Why did the Civil War begin?
The Civil War has begun, people think the Parliament are to blame and some other people think that king Charles is to blame here are some reasons why people are blaming the Parliament and king Charles. People blame the Parliament because in order for Charles to get tax money off them because at that time England were in a War with the Scots, the Parliament wanted something back in return, so they gave Charles demands and some he agreed to and some not, but then the Parliament kept giving more and more demands and putting him on the back-foot and then he wasn't sure and made the wrong decision and then one thing might have sparked it off.
People also blame king Charles because he had his so-called evil ministers who virtually everybody but the king hated them and knew what they were like and how deceiving they were. Charles took notice of everything the ministers said when he was the person who runs the country so he should have done what he thought was right and not his ministers, which made England a bad country and also a bad place to live and also other countries thinking that as well.
The long and short term causes that triggered the Civil War
Here are the long and short-term causes that triggered off the Civil War bit by bit:
More demands kept coming in from the Parliament and the Houses of Commons, then they had a meeting and they had a voting to see which side was favourite, it ended up Parliament winning by 159 votes to 148, but Charles wasn't that upset, more people had come onto his side, this was called the Grand Remonstrance.
Another thing that triggered off the Civil War is when the Irish rebelled. Catholics had risen up to their Protestant rulers. 200'000 Protestants had been murdered. Most people saw it as the first step to make England a Catholic country.
Another thing that triggered off the Civil War is when Charles tried to arrest the 5 leading MP's. This is why many people think Charles brought this on him self because the MP's didn't trust him. Also they feared he was going to rule without the Parliament again. One day Charles did something that really made them think he was trying to do this. He charged into the House of Commons with approximately 400 soldiers demanding that the 5 leading MP's must be arrested at once, but they weren't there they had gone, somebody had given them a tip-off that Charles and his soldiers were coming so they fled down the River Thames on a boat. When they got to the other side they were protected by the Council of London and treated like heroes.
Another thing that triggered off the Civil War is when there were arguments in the Parliament about religion. Most people wanted to get rid of the Archbishop Laud's reforms, some bishops even wanted to get rid of the Church of England. Lots of people thought about joining Charles's side because they thought there would be chaos.
There were also other arguments this time about the army. They needed it for when the Irish rebelled, usually the King controlled it but Charles wasn't in London and none of the MP's trusted him. They were arguing and arguing the Parliament took control of the army without Charles's permission.
Parliament gave Charles more demands again, this time 19, this quarrelling had split the country in two. The MP's who were on the kings side felt this was the ' last straw '. Charles said " this would make him a mere phantom of a king ". In June 1642 the Parliament had ordered each and every county in England to get an army ready, this meant people had a choice, a choice they didn't want to make. Charles then raised his standered at Nottingham yesterday. This meant the Civil War had begun.
Also there were things that were Political-P, Social-S or/and Economical-E. Here are most of the important ones:
Charles made Duke Buckingham ( who was un- popular with virtually everybody) his chief minister. P
By the early 17th century Parliament were powerful. E.S.P.
The long Parliament DEMANDED changes. E.S.P.
Arguments about the church. S.
Arguments about who controlled the army. P.
Charles tried to arrest the 5 leading MP's. P
Which of the causes was most important ?
The cause that I thought was most important was when they gave him the last set of demands just before the war. I thought it was most important because this was the move that really split the country into 2 sides and started the Civil War between the Parliament and the king. Everybody on the kings side felt the demands were the 'last straw'. The 2 sides going into the War the Parliament had the advantage because they owned the most amount of land in England so that means they should have more people.
Interviews with people from both sides
We interviewed people from both of the sides and this is what someone off the Parliament's side said " I think it was Charles's fault that this War has started because everybody told him he had evil ministers but Oh no he doesn't listen, he can't take advice off us, he's better than us, who are we to tell him what to do, anybody with half a brain would realise they were trying to make England a bad place to live and a bad place to other countries and he could have got rid of them but instead he let them rule the country when it is his job to do that. They wrecked it, now we will get them.
We also interviewed a person off the kings side and this is what he said "I totally disagree with what that man said it is pathetic it is the other way round it was the Parliaments fault that this War has started for the simple reason that the Parliament kept giving King Charles demands and leaving him unsure and venerable, so he didn't know what to do. Also everybody is moaning about the ministers I don't think they are bad but that is what they say and even if they are bad why can't they just lay off and give him some space and let him find out if they are bad himself, people might not be giving the ministers any chance so it just ends up everybody thinking they are bad."
There are the 2 interviews from both sides now you decide who you think was unlucky to be in it and the one who was starting it all.
My opinion on who started the Civil War
I think the side that started the Civil War is both of them because one side did on thing and then the other side did another thing so they both cancel each other out. Here are some thing that explain my reasons:
The Parliament kept giving Charles more and more demands and ended up getting land and they were telling Charles what to do and most of the time he did it, ended up making Charles unsure which also made him vulnerable and forced him to make decisions when he wasn't sure which then he could have made the wrong one.
Also the Parliament were to blame because they took the throne in a way because it was as if they ruled the country when it was Charles who was suppose to be running it. Parliament should rule in a way but King should always have first say.
Also Charles should be to blame because he had his evil ministers when everybody on Parliaments side hated them. He let them ruin the country made it a bad place to live and a bad place for other countries to look at, he should have ran the country with his own decisions and then it might have been a better place.
Also Charles was to blame because no-body trusted him anyway because he had his ministers but he really embarrassed himself and lost even more trust because he burst into the Houses of Commons with about 400 soldiers and demanded the 5 leading MP's must be arrested, but they weren't there they had been given a tip-off and fled down the Thames on boat. There are my reasons why I think both of them started the Civil war.
Reported by Lee Ryan 8E1 8/1/1
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