Speaker 1: Hello, and Welcome to Western civ. Episode four hundred and
Speaker 1: sixty three. The war begins on December the twenty first,
Speaker 1: fourteen sixty one. Elections were held in London for the
Speaker 1: Common Council, and the results were clear the Puritans were
Speaker 1: in the ascendancy. When the lords gathered in Westminster at
Speaker 1: the end of December, a crowd of apprentices and others
Speaker 1: began to shout out at them, no bishops, no poete
Speaker 1: bish Lords. An opposing force made up of military volunteers
Speaker 1: and soldiers of fortune who had also gathered in the city.
Speaker 1: They had actually come to serve the King and ire
Speaker 1: and elsewhere, but they could also be supported to guarantee
Speaker 1: to turn upon the crowds and support Parliament. At this point,
Speaker 1: the king realized these soldiers might be useful for putting
Speaker 1: down any brief rebellion. Problem, as we're about to see
Speaker 1: is that this wasn't going to be a rebellion. This
Speaker 1: was going to be outright civil war.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: This was actually the period, so we're talking late sixteen
Speaker 1: forty one early sixteen forty two, when we first actually
Speaker 1: hear the terms roundhead and cavalier. Roundhead became the common
Speaker 1: currency to refer to those of the Puritan persuasion because
Speaker 1: of their short cropped hair. The Royalist soldiers had long
Speaker 1: Aristocratic locks, flowing like a beautiful night, you know, in
Speaker 1: those pictures, and so hence we call them the cavaliers.
Speaker 1: With the steady formation of these two antagonistic powers, there
Speaker 1: was already talk around of a civil war. Argument and
Speaker 1: dissension sprang up everywhere. Two days after Christmas, crowds once
Speaker 1: more gathered around Westminster to demand a response from lords
Speaker 1: to another petition against the bishops. We're talking Episcopal bishops here,
Speaker 1: but those who are much more Catholic in their outward
Speaker 1: looking features than the Puritans would prefure. A group of
Speaker 1: soldiers fell upon them, but the citizens in this case
Speaker 1: actually fought back. Inspired by fear, they attacked the troops
Speaker 1: with sticks and stones and wooden cudgels. Some sailors joined in,
Speaker 1: until the soldiers were actually beaten down and had to
Speaker 1: run away. On the following morning, soldiers advanced out of
Speaker 1: Westminster Abbey and fell upon the citizens, this time with
Speaker 1: swords and pistols. In the afternoon, they went after a
Speaker 1: group of apprentices in retaliation. The citizens now threatened to
Speaker 1: shut up their shops and refrain from all trade in London. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: in the House of Lords, the bishops sat huddled in torchlight,
Speaker 1: listening to the rage and menace of the crowd outside.
Speaker 1: They were forced to leave the chamber by secret message,
Speaker 1: some under the protection of great lords, others using secret
Speaker 1: passages out of the buildings. Otherwise they probably would have
Speaker 1: met the fate of some of those soldiers. On the
Speaker 1: twenty ninth of December, now we're still in sixteen forty one,
Speaker 1: a group of twelve bishops laid the complaint that they
Speaker 1: had been quote violently menaced, affronted and assaulted by multitudes
Speaker 1: of people end quote, and that because of their enforced
Speaker 1: absence from the House of Lords, which they now couldn't
Speaker 1: get back into, any laws passed had to be considered
Speaker 1: null and void. This was tantamount, of course, to asserting
Speaker 1: that without bishops, parliament became illegal. The members of the
Speaker 1: House of Commons were incensed at this claim. I thought
Speaker 1: it was arrogant, and on the following day they had
Speaker 1: the bishops in the House of Commons impeached for high reason.
Speaker 1: Ultimately they were arrested and sent to the tower. On
Speaker 1: the first day of the new year, sixteen forty two,
Speaker 1: matters came to a head. Committees from the House of
Speaker 1: Commons and the remaining lords met at Guildhall to consider
Speaker 1: a new strategy. It was agreed that the trained bands,
Speaker 1: those that had been put together from various groups in London,
Speaker 1: would be summoned on the authority of Parliament, not at
Speaker 1: the King. At this meeting, plans were also drawn up
Speaker 1: to impeach the Queen for communicating with Catholic rebels in Ireland.
