The bourgeois revolution in England: date, causes, consequences

The famous bourgeois revolution in England (1642-1660) is known in our country under this name thanks to Soviet textbooks, which focused on the class struggle in 17th-century English society. At the same time, these events in Europe are known simply as the “civil war”. She became one of the key phenomena of her era and determined the vector of development of England over the following centuries.

The dispute between the king and parliament

The main cause of the war was the conflict between the executive and legislative branches. On the one hand, there was King Charles I of the Stuart dynasty, who ruled England as an absolute monarch, depriving citizens of their rights. He was opposed by the parliament, which had existed in the country since the 12th century, when the Magna Carta was granted. The House of Representatives of various classes did not want to put up with the fact that the king was taking away her powers and was conducting a dubious policy.

The bourgeois revolution in England had other important prerequisites. During the war, representatives of various Christian movements (Catholics, Anglicans, Puritans) tried to sort things out. This conflict became an echo of another important European event. In the years 1618-1648. in the Holy Roman Empire, the Thirty Years War raged. It began as a struggle of Protestants for their rights, which the Catholics opposed. Over time, all the strongest European powers, except England, became involved in the war. However, on an isolated island, a religious dispute had to be resolved with the help of weapons.

Another feature that distinguished the bourgeois revolution in England was the national opposition of the British, as well as the Scots, Welsh and Irish. These three peoples were subjugated by the monarchy and wanted to achieve independence by taking advantage of the war within the kingdom.

The beginning of the revolution

The main reasons for the bourgeois revolution in England, described above, should sooner or later lead to the use of weapons. However, a significant reason was needed for this. He was found in 1642. A few months earlier, a national uprising began in Ireland, the local population of which did everything possible to expel the English interventionists from their island.

In London, they immediately began to prepare to send the army to the west in order to pacify the discontented. But the start of the campaign was hindered by a dispute between parliament and the king. The parties could not agree on who would lead the army. According to recently passed laws, the army was subordinate to parliament. However, Charles I wanted to seize the initiative. To intimidate the deputies, he decided to unexpectedly arrest his most violent opponents in parliament. Among them were politicians such as John Pym and Denzil Hollis. But they all fled from the loyal guard of the king at the last moment.

Then Karl, frightened that because of his mistake he would become a victim of a response, fled to York. The king remotely began to probe the soil and persuade moderate members of parliament to go over to his side. Some of them did leave for Stuart. The same was true for part of the army. Representatives of the conservative nobility, who wanted to preserve the old order of the absolute monarchy, turned out to be the layer of society that supported the king. Then Karl, believing in his own strength, went with his army to London to crack down on the rebellious parliament. His campaign started on August 22, 1642, and with it the bourgeois revolution in England began.

"Round-headed" versus "gentlemen"

Supporters of the parliament were called round-headed, and defenders of the royal power - cavaliers. The first serious battle between the two warring forces took place on October 23, 1642 near the town of Edgill. Thanks to their first victory, the cavaliers managed to defend Oxford, which became the residence of Charles I.

The king made his nephew Rupert his chief military leader. He was the son of the Elector of the Palatinate Frederick, because of which the Thirty Years War began in Germany. In the end, the emperor expelled the Rupert family from the country, and the young man became a mercenary. Before appearing in England, he gained rich military experience through service in the Netherlands and training in Sweden. Now the king’s nephew led the royalist troops forward, wanting to capture London, which remained in the hands of supporters of parliament. Thus, England during the bourgeois revolution split into two halves.

The round-headed were supported by the nascent bourgeoisie and traders. These social classes were the most proactive in their country. They kept the economy, thanks to them, innovation developed. Due to the king’s indiscriminate domestic policy, it became increasingly difficult to remain an entrepreneur in England. That is why the bourgeoisie sided with the parliament, hoping in case of victory to receive the promised freedom in conducting their affairs.

Cromwell's personality

The political leader in London was Oliver Cromwell. He was from a poor landowner family. He earned his influence and fortune thanks to cunning transactions with church real estate. With the outbreak of war, he became an officer in the parliamentary army. His talent as a commander was revealed during the Battle of Marston Moore, which took place on July 2, 1644.

In it, not only round-headed, but also the Scots, opposed the king. This nation for several centuries has fought for its independence from its southern neighbors. Parliament in England entered into an alliance with the Scots against Charles. Thus the king found himself between two fronts. When the Allied armies united, they set off for York.

The battle of Marston Moore was attended by a total of about 40 thousand people on both sides. King's supporters, led by Prince Rupert, suffered a crushing defeat, after which the whole of the north of England was cleared of royalists. Oliver Cromwell and his cavalry received the nickname "Iron Lateral" for their stamina and endurance at a critical moment.

