#english_history 

## Prelude
Charles I and James I had continued Elizabeth's policy and had colonised [[The Celtic kingdoms of Ireland|Ulster]] mainly with farmers from the Scottish Lowlands, displacing the Catholic Irish.

In **1641**, Ireland exploded in rebellion. Charles and Parliament quarrelled over who should control an army to defeat the rebels. Many believed that Charles only wanted to raise an army in order to dissolve Parliament by force.
So in **1642** Charles unsuccessfully tried to arrest five MPs in Parliament. In response, London locked its gates against the king, and Charles moved to Nottingham where he gathered an army to defeat those MPs who opposed him. 

## The War

Most people did not want to participate in the civil war, but those who did split into 2 factions: the **Roundheads**, those whl supported Parliament, and the **Cavaliers**, aka the Royalists, who supported the king. The Roundheads controlled many cities and southeast England, while the Cavaliers controll northwest England and Scotland.

Parliament was supported by the navy, by most of the merchants and by the Londoners, so the Royalists had to either fight quickly or surrender. By **1645** the Royalist armhy was unpaid, causing desertment, mutinies and looting. In the end they lost their courage to fight against the Roundheads and at **Naseby** in **1645** the Royalist army was defeated. It was the time for [[Republican Britain|a republic]].