Asher K. Sisneros
Western Civilization Since 1492
Tom Woods
September 4, 2024
The English Civil War was a war over sovereignty and whether it resided in kings or Parliament. Since James I, the Stuart dynasty toyed with implementing absolutism in England. However, even James I, who supported the political theory, could not implement it effectively, and he ruled more mildly. However, the theory began gaining traction under King Charles I who tested the limits of what Parliament would allow, and it eventually cost him his life.
Ever since the Magna Carta, English monarchs were heavily restricted by their princes. That legendary document established the timeless principle that even kings are bound by the law, which gave local magistrates the right to look skeptically at kings’ actions. Moreover, because local justices were largely unpaid, kings could not threaten to withhold funding, causing princes to be unintimidated.
The English Civil War broke out because of Charles’ policy towards Parliament. The English monarchy retained the right to call Parliament into session or dissolve it at any time. If it was against Charles’ interests to call Parliament to convene, he would not call them.
When they refused to provide the necessary funds for Charles’ military endeavors via taxation, he adjourned Parliament. Then he revived formerly forgotten taxes—sometimes hundreds of years old—and had a legal defense since they were not technically laws that had not passed Parliament, even if they had not been enforced for centuries.
The Parliamentarians believed Charles’ actions were intolerable, and he was bypassing the historic liberty granted to Parliament by enforcing taxes without their consent. By 1642, the Parliamentarians and the Loyalists started a civil war. After all, it was this issue of sovereignty—whether it resided in Parliament or the king—that caused the war.
In the end, the Parliamentarians won under Oliver Cromwell’s New Model Army, and Charles was executed. At Charles’ trial, Bradshaw articulated the sentiments of the Parliamentarians, saying that loyalty between the king and his subjects is reciprocal, and when a king no longer exercises loyalty to his people, the people, who have the ultimate power, may overthrow him.
Asher Sisneros 