The

The Hello, this is a history of Europe key battles podcast.

This is part three of three on the English Civil War. Parts one and two

available on your podcast provider. On the 4th of January 1642, King Charles I of England ended the House of Commons with an armed guard to personally arrest a group of members for treason.

No English sovereign had before ended the House of Commons uninvited, so such an invasion of the chamber was considered a grave breach of protocol.

Having displaced the speaker from his chair, the King asked where the MPs were, who he wished to arrest.

Realising they had been forewarned and fled, Charles abjectly declared, all my birds have flown,

and was forced to retire, empty-handed and humiliated.

The event marked the end of many months of political conflict between King and Parliament, and the beginning of civil war.

Parliament quickly seized London, and Charles and the beginning of Civil War. Parliament quickly seized London and Charles fled the capital for Hampton Court Palace

on 10th of January, moving two days later to Windsor Castle.

After sending his wife and eldest daughter to safety abroad in February, he travelled northwards. His objective was to set up York as an

alternative capital, having first seized the city of Hull with his arsenal of 20,000 weapons and

7,000 barrels of gunpowder. The king had appointed the Earl of Newcastle to be the governor of Howell, but he was beaten to it by the swift action of a young parliamentarian John Hottom the younger, who persuaded the mayor of Hull to admit his own men and put his father Sir John Hottom in charge.

So when Charles and a large militia retinue arrived, he was refused entry.

Left outside in the rain, Charles had to retire and declared Sir John Hottom a traitor, but was powerless to enforce it.

In the first months, the war was fought with words, both sides issuing pamphlets and declarations,

justifying their actions and asking for support.

Charles' supporters argued that the King was facing an unlawful challenge to his office and needed help to put down the rebellion.

Parliament, on the other hand, claimed that because the king, advised by evil

councillors, had taken the law into his own hands, they had the responsibility of bringing

him to his senses. Across the country, there were a series of local skirmishes and

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