English Civil War: Crash Course European History #14

The English Civil War. We'll talk about England after Elizabeth, in which things didn't go that smoothly. We'll talk about James I, Charles I, Oliver Cromwell, Charles II, and James II, all of whom ruled England, (and tried to rule all of Britain and Ireland) with varying degrees of success.
Sources
-Hunt, Lynn et al. Making of the West: Peoples and Cultures. 6th ed. Boston: Bedford St. Martins, 2019.
-N. H. Keeble, ed. Cambridge Companion to Writing of the English Revolution. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2001.
-Kent, Susan K. Gender and Power in Britain, 1640-1990. New York: Routledge, 1999.
Parker, Geoffrey, Global Crisis: War, Climate Change and Catastrophe in the Seventeenth Century. New Haven: Yale University Press, 2014.
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[@ZZ-sb8os]

"Humans are moths that fly towards the light of power" - truer words have never been spoken

[@archvermin]

Am I the only one who wants to hear the rest of that story about John's misadventure in a Scottish bar?

[@franciscomm7675]

archvermin, you are not alone

[@donnied6151]

Well he is still alive but maybe his friend didnt make it.

[@adrianpilcher703]

John slipped his running shoes on. "Why?" his friend said, "we can't outrun them.". "Yes, but I can outrun you.". True story.

[@camdenhiser8826]

i do why would you u try to regain conversation by saying "well you have the same money"

[@theo1856]

Scottish people hate the English

[@emilynightingale7758]

who else remembers the king Charles rap from horrible histories? my name is, my name is, my name is Charles the second. I love the people and the people love me so much that they restored the english monarchy I'm part scottish, french, ittalian, a little bit dame but 100% party animal, champagne?

[@emvandermeulen1908]

Cromwell: Hereditary monarchy is evil. English people: Yes! When you’re gone, how will the succession work? Cromwell: I think we’ll go with my son. English people: WTF? Ya, no. Where’s Charles’ kid?

[@Argacyan]

Some of the english: We should make it such everyone has a voice and no one has to go without, that everyone's rights shall be met and no one shall be the victim of somebody's sellfishness. Cromwell: Yeeteth thee into the grave.

[@psammiad]

To be fair, the problem was that Parliament sucked. They refused to hold new elections, fearing it would cause unrest and threaten their positions. Parliament essentially became as tyrannical and incompetent as the king, so Cromwell took over exclusive control. On his death no-one really knew what to do, so did what they were used to: appoint the son of the previous ruler. When this was an obvious disaster, they called back the king.

[@emvandermeulen1908]

@@psammiad Well, ya, but that would not have made for a good meme.

[@darrens3]

Cromwell actually ordered that he wanted no more kings. To create a true Republic. But as the population had only ever known kings and couldn't imagine a world without one they treated him like a king which actually really annoyed Cromwell and he constantly lamented. That's what happens when you have a starving bunch of illiterate peasants for your populace, with the imagination tortured out of them for millennia by brutal monarchs.

[@Redemmo]

@@darrens3 I think it's a bit more complicated than that. I don't know much about the English Civil War/this period, but I know some about institutions. The English institutions had all been built with the a certain format in mind, at which the king was at the top. Take away the king, and you have a power vacuum. Since I don't know much about English institutions, I'll use a large business as an example. So, the CEO is suddenly gone. Who's going to give direction to the CFO, the COO, etc? Who's going to get everyone to work together? Will the front-line cashiers do it? I doubt it; they may not have liked the old CEO, but they're not really in a position (and probably don't have the experience or expertise) to take over the company - regardless of whether they're literate, well-fed, and not-tortured. So, in an institution built on having someone at the top, everyone will keep on looking for someone to give orders until finally the Board of Directors (Parliament?) appoints a new CEO to start giving direction. Fundamentally changing the structure of such a large institution as a big company (or the English government) takes a lot of effort! Again, I don't know this part of history, but did Cromwell institute voting mechanisms, or make other reforms to fundamentally change how the government functions or is constructed? If not, we have a power vacuum - can someone please step up to the plate?

