Political compass: English civil war edition

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In the mid 17th century England (and the rest of Britain and Ireland) was convulsed by war and the ferment of intellectual revolution. As Parliament fought the King and then the Army, new ideas such as universal male suffrage and freedom of conscience combined and clashed with old ideas like the divine right of Kings and the ancient liberties of Magna Carta to give birth to a fissiparous melange of different factions and groups.

Have you ever wondered which faction you would have ended up in? Are you a Constitutional Royalist believing that Parliament had a point back in 1640 but it's really starting to push its luck now? A radical Leveller wanting a free press and universal male suffrage? A sly Army Grandee? One of the Presbyterians or Independents in parliament at each other's throats over the post war religious settlement? Perhaps you're an Arch Royalist who still believes the King is divinely appointed? Or maybe you think you chose the wrong side and wish you could recant and switch? Well wonder no longer because the 'Political compass: English civil war edition' will tell you!

Created by: Jet Power

The King can levy whatever taxes he wants
- Of course, he was placed on this earth by God to rule so he can do whatever he wants
- Well he should probably get parliament's approval first
- No, although if it's to pay my wages then it's ok
- No, but Parliament can
- No, taxes can only be levied by the consent of the governed not at the word of one man
- As long as I'm not paying I don't really care
We need a national church without bishops but with a rigid uniform dogma
- No each congregation should decide on the specific form of worship they want, except for Catholics of course.
- No, each man should have liberty to decide for himself how he wants to worship
- No way, without Bishops how can the church be controlled, we'll have religious anarchy
- Yes, we signed a treaty with the Scottish covenanters promising to reform the church in England in exactly this way, we must keep our promise
- No, the King wants Bishops and his prayer book - if that's what the King wants then it's what God wants
Should there be a standing army?
- Yes, as long as the King is in charge of it
- Yes, as long as Parliament is in charge of it
- Yes as long as I'm in charge of it
- Yes, as long as it gets paid on time
- No, it's a threat to freedom and a tool of tyrants
All men have an equal right to be represented in Parliament
- Yes, every man should get a vote in elections
- No letting all men vote would be anarchy, only landowners should be able to vote.
- No, I think the current constitution works pretty well
- No and we should probably do away with Parliament after the King wins the war
What should we do about the rebellion in Ireland?
- Let's use the rebels to invade England and crush Parliament
- They are rebels, they owe their loyalty to their sovereign king, once the war is over we must invade to reimpose order
- They are Catholics we need to crush them asap so they can't ally with the king
- We need to crush them, but first we need paying, and for Parliament to enact the reforms we like
- They are only doing what we would do ourselves in their position, they should have freedom of conscience
Do we need a puritan reformation? - stripping down the Church of England to the true faith - no Latin, no ornamentation, no Book of Common Prayer, and definitely no Christmas or theatres etc
- Yes those are all popish innovations
- Yes we should reform, but banning Christmas is going a bit far
- Steady on, I think the broad Elizabethan settlement was working quite well
- No, we need more ornamentation and Latin in our services not less
Should we have some form of written constitution?
- Yes we need to safeguard the ancient rights of Englishmen, we should use the Magna Carta as a starting point for it
- Yes, we need to ensure the country is stable but we don't need any of these radical ideas like all men voting
- No we already have a constitution it works pretty well provided King Charles doesn't try and rule without parliament again
- Whatever parliament says is the constitution
- We need peace even more, which is why we need to settle with the King
The Judiciary should be under the authority of the King, so The Court of Star Chamber is perfectly legal
- Yes, the law is whatever the King says, because whatever he says is divinely ordained
- Yes, although the King must rule in line with the established English constitution, and Parliament are right to criticise his use of the Court of the Star Chamber
- No, Parliament needs a say, for all the laws of England derive their authority from it so must the judges
- No, The Court of the Star Chamber is an instrument of political repression it must be scrapped and the judiciary made independent
- I don't much care but the King needs to stop trying to squeeze forced loans and Ship money out of us Gentlemen and dragging us before the Court of the Star Chamber if we don't pay
Should people be able to print pretty much whatever they want?
- Yes, the only way to hold tyrants in check is to tell people about which of our ancient liberties they are currently trampling over
- There needs to be some limit against heretical and ungodly publications, but the King and Parliament mustn't be able to stop congregations from printing pamphlets on godly subjects
- As long as Parliament licenses it then it's ok
- As long as the King licenses it then it's ok
- As long as the pamphlet in question says the army must be paid then it's ok
Finally how should we end the war?
- With a settlement which maintains the pre-war constitutional settlement
- With a settlement which heavily limits the King's ability to meddle with Parliament and the Church of England
- Only by winning the war can we get an acceptable settlement
- We must crush Parliament and never call another one again
- With the establishment of a Godly republic
- With reforms which entrench the ancient rights of freeborn Englishmen
- We must finish the war on the winning side
- With the army being paid

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