Wars of the Three Kingdoms
This article includes a list of general references, but it lacks sufficient corresponding inline citations. (January 2024) |
Wars of the Three Kingdoms | |||||||||||
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Part of the European wars of religion | |||||||||||
Monarch of the Three Kingdoms: Charles I in Three Positions by Anthony van Dyck, painted 1635–1636[1] | |||||||||||
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Belligerents | |||||||||||
Royalists | Covenanters | Confederates | Parliamentarians | ||||||||
Commanders and leaders | |||||||||||
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Casualties and losses | |||||||||||
50,000 English & Welsh[2] | Unknown | Unknown | 34,000[2] | ||||||||
127,000 non-combat English and Welsh deaths (including some 40,000 civilians)[a] Total: 500,000+ dead |
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms,[b] sometimes known as the British Civil Wars,[c][d] were a series of intertwined conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities united in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 Bishops' Wars, the First and Second English Civil Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland and the Anglo-Scottish War of 1650–1652. They resulted in victory for the Parliamentarian army, the execution of Charles I, the abolition of monarchy, and founding of the Commonwealth of England, a unitary state which controlled the British Isles until the Stuart Restoration in 1660.
Political and religious conflict between Charles I and his opponents dated to the early years of his reign. While the vast majority supported the institution of monarchy, they disagreed on who held ultimate authority.
The conflicts began with the
The war in England ended when Charles surrendered to the Scots in 1646, but divisions among his opponents and his refusal to make significant political concessions caused a renewed outbreak of fighting in 1648. In the Second English Civil War, Parliamentarians again defeated the Royalists and a Covenanter faction called the Engagers. The Parliamentarian New Model Army then purged England's parliament of those who wanted to continue negotiations with the king. The resulting Rump Parliament approved his execution in January 1649 and founded the republican Commonwealth of England. In the Treaty of Breda, the Scots agreed to restore Charles II to the English throne, but were defeated in the 1650–1652 Anglo-Scottish war. Under Oliver Cromwell, the Commonwealth conquered Ireland and most Irish Catholic lands were seized. The British Isles became a united republic ruled by Cromwell and dominated by the army. There were sporadic uprisings until the monarchy was restored in 1660.
Nomenclature
The term Wars of the Three Kingdoms first appears in A Brief Chronicle of all the Chief Actions so fatally Falling out in the three Kingdoms by James Heath, published in 1662, [4] but historian Ian Gentles argues "there is no stable, agreed title for the events....which have been variously labelled the Great Rebellion, the Puritan Revolution, the English Civil War, the English Revolution and… the Wars of the Three Kingdoms."[7] It is generally used by modern historians who see the conflicts in each state as driven by overlapping but often distinct issues, rather than as mere background to the English Civil War, while others have labelled them the British Civil Wars.[8][9]
Background
General
After 1541, monarchs of England styled their Irish territory as a
By means of the
In the
The personal union of the three kingdoms under one monarch came about when King James VI of Scotland succeeded Elizabeth I to the English throne in 1603, when he also became King James I of England and of Ireland. In 1625, Charles I succeeded his father and marked three main concerns regarding England and Wales: how to fund his government, how to reform the church, and how to limit the English Parliament's interference in his rule. At that time, he showed little interest in his other two kingdoms, Scotland and Ireland.[10]
Scotland
James VI remained Protestant, taking care to maintain his hopes of succession to the English throne. He duly became
After his death in 1625, James was succeeded by his son Charles I, who was crowned in
England
Charles shared his father's belief in the
The English Parliament and the king had repeated disputes over taxation, military expenditure, and the role of the Parliament in government. While James I had held much the same opinions as his son regarding
English overseas possessions
During the English Civil War, the English overseas possessions became highly involved. In the Channel Islands, the island of Jersey and Castle Cornet in Guernsey supported the King until a surrender with honour in December 1651.