[@vigilantsycamore8750]

I get that you're doing episodes on absolute monarchy right now, but that's even more of a reason to make a video on the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, since their model of monarchy is as far from absolute hereditary monarchy as a government can get while still being a monarchy

[@Artur_M.]

Yeah! It was a constitutional, parliamentary and elective monarchy that even styled itself as "republic" - _Res publica_ or Rzeczpospolita in Polish, which was a direct translation of the Latin term and although it is conventionally translated to English as "Commonwealth" in this context, modern Polish Republic is also a Rzeczpospolita. :)

[@cathykeller8551]

Stay tuned! Poland-Lithuania will be in episode 16

[@kaitlnwhite6809]

Artur M. That’s actually really amazing. Why haven’t we learned about it more in European history?

[@RaidsEpicly]

@@cathykeller8551 really glad to hear it! I never learned anything about the PLC in high school, which is a shame because it was so unique and interesting among its contemporaries

[@dominykassimonis2180]

oh!you mean The Boyar Democracy?

[@vathek5958]

Cromwell, perhaps the most despised man in Ireland.

[@robertjarman3703]

Vathek How about Robert Peel?

[@mikeoxsmal8022]

@@robertjarman3703 committing genocide is far worse than doing nothing

[@Skeloperch]

The Irish deserved it, tbh.

[@takod323]

@@mikeoxsmal8022 the irish did

[@mikeoxsmal8022]

@@takod323 No the irish never committed genocide

[@FatemaLiya]

"England is now a republic, although, not quite like a contemporary republic, since it was ruled by the increasingly dictatorial Oliver Cromwell. Although come to think of it, that does make it some contemporary republics" Nice jab there John

[@Edubububu]

As a Brazilian this quote hit right home.

[@kyokyoniizukyo7171]

Fatema Zohra Turks would feel it too, and depending on who you ask....americans....

[@souzamaximu]

@@Edubububu not liking a president doesn't make him a dictator.

[@Edubububu]

@@souzamaximu He threatens the Congress or the Supreme Court every time they demonstrate they won't vote in his favor. He threatens opposing Journalists with deportation. Seriously, if you can't see it now, than you'll never see it. Just be glad that it's better to be ignorantly doomed than knowingly so.

[@souzamaximu]

@@Edubububu vc realmente acredita nas coisas q vc escreve ou vc pelo menos tem noção de que tá mentindo?

[@alexisberzolla2974]

I don't know about you but this man and his brother are literally guiding me through the hell that is italian high-school THANKS MUM FOR MAKING ME BILINGUAL, COULDN'T HAVE DONE IT ANY OTHER WAY

[@OptimusShr]

9:40 This is the greatest way of saying "Boom headshot!" that I have ever heard.

[@tommehlenbacher6832]

Obligatory "who here just likes to watch these videos and isn't studying for a test?" Comment

[@GetPaid2WatchVideos]

Yep

[@zs9652]

Me

[@DaDunge]

Feels thats what this playlist is for. It seems very much based on an American curriculum about European history. Which means it's deeply anglocentric.

[@TheDarkMessiah]

I'm watching so I'll have something in common with Jaden Smith

[@Dracobyte]

I do.

[@theshyguitarist4536]

Lol as a Scot, I'm in stitches at his experience in a Scottish bar.

[@lhfirex]

Hearing that next week's episode will talk about Dutch cannibalism makes me hope we get a good Double Dutch joke out of it.

[@alfievines5917]

What I learn from this video is that John Green is single handily responsible for the Scottish independence movement after calling Scotland England and telling Scots they have the same money as England

[@loganmaclean10]

I don't often see it acknowledged that human rights are invented, but I think that's an important thing in understanding how civil rights truly progress. Thanks for always thinking complexly, John.

[@vinkytown100]

Excited for Dutch Golden Age!

[@Alien1375]

Zeg makker

[@Ariqginjall93]

Ah, golden age they said.

