Was the English Civil war with Cromwell really the first "revolution" of many around the world?

Question

Many people claim the American Revolution and the French Revolution for being the sparks to set off Revolutions around the world, but did it not all really start with the beheading of Charles I and the demand for rule of Parliament in England that started it this trend for everybody else?

Answer 1

The English Civil War was by no means the world's first revolution. Any case of a political or societal system being radically overhauled or replaced by a new system constitutes a revolution. For example, the demise of the Roman Republic and its replacement by an imperial tyranny was a political revolution. There have doubtless been revolutions since humankind began to organize themselves politically.

Answer 2

No of course not. Revoloutions where going on long before that.

E.g.

The Peasants revolt
The barons at Runnymeade was a more Middle Class Revolt

and those are just the English ones.

What about the Revolts in Roman Times

History has been plagued by revolts.
As for the act of beheading Charles I, don't forget that the English had been in open revolt for a number of years before this act was made. But it did show the world that Modern kingships could be broken by the will of the people.

Answer 3

I agree entirely, although I would not include the American Revolution in the same category as the English Civil War or the French Revolution, as it was for rather different aims.

The English Civil War was the first reaction of the "commoners" to limit the power of an ultimate sovereign (ie. The Divine Right of Kings) and to make a first step towards democracy.

Answer 4

"Revolution" and "civil war" were not invented by Cromwell; these are constants in human history and had been around well before the Parliamentarians defeated the Royalists in seventeenth century England.

"Democracy" (or "parliament") was not a new concept either - the Ancient Greeks had practiced this fine art, most notably in Athens, thousands of years ago.

In a strictly Marxian analysis, one might conclude that the English Civil War represented the first steps of the emergent bourgeoisie - and in this sense, Cromwell can be considered the first political revolutionary of his era.

Enlightenment thinking quickly led to many further attempts to cast off the shackles of the feudal aristocracy, most notably in France and (newly-formed) America.

Not until after the Great War (1914-1918) did Europe finally shrug off this influence - though, of course, the monarchist illusion remains. =)

Answer 5

There was an Islamic revolution in Iran (known as 'Persia' previously) in 1979. What many people don't realise is that it was not the first revolution in Iran/Persia.

There was a ruling class called the Sassanids who ruled Persia from 228AD until 651 AD - a total of 423 years of rule. They were overthrown after a 14-year revolution by the Islamic Caliphate.

All this happened 1,100 years before the American and French revolutions!

Answer 6

You may well be correct in the sense that Cromwell was almost an unwilling leader of the revolt against Charles I. Whereas, through his ability as a soldier, he technically beat the Cavaliers, the outcome of which was the beheading of the King. However, it wasn't long before Charles II was brought back to England (after Cromwell's death) and the monarchy initially regained much of what it had lost in terms of power but without the money to carry on as before. Further, Parliament managed to retain and eventually increase its own power so it can be said this wouldn't have happened without Cromwell.
(Sorry that's a very brief and rather non-specific view of our Civil War but hopefully gives a flavour in answer to your question!)

Answer 7

Great claims have been made for this, for example by Christopher Hill in England, but most people think socialists are twisting it after the event. At the time they thought of it as a rebellion, not a revolution.
In any case, your chronology has its knickers in a twist. Parliament got into a collision course with the King in 1640; Cromwell had to purge Parliament in 1648 to behead the King.

Answer 8

There were many revolutions long before the English Civil War - (even in England.) one of them was that of the slaves of Rome led by Spartacus.

Answer 9

There have been civil wars much farther back than any you mentioned even in ancient Rome and before.

Answer 10

No it wasn't the first revolutution. ITs probabaly the most famous in England but deffinatly not the first, not even the first in England.