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 English society of the 17th century. 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.
Dispute between king and parliament
The main cause of the war was the conflict between the executive and legislative branches. On one side was King Charles I of the Stuart dynasty, who ruled England as an absolute monarch, depriving the citizens of their rights. It was opposed by the parliament that had existed in the country since the 12th century, when the Magna Carta was granted. The House of Representatives of different estates did not want to put up with the fact that the king takes away her powers and conducts 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 was an echo of another important European event. In 1618-1648. in the Holy Roman Empirethe Thirty Years' War raged. It began as a struggle for Protestants for their rights, which was opposed by Catholics. Over time, all the strongest European powers, except for England, were drawn into the war. However, even on an isolated island, a religious dispute had to be resolved with 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 start of the revolution
The main causes of the bourgeois revolution in England, described above, should sooner or later lead to the use of weapons. However, this required a good reason. He was found in 1642. A few months earlier, a national uprising began in Ireland, the local population of which did everything to expel the English invaders from their island.
In London, they immediately began to prepare to send an army to the West in order to pacify the disaffected. But the start of the campaign was prevented by a dispute between parliament and the king. The parties could not agree on who would lead the army. Under recent laws, the army was subordinate to Parliament. However, Charles I wanted to seize the initiative in his own hands. In order to intimidate the deputies, he decided to suddenly arrest his most violent opponents in parliament. Among them were political figures such as John Pym and Denzil Hollis. But they all ran awayfrom the guards loyal to the king at the last moment.
Then Karl, frightened that because of his mistake he himself would become a victim of a backlash, fled to York. The king remotely began to test the waters and convince moderate members of parliament to go over to his side. Some of them really went to Stuart. The same applied to part of the army. Representatives of the conservative nobility, who wanted to preserve the old ways of absolute monarchy, turned out to be the layer of society that supported the king. Then Charles, believing in his own strength, went to London with an army to deal with the rebellious parliament. His campaign started on August 22, 1642, and with it the bourgeois revolution began in England.
Roundheads vs Cavaliers
Supporters of the parliament were called roundheads, and the 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 Edgehill. 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 commander. He was the son of the Elector of the Palatinate, Frederick, who started the Thirty Years' War in Germany. In the end, the emperor expelled Rupert's family from the country, and the young man became a mercenary. Before appearing in England, he gained a we alth of military experience through service in the Netherlands and training in Sweden. Now the king's nephew led the royalist troops forward, desiring to capture London, which remained in the hands of the supporters of Parliament. Thus,England during the bourgeois revolution split into two halves.
The Roundheads were supported by the nascent bourgeoisie and merchants. These social classes were the most enterprising in their country. They kept the economy, thanks to them, innovations developed. Due to the indiscriminate internal politics of the king, it became more and more difficult to remain an entrepreneur in England. That is why the bourgeoisie took the side of parliament, hoping, in case of victory, to receive the promised freedom in the conduct of their affairs.
Cromwell's personality
Oliver Cromwell became the political leader in London. He was from a poor landowning 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 general was revealed during the Battle of Marston Moor, which took place on July 2, 1644.
In it, not only the round-headed, but also the Scots opposed the king. This nation has been fighting for its independence from its southern neighbors for several centuries. Parliament in England made an alliance with the Scots against Charles. Thus the king found himself between two fronts. When the allied armies united, they set off towards York.
A total of about 40 thousand people from both sides participated in the Battle of Marston Moor. The supporters of the king, led by Prince Rupert, suffered a crushing defeat, after which the entire north of England was cleared of royalists. Oliver Cromwell and his cavalry were nicknamed "Ironsides"for his steadfastness and endurance at a critical moment.
Reforms in the army of Parliament
Thanks to the victory at Marston Moor, Oliver Cromwell became one of the leaders within Parliament. In the autumn of 1644, representatives of the counties, who were subjected to the highest taxes (to ensure the normal functioning of the army), spoke in the House. They reported that they could no longer contribute money to the treasury. This event was the impetus for reforms within the Roundhead Army.
The first two years the results of the war were unsatisfactory for the Parliament. The success at Marston Moor was the first victory of the Roundheads, but no one could say with certainty that luck would continue to accompany the opponents of the king. The army of Parliament was notable for its low level of discipline, since it was replenished mainly by inept recruits, who, among other things, were also reluctant to fight. Some of the recruits were suspected of having connections with the Cavaliers and betrayal.