Speaker 1: The threats perhaps was designed to provoke King Charles into
Speaker 1: violent action. The trained bands were indeed raised for the
Speaker 1: cause of parliamentary effectively placing London under Parliament's military control
Speaker 1: to summon armed troops. Now we can't forget it was
Speaker 1: an act of treason. But tellingly, and this is the
Speaker 1: important part, nobody said seemed to care anymore. Charles was,
Speaker 1: of course seeking his own methods. What he was trying
Speaker 1: to do at the moment was draw up plans to
Speaker 1: impeach certain members of the House of Parliaments. That Charles'
Speaker 1: problem throughout the early proceedings here was that he really
Speaker 1: believed this was a small group of agitators, that the
Speaker 1: large population, and even the large population of the House
Speaker 1: of Commons in general still loved him. He was wrong
Speaker 1: about that, and his inability to conceive this as a
Speaker 1: broader based issue is what ultimately puts him on the
Speaker 1: back foot for so much of this coming conflict.
Speaker 2: In the end, it's going to cost him his head. Now.
Speaker 1: On January third, as a consequence the charges which had
Speaker 1: been drawn up against several of these men, Lord Mandeville,
Speaker 1: of course, John Pim, John Hamden, Arthur Haselrigg Denzil Hollis,
Speaker 1: and William Strode were red ows before the House of Lords.
Speaker 2: On the file day.
Speaker 1: Not to resist his own countermeasure, John Pim sent a
Speaker 1: delegation to the Common Council of London, newly elected in
Speaker 1: the Puritan interest, to plead for help. That day the
Speaker 1: council elected its own Committee of Safety for the city,
Speaker 1: and you could start to hear rhymes of the same
Speaker 1: things that are going to happen in the French Revolution.
Speaker 2: By the way, Now wasn't a moment too.
Speaker 1: Soon, by the way, because the king was actually ready
Speaker 1: to strike that very next day. Pim, who again remembers
Speaker 1: in charge of the Puritan faction within the House of Commons.
Speaker 1: He had been alerted to the attempted assault, perhaps by
Speaker 1: spies at court, and he prepared instead for a notable
Speaker 1: act of theatricality. The accused men, the men that I
Speaker 1: just mentioned, took their seats in Commons in the early afternoon,
Speaker 1: knowing full well that the King would be informed of
Speaker 1: their presence. At three o'clock, Charles left Whitehall with an
Speaker 1: armed guard of three hundred men and made his way
Speaker 1: to men's winster, the idea of being, of course, that
Speaker 1: he was going to arrest them. The news reached the
Speaker 1: Common and the indicted members slipped from their seats and
Speaker 1: hid in the court of the King's bench before being
Speaker 1: rowed from the river into the city. Even as they
Speaker 1: made their departure, the King's party could be heard clattering
Speaker 1: on the stairs into the lobby. The King entered the
Speaker 1: chamber of the Commons alone, but the doors were left
Speaker 1: open so that the members could see the armed forces
Speaker 1: waiting outside. Charles said, quote, gentlemen, I am sorry to
Speaker 1: have this occasion of coming to you end quote. He
Speaker 1: asked for the accused members to be surrendered to him.
Speaker 1: He realized then that they weren't there. His bluff had
Speaker 1: been called. He looked about him, seeing that they were gone,
Speaker 1: and said, quote, I do not see any of them.
Speaker 1: I think I should know them. He added, I come
Speaker 1: to tell you that I must have them. Wheresoever I
Speaker 1: find them, is mister pim here. No one answered, well, well,
Speaker 1: tis no matter. I think my eyes are as good
Speaker 1: as another's end quote. He then asked the speaker of
Speaker 1: the House of Commons to help him find these members.
Speaker 1: The speaker, whose last name was Lentil, replied, may it
Speaker 1: please your Majesty, I have neither eyes to see nor
Speaker 1: tongues to speak in this place, but as the house
Speaker 1: is pleased to direct me whose servant I am here,
Speaker 1: and I humbly beg your Majesty's pardon that I cannot
Speaker 1: give other answer than this to what your Majesty is
Speaker 1: pleased to demand of me. This was essentially an equivocation.
