Execution of King Charles I

660 Words2 Pages
bulb-icon

Recommended: The civil war conflict

King Charles I left us with some of the most intriguing questions of his period. In January 1649 Charles I was put on trial and found guilty of being a tyrant, a traitor, a murderer and a public enemy of England. He was sentenced to death and was executed on the 9th of February 1649. It has subsequently been debated whether or not this harsh sentence was justifiable. This sentence was most likely an unfair decision as there was no rule that could be found in all of English history that dealt with the trial of a monarch. Only those loyal to Olivier Cromwell (The leader opposing Charles I) were allowed to participate in the trial of the king, and even then only 26 of the 46 men voted in favour of the execution. Charles was schooled from birth, in divine right of kings, believing he was chosen by God to be king, and handing power to the parliament would be betraying God. Debatably the most unjust part of his trial was the fact that he was never found guilty of any particular crimes, instead he was found guilty of the damage cause by the two civil wars. King Charles I was the only m...

Show More
Related

  • Capital Punishment: Just Mercy By Attorney-At Law Bryan Stevenson

    1104 Words  | 3 Pages

    In 1608 the case of Captain George Kendall became the first recorder Capital Punishment case in the colonies. Capital punishment has been a very controversial topic since the beginning of the 13 colonies. Capital Punishment is defined as the legally authorized killing of a subject as punishment for committing a crime, mostly involving a homicide. In the first couple of years that Capital Punishment was first used, the subject would be hung from a tree in a public viewing, but as laws changed it became a more private practice. Many people have issues with Capital punishment, while some people believe it is just. Lawyers have fought for many years for what they believe to be the injustice and immoral practice of killing a human being,

    Read More

  • Historians' Changing Opinions of Oliver Cromwell

    1122 Words  | 3 Pages

    Oliver Cromwell was a well known military dictator. He helped the Parliamentarians win the First Civil War and was named Lord Protector. He died in 1658 but many people still remember him as one of the best leaders in history although others believe he was a harsh tyrant and always wanted too much power for himself. Throughout the years, numerous historians have changed their views on whether he was a good leader or not. This work will look at three interpretations from different people on who Cromwell was and what he was like and compare them.

    Read More

  • The Reign of Terror Ruins the Guillotines Reputation

    582 Words  | 2 Pages

    40,000 people were killed by the guillotine in the time period of 1789 to 1799, this made the guillotine ineffective during the Reign of Terror. The reasons being were, it was a messy execution machine, people got bored of people being killed the same way, and it was a cruel way to die by being executed by the guillotine. Here are the reasons why.

    Read More

  • Crime And Punishment In The Elizabethan Era

    546 Words  | 2 Pages

    Today some people can get away with just about any small crime with no punishments, but in the Elizabethan era you'd think twice before committing a crime. For stealing fruit in the Elizabethan era you can lose your hand. Today you would get community service or some other small punishment. The punishment you were given had to do with the crime, your wealth, and who you were connected to.

    Read More

  • Elizabethan Era Punishment

    878 Words  | 2 Pages

    Was there ever a time when people did not break the law? The Elizabethan Era was one of the most known periods of English history. Being known for its great success in change and discovery, it was also remembered for its violent and brutal times. A subject that many people were interested in from this era was the crime and punishment. As people looked back the crime and punishment of the era, there were three factors that stood out from the construction of its history. They were: the crimes that were committed, the people who committed them, and the punishments they received. From much research on Elizabethan crime, punishment, and people, researchers discovered that the crime and punishment during the era certainly was not ordinary and sometimes

    Read More

  • The History Of Kinston Hangings

    889 Words  | 2 Pages

    In the early hours of February 2, 1864, fifty-three North Carolina men were captured by Confederate forces under the command of Major General Pickett. Within four months of their capture, most would be dead. Most would fall victim to the diseases acquired in Southern P.O.W camps in Richmond, Virginia, and Andersonville, Georgia. However, twenty-two were publicly hanged in Kinston, North Carolina. The wives, neighbors, friends, and former brothers in arms in the Confederate army were forced to watch the executions. From the Confederacies point of view, the executed men were Union soldiers because they deserted. Once captured, they deserved to be treated as prisoners of war. President Abraham Lincoln mentioned this on July 31, 1863. He ordered retaliation on the enemy prisoners in the North’s possession. His response was to kill a Southern P.O.W for every P.O.W the Confederacy killed. The Confederates argued that the men were simply deserters and therefore execution was a legitimate punishment for them.

    Read More

  • The Execution By Alden Noman

    442 Words  | 1 Pages

    The author Alden noman uses several poetic elements in his poem “The Execution”. The execution is a free verse poem this makes it more story-like as the poem has no rhyme or rhythm to it and the type of poem is narrative. The poem has 6 stanzas and 118 lines. There is alliteration, such as “we went” and “thought they”. The story is mostly the type of stanzas that contain 3 lines called tercet. Alden also uses symbolism in this poem take the reverend for example, who is a symbol of the church and the holy spirit, there is then the sheriff who represents the order of society and then there is the press who is the symbol of free speech. There is also imagery, but it's minor and that is “the lights were so bright”. There is also spondee in the

