Parliament also convened a groups of theologians to advise it on religious matters. English Puritans ended up adopting the Presbyterian model, not only because it irked those Bishops, but because it made more Biblical sense at the time, and because confiscation of bishops’ property meant Parliament could fund the war without creating new taxes. English Puritans didn’t agree with the Presbyterian plan for church government, but they certainly didn’t like the episcopacy of the Church of England’s royalist bishops. In its efforts to attract the Scots, Parliament enacted a series of measures leaning toward Presbyterianism. Parliament sought help from the Scots, while Charles sought it from Irish Catholics. The Parliamentary forces strength was in their infantry amd navy, which controlled trade.Īt the outset of the war, there were only minor skirmishes. The king’s strength was the cavalry, which of course was traditionally the noble’s military specialty.
Parliament’s army came from the lower classes, to which were added some from the emerging merchant middle-class, as well as a handful of those nobles who’d not been in favor at Court. Charles’ support came from the nobility, while Parliament found it among those who’d suffered most in recent royal shenanigans. Civil War had come to England.īoth sides began by building forces. He gathered loyal troops and prepared for battle against Parliament’s militia. The king decided the time had come to respond with decisive action.
Feeling their oats, Parliament then ordered a militia be recruited. The body took on an ever-increasing bent toward the radical. This commenced a process that would eventually disbar anyone from Parliament who disagreed with the Puritans. Other members of the House of Lords surprisingly agreed, so the clergy were expelled. The House of Commons proposed a law excluding the royalist faction of bishops in the House of Lords from Parliament. So in fear for his own life, he packed up his family and headed out of town.īack in London, John Pym, a leader of Parliament, ruled as a kind of king without a crown. What Charles had hoped would be a dramatic show of his defense of the realm against dangerous elements, ended up being an egregious violation of British rights. We left off last time with King Charles I fleeing London after breaking into The House of Commons to arrest the Puritan members of Parliament he accused of treason. This is the second episode in which we look at English Puritanism.
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