Overview of the British Civil Wars of 1630 - 1660

“The English Civil War” with which most people refer to this period is a very misleading name. There were several distinct wars in the middle of the seventeenth century in the British isles. Those wars also covered all of the isles, Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England.

The wars kick off with unrest in Ireland throughout the 1630s. In 1638 the Scots reject the Book of Common Prayer that the episcopalian King Charles I tries to impose on them. They prefer Presbyterianism and sign a National Covenant to this effect. Charles is short of funds and gets defeated by the Covenanters in 1638. He tries again in 1639 and the Scots invade England in riposte. Charles has to resort to calling a Parliament to vote him funds to repell the Scots.

However English politics is more interested in other things than giving the King money to fight wars. The King has ruled for too long without a Parliament and the Members are keen to extract some concessions in return for the money. Charles doens't like this much but is a devious pragmatist and plays them off against each other to try and get what he wants. Fortunately Charles isn't as devious as he would like to think he is and the situation deteriorates over the next couple of years.

Eventually the King and Parliament fall out and Charles quits London (big mistake). He even goes as far as declaring war on his own people. So starts the first civil war. The first Civil War is fought mostly in England and results in the King being defeated in the field, although not before Parliament has reformed the army to make it better meet their needs of fighting a war throughout the country.

Once he senses that he cannot win the war militarily the King surrenders to the Scots. The Scots engage in talks with the English Parliament and agree to hand him over in return for a bounty. The English then hold him in Hampton Court Palace, at least until he escapes to the Isle of Wight where he is recaptured.

During this time the Army is involved in a series of mutinies and discussions about why the war was fought and their post-war settlement. However these are premature. The people in the country also sick and tired of war, but there is more yet to come. The second civil war kicks off in 1648 and lasts only briefly as the army puts down a series of revolts in various parts of the country.

King Charles I is put on trial for treason by Parliament. He steadfastly refuses to reognise the court nor that he could be tried for treason being the King. Nevertheless he is found guilty and sentenced to death. Sentence is carried out swiflty and within a few days of the end of the trial he is executed in Whitehall on 30th January 1649.

Prince Charles is then crowned King Charles II by the Scots in early 1650 and the third civil war is started in earnest. Cromwell leads the army North, Sir Thomas Fairfax having resigned his commission as Lord General and commander in chief by this time. The English Army then proceeds to subdue the Scots. The campaign is a very close run thing and the English are on the verge of giving up when the Scots surround them on a golf course near Dunbar. Although outnumbered the English soldiers are more experienced, although the Scot Leslie is though to be a better general. However the Scots army is hampered by the religious advisers from the Church of Scotland who have insisted that all the ungodly officers are purged from the army. They also interfere in the strategy and tactics to be used against the English. This delay is fatal and the English army attacks and wins the battle. Nevertheless, the Scots regroup and the army starts south in early 1651. The campaign culminates in the Battle of Worcester in 1651 when the King's army is comprehensively defeated. Charles II, like many of his line to follow, flees to live on the continent for a time.

After Scotland is subdued it is next the turn of Ireland. Cromwell campaigns there and eventually restores it all to English control. Much has been written about the brutality and bloodthirst of the campaign, although not all of it seeing it for what was the norm in mid-seventeenth century warfare both in Ireland before the Cromwell campaign and for the rest of Europe. By those standards the Cromwell campaign was relatively humane, albeit still terrible by modern standards.