[@TheXander008]

I would be more excited if they made their videos right! :D They just made video on Constitutionalism without even mentioning first constitution in Europe or the world...

[@DaDunge]

At least it's not about France or England. That said I sometimes get a feeling the British has no idea there are European countries that aren't on the Atlantic coast.

[@DaDunge]

@jaca van heesch And what it is his job to cater to peoples false assumptions about the term? I would remind you that Europe is so big is centre line passes through Vilnius.

[@toyotaprius79]

_Hmmm..._ I hope there's an upcoming video about what happened to Ireland during these times, the Leinster, Munster and Ulster plantations sanctioned by the monarchs Elizabeth, Mary and James. Cromwell's "To hell or to Connacht" and the Battle of the Boyne (mentioned). The Nine Years War from 1594 - 1603 and subsequent Flight of the Earls. _Ahh apologies, John, what I meant to say is that this seems very England-focused, and the spotlight should be given to Wales somewhat._

[@Rocketboy1313]

I really enjoyed this episode. When I had a layover in London on my trip to study abroad I visited the Banquet Hall, where Charles was kept just before being executed. It is gorgeous.

[@LakyStar]

This series seems more like Western European history so far. I understand that English-speaking world does not care much about Central and Eastern Europe but learning something about its history would probably not hurt anybody.

[@gojimoji9085]

LakyStar completely agree

[@canles]

I guess the east comes when it becomes part of the west.

[@Argacyan]

East and west is an arbitrary and nonsensical dividing line to begin with - and it has mostly seen use for political purposes against either.

[@malleableconcrete]

Funny you say that, I've studied quite a bit about the Wars in this period and I was just thinking how irritating it is that recaps like this always give Ireland the short straw.

[@dziban303]

Wasn't there a whole episode on the 30 years war?

[@kalaash8025]

lol i also love the reference to calvin and hobbes. i love watterson's discription of hobbes: a dim view of human nature.

[@cuchulain1647]

thank you for what you do John, sincerely. you make the world better, sincerely.

[@Martin-dw8zz]

Amazing video, thank you so much for such a concise and informative history video. Very much appreciated!!

[@historicalminds6812]

Incredible work this episode CrashCourse!

[@MrMartibobs]

I'm English and ought to know this stuff, but I found it very helpful. Thank you!

[@ego8842]

I only wish I could tell you guys how much this channel has done for me.

[@AbbieBrockhurst]

LOVING the Jamestown reference here!

[@ProfPrigarci]

Thanks for teaching! I just LOVE these lessons!!!! Cheers, from Brazil!

[@Moose-iz1uo]

I’ve been watching this channel for years. It’s crazy to see how much things change.

[@FullForce098]

Play on x1.25 speed for that classic crash course feel

[@darrenkrivit6854]

Thanx😄 that helps

[@historycenter4011]

So true

[@aaronthompson8052]

You've found the Golden rate OF IDK LOL. THANK YOU 😊!!!!

[@DanMcLeodNeptuneUK]

I love the art and animation style of the cartoons!

[@RamdomView]

4:55 The New Model Army was led by George Monck and Thomas Fairfax, *not* Cromwell. Cromwell was a prominent commander at the time.

[@kinghoolio2350]

Was about to come here to say this

[@ASLEFshrugged]

Fairfax was appointed "Captain General and Commander-in-Chief" of the New Model Army when it was created in 1644 but resigned in 1650 and was replaced by Cromwell. In 1644 Monck was a Royalist held prisoner in the Tower of London, he was released when he agreed to serve in the Parliamentary army sent to Ireland in 1647.

[@juniorberns]

Great episode. Nice to see you again. Your awesome

[@sprinter768]

This series is awesome. Thanks to Crash Course and specially to the presenter.

[@notdaveschannel9843]

This missed out how the Glorious Revolution led to 1 or 2 events in what was then north-eastern Ireland which are never mentioned or commemorated today. Not ever. Really, everyone's forgotten all about them.

[@maria-lz3he]

Thank u so much for including women and their situation in those years. U are amazing john! Xx

[@thecrb1579]

"english civil war" which one?

