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Origins of the English Civil War

The origins of the English Civil War are complex, despite the popular characterisation of them as being a consequence of a long-running series of disputes between king and Parliament. While this is superficially true, the roots of the war lie in fundamental changes in the society of mid-17th century England itself, in economic reasons, in class mistrust and antagonisms, in religious schisms, and in the will to power of certain key individuals.

Religious factors

The religious divisions of the Reformation, the Marian persecutions, as the balance of power swung between the Protestant and Catholic faiths in England, had left deep religious scars; the Protestants hated and feared the Catholics, who reciprocated in equal measure. Charles I did not endear himself to the preponderance of the English people with his marriage to the Roman Catholic French princess Henrietta Maria. Nor did his appointment of William Laud