowed the unpopular Duke of Buckingham to direct England’s foreign policy, the introduce disastrous military exploitation against Spain and France. Parliament tried to Impeach Buckingham towards which Charles dissolved the first two. The Third Parliament drew the Petition of Right to contain Charles’ abuse of power.

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During his reign he continued to suppress any form of dissent and continued to alienate himself from the people. He even went ahead and married Henrietta Maria a French Catholic cause some disquiet amongst the Protestants. Against this backdrop tension went on to build up until 22 August 1642 when the Civil War broke out. The Parliament using the navy that Charles had helped equip, won London. This forced Charles to set up court and military at Oxford. (Carlton, Charles,143).

Afterwards Through Charles command, the Royalist Army was able to experience some victories. They defeated Sir William Waller at the battle of Cropredy Bridge and in the summer of 1644 defeated the Earl of Essex at Lostwithiel. However the army was hit arguments and jealousies especially amongst the senior officers. This coupled by Charles’ indecisiveness hampered greatly the army’s effort. Parliament/Scottish alliance formed a formidable army called the New Model Army. (Kenyon, John & Ohlmeyer, Jane, 155).

It was this army that defeated the Royalists in 1645. Charles fled Oxford in 1646 and surrendered to the Scottish army. While here he tried to exploit the divisions between the Parliamentarians and the Scots. These antics would eventually lead to the Second Civil war of 1648 where Cromwell defeated the Scots. Charles was to be captured and later on beheaded at Whitehall on 30th January 1649. (Carlton, Charles, 195).

Oliver Cromwell

He was born in Huntington on 25th April 1599; he is played a major role in bringng to trial and eventual execution of Charles I. He became the only non-Royal ever to hold the position of The Lord Protector of England.  He rose through the ranks to become this powerful and had the most complete and most brutal army. The army was credited with the conquest over the English neighbors.

He is considered to be on one of the most controversial figures in history.  Some historians view him as the defender of the principles of liberties, and advocate of religious freedom and diversity (he inculcated the respect for God) and others view him as a tyrant, bigot and murderer. The latter view was because left behind a legacy of massacres in Ireland. He imposed military rule. (Murphy, Derrick, 226)

In 1658, Cromwell declared that his son Richard Cromwell should replace him as Lord Protector Of the Commonwealth. This decision did not excite the English Army because Richard was a mere country farmer unlike his father who was a skilful military officer.

After Oliver Cromwell’s death on 3rd September 1658, his son succeeded him as the Lord Protector. However the army generals forced him to retire from government in May 1659.After the Restoration in 1660 Cromwell’s body was exhumed from the tomb of Kings in Westminster Abbey and was hanged at Tyburn. (Murphy, Derrick, 225)

After Richards’s departure, General George Monk who was the army officer in charge of the English army in Scotland marched to London in 1660 with his army and restored the House of Lords and the Parliament 1640. It was compost mainly of Royalists who went ahead to restore the Monarch to Charles II, who pardoned the Parliamentary army and continued with the Commonwealth’s policy of religious tolerance. Puritans lost political power and would not be allowed in the House of Commons. It was during his reign that the Monarch was restored to its original form. (Miller, John, 185).

Works Cited

Carlton, Charles. (1995). Charles I: The personal monarch. Second edition. London: Routledge.

Kenyon, John & Ohlmeyer, Jane (eds.) (2000). The Civil Wars: A Military History of England,  Scotland, and Ireland 1638-1660 (Oxford University Press),

Miller, John (1985). Restoration England: the reign of Charles II. London: Longman.

Murphy, Derrick, ed. (2002) Britain 1558-1689 1st Edition. London: HarperCollins Publishers pp. 211-235

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