Although the newer, Puritan settlements in North America, notably
due punishment [be] inflicted upon the said Delinquents, do Declare all and every the said persons in Barbada's, Antego, Bermuda's and Virginia, that have contrived, abetted, aided or assisted those horrid Rebellions, or have since willingly joyned with them, to be notorious Robbers and Traitors, and such as by the Law of Nations are not to be permitted any manner of Commerce or Traffic with any people whatsoever; and do forbid to all manner of persons, Foreigners, and others, all manner of Commerce, Traffic and Correspondence whatsoever, to be used or held with the said Rebels in the Barbados, Bermuda's, Virginia and Antego, or either of them.
The Act also authorised Parliamentary privateers to act against English vessels trading with the rebellious colonies:
All Ships that Trade with the Rebels may be surprized. Goods and tackle of such ships not to be embezeled, till judgement in the Admiralty.; Two or three of the Officers of every ship to be examined upon oath.
Far to the North, Bermuda's regiment of Militia and its coastal batteries prepared to resist an invasion that never came. Built-up inside the natural defence of a nearly impassable barrier reef, to fend off the might of Spain, these defences would have been a formidable obstacle for the Parliamentary fleet sent in 1651 under the command of Admiral Sir George Ayscue to subdue the trans-Atlantic colonies, but after the fall of Barbados, the Bermudians made a separate peace that respected the internal status quo. The Parliament of Bermuda avoided the Parliament of England's fate during The Protectorate, becoming one of the oldest continuous legislatures in the world.[13]
Virginia's population swelled with Cavaliers during and after the English Civil War. Even so, Virginia Puritan
Ireland
Meanwhile, in the
Wars
This section relies largely or entirely on a single source. (January 2024) |
Charles' initial failure to end the
In Ireland, alienated by Church of England domination and frightened by the rhetoric of the English and Scottish Parliaments, a small group of Irish conspirators launched the Irish Rebellion of 1641, ostensibly in support of the "King's Rights". The uprising featured widespread violent assaults on Protestant communities in Ireland, both Anglican and dissenter Protestants in Ulster whose practice was similar to the Scottish Kirk. In England and Scotland, rumours spread that the killings had the king's sanction, which, for many, foreshadowed their own fate if the king's Irish troops landed in Britain. Thus the English Parliament refused to pay for a royal army to put down the rebellion in Ireland; instead Parliament decided to raise its own armed forces. The king did likewise, rallying those Royalists (some of them members of Parliament) who believed their fortunes were best served by loyalty to the king.
The English Civil War ignited in 1642. Scottish Covenanters (as Presbyterians there called themselves) joined forces with the English Parliament in late 1643 and played a major role in the ultimate Parliamentary victory. Over the course of more than two years, the king's forces were ground down by the efficiency of those of Parliament, including the New Model Army, backed as they were by the financial muscle of the City of London. On 5 May 1646, at Southwell, Charles I surrendered to the Scottish army besieging Newark-on-Trent. What remained of the English and Welsh Royalist armies and garrisons surrendered piecemeal over the next few months.[14]
Meanwhile, the rebellious Irish Catholics formed their own government—
The Scots handed Charles over to the English and returned to Scotland, the English Parliament having paid them a large sum for their expenses in the English campaign. After his surrender, Charles was approached by the Scots, the Presbyterians in the English Parliament, and the
The New Model Army vanquished the English Royalists and Parliamentarians, as well as their Scottish
After the execution of King Charles I the Rump Parliament passed a series of acts declaring that England was a republic; that the House of Commons—without the House of Lords—would sit as the legislature; and that a
To deal with the threat to the English Commonwealth posed by the two kingdoms (Ireland and Scotland), the Rump Parliament first appointed Cromwell to invade and subdue Ireland. In August 1649, he landed an English army at Rathmines shortly after the Siege of Dublin was abandoned by the Royalists following the Battle of Rathmines. Then, in late May 1650, Cromwell left one army to continue the Irish conquest and returned to England and to take command of a second English army which preemptively invaded Scotland. On 3 September 1650, he defeated the Scottish Covenanters at the Battle of Dunbar and his forces then occupied Edinburgh and Scotland south of the River Forth. Cromwell was advancing the bulk of his army over the Forth towards Stirling, when Charles II, commanding a Scottish Royalist army, stole a march on the English commander, and invaded England from his base in Scotland. Cromwell divided his forces, leaving part in Scotland to complete the conquest there, then led the rest south in pursuit of Charles II.[18]
