Vince Morreale

Miss Burke
Honors World History
12/10/16
Charles I was tyrannical and corrupt. He was so horrible that his own people would later
come to overthrow him. So what did Charles I do that gave him such a bad reputation amongst
his people? In this report, I will be criticizing Charles I. There are five key points that I would
like to highlight throughout Charless life.
To start off, Charles I illegally destroyed Parliament. In addition to doing this, he
attempted to imprison five members of Parliament. It takes a horribly corrupt person to have the
will to do this. He also gained a bad reputation amongst the supporters of Parliament.
The second horribly corrupt deed that Charles I committed was not only him, but his wife
too. The king and his wife had sold the jewels on the royal crown for money. The crown and
jewels were owned by the nation, not by the royal family, so it was not theirs to sell. Though the
act committed was wrong, it was not considered treason. However, it could have been considered
a crime. Either way, the deed that was done was wrong of him to do.
The third corrupt act committed by Charles I was using the money from the jewels to pay
for foreign soldiers to assist them in the conflict between Cavaliers and Roundheads. Once again,
this wasnt treason, but it was an act of crime. And yet again, it was horribly wrong.
The fourth act of tyranny would have fallen into the category of treason. After purchasing
foreign soldiers with the illegally obtained money, he eventually used the foreign soldiers to kill

people of their own country. By doing this, not only was he corrupt, he was committing treason
by betraying his people and his country.
The last major act of tyranny would have also fallen into the category of treason. On
August 22, 1642, Charles I started the English Civil War. This was treason because he declared
war on his own people and country. The war was eventually won by Oliver Cromwell and the
Parliamentary forces. It was especially wrong because he was using foreigners to kill his own
people.
Charles I eventually received a death sentence. He was tried and convicted of treason for
betraying his country and his people. Charles I was beheaded on January 30, 1649. The English
Civil War ended about two years after his death. He was tyrannical and corrupt, and his own
people hated him enough to put him to death. Charles easily did enough in his life to be criticized
for multiple offenses.

Work Cited
History.com Staff. "English Civil Wars." History.com. A&E Television Networks, 2009. Web. 13
Dec. 2016. <http://www.history.com/topics/british-history/english-civil-wars>.
"The Execution of Charles I, 1649." The Execution of Charles I, 1649. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec.
2016. <http://www.eyewitnesstohistory.com/charlesI.htm>.
Wisefire. "King Charles I: Why Was He Given A Death Warrant?" King Charles I: Why Was He
Given A Death Warrant? | Made by Young People at Makewaves. N.p., n.d. Web. 13 Dec. 2016.
<https://www.makewav.es/story/148838/title/KingCharlesIWhyWasHeGivenADeathWarrant>.