Charles I (Talith)

From the Quicksilver Metaweb.

Charles I was born in 1600, ascended the British throne in 1625, and was executed in January 1649.

Charles was born in Fife, in Scotland, and was the second son of James VI of Scotland - shortly after Charles' birth, James succeeded to the English throne as James I of England, combining the two thrones for the first time. Charles' elder brother, Henry, died in 1612, leaving him as the heir to the combined throne.

A major feature of Charles' reign was his disagreements with Parliament on a wide range of topics. He clashed with Parliament over religion (although theoretically Protestant, he secretly married a Roman Catholic, Henrietta Maria of France), over his appointments to Ministerial and other posts, and over finances and taxation. Eventually he dismissed Parliament in 1629, deciding to rule alone.

Throughout the next decade, Charles' attempts to raise revenue other than by taxes approved by Parliament caused him to become less and less popular. His decision to try to impose High Church rituals within the Scottish church led to rioting in Edinburgh and, eventually, to more widespread unrest in Scotland. He briefly recalled Parliament to try to raise funds for a war against Scotland; when Parliament queried this request, it was dissolved once more.

Charles' relationship with Parliament continued to deteriorate, even after he called another Parliament in late 1640. He clashed repeatedly with them over financial and religious matters and, after a continuing series of disagreements, called for troops to support him in August 1642, thereby starting the English Civil War.

Charles gave himself up to the Scottish Army in May 1646, and was handed over to the English Parliament some months later. He was held in captivity for some years while the various factions fought between themselves (there was no united front of Parliamentary troops against Monarchists - Parliament were arguing among themselves and with the Army). A second, shorter, Civil War was fought in 1648.

The Army took matters into their own hands in late 1648, deciding that the King must be brought to trial. Parliament was purged of all who might dissent, and the remains (the Rump Parliament) established a new High Court of Justice in January 1649. Charles was brought to trial, accused of high treason, on January 20th 1649; he refused to recognise the legality of the court and thus did not enter a plea. He was found guilty and sentenced to death on 27th January, and beheaded three days later. An Act was passed on the same day which forbade the proclamation of another monarch - this prevented Charles' son, also called Charles, from ascending to the throne - and the office of King was abolished by Parliament on 7th February.