In the mid-seventeenth century England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland were engulfed in a destructive and transformative civil war. This module examines this remarkable period in an innovative fashion by considering the British dimension of the conflict. This charts how developments in Scotland and Ireland as well as England and Wales are crucial to understanding the origins and progress of conflict. The course thus considers episodes such as the nature and impact of the Scottish Covenanters who rose against their king in 1638, as well as events such as the bloody Irish Rebellion of 1641 which speeded England’s descent into Civil War. It also explores recent interpretations of the conflict as an ‘ethnic’ war by examining attitudes towards cultures such as the Welsh and Cornish, and examines the aggressive Englishness of a figure like Oliver Cromwell. In addition to this multi-kingdom perspective, the module also pays particular attention to the cultural and social impact of war in England and Wales. It explores the newly-expanded world of print and propaganda in this ‘first age of journalism’, drawing on the explosion of news and propaganda which competed for readership in a much-expanded public sphere. It examines the impact of war on the literary culture of the period through authors like John Milton and Robert Herrick. It considers the radical political groups like the Levellers and Diggers who argued that a more democratic society should rise from the ruins of Charles I’s kingdoms. It also charts the effect of war on questions of gender and the role of women, as fiery female preachers and prophetesses gained space for new expression in the turmoil of war. The module deals with one of the most exciting and absorbing periods of British History when the fault lines between kingdoms and communities released forces which ultimately saw the king executed and a pan-British Republic established by the force of Cromwell’s New Model Army.

•           To explore the history of the civil wars of c.1638-1649 through a perspective which acknowledges the conflict’s British dimensions.

•           To gain an appreciation of the historiographical perspectives which have informed the interpretation and discussion of matters such as allegiance, Britishness, ethnicity and class during the period of civil war, and to make informed critical judgements upon past and current interpretations.

•           To examine issues such as popular politics, political and religious radicalism, literature and gender within the context of the politics of the 1640s.

•           To integrate an understanding of how religious, cultural and political developments in the Scottish, Irish, Welsh and Cornish theatres influenced the nature and progress of civil wars.

•           To encourage students to express their ideas and assessments on themes and topics in the history of the Civil Wars and Revolution.

•           To introduce students, where appropriate, to examples of primary source material illustrating the themes outlined above.

A programme of lectures which will introduce students to the main factual and conceptual issues to be discussed and analyse during the module.

Seminars related to lectures, in which key issues and topics are analysed and discussed further

Identify the nature and scope of the issues raised about the causes and course of the civil wars in the constituent kingdoms of Britain.

Summarise and appraise the the relative merits and demerits of alternative views and interpretations and evaluate their significance.

Identify the strengths and weaknesses, problems and/or particularities of alternative historiographical interpretations of the British civil wars, such as the debate over the three kingdoms model, the ethnic nature of civil war, the contexts of regicide, the concept of an expanded public sphere.

Devise and sustain arguments about the nature and course of the Civil Wars.

Formulate and justify their own arguments and conclusions about issues raised through the module.

Analyse in the light of the above ideas, context and frameworks, selected topics in the history of the British civil wars such as the nature of popular allegiance, the influence of radical religion and politics, the expansion of the printed public sphere, the changing nature of literary culture, etc.

Present accurately, succinctly and lucidly, and in written or oral form their arguments in accordance with appropriate scholarly conventions their opinions on matters relating to the Civil Wars in Britain.

Summative assessment takes the form of one 3,000 and 4,000 word essay (excluding empirical appendices and references).

The opportunity for reassessment in this module

No reassessment.

Revolution and Regicide, 1647-9

Post-war Politics

The Second Civil War

1649: Regicide and Revolution

New Publics

Print and Propaganda

Censorship and Freedom

Newsbooks, Petitions and Pamphlets

Radicalism and Political Consciousness

Popular Radicalism?

Religious Radicalism

Please see Background Reading List for an indicative list.

Indicative Reading and Resource List:

Michael Braddick, God’s Fury, England’s Fire (St Ives, 2008)

David Scott, Politics and War in the Three Stuart Kingdoms, 1637-49 (Harlow, 2004)

Mark Stoyle, Soldiers and Strangers: An Ethnic History of the English Civil War (New Haven and London, 2005)

John Adamson, ed., The English Civil War: Conflicts and Contexts (London, 2009).

Conrad Russell, The Causes of the English Civil War (Oxford, 1991)

Brendan Bradshaw and John Morrill, eds., The British Problem, c.1534-1707 (Harlow, 1996)

Bian Mac Cuarta, ed., Ulster 1641: Aspects of the Rising (Belfast, 1993)

John Morrill, ed., The Scottish National Covenant in its British Context, 1638-1651 (Edinburgh, 1990)

Lloyd Bowen, ‘Rediscovering Difference? Nations, People and Politics in the British Civil Wars’, History Compass, 4 (2006)

John R. Young, ed., Celtic Dimensions of the British Civil Wars (Edinburgh, 1997)