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22 August 1642
The First English Civil War begins as Charles I raises his standard at Nottingham.
23 October 1642
Royalist and Parliamentarian armies meet on the slopes of Edgehill, outside Banbury. Although Charles's nephew Prince Rupert leads a successful cavalry charge, the Parliamentary infantry stand their ground under their commander Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex (son of Elizabeth I's favourite). Charles's failure to march on London gives Parliament time to organise the capital's defences.
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Rupert was 23, a cavalry commander of genius, whose picture by Honthorst
shows a beautiful, melancholy face, with the long soft hair of the cavalier,
a reserved and grave expression, body-armour crossed by a swathe of silk.
His aloof beauty accompanied a passionate courage and intricate knowledge
of strategy and tactics.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
23 February 1643
Queen Henrietta Maria, Charles I's wife, returns from Europe, where she has been gathering arms and ammunition for the royalist cause.
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To a generation of extreme Protestants, Henrietta Maria was a manifestation
of the Whore of Babylon whose rise and destruction was predicted in the
Book of Revelation. Lady Eleanor Davies, the millenarian prophetess, denounced
the queen and counselled against the toleration of her religion, for 'blind
heresy' was 'Her Majesty's Darling'; she played Delilah to Charles's Samson.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
20 September 1643
Parliament wins the first battle of Newbury against the Royalists under Prince Rupert.
25 September 1643
Following Parliamentary setbacks in the war (despite the victory at Newbury: 20 September 1643), the Solemn League and Covenant between the Scots and English Parliament is signed in London. The Scots agree to aid Parliament in the Civil War with an army of 20,000 while Parliament agrees to reform the Anglican Church on Presbyterian lines.
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The treaty now made between English and Scots was for the English a matter of sheer political necessity; for the Scots a treaty with the binding power of a religious affirmation. But the divided unity it represented, queasy and volatile from the first, was cemented by the Royalist pact with the Irish, those 'idolatrous butchers', whose league threatened Scots and English far more than they at present threatened one another.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
2 July 1644
Joint armies of Scots and English, under the Parliamentary command of Edward Montagu, Earl of Manchester, defeat Charles I's army at Marston Moor near York. Oliver Cromwell's 'Ironsides' cavalry plays a vital role.
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Through the damp day the two armies faced each other in a tense stand-off,
until the sky darkened and rain began to pour. Rupert slackened his guard,
and Cromwell's cavalry swept across Rupert's defensive ditches in one
of the new-style charges he had perfected, whereby the horses on a short
rein and short stirrups were ridden, in tight formation, rapidly into
the enemy, followed by David Leslie's Scots, who smashed Rupert's flank.
His soldiers fled in panic towards York.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
26 October 1644
Parliament wins the second battle of Newbury (some authorities regard the outcome as indecisive). The Royalists retreat to Oxford.
6 April 1645
New Model Army comes into being as Thomas Fairfax, its commander, addresses it on Easter Day. Approved by Parliament in February, it is organised by Oliver Cromwell who - disenchanted with the aristocratic leadership of Parliament's army - purges it of its noble leaders and creates a New Model Army with paid soldiers who receive religious teaching. Cromwell deplores the failure of the Earl of Manchester to follow up the victory at Marston Moor (see 2 July 1644), accusing him of defeatism.
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The chaplains to these regiments were of central importance: the minister
Hugh Peter, who had spent time in New England, went round with a pistol
in one hand and a Bible in the other, easily becoming a figure of black
caricature to the ungodly, but demonstrating the new concept of the army
as a spiritual instrument.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
14 June 1645
Parliament wins the battle of Naseby, east of Rugby, a decisive victory. After the initial success of the Royalists, especially Prince Rupert's cavalry, Oliver Cromwell's 20,000-strong New Model Army annihilates Charles I's field army.
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One of the most disgraceful atrocities of the whole war occurred in the
wake of this battle, when a mass of 'Irish women of cruel countenances',
brandishing long knives, were murdered by Parliamentarian troops. In fact,
they were probably Welsh women, defending themselves with cooking utensils
and crying out in their mother tongue.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
8 October 1645
Cromwell orders the bombardment of Basing House, Hampshire, to end a two-year siege. For the full story, see the Time Team website (click on 'Archive', then on '2000 series' for a list including 'Basing House')'.
