On a cold January morning in 1649, not an ordinary criminal, but a king who had ruled his people for twenty-four years, rose to the scaffold in the center of London. On this day, the country completed the next stage of its history, and the execution of Charles 1 became the finale. In England, the date of this event is not marked on the calendar, but it entered its history forever.
Scion of the noble family of Stuarts
The Stuarts are a dynasty that came from an old Scottish home. Its representatives, more than once occupying the English and Scottish thrones, left their mark on the history of the state like no other. Their rise dates back to the beginning of the 14th century, when Count W alter Stuart (Steward) married the daughter of King Robert I Bruce. It is unlikely that this marriage was preceded by a romantic story, most likely, the English monarch considered it good to strengthen his connection with the Scottish aristocracy with this union.
Charles the First, whose tragic fate will be discussed in this article, was one of the descendants of the Honorable Count W alter, and, like him, belonged to the Stuart dynasty. With his birth, he "made happy" future subjects on November 191600, having been born in the old residence of the Scottish monarchs - Denfermline Palace.
For the subsequent accession to the throne, little Charles had an impeccable origin - his father was King James VI of Scotland, and his mother was Queen Anne of Denmark. However, the case was spoiled by Henry's older brother, the Prince of Wales, who was born six years earlier, and therefore had a priority right to the crown.
In general, fate was not particularly generous to Karl, of course, if this can be said about a boy from the royal family. As a child, he was a sickly child, somewhat delayed in development, and therefore later than his peers began to walk and talk. Even when his father succeeded to the English throne in 1603 and moved to London, Charles could not follow him, as the court physicians feared that he would not survive the road.
It should be noted that physical weakness and thinness accompanied him all his life. Even in the ceremonial portraits, the artists failed to give this monarch any kind of majestic appearance. Yes, and the height of Karl 1 Stuart was only 162 cm.
The path to the royal throne
In 1612, an event occurred that determined the entire future fate of Charles. That year, a terrible typhus epidemic broke out in London, from which it was impossible to hide even within the walls of the royal castle. Fortunately, he himself was not injured, as he was at that time in Scotland, but his older brother Henry, who was trained from birth to rule the country, and on whom all high society placed greathope.
This death opened the way to power for Charles, and as soon as the mourning ceremonies ended in Westminster Abbey, where Henry's ashes rested, he was elevated to the rank of Prince of Wales - heir to the throne, and over the next years his life was filled with all sorts of preparations for fulfilling such a lofty mission.
When Charles was twenty years old, his father took care of arranging his future family life, since the marriage of the heir to the throne is a purely political matter, and Hymeneus is not allowed to shoot at him. James VI stopped his choice on the Spanish infanta Anna. This decision aroused the indignation of members of parliament who did not want a dynastic rapprochement with the Catholic state. Looking ahead, it should be noted that the future execution of Charles 1 will have a largely religious background, and such a reckless choice of the bride was the first step towards it.
However, at that moment, nothing foreshadowed trouble, and Karl went to Madrid with a desire to personally intervene in marriage negotiations, and at the same time to look at the bride. On the trip, the groom was accompanied by a favorite, or rather, his dad's lover - George Villiers. According to historians, King James VI had a big and loving heart, in which not only court ladies, but also their honorable husbands could fit.
To the disappointment of the English court, negotiations in Madrid stalled, as the Spanish side demanded that the prince convert to Catholicism, and this was completely unacceptable. Carl and his new friend George were so hurt by the obstinacySpaniards, who, upon returning home, demanded that Parliament break off relations with their royal court, and even the landing of an expeditionary force to conduct hostilities. It is not known how it would have ended, but, fortunately, at that moment a more accommodating bride turned up - the daughter of King Henry IV of France, Henrietta-Maria, who became his wife, and the rejected groom calmed down.
At the pinnacle of power
Charles 1 Stuart ascended the throne after the death of his father, which followed in 1625, and from the very first days he began to conflict with parliament, demanding subsidies from him for all kinds of military adventures. Not getting what he wanted (the economy was cracking at the seams), he dismissed it twice, but was forced to convene it again each time. As a result, the king obtained the necessary funds by imposing illegal and very burdensome taxes on the population of the country. History knows many similar examples, when short-sighted monarchs plugged budget holes by tightening taxes.
Following years also did not bring improvements. His friend and favorite George Villiers, who after the death of James VI finally moved to the chambers of Charles, was soon killed. This scoundrel turned out to be dishonest, for which he paid the price by collecting taxes. Not having the slightest idea in the economy, the king always considered the only way to replenish the treasury more and more requisitions, fines, the introduction of various monopolies and similar measures. The execution of Charles 1, which followed in the twenty-fourth year of his reign, was a worthy finale to such a policy.
