Age of Civil War and Interregnum | Age of Milton | Age of Puritans
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King James IV published his book The True Law of Monarchies in 1598. Through this book, he tried to force the idea of the divine right of kings in Scotland, England, and Ireland. James IV died in 1625. Charles Ist became the next king and he also believed in the divine right of kings. However, the English Parliament had its own powers and that created a rift between the monarch and the parliamentarians. King Charles Ist took some such decisions and actions that lead to a revolution by the parliamentarians and created the ground for Civil War in England that began in 1640 and continued till 1649. In 1649, the army of Parliamentarians won and King Charles the Ist was beheaded. He became the first king to be executed by his own people.
Age of Civil War
The civil war had its effect on English literature and no noteworthy literary work was produced during these years. The English monarch lacked any standing army or a paid bureaucracy and hence he was powerless to coerce the parliamentarians. The taxation system was controlled by the Parliament and hence the king lacked any legal source of income. English war against Spain proved to be costly and fruitless and that increased the financial troubles of Charles Ist. Furthermore, despite his marriage to a Catholic princess, he didn’t enjoy the support of Catholics. Puritans were already against the Anglican church and hence the King because the supreme leader of the Anglican church was the King. Protestants were angry against King Charles I because of his policies. King Charles I tried to improve the financial status of his kingdom by levying extra charges on custom duties, exacting forced loans, and exploiting feudal privileges but it was not enough. He further tried to impose some non-parliamentary taxation and that prompted the Parliament to raise its voice against him.
King Charles Ist tried to win the support of Parliament but the members of Parliament were not ready to burden the common public with new taxes. As a result, the king dismissed the parliament three times and didn’t allow the members of parliamentarians to meet. King Charles 1st strongly believed that being the Monarch he has a divine right to rule and for him, the parliament was the entity that continued to hamper his right to rule as he wanted. In 1628, King Charles I locked the parliament after the Petition of Rights was approved. He didn’t allow the parliament to meet for the next 12 years. Meanwhile, many members of parliament were imprisoned and one of them named John Eliot died during his imprisonment.
The English Civil War was a series of civil wars and political upheaval that began in 1642 and continued till 1651. The first part of this civil war began in 1642 and ended in 1646. The supporters of King Charles I were known as the Cavaliers or Royalists and the opposing supporters of Parliamentarians were known as Roundheads. The major issues of the war were excessive taxation, the high-handedness of the King in the matter of ruling England, and interference in religious freedom.
Initially, King Charles I’s army gained success against the army of Parliamentarians.
Generally, the North and Southwest parts of England favored the king. All the Caroline poets were Cavaliers as they supported King Charles Ist. These Caroline poets and writers wrote poems, articles, and pamphlets in support of the king, presenting him in good light to win the support of the common people.
On the other hand, people in London and the South-Eastern part of England were supporting Parliamentarians. King Charles Ist left London with his family to North in January 1642 as he feared for the safety of his family.
Initially, Cavalier forces had an advantage over the Parliamentarian forces because while the Cavalier forces were fighting under the leadership of King Charles Ist who was an experienced general, there was no clear leader of the Parliamentarian forces. Soon, an educated and dedicated Puritan Oliver Cromwell took the leadership of Parliamentarian forces and supporters. He changed the way of administration of the Army. While in the Cavalier forces, anyone with enough riches could gain a high position, Cromwell made sure that an army man attains a position as per his skills and abilities. Gradually, the Parliamentarian forces started gaining an upper hand. King Charles Ist belonged to Scotland and he had high hopes of support from Scottish forces. However, he was working for the uniform Anglican Church rule throughout his three kingdoms of England, Scotland, and Ireland and this created a negative feeling against him in the hearts of Presbyterian Scottish people who sided with the Parliamentarians against the Cavalier forces. The Scottish forces imprisoned King Charles Ist and handed him over to the Parliamentarian forces in May 1646.
After his arrest, the period of ‘Interbellum’ began in which all the different axis of forces were trying to make alliances to gain complete power over England, Scotland, and Ireland. The period of Interbellum, when there was no clear government in England ended in 1648 when the Presbyterian party again aligned with the Royalists and they together made a strong force supporting King Charles I.
Oliver Cromwell was consolidating his political powers while King Charles I also tried to regain the support of various factions and raise a strong army while he was still in prison. Oliver Cromwell realized that King Charles I will not let the Parliamentarians settle in the powerful position. In 1648, some unpaid soldiers of Parliamentarians changed sides and vowed to support King Charles Ist. Oliver Cromwell could now see the real threat and he decided to end the threat of King Charles Ist and his new forces by executing him. King Charles Ist was beheaded on 5 July 1649. This period from 1648-1649 was the second leg of the English civil war that ended with the execution of King Charles Ist.
After the death of King Charles Ist, his son King Charles II was the legal heir but Parliamentarians opposed the return to Monarchy and Oliver Cromwell was elected as the leader. Supporters of Charles II raised forces in support of Charles II and the third leg of the Civil war began in 1649 and continued till 1651. The Parliamentarian forces again won the struggle and the unrest was put to an end on 3 September 1651. Prince Charles II ran away to France.
In 1653, Oliver Cromwell became the Lord Protector of England and he remained the de facto ruler of England till his death.
The Period of Interregnum (1649-1660)
The third leg of the English Civil War was fought during the period of Interregnum which began after the death of King Charles I in 1649 and ended in 1660 with the return of Ki9ng Charles II on the English throne. While theaters were banned as an abject means of entertainment on 6th September 1642, there was no hard censor or ban on other literary works. However, the social and political situations of then England were such that no noteworthy literary work was produced during the years of the Civil War. All the literature created during this period were either influenced by political scenario and hence either biased towards Royalists or biased towards Roundheads, or it was influenced by religious sentiments.
From 1649 to 1653, executive powers were held by the Council of State while Rump Parliament controlled the legislative works. In 1653, Oliver Cromwell was appointed Lord Protector holding the rule of England, Scotland, and Ireland and hence making the Commonwealth. While Oliver Cromwell gained huge support during the years of the Civil War, his time as the Lord Protector wasn’t so great. It was difficult to control and maintain peace with different religious factions including the Presbyterians, Puritans, Catholics, and Protestants. Cromwell forced Puritan ideals strictly. All were forced to lead an austere lifestyle. There were restrictions on fashion and clothing. Holidays of the sabbath, easter, and Christmas were suppressed. Gambling and theater were completely banned. However, some forms of religious entertainment such as Opera were allowed.
Meanwhile, the Lord Protector was also facing financial difficulties that continued from the times of King Charles I. To ease the situation, Cromwell allowed the admission of Jews in England. Though this decision proved to be controversial and Jews continued to suffer the hostile attitudes of English people. Yet, they were allowed to worship and maintain synagogues.
Lord Protector was also facing the threat of Irish and Scottish rebellion and he had to maintain a strong army to suppress any rebellion. To do so, he had to exact strict taxes. The civil war began as the Parliamentarians didn’t want the common public to face the burden of taxes, but the public still had to pay high taxes. Oliver Cromwell died on 3 September 1658 after suffering a long illness. After his death, his son Richard Cromwell took the position of Lord Protector which was also opposed by various factions. Richard had no support base in Parliament and he was forced to resign in May 1659. The Long Parliament was restored in 1659 and after some time, Prince Charles II was invited to England in 1660 to be the new King of England under a restored monarchy.
So we have discussed the historical, political, and social background of the Age of Civil War and the Interregnum. Now we will discuss the major literary works of this period which include the works of John Milton and other noteworthy authors. Please stay connected with the Discourse.
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