The Royalist army failed to gather much support from English Royalists as it moved south into England; so, instead of heading directly towards London and certain defeat, Charles aimed for Worcester hoping that Wales and the West and Midlands of England would rise against the Commonwealth. This did not happen and, one year to the day after the Battle of Dunbar, the New Model Army and the English militia regiments vanquished the last Royalist army of the English Civil War at the Battle of Worcester, on 3 September 1651. It was the last and most decisive battle in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.[19]
Aftermath
Having defeated all organised opposition, the Grandees of the Parliamentary New Model Army and their civilian supporters dominated the politics of all three nations for the next nine years (see
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms prefigured many of the changes that ultimately would shape modern Britain but, in the short term, these conflicts in fact resolved little for the kingdoms and peoples. The English Commonwealth did achieve a notable compromise between the monarchy and republic which survived destabilising problems for nearly the next two hundred years. In practice, Oliver Cromwell exercised political power through his control over Parliament's military forces, but his legal position—and provisions for his succession—remained unclear, even after he became Lord Protector. None of the several constitutions proposed during this period was achieved. Thus the Commonwealth and Protectorate of the Parliamentarians—the wars' victors—left no significant new form of government in place after their time.
Still, in the long term, two abiding legacies of British democracy were established during this period:
- after the execution of King Charles I for high treason, no future British monarch could expect that their subjects would tolerate perceived despotism—the "divine right of kings" no longer existed;[22]
- the excesses of the New Model Army, particularly those during the Rule of the Major-Generals, left an abiding mistrust of military dictators and military rule, which persists until today among peoples of British descent or national association.[e]
English Protestants experienced religious freedom during the
During the Interregnum, the New Model Army occupied Ireland and Scotland. In Ireland, the new government confiscated almost all lands belonging to Irish Catholics as punishment for the rebellion of 1641; harsh
And in 1660, Charles II was restored as king of England, Scotland, and Ireland.Under the
See also
- English Civil War
- English overseas possessions in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
- Cromwellian conquest of Ireland
- European wars of religion
- Thirty Years' War
- Timeline of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms
- Outline of the wars of the Three Kingdoms
- The Troubles
Notes
- ^ "While it is notoriously difficult to determine the number of casualties in any war, it has been estimated that the conflict in England and Wales claimed about 85,000 lives in combat, with a further 127,000 noncombat deaths (including some 40,000 civilians)."[3]
- ^ Gentles 2007, p. 3, citing John Morrill, states, "there is no stable, agreed title for the events.... They have been variously labelled the Great Rebellion, the Puritan Revolution, the English Civil War, the English Revolution and most recently, the Wars of the Three Kingdoms."
- ^ Although the term Wars of the Three Kingdoms is not new, having been used by James Heath in his book A Brief Chronicle of all the Chief Actions so fatally Falling out in the three Kingdoms, first published in 1662,[4] recent publications' tendency to name these linked conflicts with the term represents a trend by modern historians aiming to take a unified overview rather than treating some of the conflicts as mere background to the English Civil War. Some, such as Carlton and Gaunt, have labelled them the British Civil Wars.[5][6]
- ^ Trevor Royle published his 2004 book under different titles. In the UK it was called Civil War: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms while in the US it was called The British Civil War: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1638–1660 Royle 2004 and Royle 2005
- ^ "Around the rule of the Major-Generals there has grown a legend of military oppression which obscures the limits both of their impact and of their unpopularity" (Worden 1986, p. 134)
References
- ^ "Charles I (1600–1649) 1635–before June 1636". Royal Collection Trust. Retrieved 5 February 2023.
