Was Parliament More To Blame Than Charles I

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To what extent was Parliament more to blame than Charles I for the failure of the settlement in the years of 1646 to 1649? The division within the Parliament was indeed the most important factor which contributed to the failure of the settlements. Despite the parliament, the kings poor negotiation skills and the levellers becoming more influential. After the first civil war, two groups had emerged into parliament as MP’s had different views on what should be done with Charles I. This division made it harder for parliament to agree on settlements. The Presbyterians peace party was formed within parliament, which consisted of leaders such as Earl of Essex and Earl of Manchester. They believed that Parliament should negotiate with the king as they believed that Britain needs a monarch. This group was created mainly because of Parliament recently building alliance with the Scottish. This was important for the…show more content…
The levellers were radical groups active in London in the late 1646 which gained a lot of their support from the army. This group was very popular among men of “middling sort” who were unrewarded in seventeenth century English politics. The leaders of these groups were John Lilburn and Richard Overton. Their main aim was for religious toleration and to also replace the monarchy and the House of Lords with a single representative chamber elected by the male leads of the households. There manifesto was the agreement of people which favoured the ordinary citizens and wanted them to gain more rights than rich property owners. They organized the Putney debates where army general council met with leveller spokesmen and they agreed that they should break the back of the rank and file agitation. The leveller’s strong influence on the army played a role in the failure as it made it difficult for the army and parliament to agree with one
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