[@luisdergroe8944]

The song of the clash probably...

[@fionafiona1146]

The other big one

[@bl00dhoney]

The Revolution!!

[@historycenter4011]

The one that's not a dynastic dispute.

[@nathanosafoomane6224]

1642 to 1649

[@viliussmproductions]

I kinda wish these went into more details. Like Charles I being offered to head a constitutional monarchy and end the instability or Cromwell trying to relinquish power multiple times, only coming back to stop the parliamentary factions from tearing itself apart.

[@AbraxasCombatSquirrel]

Oh man im glad to see little spark on john's face today..he looks happier compared with previous episode

[@HKNYN1]

I love how the cartoon characters nod their head it’s so cute

[@windwalker5765]

Please add this to the European History playlist for binge purposes...

[@alexfido2935]

THE ONE I'VE BEEN WAITING FOR: THE ENGLISH CIVIL WAR

[@chloeposen1582]

You changed my life. Thank you

[@udbhavseth799]

Hi John! Fan from India. I love parsing through most of your videos on world history, europe history and english literature. I wanted to know, do you retain all of these historical events and progressions in your head (or at least the major ones of them) regardless of which video you do, or do you remember only the significant political events and let the rest fall away? Basically- wanted to know if you have all of these (or most of these) facts of history memorized in your head, and if yes, then how! Is a recreational approach to learning history better aimed at trying to cram as many facts/events in your head as possible or just letting whichever major events are memorable stick and allowing the rest to fade away from memory? Thanks for the knowledge!

[@gassunit22]

You guys are DEFINITELY the best channel on KZbin!!! ❤❤❤ I've learned so much from your videos and sincerely appreciate what you are doing for the public as a whole and academia!!! Much love!!!

[@doc2146]

Best yet!

[@ladylunaginaofgames40]

If you take a British Literature class (in college), you know who Aphra Behn is. I say this because I recently took a British Literature class, and Oroonoko was one of the last literature we had to read. The ending was not pretty

[@dominikheiderer9161]

I love your upload! 👍

[@Earth_L0ver]

Not in Ap Euro, but this is great contextualization for WHAP on the Atlantic revolutions. Thanks for making these videos! :)

[@kyliemcdaneld2390]

Ireland deserved more than an honorable mention considering how England was constantly trying to control them with penal laws, exporting goods, and the oppression of catholics/gaelic culture. The English Civil War definitely affected Ireland more than is mentioned in this video. Can we get a follow up on Ireland specifically? I think the history needs to be shared honestly

[@vigilantsycamore8750]

I agree. One of the few things that annoys me about this series is that it seems to focus on a very specific handful of European nations

[@fionafiona1146]

They announced the series by making a wider word history series so southern /western Europe might be featured in that more prominently.

[@tisFrancesfault]

@@vigilantsycamore8750 get the big players, in and out the way, then diversify. Remember the first focused history series was just on the US itself.

[@mankytoes]

Ireland has never been a major power in European politics. It's presumably only because there has been so much emigration to the USA that people think they deserve all this special attention, as opposed to many other small countries that have been dominated by stronger neighbours.

[@mikeoxsmal8022]

@@mankytoes well ireland did have lots of influence in the post roman europe with the schcottenkloistern .

[@michaelciarla3836]

I love this stuff!! ❤

[@sejalmelody]

Amazing and best video

[@forschooluseonly7697]

This is what I’m learning right now.

[@andrewtam42]

I think you called Rousseau Locke when introducing the segment with the two portraits comparing Hobbes and Rousseau (11:58).

[@zacharybresler8679]

@CrashCourse It appears that this video is not numbered and it is missing from the European History playlist. I almost missed it as I was using the playlist to catch up on the series :-) Thanks for the great content!

