The bourgeois revolution in England: the date, causes, consequences

The famous bourgeois revolution in England (1642-1660) is known in this country under this name thanks to Soviet textbooks, which focused on the class struggle in English society of the XVII century. At the same time, these events in Europe are known simply as "civil war". It became one of the key phenomena of its epoch and determined the vector of development of England during the following centuries.

The dispute between the king and parliament

The main cause of the war was the conflict between the executive and legislative powers. On the one hand was King Charles I of the Stuart dynasty, who ruled England as an absolute monarch, depriving citizens of their rights. The parliament, which existed in the country since the 12th century, when the Magna Carta was granted, opposed it . The House of Representatives of different classes did not want to reconcile the fact that the king takes away her powers and leads a dubious policy.

The bourgeois revolution in England had other important prerequisites. During the war, representatives of different Christian currents (Catholics, Anglicans, Puritans) tried to find out the relationship. This conflict became the echo of another important European event. In 1618-1648 years. The Thirty Years' War raged on the territory of the Holy Roman Empire . It began as a struggle of Protestants for their rights, which the Catholics opposed. Over time, all the strongest European powers, except Britain, were drawn into the war. However, even on an isolated island, a religious dispute was 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, the Welsh and the Irish. These three nations were conquered by the monarchy and wanted to achieve independence by taking advantage of the war inside the kingdom.

The beginning of revolution

The main causes of the bourgeois revolution in England, described above, were sooner or later to lead to the use of weapons. However, this required a good reason. He was found in 1642. A few months before that, a national uprising had begun in Ireland, the local population of which had done everything to expel the British interventionists from their island.

In London, they immediately began to prepare for sending the army west, in order to pacify the discontented. But the beginning of the campaign was impeded by the dispute between the parliament and the king. The parties could not agree on who would lead the army. According to the recently adopted laws, the army was subordinate to the parliament. However, Charles I wanted to seize the initiative. To intimidate the deputies, he decided to suddenly arrest the most fierce opponents in parliament. Among them were politicians like John Pym and Denzil Hollis. But they all escaped from the Guard loyal to the King at the last moment.

Then Karl, frightened that because of his mistake he himself would fall prey to a reaction, fled to York. The King remotely began to probe the ground and persuade the moderate members of parliament to turn over to their side. Some of them really went to see Stuart. The same applied to part of the army. Representatives of the conservative nobility, who wanted to preserve the old orders of absolute monarchy, were the layer of society that supported the king. Then Charles, believing in his strength, with the army went to London to crack down on the rebellious parliament. His campaign began on August 22, 1642, and with it the bourgeois revolution in England began.

"Roundhead" against "knights"

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

The king made his chief military commander his nephew Rupert. He was the son of the Elector of the Palatinate Friedrich, because of which the Thirty Years' War began in Germany. In the end, the emperor drove Rupert's family out of the country, and the boy became a mercenary. Prior to his arrival in England, he received a wealth of military experience through his service in the Netherlands and training in Sweden. Now the king's nephew led the Royalist troops forward, wanting to seize London, which remained in the hands of the supporters of the parliament. Thus, during the bourgeois revolution, England split into two halves.

Roundheaded supported by the emerging bourgeoisie and merchants. These social classes were the most proactive in their country. They held on to the economy, thanks to them, innovations developed. Because of the indiscriminate domestic policy of the king, it became increasingly difficult to remain an entrepreneur in England. That is why the bourgeoisie took the side of the parliament, hoping, in case of victory, to obtain the promised freedom in the conduct of its affairs.

Personality of Cromwell

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

In it against the king were not only round-headed, but also the Scots. This nation has for several centuries fought for its independence from its southern neighbors. Parliament in England concluded an alliance with the Scots against Charles. Thus the king was between two fronts. When the Allied armies joined together, they set out for York.

In the Battle of Marston-Moore, a total of about 40 thousand people from both sides participated. The supporters of the king, led by Prince Rupert, suffered a crushing defeat, after which the whole north of England was cleared of the royalists. Oliver Cromwell and his cavalry received the nickname "Ironbearers" for their 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 the parliament. In the autumn of 1644 representatives of the counties were represented in the House, who were taxed with the greatest taxes (to ensure the normal functioning of the army). They reported that they can no longer contribute money to the treasury. This event was the impetus for reforms within the army round-headed.

The first two years of the war were unsatisfactory for the parliament. Success at Marston-Moor was the first victory of roundheads, but no one could say with certainty that success will continue to accompany the opponents of the king. The army of the parliament was distinguished by a low level of discipline, as it was replenished mainly due to inept recruits who, among other things, also fought reluctantly. Some recruits were suspected of having ties to the cavaliers and betrayal.

The army of a new sample

Parliament in England wanted to get rid of this painful situation in its army. Therefore, in the autumn of 1644, a vote took place, according to which the control of the army was transferred to Cromwell alone. 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 "iron-bears", which from the very beginning was led by Cromwell himself. Now the army of the parliament was subject to severe discipline (it was forbidden to drink alcohol, play cards, etc.). In addition, its main backbone was the Puritans. This was a reformatory trend, completely opposite to the monarchical Catholicism of the Stuarts.

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

The final defeat of Charles I

After the reform, Cromwell and his army faced a decisive test in battle against the cavaliers. 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 went to a new stage. The king was not just defeated. Roundheads captured his convoy and got access to secret correspondence, in which Charles Stewart called for help from the French. From 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 Charles. The king himself first found himself in the hands of the Scots, who for a large sum of money sold it to the British. At first the monarch was kept in prison, but he was not formally deposed. With Karl tried to agree (Parliament, Cromwell, foreigners), offering different conditions for a return to power. After he fled the cell, and then again fell into captivity, his fate was solved. Carl Stewart came to court and was sentenced to death. January 30, 1649 he was beheaded.

Prideau cleansing parliament

If we consider the revolution in England as a conflict between Charles and the Parliament, it ended as far back as 1646. However, in historiography there is a broader interpretation of this term, 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. Different groups fought for power, wanting to get rid of competitors.

The main feature on which politicians shared was religious affiliation. Presbyterians and independents fought among themselves in the parliament. They were representatives of different trends of Protestantism. On December 6, 1648, Prideva was purged of Parliament. The army supported the independents and expelled the Presbyterian. The new parliament, called Okhvostem, in 1649, established the republic for a short time.

War with the Scots

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

Cromwell's Dictatorship

Thanks to his successes, Cromwell became not only a popular but also an influential politician. In 1653 he dispersed the 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 managed to calm down the country for a short time thanks to his tough measures against opponents. In fact, the republic was in a state of war, to which the bourgeois revolution in England led. The table shows how the power in the country changed during the long years of the civil war.

End of protectorate

In 1658, Cromwell died suddenly of typhus. His son Richard came to power, but he was the exact opposite of his strong-willed father. With 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 current circumstances of the chaos, the parliament began to negotiate with the son of the executed Charles I (also Karl) about the restoration of the monarchy.

Restoration of the monarchy

The new king returned to his homeland from emigration. In 1660, he became another monarch from the dynasty of the Stuarts. Thus ended the revolution. However, the restoration led to the fact that with absolutism was over. Old feudalism was completely destroyed. Briefly speaking, the bourgeois revolution in England led to the emergence of capitalism. He allowed England (and later Great Britain) to become the leading economic power in the world in the XIX 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.