May 5 1646
Following the catastrophic defeat at Naseby (see 14 June 1645), Charles I gives himself up to the Scots and begins negotiations about his future.
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In spring of 1646, the New Model Army laid siege to Oxford, from which
Charles escaped in disguise, his hair cut short, and wearing a false beard
and poor clothes, and staying at inns and alehouses. An innkeeper caught
the incognito king and his companions burning documents, and a barber
noted that they had been sawing at their hair with knives.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
30 January 1647
The Scots hand Charles over to Parliament. Charles drags out peace negotiations with the Parliamentarians while secretly trying to persuade the Scots to help him.
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Charles's continuing machinations 'cemented', as Lucy Hutchinson put
it, the embroiled Scots and English, into a wish to end the stalemate,
the debate in the end being 'not who should, but who should not, have
him'. The English paid the Scots £400,000 to evacuate England and the
Scots handed the king over to Parliament.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
28 October 1647
The Putney Debates begin. Held in the parish church of Putney, outside London, this is a meeting of the Army Council - which includes leaders such as Oliver Cromwell and Henry Ireton and ordinary soldiers such as Thomas Rainsborough and Edward Sexby - that debates the central question of whether to continue seeking a negotiated settlement with Charles I. Representatives of the Levellers, called agitators, also argue for their tract An Agreement of the People, a revolutionary alternative that specifies an almost universal manhood suffrage. Cromwell and Henry Ireton reject these ideas, saying that they undermine the security of private property. The debates - an historic clash between and privilege and democracy - end on 8 November.
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Edward Sexby's scornful intervention speaks for all: '... There are many thousands of us soldiers that have ventured our lives: we have had little propriety in the kingdom as to our estates, yet we have had a birthright. But it seems now, except a man hath a fixed estate in this kingdom, he hath no right in this kingdom. I wonder we were so much deceived. If we had not a right in the kingdom, we were mere mercenary soldiers.'
11 November 1647
Charles I escapes house arrest at Hampton Court, but is soon recaptured and locked up in Carisbrooke Castle on the Isle of Wight. Oliver Cromwell sends the Leveller agitators back to their regiments.
15 November 1647
A meeting of the New Model Army at Corkbush Field, Ware, Hertfordshire, results in a near mutiny provoked by Leveller agitators. Oliver Cromwell restores order by riding up the line of soldiers and tearing copies of the Leveller tract An Agreement of the People from the hats of the men. The ring leaders are tried by courts martial and one man - chosen by lots - is shot. Thomas Fairfax, leader of the army, and Cromwell quell the mutiny but discontent about arrears of pay and lack of democratic reform persists.
27 December 1647
This is a secret treaty between Charles I and a faction of Scottish royalists and moderate Covenanters, who agree to restore the king to power if he establishes a Presbyterian Church in England for a three-year period. This agreement sparks off the Second Civil War.
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The outbreak of what is known as the Second Civil War but which was really more a series of rebellions by a population that had had enough of wartime taxation, centralisation and mayhem, sealed Charles's fate.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
17 August 1648
Oliver Cromwell defeats an invading Scottish army, led by James, Duke of Hamilton, at Preston, Lancashire. Other Royalist risings in Wales, Kent and Essex are easily crushed, and Hamilton is executed. The Second Civil War convinces Cromwell and the radical Puritans that Charles I cannot be trusted and must be tried for causing the Civil Wars.
6 December 1648
Troops under Colonel Thomas Pride arrive at the Commons and exclude 231 MPs from taking their seats. These MPs are supporters of the Treaty of Newport between the Long Parliament and Charles I, during the negotiations of which the king has agreed not to restore the bishops and relinquished control of the militia. Tired of these negotiations, which Charles sees as just a way of buying time, Cromwell's son-in-law Henry Ireton wants to dissolve Parliament, but is persuaded by some radical MPs to leave it 'purged'. The remaining 'Rump' Parliament brings the king to trial.
20 January 1649
The trial of Charles I begins. Following Pride's Purge (see 6 December 1648), the army leaders set up a special high court, headed by John Bradshaw, to try Charles as 'that man of blood', responsible for the civil wars. Charles, refusing to recognise the court or speak in his own defence, is sentenced to death on 27 January 1649 - 59 men, including Bradshaw and Oliver Cromwell, sign the death warrant.
