ismenin

This is a very famous British painting called '...and When Did You Last See Your Father?' of which you might have heard. It pictures a Royalist boy being interrogated by Parliamentarian men, his weeping sister waiting behind him. The boy is standing straight and proud, he is not afraid. Makes me want to hug him.

Hello, friends! As you may guess, my next story is set in the English Civil War, which took place in the 17th century. A few people to whom I have spoken only knew of the American Civil War, so I'm posting a short,rather simplified history of it here, in readiness for next week's post. :D

I have enjoyed writing it SOOOO much, I've nearly finished Book One. If you wish to read further....

The English Civil War 1641-1651 (sources differ on dates.)

The English Civil War was fought between Parliament, led by Oliver Cromwell, and the Royalists, who were led by King Charles I. It started after Charles tried to implement his "personal rule" and disbanded Parliament. He believed he had God-given authority to rule as he chose, called 'the divine right of king' the way it had always been in England, as the country was mainly known, despite having Wales, Scotland and parts of Ireland within its borders.

But Parliament was in control of the money, and Charles could not rule without it, so he brought them together again. However, Parliament had been disbanded for eleven years by a ruler it despised, and they had many complaints concerning his rule.

Therefore, Parliament chose to defy the king.

The defiance was called 'The Great Remonstrance' and contained a list of grievances against the King, which were many and varied.

The result was that Charles raised his banner and declared war on the Parliamentarians. Charles was defeated, and escaped to Scotland. But the people in Scotland betrayed him to Cromwell, and he was later tried as a traitor to England and executed. Parliament then created Oliver (Noll) Cromwell the "Lord Protector" of England.

This resulted in two factions, completely opposed to the ethics of the other: Cavaliers - the Royalists, for the king, and the Roundheads - for Parliament, and Cromwell. The situation caused many English houses to become divided against themselves; sons against fathers, mothers against daughters, husbands against wives, as they struggled to live the life they had chosen, often in direct opposition to their families and friends.

The situation eventually deteriorated after Cromwell died, and his inept son, Richard, (known as Tumble-Down Dick) took over the government in his father's place.

Parliament, eventually overwhelmed by critics, invited Charles II, Charles I son to become king.

He entered London on 30 Jan 1660, and was crowned King at Westminster Abbey on April 23 1661.

I hope you choose to join me on my new journey. xxxx