Speaker 1: There followed a long pause, the king eventually responding, quote, well,
Speaker 1: since I see all the birds have flown, I do
Speaker 1: expect from you that you will send them unto me
Speaker 1: as soon as they return hither. If not, I will
Speaker 1: seek them myself, for their treason is foul, and such
Speaker 1: a one as you will thank me to discover. But
Speaker 1: I assure you on the word of a king, I
Speaker 1: never did intend any force, but shall proceed against them
Speaker 1: in legal and fair way, and I never meant any
Speaker 1: other end quote. As the King turned to go, cries
Speaker 1: of privilege, privilege were raised around them. Of course, we're
Speaker 1: talking now about privileges of English gentlemen, the idea of
Speaker 1: habeas corpus, which Charles has already suspended from time to time.
Speaker 1: So the idea that he would treat fairly to them
Speaker 1: is something that the Commons was no longer willing to entertain.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: The members of the King's party in Commons realized at
Speaker 1: once that the King had committed a huge, maybe fatal mistake.
Speaker 1: His authority was totally lost, and everyone could see it.
Speaker 1: In a mood of understandable dismay, they submitted meekly to
Speaker 1: the decision of the rest of Parliament to adjourn itself
Speaker 1: to the hall of one of the London guilds as
Speaker 1: a place of greater safety. On the evening of the
Speaker 1: failed attempt, the city had all the air of an
Speaker 1: army camp. Barricades had been set up, chains were drawn
Speaker 1: across the principal streets. The people of the suburbs, as
Speaker 1: well as the city itself, offered their support to Parliament
Speaker 1: in the case that Charles's army would march upon them.
Speaker 1: The women oiled water, ready to throw upon any encroaching cavaliers.
Speaker 1: The members who had absconded were now safely concealed in
Speaker 1: a house. The call went up among some that the
Speaker 1: king was unworthy to live. Indeed, Charles had now effectively
Speaker 1: lost control over his capital city. Unfortunately for Charles, London
Speaker 1: was not the only seat of disaffection. In the days
Speaker 1: immediately following, thousands of men from Kent to Buckinghamshire, North
Speaker 1: Hampshire and Leicestershire, Essex and Sussex rode or marched to
Speaker 1: Westminster with petitions for Parliament. They complained in general about
Speaker 1: the decay of trade provoked by the divisions. The country was,
Speaker 1: as a result of this crisis, confronted by an immediate
Speaker 1: and sudden economic decline. The loss of confidence restricted trade,
Speaker 1: and the tradesmen and merchants of London hoarded their money
Speaker 1: in the hope of better times. The majority of people,
Speaker 1: of course, yearned for peace, and it's important to note, however,
Speaker 1: that the petitioners from Kent and elsewhere addressed Parliament, not
Speaker 1: the King, now as the center of authority in the nation.
Speaker 1: Without really other options, by the tenth of January, Charles
Speaker 1: decided he must leave London and did so for Hampton Court. Meanwhile,
Speaker 1: the military arsenal of the nation was moved to Hull,
Speaker 1: where twenty thousand weapons and seven thousand barrels of gunpowder
Speaker 1: were secured. The King appointed the Earl of Newcastle to
Speaker 1: be the governor of the port and arsenal, but he
Speaker 1: was circumvented almost immediately by the swift action of a
Speaker 1: young parliamentarian named John Ham, who persuaded the Mayor of
Speaker 1: Hull to admit his men.
Speaker 2: And so now it was the.
