The Bishops' Wars: Charles I's Campaigns Against Scotland, 1638-1640

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Cambridge University Press, Mar 31, 1994 - Biography & Autobiography - 356 pages
King Charles I twice mobilised England in an attempt to enforce religious uniformity in Scotland, and both times he failed. The result was the resurgence of Parliament as partner in the government of the realm. The Bishops' Wars is an essay in military history in a political context, which analyses the institutions of war, its financing, and above all the recruitment of forces. The main purpose of the book is to explain why the King could not and did not reduce Scotland by force. Its significance lies in that it demonstrates how the military failures of 1639 and 1640 were determined by Charles's hand. Moreover, it seeks to show how poor strategic and tactical operations, coupled with the political controversy surrounding the war, plagued the English army. In the final measure, it is concluded that the King must bear responsibility for defeat at the hands of the Scots.

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Contents

THE EVENTS OF THE BISHOPS WARS AND CAROLINE POLITICS
1
The First Bishops War
3
The Second Bishops War
39
THE INSTITUTIONS
62
The chain of command
78
The Ordinance Office
90
MILITARY FINANCE
111
Loans and contributions
124
The political and historical context of militia service
178
The early Stuart militia
190
The militia in the Bishops Wars
195
IMPRESSMENT AND THE SUBSTITUTIONS CLAUSE
215
The political and historical context of impressment
216
Early Stuart impressment in the Bishops Wars
222
The substitution clause
241
RIOT ICONOCLASM AND MURDER AMONGST THE SOLDIERY
264

Coatandconduct money
129
The machinery of the Exchequer
137
RELUCTANT LORDS AND ABSENT MERCENARIES
152
politics and money
162
THE PERFECT MILITIA
174
CONCLUSION
287
Bibliography
300
Index
324
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