- ^ History.com. Retrieved 4 October 2014.
- ^ Ohlmeyer, Jane H. (24 April 2018). "English Civil Wars : Causes, Summary, Facts, & Significance". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
- ^ a b Raymond 2005, p. 281.
- ^ Carlton 1994.
- ^ Gaunt 1997.
- ^ Gentles 2007, p. 3.
- ^ Carlton 1994, p. ?.
- ^ Gaunt 1997, p. ?.
- ^ "The origins of the wars of the three kingdoms". Archived from the original on 25 July 2015. Retrieved 24 July 2015.
- ^ Langford Oliver, Vere (1912). Pym Letters. Caribbeana: Being Miscellaneous Papers Relating to the History, Genealogy, Topography, and Antiquities of the British West Indies. Volume II. London: Mitchell Hughes and Clarke. p. 14.
The Government is changed. Within twenty days after his arrival, the Governor called an assembly, pretending thereby to reform certain things amiss. All the ministers in the island, Mr. White, Mr. Goldinge, and Mr. Copeland, were Independents, and they had set up a Congregational Church, of which most gentlemen of Council were members or favourers. The burgesses of this assembly were picked out of those who were known to be enemies to that way, and they did not suffer a Roundhead (as they term them) to be chosen.
- ^ Lefroy, John Henry (1981). Memorials of the Discovery and Early Settlement of the Bermudas or Somers Islands 1515–1685, Volume I. Bermuda: The Bermuda Historical Society and The Bermuda National Trust.
- ^ Lefroy, John Henry (1981). Memorials of the Discovery and Early Settlement of the Bermudas or Somers Islands 1515–1685, Volume I. Bermuda: The Bermuda Historical Society and The Bermuda National Trust.
- ^ Atkinson 1911, pp. 403–417.
- ^ Atkinson 1911, p. 417.
- ^ Gardiner 1906, p. 371.
- ^ Atkinson 1911, pp. 417–418.
- ^ Atkinson 1911, pp. 418–420.
- ^ Atkinson 1911, pp. 420–421.
- ^ a b Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). . Encyclopædia Britannica. Vol. 18 (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press. pp. 723-.
- ^ Henning 1983.
- ^ Jane 1905, pp. 376–377.
- ^ Cromwell 1939, p. 501.
- ^ Burnet 1753.
- ^ Pepys 1660, Entry for 16 March 1660.
Sources
- Atkinson, Charles Francis (1911), Chisholm, Hugh (ed.), Encyclopædia Britannica, vol. 12 (11th ed.), Cambridge University Press, pp. 403–421 , in
- Burnet, Gilbert (1753). Bishop Burnet's History of His Own Time: From the Restoration of Charles II to the Treaty of Peace at Utrecht, in the Reign of Queen Anne. London: A. Millar.
- Carlton, Charles (1994) [1992]. Going to the wars: the experience of the British civil wars, 1638–1651. ISBN 0-415-10391-6.
- ISBN 978-0-19-821771-8.
- Gardiner, Samuel Rawson, ed. (1906). "The Charge against the King". The Constitutional Documents of the Puritan Revolution 1625–1660. Oxford: Clarendon.
- Gaunt, Peter (1997), The British Wars 1637–1651, UK: Routledge, ISBN 0-415-12966-4. An 88-page pamphlet.
- Gentles, Ian (2007), "The English Revolution and the Wars in the Three Kingdoms, 1638–1652", in Scott, H. M.; Collins, B. W. (eds.), Modern Wars in Perspective, Harlow, UK: Pearson Longman
- Henning, Basil Duke, ed. (1983). "MONCK, George (1608–1670), of Potheridge, Merton, Devon.". The History of Parliament: the House of Commons 1660–1690. Boydell and Brewer. Retrieved 19 June 2018 – via History of Parliament Online.