[@Payhellbay]

++

[@markkuiper7380]

I like the bar storry

[@sonorasgirl]

Is that hank standing beside him in Scotland looking SUPER worried in the thought bubble? 😂

[@EdwardCree]

6:49 well, I guess we can finally declare that CrashCourse has sunk to that historian's cardinal sin, Wig historiography! ;)

[@stellaluzsharman4493]

8:14 that quote was inscribed on a plaque on pudding lane... not "the monument", although the monument does say "but popish frenzy, which wrought such horrors, is not yet quenched"

[@maddiealice644]

i forgot i was supposed to be listening to this..i got to watch it again..and still not listen

[@Rico-Suave_]

Great video, thank you very much , note to self(nts) watched all of it 14:30

[@letsgetreal2501]

6:00 That was hilarious! Also 8:54

[@jefmatttab]

That was very nice

[@chegeny]

Samuel Pepys wrote well his obs'rvations of this time of beshrew and fires, viz. his dairies.

[@leedent6796]

Imagine having a King This post was made by Roundhead Gang

[@starguy321]

The English Civil War also saw a rebellion in Scotland as the reason why Charles I called the Long Parliament, as well as a rebellion in Ireland. Also, until about 1649, Sir Thomas Fairfax led the New Model Army, which with Cromwell leading the Cavalry Also, the book on 1688 by Steven Pincus is very good at dispelling the myth that politics was fundamentally linked to religion, showing that Catholics could side with Protestants against other Catholics and so could Protestants when conflicting with other Protestants. Religion is only important to high politics if those involved choose to make it important in their thinking. In lower politics, religion was still powerful, but again not all dominating. James II was greeted very positively by most people in England despite his Catholicism for example, and James II was criticised by the Spanish and even the Pope for following a form of Catholicism that was ‘too French.’ Religion was important but not all dominating

[@jasonreynolds3903]

Stuart Rise, Fall, and Restoration @ 0:49 Restoration to Glorious Revolution @ 7:11

[@KayneWalshNZ]

Why can’t I super like these omg

[@beatriceines3456]

Thank you!

[@ashikasinghlama5502]

Understandable

[@geoffreywinn4031]

Educational!

[@KilgoreTroutAsf]

1:15 Try to say "how much you are loving Spain" when you visit Catalonia for a similar experience.

[@dbrannick9585]

great story at the start, I'm Irish made me laugh out loud!

[@kamilkrupinski1793]

Will you make an episode about polish parliamentarism? This is something worth mentioning :)

[@thomaspalagyi7241]

Andrew Yang 2020!

[@MrRrusiii]

Farewell the jeweled crown, farewell the velvet gown, watch it all come tumbling down, goodbye to the crown~ parliamentarian gang

[@mav8535]

The og Gucci gang with their wigs.

[@pantslizard]

Eloquin- That's interesting, what is it from?

[@creativezaara7823]

pantslizard farewell to the crown by chumbawamba (the band that did the I get knocked down song)

[@pantslizard]

Creative Zaara- chumbawamba? Ok, cool. (haven't heard of them in years) Thanx

[@Ye_Olde_Duke_of_Edinburgh]

Tell us more about the pub mishap.

[@ablackghostmyguy3741]

It's funny I'm actually watching more crashcourse than i did in school 😂😂

[@sychoecho9497]

Finally you talked about England

[@jacobmatkin1000]

At 6:00 I was half expecting Putin to pop up

[@Jaydoggy531]

1:13 and that's when Hank said "Yeah I don't know this guy."

[@marie-clairebouthillier4836]

Hello Mr. Green. Being a french-canadian, I had learnt in school that the test act was in part adopted to squash Catholic french -canadians and to further inscribe English rule in the newly subdued Canadian territory. Your video seems to possibly contradict that theory. Was there any historical grounds to what I learned or was it simply part of the then sepatist governement's way to further popularise its views?

[@Pawel274]

Hi, this is Crash Course West European History

[@hughdidit]

You should be on PBS!

