During the English Civil War, which groups were associated with King Charles I and Parliament?
The English Civil War, a pivotal moment in British history during the 17th century, saw the country deeply divided between those who supported King Charles I and those who backed Parliament. The King's supporters were known as Cavaliers. This name, initially an insult, implied they were reckless and dissolute, but they embraced it. Think of them as the royalists, often wealthy landowners, who favoured the traditional authority of the monarchy. On the other side were the Parliamentarians, nicknamed Roundheads because many of them had closely cropped hair, a stark contrast to the long, fashionable wigs of the Cavaliers. The Roundheads, largely composed of Puritans and merchants, believed in limiting the King's power and giving more authority to Parliament. So, Cavaliers and Roundheads are the correct pairing because they directly represent the two opposing sides in this conflict. The Tories emerged later as a political party, and the Luddites were 19th-century textile workers who protested against new technology, making them irrelevant to the 17th-century Civil War.
Picture the Cavaliers as the King's loyal knights and the Roundheads as Parliament's disciplined soldiers, clashing in a historic conflict.