OCR Civil War Revision: Why Was The King Executed

Answers and evidence for these answers for Key Question Three - check out my other resources for the civil war which include quizzes and more revision cards :)

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  • Created by: Alice
  • Created on: 21-05-12 18:43

Key Events / Timeline

July 1646 : Parliament tries to disband army

May 1647 : Solemn Engagement - Army would not disband until they were paid

August 1647 : Putney Debates where the army debated what their political stance should be among themselves

1646 : The Newcastle Propositions - Parliament proposed that the armed forces should be controlled by Parliament for 20 years and that only Parliament could disband itself

June 1647 : Army seized the King at Holdenby 

June 1647: Declaration of the Army - said 'we are not mercenaries' and demanded that anti-army MPs should leave. 11MPs left as a result

Summer 1647 : Heads of Proposals - Army offered Charles a settlement where the Church would become independent of the State

1647 : London Counter Revolution - the conservative mob invaded the houses of Parliament and kicked out pro-army MPs and brought back anti-army ones

December 1648 : Pride's Purge 

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The King didn't see the opposition as a serious th

Played both sides against eachother by pretending to be interested in negotiations

  • Pretended to be interested in Parliament's Newcastle Propositions in 1646
  • Pretended to be interested in Army's Heads of Proposals in 1647
  • Made the Engagement in secret with the Scots in 1647 promising them Presbytarianism

Didn't take opposition seriously

  • Refused to plead at his trial in 1649 until after the sentence was passed
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The split meant Army and Parliament had different

Parliament mistreated the Army

  • Tried to dismiss the army without pay - the cavalry were owed 48 weeks pay 
  • Parliament alienated the army by voting that the army should only be 6000 men strong and made up of Presbyterians in May 1647
  • Repealed Vote of No Addresses when they wanted to negotiate with the King in 1648  - Army saw this as hypocritical

Army disrespected Parliament

  • Army swore the Solemn Engagement to demonstrate that they were unhappy with Parliament's treatment of them in 1647
  • Army took King from Parliament at Holdenby in June 1647
  • Army took control of Parliament in Pride's Purge 1648

Parliament and Army had different aims

  • There were seperate negotiations with the King
  • Army had Heads of Proposals in 1647
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Growth of different religious and political groups

Growth of religious groups

  • There were sects such as the 5th Monarchists and Quakers who wanted an indpendant church system

Growth of extreme political groups

  • Developement of the Levellers who wanted votes for everyone
  • Levellers agreed "Agreement of the People" which came to a head at the Putney Debates in August 1647
  • Putney Debates in August 1647 distracted the Army from negotiating with the Kings
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Army's Distrust of the King

Before Second Civil War

  • King escaped from Hampton court in November 1647 to negotiate with the Scots while pretending to negotiate with Army and Parliament
  • Charles went on to sign the Engagement with the Scots in December 1647

After Second Civil War

  • The Second Civil War increased the Army's mistrust of the King as he betrayed their trust
  • The War caused the Army to decide that Charles must be executed at the Windsor Prayer Meeting in 1648
  • Army enacted Pride's Purge in December 1648 as a response to Parliament opening negotiations with the King through the repeal of the Act of No Addresses
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