HISTORY OF BRITAIN BOOK IV: The Stuarts, Cromwell

Everything the general reader wants to know about 17th century Britain is encapsulated in this updated reprint of a classic history. The narrative takes you briskly through the Stuart kings, starting with the reign of James I which saw the uncertainty of the Gunpowder Plot and was also the age of Shakespeare's great tragedies. Religion was a huge source of division with many Protestants believing that the reformed Church still retained too many Catholic practices. Meanwhile the nation's finances were in a bad condition owing to inflation, with the value of money being only half what it was a century earlier. This led to the estrangement of Charles I from parliament as he imposed an increasingly unpopular tax burden, with ship money being the focal point of John Hampden's rebellion supported by leading puritans Oliver Cromwell and John Pym. Finally in 1640 Charles had to recall parliament, and the result was a series of stand-offs that resulted in civil war, starting with the execution of Charles's supporter the earl of Strafford. Charles launched his campaign at Nottingham's Standard Hill in 1642 and in spite of the support of Prince Rupert, the great military leader of the Royalists, he was finally defeated by Cromwell and the parliamentarians. Charles could have survived if he had not sought help from the unreliable Scots, resulting in his execution in 1649. Anarchy ensued, and the Long Parliament dissolved itself in 1660, with the situation being resolved by the restoration of Charles II. There were troubled religious times in the reign of James II who was eventually exiled, leading to the succession of William and Mary followed by Anne. 183pp, illus.