English Civil Wars

     The execution of King Charles I was an act committed by a small minority of the English Parliament. Most had been reluctant to do this, and it was a desperate measure. Parliament was more or less corrupted, and a majority of its members were never actually present. When the House of Commons was purged, only a small handful of people was there when the sentence was passed and an even smaller number signed the death warrant. 

     Despite this reluctance, the king was apparently ungodly and could not hold the peace within his country, according to the supporters of his execution--of which there were few. Among the supporters were Puritans, who used the Bible as guidelines for politics and religion.The Bible taught that authority should always be obeyed, but there were a number of cases in it where authority had been overthrown for being unmoral. A preacher, John Durant, launched a petition against the king, which called for justice, and when the king released a book called the Book of Sports, it received negative attention and criticism. Another important, but pretentious, person who died was major-general Thomas Harrison. He was killed during the Reformation, and had many claims that he was the equal of Christ. He even said that he'd suffered similar to Christ.

     Charles's way of ruling had resulted in a vast issue of corruption and moral decay in the government. England was a monarchical republic by the time Queen Elizabeth came to rule, and she didn't even have that much power. Instead, she was considered an "accountable office." The regicide was caused by civil war, heavy taxation, suffering and death, and a widespread desire for peace. Parliament themselves had to execute Charles I, and provided some real basis for his death. He was charged upon committing crimes against the people and England's laws, and was sentenced to death on January 4, 1649.