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During the trial there had been an intervention from a masked lady in a gallery, thought to be Lady Fairfax, protesting against Bradshaw's claim that the trial was taking place 'in the name of the people of England'. 'Not half, not a quarter of the people of England!' called out a piercing voice. 'Oliver Cromwell is a traitor!' She was hustled away by soldiers.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
30 January 1649
On a specially built scaffold outside Inigo Jones' Banqueting Hall in Whitehall, Charles I is publicly beheaded. The crowd utters a deep groan as his head is shown off by the executioner. It is the first and last judicial killing of a reigning English monarch.
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Around the signing of Charles's death warrant clustered tales implying
Cromwell's maniacal coercion of reluctant judges to set their signatures
to the document ... Cromwell is supposed to have engaged in loud buffoonery
with Henry Marten after they had both signed, inking each other's faces,
in the solemn grandeur of the Painted Chamber. He is alleged to have yanked
the reluctant Sir Richard Ingoldsby to the table and traced his signature
for him.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
17 March 1649
The monarchy, along with the House of Lords and the Anglican Church, is abolished by the Rump Parliament. England is now a republic.
15 May 1649
Three soldiers are executed at Burford, Oxfordshire, following mutinies
by Leveller soldiers in Salisbury, Aylesbury and Banbury. Mutineers from
Salisbury and Aylesbury join forces near Abingdon and head west, but are
overtaken by Thomas Fairfax
and Oliver Cromwell,
who defeat the rebels at Burford. A much smaller group of mutineers from
Banbury are defeated at Wellingborough. This marks the end of effective
radical politics in the army.
The influence of the Levellers did not end with the English Civil Wars. Check out Tony Benn's provocative article on The legacy of the Levellers.
11 September 1649
To defeat the Catholic Confederacy, Oliver Cromwell leads an army to Ireland. After a short siege, his troops storm Drogheda and massacre its 2,000 defenders. On 12 October, Wexford is also captured. Kilkenny and Munster are captured in the following spring and Ireland falls under English rule.
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Cromwell despised the Irish, as did most Englishmen, as base, drunken,
idolatrous savages, enemies of both civilisation and the true faith ...
The manner in which Cromwell acquainted the Irish people with English
'civilisation' has been a byword for barbarity ever since, although it
is maintained in Cromwell's favour that he distinctly ordered his troops
not to kill civilians.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
2 September 1650
Oliver Cromwell's greatest victory, won against severe odds. The Scottish Royalist army, led by David Leslie, supports Charles II, who had been proclaimed king on 10 February 1649. It hems Cromwell in at Dunbar, but he breaks out and, after a fierce battle, wins the day, taking 10,000 prisoners.
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Hemmed in beneath Doon Hill, a steep rise on which the Scottish army
had secured itself, Cromwell, after prayer, was observing through perspective
glasses, when he made out shimmerings on the ridge which the enemy was
stealthily leaving: 'God is delivering them into our hands, they are coming
down to use,' he crooned with a rush of his old delight.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
1 January 1651
Charles II, son of Charles I, is crowned at Scone in Scotland. Once again, Charles and his Scottish supporters invade England but are defeated by Oliver Cromwell at Worcester on 3 September. On 16 October, Charles quits Britain for France. Scotland is ruled by England and occupied by the army until the Restoration in 1660.
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Charles's escape in disguise - hiding for two days in the 'Royal Oak'
near Boscobel, using the system of Catholic safe houses and the help of
60 dauntless individuals, to leave the country from Shoreham - became
the stuff of romantic legend.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
20 April 1653
After the Rump Parliament introduces a Bill for a new Parliament, the army is still unsatisfied because it has not received the pay owing to it. Impatient with Parliament's procrastinations, Oliver Cromwell and a group of soldiers forcibly dissolve it. 'Take away this bauble,' he says, pointing at the mace, symbol of Parliament's authority.
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'Come come, I will put an end to your prating!' Cromwell shouted. 'You are no Parliament. I say you are not Parliament. I will put an end to your sitting.'
