Timeline for the English Civil War
The English Civil War took place between 1642 and 1651 and was the result of conflict between Charles I and Parliament over an Irish insurrection. Oliver Cromwell’s victory for Parliamentary forces at the 1645 Battle of Naseby ended the first stage of the war, while the second stage of the war was decided by Charles’ defeat at the Battle of Preston and his subsequent execution in 1649. Charles’ son, also named Charles, then decided to form an army made up of English and Scottish Royalists, which forced Cromwell's hand and led to his invasion of Scotland in 1650. The following year, the remaining Royalist forces were defeated by Cromwell and so ended the English Civil War. Despite this, Charles II still managed to secure the throne less than 10 years later in 1660.
| 1642 | 4 January: Charles attempted to arrest five MPs 10 January: Charles left London 13 February: Henrietta Maria left England in search of military support, visiting Holland and France 5 March: the Militia Ordinance was passed by Parliament 23 April: Charles was denied entrance to Hull 4 July: Parliament established a Committee of Safety 22 August: Charles raised his standard at Nottingham 23 September: Battle of Powick Bridge 23 October: Battle of Edgehill 13 November: Royal forces advancing on London were forced to turn back at Turnham Green and Charles had to pull back to Oxford |
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| 1643 | May: Peace negotiations held at Oxford failed 30 June: The Battle of Adwalton Moor July: Royalists started their siege of Hull and Prince Rupert captured Bristol September: The Earl of Essex relieved Gloucester and defeated the Royalists at Newbury, while the Houses of Parliament ratified Solemn League and Covenant October: Parliamentarian forces broke Royalist siege December: John Pym died |
| 1644 | 2 July: The Battle of Marston Moor September: The Earl of Essex was trapped in Cornwall and was forced to surrender his entire force at Respryn Bridge December: The Self-Denying Ordinance was introduced, although it was not passed until April 1645 |
| 1645 | January: The creation of the New Model Army began 14 June: The Battle of Naseby 10 July: The Battle of Langport, where Royalists were defeated September: Prince Rupert was forced to surrender at Bristol |
| 1646 | April: Charles surrendered to the Scots June: Oxford surrendered and the Levellers demonstrated in London July: Peace terms were offered to Charles at Newcastle |
| 1647 | February: The Scots handed Charles over to Parliament and Parliament voted to disband the army April: The army elected Agitators to represent their case to Parliament 31 May: Despite parliamentary orders, many regiments refused to disband 4 June: Charles I was seized by Cornet Joyce 5 June: The Army Engagement General Council was set up July: A Royalist mob invaded Parliament, causing some MPs to flee August: The army entered London and those MP’s who had fled Parliament returned September: The army set up winter quarters in Putney October: The Levellers published ‘Case of the Army’ and ‘Agreement of the People’, both of which were discussed by the Army Council at Putney November: Charles escaped from captivity; the Putney debate ended as a result. A Leveller mutiny at Ware was easily crushed by Cromwell December: Charles signed an ‘Engagement’ that invited the Scots to invade England |
| 1648 | January: Parliament voted ‘No Further Addresses’ to Charles and the Army Council was disbanded April: Uprisings against the government took place in Kent, Essex, Yorkshire South Wales and Cornwall July: A Scottish army led by Royalist Scots entered England August: Oliver Cromwell finally defeated the uprising in South Wales and fought the Scots at the Battle of Preston September: The Second Civil War ended following Colchester’s surrender November: Army Remonstrance demanded the trial of Charles I 5 December: The House of Commons voted to negotiate with Charles 6 December: Pride’s Purge of the House of Commons 7 December: Cromwell offered his support of the purge |
| 1649 | 1 January: A High Court of Justice was established to try Charles 20 January: the King’s trial opened 30 January: Charles executed |
See also: Battles of the English Civil War
MLA Citation/Reference
"Timeline for the English Civil War". HistoryLearning.com. 2024. Web.