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How Did Charles I Cause The English Civil War

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During King Charles I’s reign from 1625 to 1649, there were several disagreements between Parliament and the King that eventually led to the English Civil War. The war broke out gradually and after a series of events, so it was not a specific conflict that caused the war to commence. Although there were both religious and political differences between the two sides, the English Civil War was a fight over political rights because many of the major causes of the war involved the governing of England. The major causes included the King’s close relationship with the Duke of Buckingham, the King’s refusal of Parliament’s Nineteen Propositions, and his unfair methods of raising money for the country. For example, Charles upset his relationship …show more content…

England was also in economic issues because of the way that Buckingham left it, and the many expenses that were a result of the Thirty Years War. Charles was desperate for money and tried many different approaches to get it from his subjects. In 1628, Charles collected tax from the people without Parliament’s authorization. After Parliament complained about his actions, they then composed the Petition of Right which discussed some of the rights that the people and the members of Parliament had. Charles rejected their ideas and dissolved Parliament. Since Parliament was kept out of order for several years, Charles had no means of taxation. He had to find new methods of collecting money because his subjects refused to pay taxes that were not approved by Parliament. Some methods that Charles abused during his personal rule consisted of: Ship Money, Tariffs and Forced Loans. He used these certain approaches as an excuse to take money from the people of England, however most of the money that he took belonged to the middle class. Many merchants and Puritans were driven by their anger towards these unreasonable actions, which caused them to side with Parliament’s

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