New type army
The Parliament in England wanted to get rid of this painful situation in their army. Therefore, in the fall of 1644, a vote was held, 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 model." It was created on the model of the regiment of "ironsides", which from the very beginning was led by Cromwell himself. Now the army of Parliament was subject to severe discipline (it was forbiddendrinking alcohol, playing cards, etc.). In addition, the Puritans became its main backbone. It was a reform movement, completely opposite to the monarchical Catholicism of the Stuarts.
Puritans were distinguished by a harsh life and sacred attitude to the Bible. Reading the Gospel before battle and other Protestant rituals have become the norm in the New Model Army.
The final defeat of Charles I
After the reform, Cromwell and his army faced a decisive test in battle against the Cavaliers. On June 14, 1645, the Battle of Nesby took place in Northamptonshire. The royalists suffered a crushing defeat. After this, the first bourgeois revolution in England entered a new stage. The king was not just defeated. The Roundheads captured his convoy and gained access to secret correspondence in which Karl Stuart called for the help of the French. From the correspondence it became clear that the monarch was ready to literally sell his country to foreigners, just to stay on the throne.
These documents soon received wide publicity, and the public finally turned away from Karl. The king himself first fell into the hands of the Scots, who sold him to the English for a large sum of money. At first, the monarch was kept in prison, but he had not yet been formally overthrown. They tried to negotiate with Charles (parliament, Cromwell, foreigners), offering different conditions for returning to power. After he escaped from the cell, and then was captured again, his fate was sealed. Carl Stewart was put on trial and sentenced to death. thirtyJanuary 1649 he was beheaded.
Pride purge of parliament
If we consider the revolution in England as a conflict between Charles and Parliament, then it ended back in 1646. However, a broader interpretation of this term is common in historiography, which covers the entire period of the unstable state of power in the country in the middle of the 17th century. After the king was defeated, conflicts began within the parliament. Various factions fought for power, wanting to get rid of competitors.
Religious affiliation became the main feature by which politicians shared. Presbyterians and Independents fought among themselves in Parliament. They were representatives of different currents of Protestantism. On December 6, 1648, the Pride purge of Parliament took place. The army supported the Independents and expelled the Presbyterians. A new parliament, called the Rump, briefly established a republic in 1649.
War with the Scots
Large-scale historical events lead to unexpected consequences. The overthrow of the monarchy only increased national strife. The Irish and Scots tried to achieve independence with the help of weapons. Parliament sent an army against them, led again by Oliver Cromwell. The causes of the bourgeois revolution in England also lay 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 ended their struggle for independence.
Cromwell's dictatorship
Thanks to his success, Cromwell became not only popular, but also an influential politician. In 1653 he dissolved Parliament and established a protectorate. In other words, Cromwell became the sole dictator. He assumed the title of Lord Protector of England, Scotland and Ireland.
Cromwell managed to calm the country for a while thanks to his harsh measures against opponents. In fact, the republic found itself in a state of war, which was the 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.
| Date | Ruler |
| 1625-1649 | Charles I Stuart |
| 1649-1653 | Parliament (Rump) |
| 1653-1658 | Oliver Cromwell |
| 1658-1659 | Richard Cromwell |
| 1660-1685 | Charles II Stuart |
End of Protectorate
In 1658, Cromwell died suddenly of typhus. His son Richard came to power, but he was the complete opposite of his strong-willed father in character. Under him, anarchy began, and the country was filled with various adventurers who wanted to seize power.
Historical events happened one after another. In May 1659, Richard Cromwell voluntarily resigned, yielding to the demands of the army. In the current circumstances of chaos, Parliament began to negotiate with the sonof the executed Charles I (also Charles) about the restoration of the monarchy.
Restoration of the monarchy
The new king returned home from exile. In 1660, he became the next monarch from the Stuart dynasty. Thus ended the revolution. However, the restoration led to the end of absolutism. The old feudalism was completely destroyed. The bourgeois revolution in England, in short, led to the birth of capitalism. It enabled England (and later Great Britain) to become the world's leading economic power in the 19th century. Such were the results of the bourgeois revolution in England. An industrial and scientific revolution has begun, which has become a key event for the progress of all mankind.
