The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of armed conflicts and political

machinations between Parliamentarians (Roundheads) and Royalists (Cavaliers). The

first (1642–46) and second (1648–49) civil wars pitted the supporters of King Charles I
against the supporters of the Long Parliament, while the third war (1649–51) saw fighting
between supporters of King Charles II and supporters of the Rump Parliament. The Civil
War ended with the Parliamentary victory at the Battle of Worcester on 3 September
1651.

The Civil War led to the trial and execution of Charles I, the exile of his son, Charles II,
and replacement of English monarchy with first, the Commonwealth of England (1649–
53), and then with a Protectorate (1653–59), under Oliver Cromwell's personal rule. The
monopoly of the Church of England on Christian worship in England ended with the
victors consolidating the established Protestant Ascendancy in Ireland. Constitutionally,
the wars established the precedent that an English monarch cannot govern without
Parliament's consent, although this concept was legally established only with the
Glorious Revolution later in the century.

Terminology
The term English Civil War appears most commonly in the singular form, although
historians often divide the conflict into two or three separate wars. Although the term
describes events as impinging on England, from the outset the conflicts involved wars
with and civil wars within both Scotland and Ireland; see Wars of the Three Kingdoms
for an overview.

Unlike other civil wars in England, which focused on who ruled, this war also concerned
itself with the manner of governing Britain and Ireland. Historians sometimes refer to the
English Civil War as the English Revolution and works such as the 1911 Encyclopædia
Britannica call it the Great Rebellion. Marxist historians such as Christopher Hill (1912–
2003) have long favoured the term English Revolution.[1]

Backgroundbecame one of the historical memories that has driven Irish-English and
Catholic-Protestant strife during the last three centuries. However, the massacre has
significance mainly as a symbol of the Irish perception of Cromwellian cruelty, as far
more people died in the subsequent guerrilla and scorched-earth fighting in the country
than at infamous massacres such as Drogheda and Wexford. The Parliamentarian
conquest of Ireland ground on for another four years until 1653, when the last Irish
Confederate and Royalist troops surrendered.[97] Historians have estimated[citation needed] that
around 30% of Ireland's population either died or had gone into exile by the end of the
wars. The victors confiscated almost all Irish Catholic-owned land in the wake of the
conquest and distributed it to the Parliament's creditors, to the Parliamentary soldiers who
served in Ireland, and to English people who had settled there before the war.[98]