- Jane, Lionel Cecil (1905), The coming of Parliament; England from 1350 to 1660, New York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, pp. 376–377
- Pepys, Samuel (1660). – via Wikisource.
- Raymond, Joad (2005), The invention of the newspaper: English newsbooks, 1641–1649, ISBN 978-0-19-928234-0
- Royle, Trevor (2004). Civil War: The War of the Three Kingdoms, 1638–1660. Little, Brown. ISBN 978-0-316-86125-0.
- Royle, Trevor (2005). Civil War: The Wars of the Three Kingdoms, 1638–1660. Abacus. ISBN 978-0-349-11564-1.
- Worden, Blair (1986), Stuart England (illustrated ed.), Phaidon
Further reading
Great Britain and Ireland
- Bennett, Martyn (1997). The Civil Wars in Britain and Ireland, 1638–1651. Oxford: Blackwell. ISBN 0-631-19154-2.
- Bennett, Martyn (2000). The Civil Wars Experienced: Britain and Ireland, 1638–1661. Oxford: Routledge. ISBN 0-415-15901-6.
- Kenyon, John; Ohlmeyer, Jane, eds. (1998). The Civil Wars: A Military History of England, Scotland, and Ireland, 1638–1660. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-866222-X.
- ISBN 0-19-822754-X.
- Stevenson, David (1981). Scottish Covenanters and Irish Confederates: Scottish-Irish Relations in the Mid-Seventeenth Century. Belfast: Ulster Historical Foundation. ISBN 0-901905-24-0.
- Young, John R., ed. (1997). Celtic Dimensions of the British Civil Wars. Edinburgh: John Donald. ISBN 0-85976-452-4.
England
- ISBN 0-19-219179-9.
- ISBN 0-85117-025-0.
- ISBN 1-85585-042-7.
- ISBN 1-84212-175-8.
- Worden, Blair (2009). The English Civil Wars: 1640–1660. London: W&N. ISBN 978-0297848882.
Ireland
- Lenihan, Pádraig (2000). Confederate Catholics at War, 1641–1649. Cork: ISBN 1-85918-244-5.
- Ó hAnnracháin, Tadhg (2002). Catholic Reformation in Ireland: The Mission of Rinuccini, 1645–1649. Oxford: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-820891-X.
- Ó Siochrú, Micheál (1999). Confederate Ireland, 1642–1649: A Constitutional and Political Analysis. Dublin: Four Courts Press. ISBN 1-85182-400-6.
- Ó Siochrú, Micheál, ed. (2001). Kingdoms in Crisis: Ireland in the 1640s. Dublin: Four Courts Press. ISBN 1-85182-535-5.
- Perceval-Maxwell, M. (1994). The Outbreak of the Irish Rebellion of 1641. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan. ISBN 0-7171-2173-9.
- Wheeler, James Scott (1999). Cromwell in Ireland. Dublin: Gill & Macmillan. ISBN 0-7171-2884-9.
Scotland
- Stevenson, David (1973). The Scottish Revolution, 1637–1644: The Triumph of the Covenanters. Newton Abbot: David & Charles. ISBN 0-7153-6302-6.
- Stevenson, David (1980). Alasdair MacColla and the Highland Problem in the Seventeenth Century. Edinburgh: John Donald. ISBN 0-85976-055-3.
External links
- British Civil Wars, Commonwealth and Protectorate Project
- Chronology of The Wars of the Three Kingdoms
- The Wars of the Three Kingdoms Article by Jane Ohlmeyer arguing that the English Civil War was just one of an interlocking set of conflicts that encompassed the British Isles in the mid-17th century
- Celtic Dimensions of the British Civil Wars at History Ireland
- Englishcivilwar.org News, comment and discussion about the English Civil War
- The first Scottish Civil War
- The Rebellion of 1641 and the Cromwellian Occupation of Ireland
- Ireland and the War of the Three Kingdoms
- Civil War