Civil War person: Scottish Covenanter

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In the 1500s England and Scotland had broken away from the Roman Catholic Church and become Protestant countries. Throughout the 1630s Charles and his Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, brought changes to the organisation of the church and also to the way people worshipped in church. The Scots did not like Laud’s new prayer book or his other ideas. They also disliked an Englishman making decisions about the church in Scotland. 

In 1637 Laud and Charles insisted that Scotland should use the prayer book that they had brought into the Church of England. When the prayer book was first used in July 1637 there was a riot in Edinburgh. Scottish opponents of Charles I signed a Covenant (an agreement) criticising him. In February 1638 Scottish rebels formed themselves into a National Assembly. They signed a Covenant or an agreement banning the new prayer book and got rid of other changes brought in by Laud. Charles I refused to allow this challenge to his authority and took an army to Scotland to crush the rebels.  

He did not have enough money for a large, well-equipped army. To get the money he needed, he would have to ask his Parliament. However, Charles did not like working with Parliament. He ruled without it from 1629-40. By the time he did call Parliament in 1640, many MPs were anxious to tell the king why they were unhappy about many aspects of his rule. Plus his conflict with the Scots dragged on until October 1640. 

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