The Glorious Revolution / Royalists vs Roundheads

Royalists vs. Roundheads




Headed by King Charles I, the Royalists were a party who believed strictly in the divine right of kings and that parliament had very little importance. This along with Catholic tendencies made for trying times in England. The Roundheads, or Parliament and their supporters, decided to take action against Charles and his regime by starting the English Civil War. The Roundheads chose Oliver Cromwell to lead their army against Charles. This was an issue of royal, professional soldiers taking on an army of the middle-class commoners.


The war became imminent when Charles continued to abuse his power to get what he willed. He dissolved parliament twice, and on the second, did so for eleven years. After a squashed uprising in Ireland, parliament feared Charles would use the army on them next. To counter this, the Roundheads chose Oliver Cromwell to lead their New Model Army. Cromwell hailed from a family who was not excessively rich, but still had power and influence.





Early in the war, the royalists held the upper hand, but the turning point came at the Battle of Naseby, in which the Roundheads destroyed a vast royalist force that would never be matched in skill, size, or power again by Charles and the Royalists. This was the end of the First English Civil War. The second war however was not far off. King Charles negotiated with the Scots, levying church reform, to get their backing. They agreed, thus beginning the Second English Civil War. This war, as the last one did boiled down to one battle, The Battle of Preston. In this battle, Cromwell’s Roundheads defeated the Royalists once again. This time, Charles
was to face the consequences of his actions. He was sent to trial for high treason, and was convicted. He was beheaded, thus ending his tyrannical reign. With a vacant throne, Oliver Cromwell was placed in charge as Lord Protector. This effectively ended the monarchy style of rule in England for the time being. It would not be a permanent end, but it was a beginning which was eventually achieved in the Glorious Revolution, in which England adopted a Parliamentary Monarchy. In this system, the monarch had powers with limits. Parliament held the power to overrule anything they saw as an abuse of power.

The Glorious Revolution

The 17th century in England had become one where its inhabitants had grown tired of absolute monarchy and Catholic rule. The Glorious Revolution, or Revolution of 1688, was one to overthrow the Catholic King James II of England. The one chosen to lead the revolution against James was William of Orange, husband of James’ daughter, Mary. Mary had been the heir to the throne until James had a son of his own. William had been third in line for the throne. James refused to accept them as true heirs though, due to their unwillingness to support his Catholic views, because they were Protestant. When James had a son, many saw this as the start of a Catholic dynasty being formed, so they decided action must be taken. William was chosen to lead this revolt against James, and had the backing of the parliament and many Protestant nobles. An army was prepared for William, and they reached England to take on James. When they arrived, James’ troops fled, leaving the king to fend for himself. James in turn fled to France, avoiding leaving his fate in the hands of William’s troops.

This is the reason it is called the Bloodless Revolution. The throne was abandoned without having a brutal struggle over it. James’ flight meant that the throne of England was now open though, so a replacement must be found. In 1689, William and Mary were chosen by parliament to lead England together. The means by which they would lead were greatly altered from prior monarchs though. They signed the English Bill of Rights, forming England as a constitutional monarchy, subjecting their leaders to parliament’s authority. No longer could monarchs rule as they pleased without consequence. William and Mary were forced to agree to this before they could rule. The bill of rights ended any chance of another Catholic monarch, as well as limited the powers to suspend laws, tax people, or have a standing army in a time of peace without consent from parliament.

Though the revolution was bloodless in England, that does not mean it had the same results everywhere. James returned to Ireland to gather Irish Catholic support to attempt to regain his throne. William’s forces were in battle with the French already, but they were able to muster a Protestant army who would defeat the Catholics in the Battle of Boyne, thus ending James’ attempts at reclaiming the throne.

James’ grandson, Bonnie Prince Charlie, also attempted to reclaim the throne in 1746, but was met by King George II and his army at Culloden. Bonnie Prince Charlie was defeated easily, and then went into exile in France, where he became a drunk and died, along with his younger brother, thus ending the Stuart monarch line