Speaker 1: Commons and Parliament, not the King, in charge of twenty
Speaker 1: thousand weapons and seven thousand barrels of gunpowder. The Commons
Speaker 1: drew up a declaration to the officials of the counties,
Speaker 1: urging them to get ready for the defense. The King,
Speaker 1: in response, sent a letter to Westminster in which he
Speaker 1: proposed that he would reserve the privileges of its members
Speaker 1: and protect the interests of the true religion in exchange
Speaker 1: for only now a commits in preserving his authority and
Speaker 1: his revenues. At the end of January, Charles also summoned
Speaker 1: all of his faithful lords to Windsor. This was the
Speaker 1: castle which, for all practical purposes, is going to be
Speaker 1: the seat of power for every Royalist move from here
Speaker 1: on out. On the fifth of February, the Commons sent
Speaker 1: up to the Lords a bill concerning the exclusion of
Speaker 1: bishops from Parliament. Meanwhile, by the middle of that month
Speaker 1: things are happening fast.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: Charles and the Queen Henrietta Maria were at Canterbury on
Speaker 1: their word to Dover, where it was agreed that the
Speaker 1: Queen would embark for Holland. Things were now moving fast. Indeed,
Speaker 1: the bill for the exclusion, which was passed by the lords,
Speaker 1: then reached the King. He was advised that if he
Speaker 1: didn't give it royal assent, then the Queen's journey might
Speaker 1: be prevented by parliamentary supporters. In fact, the Queen herself
Speaker 1: urged Charles to agree to the bill as far as
Speaker 1: she was concerned. Frankly, the bishops were simply dispensable. They
Speaker 1: could always be replaced afterwards. So Charles consented, even though
Speaker 1: he had promised in his coronation oath to maintain the
Speaker 1: ecclesiasticals in all their privileges. He probably calculated, like Queen
Speaker 1: Penranta Maria, that he could just rescind this decision. Later on,
Speaker 1: when Charles traveled back to his palace at Greenwich, he
Speaker 1: sent for his eldest son. He was determined to keep
Speaker 1: the Prince of Wales with him as a guarantee for
Speaker 1: the preservation of the royal family. Bother and son, in fact,
Speaker 1: would actually remain together for the next three years, all
Speaker 1: through the coming Civil War. The members of Parliament now
Speaker 1: asked politely for Charles to simply stay around Westminster. They
Speaker 1: believed his presence elsewhere could provoke conflict and danger. He responded, quote,
Speaker 1: for my residence near you, I wish it to be
Speaker 1: so safe and honorable that I have no cause to
Speaker 1: be absent from Whitehall. Ask yourself whether I have not
Speaker 1: end quote. He attendedly agreed. He didn't believe that he
Speaker 1: needed to be and any close proximity to London or
Speaker 1: to the parliamentarians. He was no longer safe. But in
Speaker 1: reality Charles had no interest in going to Whitehall and
Speaker 1: going to Westminster, and going to any of those places.
Speaker 1: None of them he considered safe, and in fact the
Speaker 1: next day set out for York. On March sixteenth, with
Speaker 1: the King absent, the Commons meant for one of the
Speaker 1: most i would say revolutionary moments in English history. On
Speaker 1: that day, March sixteenth, sixteen forty two, the Commons issued
Speaker 1: a proclamation that it was Parliament which was the supreme.
Speaker 2: Power of the land.
Speaker 1: This had never before been done in English history, and
Speaker 1: it sets a break in tradition everything that happens afterwards.
Speaker 1: We can now talk about Parliament as the head of
Speaker 1: government rather than the King.
Speaker 2: Who will be continued to be the head of state.
Speaker 1: At the same time, members issued an order requiring the
Speaker 1: leaders of local militias to be appointed by them by Parliament,
Speaker 1: not by the King. These men would in turn raise
Speaker 1: forces on behalf of Parliament, not the King. Still, there
Speaker 1: was no necessity for war at this point. Many local
Speaker 1: communities throughout the realm were at peace. Neither side appeared
Speaker 1: to have the power of resources to raise or command
Speaker 1: an army. No one wanted to be found guilty of
Speaker 1: starting the civil war. The King and the company of
Speaker 1: his son made a slow journey to York, and he
Speaker 1: still was optimistic, saying that he could easily raise an
Speaker 1: army of sixteen thousand men, which would put down any
Speaker 1: pidly army that the parliamentarians. The problem, of course, wasn't
Speaker 1: raising the men, it was arming them, because now the
Speaker 1: parliamentarians were in control of Hull. And so in the
Speaker 1: last week of April, Charles approached Hall where that twenty
Speaker 1: thousand stash of weapons and that seven thousand barrels of
Speaker 1: gunpowder was sitting with a company of about three hundred horsemen,
Speaker 1: preceded by a message that he had come to meet
Speaker 1: with the governor. Sir John Hawtham resolved with the municipal
Speaker 1: laders to stop any triumphant entry. When the King arrived
Speaker 1: at the gates, he found them shut. He found the
Speaker 1: drawbridge raised, and there was a guard upon the ramparts.
