English Revolution

The English Revolution of 1640 to 1660, centered on the civil wars between king and Parliament, executed one king and briefly created a republic.

Overview

Charles I attempts to rule without Parliament and to impose religious uniformity provoked war with Scotland and then a constitutional crisis. Civil war from 1642 pitted Royalists against a Parliament whose New Model Army under Oliver Cromwell and Thomas Fairfax won decisive victories. The army purged Parliament, tried the king for treason, and executed Charles I in January 1649, abolishing monarchy and the House of Lords. The Commonwealth and then the Protectorate governed until Cromwell death in 1658 ended in restoration of the monarchy in 1660. The settlement of 1688 confirmed parliamentary sovereignty, while radicals like the Levellers raised ideas of universal male suffrage and religious toleration that long outlived their defeat.