Shortly after the assassination of Villiersom, he stood out from the circle of courtiersa certain Thomas Wentworth, who managed to make a brilliant career during the reign of Charles the First. He owns the idea of establishing absolute royal power in the state, based on a regular army. Later becoming viceroy in Ireland, he successfully implemented this plan, suppressing dissent with fire and sword.
Reforms causing social tension in Scotland
Charles the First did not show foresight in the religious conflicts that torn the country apart. The fact is that the population of Scotland for the most part consisted of followers of the Presbyterian and Puritan churches, belonging to two of the many branches of Protestantism.
This often served as a pretext for conflicts with representatives of the Anglican Church, which dominated England and was supported by the government. Unwilling to seek a compromise, the king tried to establish her dominance everywhere by violent measures, which caused extreme indignation among the Scots, and ultimately led to bloodshed.
However, the main mistake that resulted in the civil war in England, the execution of Charles 1 and the subsequent political crisis, should be considered his extremely ill-conceived and mediocre policy towards Scotland. Most researchers of such a sadly ended reign unanimously agree on this.
The main direction of his activity was the strengthening of unlimited royal and ecclesiastical power. Such a policy was fraught with extremely negative consequences. In Scotland for a long timetimes, traditions have developed that consolidated the rights of the estates and elevated the inviolability of private property to the law, and the monarch encroached on them in the first place.
The shortsightedness of royal policy
In addition, it should be noted that the biography of Charles 1 was formed tragically not so much because of the goals he pursued, but because of the ways to implement them. His actions, usually overly straightforward and ill-conceived, have invariably aroused popular outrage and fueled opposition.
In 1625, the king turned against himself the vast majority of the Scottish nobility by issuing a decree that went down in history under the name "Act of Revocation". According to this document, all the decrees of the English kings, starting from 1540, on the transfer of land plots to the nobles were annulled. To save them, the owners were required to contribute to the treasury an amount equal to the value of the land.
In addition, the same decree ordered the return to the Anglican Church of its lands located in Scotland, and seized from it during the Reformation, which established Protestantism in the country, which fundamentally affected the religious interests of the population. It is not surprising that after the publication of such a provocative document, many protest petitions were submitted to the king from representatives of various sectors of society. However, he not only defiantly refused to consider them, but also aggravated the situation by introducing new taxes.
The nomination of the episcopate and the abolition of the Scottish Parliament
From the first days of his reign, Charles Ibegan to nominate Anglican bishops to the highest government posts. They were also given the majority of seats in the royal council, which significantly reduced the representation of the Scottish nobility in it, and gave new reason for discontent. As a result, the Scottish aristocracy was removed from power and deprived of access to the king.
Fearing the strengthening of the opposition, the king from 1626 practically suspended the activities of the Parliament of Scotland, and by all means prevented the convening of the General Assembly of the Scottish Church, into whose divine services a number of Anglican canons alien to them were introduced by his order. It was a fatal mistake, and the execution of Charles 1, which became the sad end of his reign, was the inevitable consequence of such miscalculations.
Beginning of the first civil war
When it came to the infringement of the political rights of the nobility, such actions provoked protest only in their narrow class circle, but in the case of violation of religious norms, the king turned the whole people against himself. This again caused a flood of indignation and protest petitions. Like last time, the king refused to consider them, and added fuel to the fire by executing one of the most active petitioners, presenting him with the usual charge of treason in such cases.
The spark that blew up the powder magazine in Scotland was an attempt to hold a divine service in Edinburgh on July 23, 1637, built on the basis of the Anglican liturgy. This caused not only indignation among the citizens, but also an open revolt that engulfed most of thecountry, and went down in history as the First Civil War. The situation escalated with each passing day. The leaders of the noble opposition drafted and sent to the king a protest against the church reform alien to the people, and the widespread rise of the Anglican episcopate.
The king's attempt to defuse the situation by forcibly removing the most active oppositionists from Edinburgh only exacerbated general discontent. As a result, under pressure from his opponents, Charles I was forced to make concessions by removing the bishops hated by the people from the royal council.
The result of general unrest was the convening of the National Convention of Scotland, consisting of delegates from all social strata of society, and headed by representatives of the highest aristocracy. Its participants drafted and signed a manifesto on the joint actions of the entire Scottish nation against attempts to make any changes in their religious foundations. A copy of the document was handed to the king, and he was forced to accept. However, this was only a temporary lull, and the lesson taught to the monarch by his subjects did not go to the future. Therefore, the execution of Charles 1 Stuart was the logical conclusion of the chain of his mistakes.