    Read More

  • Childless Charles II Research Paper

    236 Words  | 1 Pages

    The death of the childless Charles II, the last Hapsburg King of Spain, in 1700 caused a crisis in succession, which resulted in the War of the Spanish Succession, a matter of international concern, thus, causing major European conflict. Before his death, Charles had named Prince Philippe of Anjou, his grandnephew and the grandson of Louis XIV of France, heir to the Spanish Empire. Fearing the power of the House of Bourbons as rulers of both Spain and France, other European powers Britain, The Dutch Republic, Austria, and the Holy Roman Empire (joined later by Portugal) formed The Grand Alliance in support of Archduke Charles’, son of Emperor Leopold I of the Hapsburg Empire, bid for the Spanish throne. The War lasted until 1714, and although

    Read More

  • Why Civil War Broke Out in England in 1642

    868 Words  | 2 Pages

    One of the key factors that led to the civil war was the contrasting beliefs of King Charles and the parliament. The monarchy believed in the divine rights of kings, explained by Fisher (1994, p335) as a biblically-based belief that the king or queen's authority comes directly from God and that he is not subjected to the demands of the people. On the other hand, the parliament had a strong democratic stance and though they respected and recognized the king's authority, they were constantly desiring and fighting for more rights to power. Although climaxing at the reign of King Charles, their antagonism stretched for centuries long before his birth and much of the power that once belonged to the monarchy had shifted over to the parliament by the time he came into power.

    Read More

  • Charlemagne, Charles I Or Charles The Great

    1421 Words  | 3 Pages

    Charlemagne, Charles I, or Charles the Great was a Frankish King that ruled over the Frankish Carolingian Empire. He achieved four monarchial titles during his time, which were King of the Franks, King of the Lombards, King of Italy, and the Holy Roman Emperor. He laid the foundations for most of modern-day Western Europe. His sphere of influence ranged from the Spanish Marches, a part of Spain he ruled, to Obotrite territory, now modern-day German regions of Mecklenburg and Holstein. The people he directly ruled over lived in the regions of Neustria, Austrasia, Swabia, Thuringia, Aquitaine, Burgundy, Gascony, Provence, Septimania, Carinthia, Bavaria, Lombardy, Frisia, Saxony, Thuringia, the Breton March, and the Spanish March.

    Read More

  • The Guillotine: Prior To The Reign Of Terror

    695 Words  | 2 Pages

    The guillotine itself was used prior to the reign of terror and is documented being used after the reign of terror as well (Symbol of Revolution). In light of this it was not the invention of the guillotine that proves Mead’s theory but rather the idea the guillotine championed that proves her ideas. The guillotine was a representation of an idea to show more compassion and humanity in the treatment of all humans. Even those who had been convicted of a serious crime. The French did this by enacting legislation, forcing all executions to be beheadings by guillotine in 1792 (Symbol of Revolution). Guillotines much like gunpowder were initially invented with a noble purpose of relieving the suffering of death. Although one was meant to stop it from happening and the other intended to bring death quicker. The

    Read More

  • King Charles I Research Paper

    246 Words  | 1 Pages

    Cavalier poets came from the classes that supported King Charles I. They were influenced by Ben Jonson an Elizabethan court poet. Ben Jonson’s poetry was secular, and that is what Cavalier poems would focus on. “The poems are often clever and less often deep.” Most poems focus on deep issues like religion, philosophy, and arts, but Cavalier poetry expresses joy and celebrates much livelier. “The intent of their works was often to promote the crown and produce poetry that impressed King Charles I.” This quotes shows how the Cavaliers writing style was to celebrate love, beauty, nature, drinking, social life, sensuality, and honor because that is what King Charles I loved and it impressed him. These quotes explain what inspired and sparked the

    Read More

  • The Death Penalty Debate

    1491 Words  | 3 Pages

    The death penalty has existed almost as long as civilization itself, established in the Eighteenth Century B.C. in one of the first large societies, by the Code of King Hammaurabi of Babylon, which prescribed the death penalty for 25 unique crimes. Furthermore, the death penalty continued to be used in early civilization, such as in the Hittite Code, the Draconian Code of Athens and the Roman law of the Twelve Tablets, which spanned hundreds of years. At the time, most death sentences were horrific and painful, including drowning, beating, burning, impalement and crucifixion. Later, in countries such as Britain, hanging became the predominant method of giving capital punishment, and William the Conqueror, who ruled at around that time, abolished the death penalty altogether, then, a dramatic move. However, the death penalty was restarted in the Sixteenth Century under Henry VII, where thousands and thousands of people w...

    Read More

  • Oliver Cromwell: Revered and Reviled Ruler

    753 Words  | 2 Pages

    ...’s execution. Cromwell’s head was kept on a stake for many years after his posthumous execution. On the other hand, many others consider him a great and powerful leader who achieved what was necessary for England at the time. In fact, he was recently voted number ten in the 2003 BBC poll “100 Greatest Britons.” Whether beloved or detested, there is no doubt that Oliver Cromwell remains one of the most influential and powerful leaders England has known.

    Read More

  • The Punishments of the Medieval era

    1232 Words  | 3 Pages

    When Shakespeare was born in 1564, Queen Elizabeth had taken power a mere 6 years prior, and her justice system was very different from ours. In this paper, I hope to explore some of the ways punishments were different, such as how many crimes had individual punishments, often times depending on how severe the crime was. I will also go in-depth to one of the most infamous cases of the medieval period.

    Read More

More about Execution of King Charles I

Open Document