How Did The English Civil War Affect Society

1682 Words7 Pages

The English Civil War: How did it affect the society and the political system
The English Civil War can actually be divided into three different wars. The first one started in 1642 and ended in 1646. The second war started in 1648 and ended the same year. The third and last war started in 1650 and ended in 1651. The English Civil War did not involve only England, but also Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This is why the wars are also referred to as The Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
The Stuart Dynasty
The first kings to rule the United Kingdom were the Stuarts. The thrones of England and Scotland were united for the first time in 1603, when Queen Elizabeth I died. The Queen's death led to the thrones of England and Ireland to be passed on to …show more content…

The Trained Bands of Essex made themselves well-known by storming and capturing the fortress of Fort Royal in the battle of Worcester in 1651, and then pointing the guns at the Royalists in Worcester.
Up until the year 1640, the state managed the society in the interest of the feudal order from the middle-ages. This order limited the development of capitalism in rural areas, such as in the countryside. During the rough happenings of the Civil War, the ones who favoured a capitalist development over the traditional rights of farmers and royals managed to get in the Parliament. The Marxist aspect sees the English Civil War and Revolution as an important part of the development from a feudal to a capitalist state in Britain. The events between 1640 and 1660 was a revolution where feudalism was destroyed, and replaced with a state that held a wider system of agrarian and industrial capitalism.
By 1660, it was quite common for farmers to rent the land they lived and worked at. With state-sponsoring of enclosing common lands, more and more farmers were forced to become landless wage-labourers. Enclosure of common lands means that usage of the land is restricted to the owner, and not for common