Speaker 1: He demanded entrance, as the lawful sovereign, but he was
Speaker 1: told by Hawtham that quote I dare not open the gates,
Speaker 1: being instructed by Parliament with the safety of the town.
Speaker 1: Charles responded, I believe you have no order from Parliament
Speaker 1: to shut the gates against me or to keep me
Speaker 1: out of the town. To this, Hawtham answered that the
Speaker 1: King's force was so great that quote if it were admitted,
Speaker 1: I should not be able to give a good account
Speaker 1: of the town end quote. Eventually, Hautum, it appears this
Speaker 1: is actually disputed, but it appears told him that Charles
Speaker 1: could come in if he left most of his men outside,
Speaker 1: he could bring twelve. Now Charles refused on the condition
Speaker 1: that this was just.
Speaker 2: An insult to his person.
Speaker 1: He declared that Hotham was a traitor. His dignity and
Speaker 1: self respect had been too injured. And so Charles continued
Speaker 1: on to York, and from there he sent a message
Speaker 1: to Parliament. He told them all about the insult that
Speaker 1: had been given to them by Hautam. He believed him
Speaker 1: to be imputent. Meanwhile, the two houses, and we're talking
Speaker 1: about lords and commons now both stated in a reply
Speaker 1: that quote, Sir John Hottam had done nothing but in
Speaker 1: obedience to the commands of the Houses of Parliament. Parliament
Speaker 1: had picked its side. In the spring of sixteen forty two,
Speaker 1: the two houses of Parliament resolved that quote the King,
Speaker 1: seduced by wicked counselors, intends to make war against Parliament.
Speaker 2: End quote.
Speaker 1: So they began to prepare their army. In May, a
Speaker 1: levy of sixteen thousand soldiers was ordered. In the course
Speaker 1: of the spring Parliament nominated the Earl of Warwick to
Speaker 1: be Lord High Admiral of the English Fleet, and he
Speaker 1: worked quickly to gain the loyalty of his men, and
Speaker 1: ships that supported the cause of the king were quickly
Speaker 1: boarded and overpowered. Men and money, of course, were also
Speaker 1: arriving in York on the part of Charles. Yet the
Speaker 1: soldiers on either side had not yet necessarily been raised
Speaker 1: to fight. The idea might be at this point that
Speaker 1: they could be used to deter other side from the
Speaker 1: support of any subsequent show of violence, regardless, and this
Speaker 1: happened so often. In these situations. Events had now just
Speaker 1: taken on a life of their own. Each side was
Speaker 1: essentially countermoving and moving honestly, without a lot of forethought.
Speaker 1: A parliamentary supporter remarked later that quote, it is strange
Speaker 1: to note how we have insensibly slid into this beginning
Speaker 1: of a civil war by one unexpected accident after another,
Speaker 1: as waves of the sea which had brought us thus
Speaker 1: far end quote. Now Ever, since, of course, volumes upon
Speaker 1: volumes have been written abound the English Civil War cuns
Speaker 1: and everyone's always looking for one social cause or oftentimes
Speaker 1: a religious cause, and that's true. But one principal motive
Speaker 1: I think that gets ignored in both this civil war
Speaker 1: and in so many others is just fear. The reality
Speaker 1: is both sides were acting out of fear of what
Speaker 1: the other side might do. There just wasn't trust. If
Speaker 1: there had been any modicum of trust between the parliament
Speaker 1: and the king, I think this would have been resolved.
Speaker 1: But John Pim and his colleagues knew that if the
Speaker 1: king prevailed, they would be declared traders and they would
Speaker 1: be drawn and quartered. So at this point, from their perspective,
Speaker 1: there wasn't an option. They had to fight.
Speaker 2: Now.
Speaker 1: At the beginning of June, Parliament, guided by him, delivered
Speaker 1: nineteen propositions to the King. Among them was the wish
Speaker 1: or maybe command, that the King dismiss his forces and
Speaker 1: accept the validity of the force raised by Parliament. He
Speaker 1: needed to also accept the religious reforms outlined by the
Speaker 1: members of Parliament, and to exclude any Popish peers from
Speaker 1: the lords. His principal officers could only be appointed with
Speaker 1: the approval of Parliament, and all important matters of state
Speaker 1: would need to be debated. There the documents became, in
Speaker 1: the words of one parliamentarian quote, the principal foundation of
Speaker 1: the ensuing war. The King, of course, rejected these demands
Speaker 1: out of hand with the words nolus legis angelikai muttare,
Speaker 1: which means we do not wish the laws of England
Speaker 1: to be changed. Technically he was right about that, and
Speaker 1: so at the beginning of July it was reported that
Speaker 1: royalists had now mustered and Hereford, Worcestershire, and Warwickshire, and so.
