The Civil War in England - Essay Example

This paper shall discuss the effects that the war had on the people of England and the different aspects of the nation then. Before the commencement of the war and even during it, the reins of the economy and the funds of the government rested with the Parliament that would then be in a position to dictate terms to the King (Bucholz and Key, 254). This marked a change in the way in which revenue was utilized during the Elizabethan age when the monarch had a far greater role to play in the handling of the nation’s funds that when the Stuart dynasty took over.

The expenses of the monarch would have to be ratified by the Parliament and this was a great blow to James I. He however, managed to maintain a balance between the demands of the Parliament and the maintenance of his power. His son, Charles I, however, could not do so. Many attribute this failure to Charles’ belief in the divine rights that he believed kings to have (Trueman). According to this theory, kings were the deputies of god on earth and this right of the king could not be taken away by the Parliament which according to him was merely a collection of mortals.

This belief of Charles would be the reason that led to his ultimate execution. His failure to recognize the real aspirations of his people finally led to his downfall. Apart from this, one also needs to look at the flawed military strategies that were employed by the Royalists and the successful ones by the Parliamentarians. John Pym, according to Robert Bucholz and Newton Key, was instrumental in ensuring the victory of the Parliamentarian cause in many battles that occurred during the civil war (Bucholz and Key, 254).

Religious reasons were very important in the civil war. It marked a transition to a phase in history where religion would be a major determinant in political affairs in an explicit manner. The puritans were responsible in a large way for the civil war. Oliver Cromwell himself was a puritan (Oliver Cromwell). These aspects along with the fact of the different sects that people in England, Ireland and Scotland were a part of, had led to tensions within the nation (Stoyle). A different form of politics too had taken shape, one that would thrive on the politics of identity.

This was a change from earlier days. This change has survived to modern times when political parties survive on the identity of the community they represent. The major economic effect of the English Civil War was its detrimental impact on trade. Ben Coates in his work The Impact of the English Civil War on the Economy of London observes that the years spanning from 1648 to 1650 were marked by poor agricultural produce and naval and trade weakness. The recession of 1648-50, however, was a product of bad harvests and weakness on the seas.

The Dutch regained their supremacy in the seas and thus undermined English trade and industries. It is noteworthy that the war weakened the erstwhile flourishing English foreign trade at the precise point of time when the Dutch consolidated their commercial and naval power after the completion of the Thirty Years' War (1648) (Coates, 22). The importance of these developments needs to be analyzed in conjunction with the role that these changes enabled in the transition to modernity. Not only were the seeds of democracy sown