fwo_972933 - ANGLETERRE - ROYAUME D'ANGLETERRE - CHARLES Ier 1/2 (Half) Crown n.d. Londres

ENGLAND - KINGDOM OF ENGLAND - CHARLES I

(1625-1649)

Charles I was the son of James I of England (1603-1625) (or James VI of Scotland, 1567-1625) and grandson of Mary Stuart who was murdered by her cousin Elizabeth of England at the Tower of London in 1587. Charles, born in 1600, succeeded his father Jacques VI in 1625, the year of his marriage to Henrietta of France, sister of Louis XIII. Charles had retained all his confidence in the Duke of Buckingham, his father's favourite. War soon broke out between the Duke and the Cardinal. In 1627, the English won several naval victories over the French fleet which was trying to establish the blockade of La Rochelle. In 1628, on October 28, the city capitulated. Meanwhile, Buckingham had been murdered. The King came into conflict with Parliament, which accused him of absolutism and favoring Catholics. Civil war broke out in 1642 and lasted seven years. The "Roundheads" supporters of Parliament and Cromwell triumphed over the "Horsemen", the King's party which was finally tried and executed in 1649. The republic was proclaimed and Cromwell was its first "Lord protector"..