28 • The Fifth Monarchists Channels 2022 Causes and Results of War There is quite a bit of literature concerning the causes for the English Civil War. However, while there is some general consensus on the direct causes and events leading up to the war, the schools of thought differ on broader and more deep-rooted causes. The two essential causes that are agreed upon are religious conflict due to the Reformation and the Puritan movements within England and the political tensions between the monarchy and Parliament. However, there is debate on the relationship between these two causes, as well as the more profound societal and cultural ideas that may have played a part to varying degrees. Some argued for the long-term causes that led to the war. Tim Harris, in his book Rebellion: Britain’s First Stuart Kings, he argues that it was causes going all the way back to James I’s reign that led to Charles I’s disastrous rule and the rebellion against him.8 Problems with finances, religion, and other issues led to rising tension, Charles’s poor decisions (compared to the better ones made by James), and ultimately, the rebellion that would lead to his untimely death.9 Mark Stoyle looked at deeper cultural ideas that influenced the war, such as English nationalism. He argues that the 8 Harris, Tim. Rebellion: Britain’s First Stuart Kings, pg. 7 9 Harris, Tim. Rebellion: Britain’s First Stuart Kings, pg. 502 10 Stoyle, Mark. “English 'Nationalism', Celtic Particularism, and the English Civil War,” pg. 1113 11 Stoyle, pg. 1128 12 Fukuyama, Francis. “The Last English Civil War,” pg. 22-23 13 Manning, “The Outbreak of the English Civil War,” pg. 1 rampant nationalism of the English people influenced Parliament and England’s relationships with Scotland and Ireland.10 This resulted ultimately in the beginning of the “reconquest” of the British Isles by the English at the end of the Civil War under Cromwell.11 Francis Fukuyama also wrote on the nationalism of the time, pointing to it as the reason this was the last major civil war in England. Tied to its reformation against the Roman Church, the newEnglish national identity was solidified in that period, along with their concept of English rights. It was Charles I’s decision to ignore this reality that caused the Civil War.12 Other scholars examine the immediate causes and results of the Civil War. There is general consensus on the immediate causes, those being the religious tensions between Charles I and Puritans and the political rivalry between Parliament and the king. Brian Manning writes of the war, pointing to the distrust between Puritans and the more “popish” churches with organized structures.13 Among the more important immediate causes of the war was the influence of the radicals, especially in Parliament. David Como writes of the radicals, attributing much of not only the causes of
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