The Civil War and The Puritans: main events

​​In a nutshell

The English Civil War took place in the 17th century, it was a series of events that split the country between power and religion. A great part of this conflict was related to the Puritans, a group of protestant Christians who believed the Anglican Church had to completely distance itself from Catholic practices. 

Britain in the 17th century

After the death of James I in 1625, his son Charles I succeeded his place. During his reign, the Puritan party had accomplished a significant majority in the parliament, as well as social influence among the middle class. 

The Great Rebellion

Puritan was the name given to Protestants within the Church who were not satisfied with the English Reformation and wanted to purify the Church from the Catholic influence. Charles I believed that monarchs were chosen by God, so he wanted to rule and make decisions on his own. On the contrary, puritans wanted a fair distribution of power between the King and the Parliament. Therefore, Charles' reign was in constant conflict with the Parliament.

In 1642, the king could not get along with the parliament anymore, especially since he refused to give up his command of the armed forces. As a consequence, the Civil war broke out, there were two sides, Royalists, who supported the king, and Parliamentarians, who sided with the Parliament.

The parliamentarians were led by Oliver Cromwell. The navy, Puritans, the ports, small artisans, and landowners sided with the Parliament. In addition, they used to be called Roundheads, as a reference to their shaved heads since they thought long hair was sinful. On the other hand, Royalists were called Cavaliers referring to people from the high class that supported King Charles I. Lords, the gentry, and Church officials sided with the Royalists.

There were several battles such as the Battle of Edgehill, the Battle of Naseby, and the Battle of Marston Moor. In 1647, the king was imprisoned and Cromwell had taken over London. Moreover, Cromwell fired and arrested more than 100 members of the House of Lords. On January 30th, 1649, the king's execution was voted by the remaining members. So, the English Civil War concluded with Charles I's execution and the end of the monarchy. From that event on, there was the establishment of a republic, known as the "Commonwealth" under Oliver Cromwell.