Speaker 1: On June eleventh, Parliament declared that the King had already
Speaker 1: started the war, diverting any blame for beginning this conflict.
Speaker 1: Was true necessarily because no one had fired any shots yet.
Speaker 1: But again who started this war became really important in
Speaker 1: English minds. The Parliament again set up another Committee of Safety,
Speaker 1: through which that summer in autumn began to organize soldiers,
Speaker 1: weaponry and supplies. Now it should be noted that a
Speaker 1: majority of the great magnates of the realm and the
Speaker 1: greater landowners supported the King because his privileges guaranteed their own.
Speaker 1: Twice as many families of the gentry also took the
Speaker 1: King's part. Of course, I should say that the Puritan
Speaker 1: gentry were all parliamentarians. Religious dissenters in general overwhelmingly took
Speaker 1: the side of parliament. Of course, well, Roman Catholics and
Speaker 1: those of the Orthodox Anglican faith supported the king, or
Speaker 1: maybe for fear of reprisals from both sides, just decided
Speaker 1: to stay neutral. The universities and cathedral cities were largely
Speaker 1: for the king, although the clergy were often opposed by
Speaker 1: the aldermen, while the chief ports of the realm were
Speaker 1: all for the parliament. A greater number of towns, however,
Speaker 1: just wanted to stay out of the whole thing. In
Speaker 1: most general terms, if you look at England, the north
Speaker 1: and the west were sympathetic to the king, while the
Speaker 1: south and east London in particular supported the parliamentary cause.
Speaker 1: But this is a crude drawing. The reality is is
Speaker 1: within any community, no matter where you were, there were
Speaker 1: divisions between the two sides. This is not like the
Speaker 1: American Civil War where you can just draw a neat
Speaker 1: line along the Mason Dixon line and say, well, this
Speaker 1: is one side, this is the other side. This is
Speaker 1: much more of a mixed bag civil war. And the
Speaker 1: reality was most Englishmen were going to stay neutral throughout
Speaker 1: this thing. It was the hardcore partisans on both sides
Speaker 1: who provoked the conflict. It was they who would fight
Speaker 1: the conflict, and it was they who would end the conflict.
Speaker 1: That doesn't mean, as in any war, it was they
Speaker 1: who would bear the brunt of the casualties. As always,
Speaker 1: innocent neutral civilians pay the price.
Speaker 2: Too.
Speaker 1: Many families, in fact, were split in their allegiances.
Speaker 2: Still, how did it.
Speaker 1: Start, Well, we have to go to the afternoon of
Speaker 1: August the twenty second, sixteen forty two. On that day,
Speaker 1: Charles rode into Nottingham where the royal standard was being
Speaker 1: taken from the castle and then was fixed in the ground.
Speaker 1: Beside him, it was given a silk flag with royal
Speaker 1: arms and a new motto quote give Caesar his due
Speaker 1: end quote. I don't know if that's a message you're
Speaker 1: going through, man, but okay. It was suspended from a
Speaker 1: long pole that was dyed red at the upper part,
Speaker 1: which was actually said to have maybe been an overused
Speaker 1: may pole. The king looked over a pre written proclamation
Speaker 1: of war, corrected certain words, and then had it read.
Speaker 1: The trumpets were sounded and everyone threw their hats into
Speaker 1: the air. Shouting God, save King Charles, and hang up
Speaker 1: the roundheads the standards. Unfortunately, by the way, was blown
Speaker 1: down that night in a storm. In fact, the Earl
Speaker 1: of Clarendon, who was there at the time, reported that quote,
Speaker 1: a general sadness covered the whole of the town, and
Speaker 1: the King himself appeared more melancholic.
Speaker 2: Than he used to be. But it didn't matter. The
Speaker 2: Civil War had begun.