2. English Civil War 1642-1651
The English Civil War is a series of three wars that determined the fate of the monarch in England. 40 years after the death of Queen Elizabeth I, England had become an empire that included Scotland, Ireland, and colonies in North America. When war broke out people throughout England picked sides and acted accordingly. Battles were fought in Massachusetts and Maryland as well as in Ireland, Scotland, and England. Those in port cities and developed areas supported parliament while those in the countryside supported the crown.
Parliamentarians supported a regular parliament in which the monarch must consult while supporters of the Crown rallied around the idea that the monarch could do what he or she wished without consent of parliament. Throughout the first (1642-1646), second (1648-1649), and third (1649-1651) wars opposing sides implemented pike and shot warfare. Lines of infantry would face each other and fire volleys, both sides would reload, and then fighting would resume in an orderly fashion. As with many wars of the era, death on the battlefield was small compared to death from disease, plague, famine, and exile.
The English Civil War in Ireland had a devastating impact. Oliver Cromwell’s parliamentary forces conquered the island through a siege and then a massacre of Catholic priests, soldiers, prisoners, and civilians. Catholic-owned lands were confiscated and distributed among the victorious soldiers, creditors, and English settlers in Ireland.
Roughly 41% of Ireland’s population died from battle, plague, disease, or famine at the hands of Cromwell’s army while Scotland lost 6% and England lost 3.7%. At the end of the war in 1651, England, Ireland, and Scotland had no monarchy and England was put on a path toward a parliamentary monarch, which would create the Kingdom of Great Britain in the eighteenth century.