Charles I and Parliament went to war in 1642. Up to this point they had argued about 3 main things:

Power
Money
Religion

Power (political causes)

Charles disliked being challenged and became angry with Parliament whenever they tried to stop his plans. From 1629-1640, Charles decided to rule England without Parliament. This period is called the personal rule. His critics saw him as acting like a tyrant.

Money (economic causes)

One of the main functions of Parliament was to agree taxes for the king or queen. When Charles I became King in 1625, Parliament was suspicious of him and so they tried to limit his money. For example, kings usually received customs duties for life. In 1625 Parliament only agreed that Charles could have these for a year at a time. As a result, Charles looked to other sources of money. For example, he charged Ship Tax even in peace time.

Religion

Finally, Charles and Parliament argued about religion. Parliament was dominated by puritans (strict Protestants who wanted to remove the remaining traces of Catholicism from the English Church). They were worried that Charles was trying to bring back Catholicism. Firstly, he married a Catholic, French princess, Henrietta-Maria. Then he appointed Laud as the Archbishop of Canterbury who tried to make churches more beautiful.

Summary

Historians argue about which was the most important cause, but they are definitely linked. Parliament refused to vote taxes because they wanted to restrain Charles' power. One of the reasons they were worried about his power was because he was using it to make religious changes that they didn't like.

Year 8 Power & Protest

The Causes of the English Civil War