Short Parliament, 13 April-5 May 1640

First Parliament summoned by Charles I after a decade of ruling without Parliament. Charles was forced to call the Parliament after causing a revolt in Scotland, which resulted in the First Bishops War (1639). Charles's system of government could not absorb the costs of a war, and so he was forced to call Parliament. However, under the leadership of John Pym, Parliament proceeded to debate the Scottish grievances, and Charles closed the Parliament. However, defeat in the Second Bishop's War forced him to call a new Parliament within months, resulting in the Long Parliament, and eventually the Civil War.
cover The English Civil War , Richard Holmes & Peter Young, an early work by one of the country's best known military historians, this is a superb single volume history of the war, from its causes to the last campaigns of the war and on to the end of the protectorate.
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See Also
Books on the English Civil War
Subject Index: English Civil War

How to cite this article: Rickard, J. (13 April 2001), Short Parliament, 13 April-5 May 1640, http://www.historyofwar.org/articles/concepts_parliament_short.html

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