A new civil war
This arrogant, but very unlucky ruler disgraced himself in another part of his subordinate kingdom - Ireland. There, for a certain and very solid bribe, he promised patronage to local Catholics, however, having received money from them, he immediately forgot about everything. Offended by this attitude, the Irish took up arms to refresh the king's memory with it. Despite the fact that thistime, Charles I finally lost the support of his own parliament, and with it the main part of the population, he tried with a small number of regiments loyal to him, by force to change the situation. So, on August 23, 1642, the Second Civil War began in England.
It should be noted that the commander Charles I was as mediocre as the ruler. If at the beginning of hostilities he managed to win several fairly easy victories, then on July 14, 1645, his army was utterly defeated in the battle of Nesby. Not only was the king captured by his own subjects, but an archive containing a lot of compromising material was also captured in his camp. As a result, many of his political and financial machinations, as well as appeals for military assistance to foreign states, became public.
Crowned Prisoner
Until 1647, Charles I was held in Scotland as a prisoner. However, even in this unenviable role, he continued to make attempts to negotiate with representatives of various political groups and religious movements, generously distributing promises right and left that no one believed. In the end, the jailers got the only possible benefit from it, transferring (selling) for four hundred thousand pounds sterling to the English Parliament. The Stuarts are a dynasty that has seen a lot in its lifetime, but it has never experienced such a shame.
Once in London, the deposed king was placed in Holmby Castle, and then transferred to Hampton Court Palace, under house arrest. There, Charles had a real opportunity to return to power, accepting the proposal with which he was approached by a prominent politician of that era, Oliver Cromwell, for whom the execution of Charles 1, which had become quite real by that time, was unprofitable.
The conditions proposed to the king did not contain any serious restrictions on royal powers, but even here he missed his chance. Desiring even greater concessions, and starting secret negotiations with various political groups in the country, Charles evaded a direct answer to Cromwell, as a result of which he lost patience and abandoned his plan. Thus, the execution of Charles 1 Stuart was only a matter of time.
The tragic denouement was accelerated by his escape to the Isle of Wight, located in the English Channel, not far from the British coast. However, this adventure also ended in failure, as a result of which house arrest in the palace was replaced by imprisonment in a prison cell. From there, Baron Arthur Capel tried to rescue his former monarch, whom Charles once made a peer and elevated to the very top of the court hierarchy. But, not having sufficient strength, he soon found himself behind bars.
Trial and execution of the deposed king
There is no doubt that the most characteristic feature of this offspring of the Stewart family was a penchant for intrigue, which as a result killed him. For example, while making vague promises to Cromwell, he was simultaneously negotiating behind the scenes with his opponents from Parliament, and receiving money from Catholics, he also supported Anglican bishops. And the execution of the kingCharles 1 was greatly accelerated by the fact that, even while under arrest, he did not stop sending out calls for rebellion everywhere, which in his position was complete madness.
As a result, most of the regiments submitted a petition to Parliament demanding a trial of the former king. It was 1649, and long gone were the hopes with which British society greeted his ascension to the throne. Instead of a wise and far-sighted politician, it has received a proud and limited adventurer.
To conduct the trial of Charles I, Parliament appointed one hundred and thirty-five commissioners, headed by a prominent jurist of the time, John Bradshaw. The execution of King Charles 1 was a foregone conclusion, and therefore the whole procedure did not take much time. The former monarch, a man who only yesterday commanded a mighty power, was unanimously recognized as a tyrant, traitor and enemy of the fatherland. It is clear that the only possible sentence for such grave crimes could be death.
The execution of the English King Charles 1 took place in the early morning of January 30, 1649 in London. We must give him his due - even having ascended the scaffold, he retained his presence of mind, and addressed the assembled crowd with his dying speech. In it, the convict stated that civil liberties and freedoms are provided exclusively by the presence of a government and laws that guarantee citizens life and inviolability of property. But at the same time, this does not give the people the right to claim to rule the country. The monarch and the crowd, he said, are completely different concepts.
Thus, even at the threshold of death, Karl upheld the principlesabsolutism, to which all the Stuarts were adherents. England still had a long way to go before a constitutional monarchy was fully established, and the people, contrary to their opinion, got the opportunity to participate in the government of the state. However, the foundation had already been laid.
According to the memoirs of contemporaries, the execution of the English King Charles 1 gathered a huge crowd of people who were in a state close to shock throughout this bloody performance. The climax came when the executioner lifted the severed head of their former sovereign by the hair. However, the traditional words in such cases that it belongs to a state criminal and traitor were not heard.
So, 1649 put a bloody end to the reign of this king. However, another eleven years will pass, and in the history of England there will come a period called the Restoration of the Stuarts, when representatives of this ancient family will again ascend the throne. The second civil war and the execution of Charles 1 were its eve.