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
4 July 1653
The Barebones Parliament (also known as the Saints Parliament) meets. Having dissolved the Rump Parliament (see 20 April 1653), Oliver Cromwell and senior army officers select 144 MPs to represent England, Scotland and Ireland in a nominated assembly called the 'Barebones' Parliament - after Praise-God Barebone, a leather seller and lay preacher who was chosen MP for London. After much squabbling, and unable to create a godly republic, the Barebones Parliament ends on 12 December, when the moderate majority walks out and hands power to Cromwell.
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The 'Barebones' radicals attacked property, alarming the moderates, who
crept in and assembled early in the morning of 12 December 1653, while
the radicals were at prayer, and ... resolved to surrender government
into Cromwell's hands.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
16 December 1653
Oliver Cromwell is declared Lord Protector. The Instrument of Government, the only written constitution that Britain has ever had, sets out a prescription for a kind of limited monarchy. Cromwell accepts the role of Protector. The Instrument specifies that he should govern under the advice of a council. Legislative power is vested in a single-chamber parliament that rules England, Scotland and Ireland. The Instrument gives freedom of worship to Puritan dissidents but only carries the authority of the army.
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The title 'Lord Protector' had a long history in English tradition, being the title used by regents during an heir's minority, and perhaps was intended to signify a desire to renounce power once the young Commonwealth was stabilised.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
12 March 1655
Following plotting by a royalist group called the Sealed Knot, this small Wiltshire rising by John Penruddock, a local royalist, is poorly supported and easily put down. Penruddock is executed, and Cromwell responds to such disorder by introducing the rule of the major-generals, each of whom is responsible one of the 11 military districts into which England is divided. Deeply resented by county gentry, the major-generals attempt to govern with Puritan zeal. However, when Cromwell is forced to summon it to raise money, Parliament terminates the rule of the major-generals in January 1657.
25 May 1657
The second constitution of the Protectorate, the Humble Petition and Advice, is drawn up by the Commons. It offers Oliver Cromwell the crown and suggests setting up a second parliamentary chamber. This constitution carries more authority than the Instrument of Government (see 16 December 1653) because it is formulated by an elected Parliament. Cromwell, after much thought, rejects the crown and is confirmed as Lord Protector. He accepts the power to name his own successor.
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This second investiture was a coronation in all but name. The coronation
throne ... was brought from Westminster Abbey to Westminster Hall and
placed on a platform, draped in 'a prince-like canopy of state'. On a
table, covered in pink Genoa velvet fringed with gold, were placed a robe
of purple velvet, lined with ermine, a gilt-bound Bible, a sword and sceptre.
The ceremony was almost completely secular, and the Speaker of the House
took the role traditionally assigned to the Archbishop of Canterbury.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
3 September 1658
Oliver Cromwell dies at the age of 59. His son, Richard Cromwell, is nominated his successor. Richard summons Parliament, but is unable to control it or to exercise authority over the army. He soon resigns (25 May 1659) and goes into exile, leaving the conservative General George Monck and the army to secure the Restoration of Charles II.
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On the anniversary of the battles of Dunbar and Worcester ... he died.
After an autopsy, the corpse was embalmed and placed in a double coffin
of wood and lead but his spleen had suppurated to the degree that 'the
filth broke through them all' and it was considered prudent to bury him
immediately.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
25 May 1660
Charles II, son of Charles I, lands in England after his exile on the Continent during the rule of Oliver Cromwell. He is greeted at Dover by General George Monck, whose army has helped secure the Restoration. Prior to this, Charles issues the Declaration of Breda, which pardons his father's enemies and threatens punishment only for the regicides. It also promises a measure of religious toleration to those with 'tender consciences'. The Convention Parliament restores Charles as monarch and passes an Act of Indemnity and Oblivion, which offers an amnesty for offences committed during the Civil Wars. The king, House of Lords and Anglican bishops are restored.
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Charles, returning at the age of 30 from an exile that had lasted all
his young manhood, had the easy cynicism to smile ironically at the sudden
new monarchists who mushroomed in the dark soil of his native land. He
understood the necessities and intrigues involved in survival, having
dodged from country to country on the continent ... forced to scrounge
his court's living and eat the bitter bread of charity.
From The Seventeenth Century by Stevie Davies (Channel 4 Books).
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