Essay On The Trial And Execution Of King Charles 1

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The trial and execution of King Charles I was a process that contained many changes for the English nation in early 1649. The nation’s issues with Charles Stuart did not begin in the last year of his life; however, it began long before January 1649. The king at the time came from a monarchy and was above the law as ordained by God. Others saw this, as stated in his charges at the trial, that he had conceived “a wicked design to erect and uphold in himself and unlimited and tyrannical power to rule according to his Will, and to overthrow the Rights and Liberties of the People.” Charles’ own indignation of his place in the law created issues within England, dividing the nation politically and religiously. There were multitudinous factors that moved King Charles I to his …show more content…

The road leading up to the trial and execution of Charles is a tumultuous one with many twists and turns. Charles Stuart’s father, King James of England, left the country deeply in debt due to a war with Spain. During this time, the House of Commons controlled the funds to pay for war. Due to this, the House was able to expand its power because of the struggle to pay off debt. These same disputes about money and power between the Parliament and the King continued under Charles I, who reigned from 1625 to 1649, where he met his death. Four years into his reign, Charles dissolved Parliament and decided to rule on his own accord. In order to fund his ruling, he expanded taxes on the inhabitants of England. One of the most prevalent taxes he expanded was changing both inland and port cities special “ship money” for his defense. The “ship money” taxes were used in case a fleet was needed to be sent out to defend the kingdom. Under his rule, a second issue came about with religion because of the Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud. Laud attempted to make the English church adopt more elaborate

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