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The New Model Army Was The Most Important Reason For Parliament's Victory

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“The New Model Army was the most important reason for parliament’s victory in the first Civil War” How far do you agree with this statement? Discuss.

The first English civil war ended in 1646 with Charles’ surrender to the Scots in Newark after 4 years of fighting, with the help of the Parliament’s New Model Army, the roundheads had finally won. In my opinion, The New Model army was key to Parliament’s success but it wasn’t the outstanding most important factor. I believe it was a combination of reasons that led to parliament’s success in the war but the New Model Army certainly sped up the process.
Before the genius of founding the New Model Army in 1645, Parliament was using county committees and association armies to fight against the Royalists. These were armies from separate counties grouped together under aristocratic officers but 1645 saw a change in Parliament’s organization of their army. The New Model Army (NMA) was created as a consequence of mistakes being made at Marston …show more content…

The King started the civil war by raising his standard in Nottingham which automatically meant he didn’t have control of London and wasn’t close enough to contest Parliament for it. This gave Parliament a clear advantage over the King as London held 1 of only 2 main armories in England (then continuing to hold both after the King was denied access to the 2nd in Hull in 1642). Parliament also instantly gained control of the English navy from Dover – this severely reduced the chances of The King receiving foreign aid (which is what he tried to do towards the end of the war). Furthermore, controlling London gave parliament quick access to borrowed money although they didn’t need it especially after the financial ordinances of 1643 which I will come on

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