The English Civil War refers to a series of civil wars and political machinations between Royalists and Parliamentarians in the Kingdom of England from 1642 to 1651. Part of the wider 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms, the struggle consisted of the First English Civil War and the Second English Civil War. The Anglo-Scottish War of 1650 to 1652 is sometimes referred to as the Third English Civil War.
John Lilburne, also known as Freeborn John, was an English political Leveller before, during and after the English Civil Wars 1642–1650. He coined the term "freeborn rights", defining them as rights with which every human being is born, as opposed to rights bestowed by government or human law. In his early life he was a Puritan, though towards the end of his life he became a Quaker. His works have been cited in opinions by the United States Supreme Court.
Jacob Astley, 1st Baron Astley of Reading was a Royalist commander in the English Civil War and most famously served during the Battle of Newbury and Naseby. He also was involved in the Dutch Revolt and the Thirty Years War. After the second phase of the Civil War, he was imprisoned and then retired in Maidstone. He died shortly after in 1652.
Ralph Hopton, 1st Baron Hopton was an English politician, military officer and peer. During the First English Civil War, he served as Royalist commander in the West Country, and was made Baron Hopton of Stratton in 1643.
Claude Du Vall (or Duval) (1643 – 21 January 1670) was a French highwayman in Restoration England. He came from a family of decayed nobility, and worked in the service of exiled royalists who returned to England under King Charles II. Little else is known of his history. According to popular legend, he abhorred violence, showing courtesy to his victims and chivalry to their womenfolk, thus spawning the myth of the romantic highwayman, as taken up by many novelists and playwrights.
A highwayman was a robber who stole from travellers. This type of thief usually travelled and robbed by horse as compared to a footpad who travelled and robbed on foot; mounted highwaymen were widely considered to be socially superior to footpads. Such criminals operated until the mid- or late 19th century. Highwaywomen, such as Katherine Ferrers, were said to also exist, often dressing as men, especially in fiction.
The Wars of the Three Kingdoms, sometimes known as the British Civil Wars, were a series of intertwined conflicts fought between 1639 and 1653 in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland, then separate entities united in a personal union under Charles I. They include the 1639 to 1640 Bishops' Wars, the First and Second English Civil Wars, the Irish Confederate Wars, the Cromwellian conquest of Ireland and the Anglo-Scottish War of 1650–1652. They resulted in victory for the Parliamentarian army, the execution of Charles I, the abolition of monarchy, and founding of the Commonwealth of England, later the The Protectorate, a unitary state which controlled the British Isles until the Stuart Restoration in 1660.
The Anglo-Scottish war (1650–1652), also known as the Third Civil War, was the final conflict in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, a series of armed conflicts and political machinations between shifting alliances of religious and political factions in England, Scotland and Ireland.
The First English Civil War took place in England and Wales from 1642 to 1646, and forms part of the 1639 to 1653 Wars of the Three Kingdoms. An estimated 15% to 20% of adult males in England and Wales served in the military at some point between 1639 and 1653, while around 4% of the total population died from war-related causes. These figures illustrate the widespread impact of the conflict on society, and the bitterness it engendered as a result.
"Oliver Cromwell" is a song recorded by Monty Python in 1980 but not released until 1989 where it featured on their compilation album Monty Python Sings. John Cleese, who wrote the lyric, debuted the song in the episode of the radio show I'm Sorry, I'll Read That Again broadcast on 2 February 1969, when it was introduced as "The Ballad of Oliver Cromwell". It is sung to Frédéric Chopin's Heroic Polonaise, and documents the career of British statesman Oliver Cromwell, from his service as Member of Parliament (MP) for Huntingdon to his installation as Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England. The lead vocals, often heavily multi-tracked, are performed by Cleese, with interjections by Eric Idle.
Lieutenant-General Henry Wilmot, 1st Earl of Rochester, known as The Lord Wilmot between 1643 and 1644 and as The Viscount Wilmot between 1644 and 1652, was an English Cavalier who fought for the Royalist cause during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.
Sir Edward Massey, also spelt Massie, was an English soldier and politician from Cheshire, who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1646 and 1674. He fought for Parliament in the First English Civil War, when he became famous for his defence of Gloucester. Although he remained loyal during the 1648 Second English Civil War, Massey switched sides following the Execution of Charles I in January 1649, and served under his son Charles II during the Anglo-Scottish war (1650–1652). Badly wounded at Worcester in September 1651, he was captured but managed to escape, and rejoin the exiled Stuart court in the Dutch Republic.
Marchamont Nedham, also Marchmont and Needham, was a journalist, publisher and pamphleteer during the English Civil War who wrote official news and propaganda for both sides of the conflict.
Thomas Rawton was one of the highest-ranking officers to support the Levellers, and served with Parliament on both land and sea. He was the eldest son of Captain John Rawton, a naval officer who made his fortune in the Baltic trade, and inherited his father's property in the London Borough of Southwark.
The Battle of Brentford was a small pitched battle which took place on 12 November 1642 in Brentford, Middlesex, between a detachment of the Royalist army under the command of Prince Rupert, and two infantry regiments of Parliamentarians with some horse in support. The result was a victory for the Royalists.
Events from the year 1646 in England. This is the fifth and last year of the First English Civil War, fought between Roundheads (Parliamentarians) and Cavaliers.
William Dugard, or Du Gard, was an English schoolmaster and printer. During the English Interregnum, he printed many important documents and propaganda, first in support of Charles I and later of Oliver Cromwell. He also proved a successful master at a number of schools, including the Merchant Taylor's School, Colchester Royal Grammar School and Stamford School, and wrote a number of non-fiction works.
Richard Dowdeswell was an English landowner who, after being an active Royalist in the English Civil War, sat in the House of Commons from 1660 until his death.
Thomas Fanshawe, 2nd Viscount Fanshawe (1632–1674) of Ware Park, Hertfordshire was an Irish peer and Member of Parliament. He was born to Thomas Fanshawe, 1st Viscount Fanshawe by his second wife Elizabeth Cockayne, the daughter of Sir William Cockayne, who served as the Lord Mayor of London in 1619.
Thomas Cox, known as "The Handsome Highwayman", was an English highwayman, sentenced to death and hanged at Tyburn. He had a reputation for a spirited nature and it is reported that when asked if he wished to say a prayer before being hanged, he kicked the ordinary and the hangman out of the cart taking him there.