Reforms in the Army of Parliament

Thanks to the victory at Marston Moore, Oliver Cromwell became one of the leaders within the parliament. In the autumn of 1644, representatives of the counties spoke in the chamber, who were taxed with the highest taxes (to ensure the normal functioning of the army). They reported that they can no longer deposit money in the treasury. This event was the impetus for reforms within the army of round-headed.

For the first two years, the outcome of the war was unsatisfactory for parliament. Success at Marston Moore was the first victory of the round-headed, but no one could say with certainty that luck would continue to accompany the opponents of the king. The army of the parliament was notable for its low level of discipline, as it was replenished mainly due to inept recruits, who, among other things, were also reluctant to fight. Some recruits were suspected of having links with gentlemen and betrayal.

Army of a new sample

Parliament in England wanted to get rid of this painful situation in their army. Therefore, in the fall of 1644, a vote took place, according to the results of which control over the army single-handedly passed to Cromwell. He was instructed to carry out reforms, which was successfully done in a short time.

The new army was called the "army of a new standard." It was created according to the model of the “iron-sided” regiment, which Cromwell himself led from the very beginning. Now the army of the parliament was subordinated to harsh discipline (it was forbidden to drink alcohol, play cards, etc.). In addition, the Puritans became its main skeleton. It was a reform movement, completely opposite to the Stuart monarchical Catholicism.

Puritans were distinguished by a harsh way of life and a sacred attitude to the Bible. In the Army of a new standard, the reading of the Gospel before the battle and other Protestant rites became the norm.

The final defeat of Charles I

After the reform, Cromwell and his army faced a decisive test in the battle against the gentlemen. June 14, 1645 in the county of Northamptonshire, the battle of Nesby took place. The royalists suffered a crushing defeat. After this, the first bourgeois revolution in England moved to a new stage. The king was not just defeated. Round-headed captured his convoy and gained access to secret correspondence in which Karl Stewart called for French help. From the correspondence it became clear that the monarch was literally ready to sell his country to foreigners, just to stay on the throne.

These documents were soon widely publicized, and the public finally turned away from Karl. The king himself was first in the hands of the Scots, who sold it to the British for a large sum of money. At first, the monarch was held in prison, but was not formally overthrown yet. They tried to negotiate with Karl (parliament, Cromwell, foreigners), offering different conditions for returning to power. After he escaped from the cell, and then was again captured, his fate was decided. Karl Stewart went on trial and was sentenced to death. On January 30, 1649 he was beheaded.

Prideova Parliament Cleaning

If we consider the revolution in England as a conflict between Charles and Parliament, then it ended back in 1646. However, historiography has a wider interpretation of this term, which covers the entire period of the unstable state of power in the country in the middle of the XVII century. After the king was defeated, conflicts began within the parliament. Different groups fought for power, wanting to get rid of competitors.

The main sign by which politicians shared was religious affiliation. In parliament, Presbyterians and Independents fought among themselves. These were representatives of different movements of Protestantism. On December 6, 1648, the Pride’s purge of the parliament took place. The army supported the independents and expelled the Presbyterians. The new parliament, called Ochvost, in 1649, briefly established a republic.

War with the scots

Large-scale historical events lead to unexpected consequences. The overthrow of the monarchy only intensified national strife. The Irish and the Scots tried with arms to achieve independence. Parliament sent an army against them, led by Oliver Cromwell. The reasons for the bourgeois revolution in England also consisted in the unequal position of different peoples, therefore, until this conflict was settled, it could not end peacefully. In 1651, Cromwell's army defeated the Scots at the Battle of Worcester and put an end to their struggle for independence.

Cromwell's dictatorship

Thanks to his success, Cromwell became not only a popular, but also an influential politician. In 1653, he dispersed parliament and established a protectorate. In other words, Cromwell became the sole dictator. He took the title of Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.

Cromwell was able to briefly reassure the country thanks to his tough measures against opponents. In fact, the republic found itself in a martial law, as a result of the bourgeois revolution in England. The table shows how the power in the country changed over the long years of the civil war.

End of protectorate

In 1658, Cromwell suddenly died of typhus. His son Richard came to power, but by nature he was the exact opposite of his strong-willed father. Under him, anarchy began, and the country was flooded with various adventurers who wanted to seize power.

Historical events occurred one after another. In May 1659, Richard Cromwell voluntarily resigned, yielding to the demands of the army. In the prevailing circumstances of chaos, parliament began to negotiate with the son of executed Charles I (also Charles) to restore the monarchy.

Restoration of the monarchy

The new king returned to his homeland from exile. In 1660, he became the next monarch of the Stuart dynasty. So the revolution ended. However, the restoration led to the end of absolutism. Old feudalism was completely destroyed. The bourgeois revolution in England, in short, led to the birth of capitalism. He allowed England (and later Great Britain) to become the leading economic power in the world in the 19th century. Such were the results of the bourgeois revolution in England. An industrial and scientific revolution began, which became a key event for the progress of all mankind.