The English Civil Wars, Part 1 of 2
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Why did King Charles I storm the House of Commons on 4 January 1642?
It's January the 4th, 1642, in Westminster, London. A dreary, cold winter's afternoon. Inside the long, narrow old chapel of St. Stephen's, where the House of Commons meets, several hundred MPs are crowded onto long wooden benches, wrapped in thick cloaks, their breath clouding the chill air. A debate continues to roll on, swinging between old grievances and new dangers, when it is suddenly interrupted by the sound of a disturbance just outside the entrance, with voices raised and heavy footsteps. Within the hall, heads turn and the chatter thins to indignant consternation, because it sounds, for all the world, like a small troop arriving. The doors fling open, and into the chamber marches none other than the king, Charles I, dressed in a cloak and a broad-brimmed hat, armed men at his back, and barely contained rage on his face.
Striding into the center of the room, he announces that he has come here in person to seize five members of the Commons. His voice reaching to every corner of the stunned chamber, he calls out the names of the five men he accuses of treason, whom he believes have led resistance to his authority and driven the kingdom towards rebellion. The members of the House are outraged. This place is meant to be protected from precisely this kind of intrusion from the King. The Commons is not a courtroom for a royal arrest.
What political and religious disputes triggered the crisis that led to civil war?
With disbelief passing across the faces of the members of Parliament, King Charles moves through the chamber, glancing from side to side, searching the rows where the five should be sitting. But they are gone, slipped away before he arrived. He demands to know where they are, but is met by silence that stretches across the whole room. Those singled out for answers by the King avert their eyes, none of them willing to collaborate in this appalling breach of protocol. Undeterred, Charles moves up the chamber towards the Speaker's chair, the symbolic heart of the Commons. The Speaker, William Lenthol, is there, now caught between obedience to the King before him and duty to the House behind. When Charles again demands to know where the five members are, Lenthol kneels before him.
He answers with careful submission, telling the monarch plainly that he has neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak in this place, except as the house directs him. But beneath the submissiveness, the defiance is clear for all to hear. And for a few seconds, nobody is quite sure what to do. The king is not a man used to being refused, and yet here they all are, each man a subject, each man disobeying him. Around the chamber, MPs exchange stunned glances as Charles turns from the speaker's chair and storms his way back through the house. He has no choice but to leave without his prisons. The armed men follow him out. The doors close behind them. And in the silence that remains, natural order feels broken.
Charles has crossed the threshold in anger. And in doing so, he has crossed a line that makes it clear that the struggle between Crown and Parliament can't be settled by compromise.
How did Charles I’s belief in the divine right of kings and his relationship with Buckingham fuel rebellion?
The road to war lies open.
The English Civil Wars are among the most traumatic and consequential events in British history. What began as a struggle between Crown and Parliament over power, money and religion tore England, Ireland and Scotland apart, leading many to refer to the period as the Wars of Three Kingdoms. It was a conflict bitter enough to split communities, turn neighbour against neighbour and tear families to shreds. By the time it is over, thousands are dead, and the victors have exacted a revenge so shocking that many fear they have insulted God himself. But what disagreements triggered the political crisis that eventually collapsed into open war? How did Charles' leadership fan the flames of rebellion? And once England goes to war with itself, who will dominate in the struggle to shape the country's future?
I'm John Hopkins from the Noiser Podcast Network. This is part one of a two-part short history of the English Civil Wars.
When Charles' father, James I, dies in 1625, the new king inherits a kingdom already under pressure.
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Chapters
8 chapters
1
Why did King Charles I storm the House of Commons on 4 January 1642?
0:03–1:44
2
What political and religious disputes triggered the crisis that led to civil war?
1:44–3:50
3
How did Charles I’s belief in the divine right of kings and his relationship with Buckingham fuel rebellion?
3:50–7:16
4
Why did Charles I dissolve Parliament and rule without it for eleven years?
7:16–15:07
5
What was the significance of the Battle of Edge Hill in August 1642?
15:07–22:32
6
How did the siege of Chester illustrate the war’s impact on civilians?
22:32–29:55
7
When and how did the Parliamentarian “Model Army” give the Crown a decisive edge?
29:55–37:32
8
What were the political consequences after Charles I’s surrender in 1646?
37:32–53:06