[@TheMonkeyDoodler]

Hah... once asked a Scotsman where in England he was from.... you can imagine the result. (In my defence, this happened in Norway, he'd apparently been raised in London and didn't have the faintest trace of a Scottish accent, but that was no excuse)

[@mieshafrderickyay]

Hey. If you don't have a coding course like (java or html) it would be cool to do one just a suggestion ! :)

[@donsample1002]

Gee, no mention of Prince Rupert, one of my favorite people from that era. Captain General of Charles I's army, early member of the Royal Society, one of the founders of the Hudson's Bay Company...

[@yasminwalid4234]

Who else wants crash course middle east history

[@joshuaevans6295]

What is up with that map in the background? It seems to have the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth but also Italy?

[@dorsz.]

Ceash Course Astrology please! ✨🤩

[@CrudForge]

Here and I was so sure the Glorious Revolution referred to the ascension of the House of Orange.

[@williambilyeu9801]

William III of England was William of Orange.

[@Hi-bf7ec]

eyyyyyy 39 hours before 2020 AP Exam fml :)

[@Salsmachev]

Locke and Hobbes actually don't differ that much. Hobbes doesn't actually think people are bad, he thinks the world is naturally in a condition that promotes bad human behaviour (ie. scarcity combined with equality). It's that the state of nature is a state of war, not that humans are inherently warlike. Meanwhile, Locke takes an incredibly similar perspective. He distinguishes between the state of nature and the state of war, something permitted by his perception that earth's resources are not scarce, but even so argues that the state of nature naturally decays into the state of war. As a result, Locke argues that the state of society is necessary to limit people's liberties and license. This directly parallels Hobbes' absolutist views, right down to the essential role played by state violence; Locke supports a direct, majoritarian democracy of able bodied adult men on the basis that the side of an issue with more such people has enough might to violently suppress the other side and if the losing side is rational (hah!) they'll admit defeat without the need for overt violence. You also misrepresented the right to property. Locke argues that the right to property is an extension of the right to life. We need stuff to survive (food, clothing, shelter, etc.) and we have a right to more than we need inasmuch as 1) possessing it doesn't deprive others and 2) we don't waste or spoil anything.

[@gregoryfenn1462]

“Refusing to call parliament, felt like an absolutist move” sounds like Boris and proroguing Parliament..

[@MrToymaster1]

Well the parliament did become a military dictatorship that committed one of the worst genocides in Europe history against the Irish and as a result made every on in Britain very weary of a republic

[@MrToymaster1]

Richard Johnson So? The basic issues are the same

[@MrToymaster1]

Richard Johnson the question now is about where power lies: with either the executive, legislative or the people Same fundamental issue

[@littledarkstranger8111]

Cromwell didn't just "crush the Catholics" in Ireland, he committed mass genocide. His actions in Ireland had an impact on the country which can still be felt today.

[@ms.rstake_1211]

1:32 😆 I feel for you.

[@waldemartepper7069]

This series should be titled "West European History"

[@fionafiona1146]

Maybe

[@Dustz92]

Shrink that to History of the UK, France, the Netherlands and Germany. For example Spain in the 1630s-40s also had a civil war over the king trying to become absolutist, resultin on its end as a superpower and with consequences still felt today (independence of Portugal being the largest, but all the catalan mess originates from that too). But lets again talk about England which at the time did not matter much really.

[@franciscomm7675]

It is said that charles ii wife introduced tea to england

[@jvsl1999]

Yeah, she was portuguese, and the Portuguese empire had traded for quite some time with China and other countries in the Indian and Pacific oceans, which led to their contact with tea.

[@JimBob4233]

She also brought land in India as part of her dowry

[@franciscomm7675]

@@jvsl1999 i know. Eu sou portugues (i am portugueze). I just wanted to highlight this story

[@aadityaphadnis8399]

@@JimBob4233 Yes. She gave city of Mumbai to Charles II.

[@psammiad]

Tea was always English. Wandering Stone Age druids introduced it to the Chinese in the 4th millennium BC ;)

[@JoeNoshow27]

5:50 (6:00) - Shots fired

[@kazeshi2]

this video is missing from your european history playlist.

[@ernesto4588]

Good:)

[@shamm9374]

Mr Stan...thank you for making John wear that wig