Significance of the English Civil War

The English Civil War was a historically significant event that broke out in 1642 after the long political, religious, and financial turmoil between the Monarch and parliament lead to the creation of two armies. Those being the Royalists (who sided with the King), and the Parliamentarians (who supported the ideals of parliament). The war took place between 1625 and 1629 and ended seven years later with the execution of King Charles I. One must be aware of the social, economic, and political effects to fully recognize the extent of the significance that was brought to modern day society after the war.

The economic problems that plagued the reign of Charles were a crucial factor that lead up to the civil war. After the outbreak of the English Civil War, the economy of the City of London was varied and explosive, closely connected through a series of commercial networks between the rest of England and Europe as well as Asia and North America. It remained as the powerhouse for the parliamentarians during the Civil War and financially maintained and gave Parliament the ability to take arms against the Royalists. But the economy had plummeted into a crisis that left England vulnerable, as demonstrated in the Dutch raid of 1667, whereby the economy was in such turmoil that the king refused to pay the wages of his navy, and those employed by the navy deserted. The defenselessness of the British navy and its defeat in the raid lead to the creation of a new reformed navy in England, which would then be one of the strongest navies in the world. With that came incredible changes to the way in which militaries functioned. The armies became professional and turned into a full time paying job, contrary to before the the Civil War, when armies were temporary and weren’t necessarily a full time profession. After the Civil War came to an end, military officials were prohibited from holding any political office without prior resignation from the army.

The refusal of increased taxation to provide money for the war efforts of Charles I by Parliament ultimately lead up to the turmoil, along with the necessity of parliament’s approval for the implementation of taxes. But the victory that the Parliamentarians had over the monarch changed the way in which taxes were implemented.

The outcome of the English Civil War has had an incredible effect in modern politics. The strong belief that Charles had in the Divine Rights of Kings lead to his complete disregard of parliament’s abilities to create laws by giving the Court of the Star Chamber (originally created for the enforcement of laws) the ability to create laws within his own kingdom. The loss of power and the eventual arrest of five members of parliament accused of treason gave way to the establishment of both the Royalist and the Parliamentarian armies. After the Royalists were defeated, and Charles was executed, England became a commonwealth republic that was later established as a protectorate by Oliver Cromwell. But through the course of the years, Parliament reinstated the monarchy with the condition that it would not have the same state of power as it had before the war, and that Parliament had the right to create and institute laws without the need of the monarch’s approval. The re institution of the monarchy further lead to the establishment of the Constitutional Monarchy, which is still the form