The English Civil War Quiz | UK History

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Who was the reigning monarch when the English Civil War started in 1642?

Answer: Charles I

Charles inherited the throne from his father, James I. He was not in fact the primary heir to the British throne, but succeeded due to the premature death of his more popular brother Henry. If Henry had survived, the English Civil War might not have
begun.

2. One type of soldier was the "musketeer". These were mainly officers who wore colourful and rather flamboyant clothes.

Answer: False

Musketeers as depicted in books and films of "The Three Musketeers" and similar entertaining works may match this description, but English Civil War musketeers were simply infantrymen who fired muskets. Unlike their officers they usually wore basic, and often scruffy clothing.

3. Which of these types of soldier did NOT fight in the English Civil War?

Answer: Grenadier

A cuirassier was an armoured cavalryman. A pikeman wielded a very long steel pointed staff, and a dragoon was a type of quick deployment soldier who rode to battle, but fought on foot. Grenades, or "granadoes" as they were known, were in use during the English Civil War, but the soldiers who threw them were simply the strongest musketeers or pikemen. Grenadiers as a recognised independent branch of the army came much later.

4. Huge quantities of gunpowder were used during the English Civil War. Which of these is not an ingredient of gunpowder?

Answer: Pyrites

Pyrites is an iron sulphide which will flare when ground and burnt, but not a gunpowder ingredient.

5. Which terms describe the two opposing forces of the English Civil War most accurately?

Answer: Royalists and Parliamentarians

Roundheads and Cavaliers may be the best known terms, but these are largely modern romantic nicknames, not widely used at the time. The term "roundheads" really only applied to the London apprentice boys who supported Parliament and had cropped hair. It was a term of abuse used by Royalist soldiers against those of Parliament.

6. Which of these was not a senior officer on the parliamentary side?

Answer: Sir Ralph Hopton

Hopton was an experienced officer who had fought in Europe in the "Thirty Years' War", fighting for the Elector Palatine. He commanded Royalist forces in the west of England. Devereux and Fairfax were two of the most senior Parliamentary Generals. Robert Rich was a senior naval officer, originally appointed as Vice-Admiral by King Charles, but whose loyalty lay with Parliament.

7. This Royalist general was a senior cavalry officer who later commanded the Royalist Navy. Later he became a fairly prominent scientist, and was elected a Member of the Royal Society, which is still Britain's most prominent scientific association.

Answer: Prince Rupert of the Rhine

Prince Rupert was the Kings' nephew, and a professional soldier from his teens, fighting on the Continent where he was imprisoned for a time. He commanded the Royalist Horse at the age of only 22. Prince Rupert was fascinated by science and produced a number of innovations.

8. This dour English puritan merchant and landowner was at first an infantry officer, and later commanded the Parliamentarian Navy. 150 years later, Nelson said that he "did not consider himself to be this man's equal".

Answer: Robert Blake

Aston and Waller were generals, Aston being Royalist and Waller Parliamentarian. Sir Cloudesley Shovell was born well after the Civil War, and was an admiral who perished in the Scilly Isles when his fleet ran aground in a violent storm. Robert Blake's correct naval rank was General at Sea.
Blake had a number of successes in the Civil War, in 1649 blockading the Royalist Fleet at Kinsale for several months thus allowing Cromwell to land in force at Dublin, and in 1651 capturing the Scilly Isles and Channel Isles for Parliament. After the Civil War England was at war with the Netherlands, and then with Spain, both of which involved significant naval battles. Possibly the most outstanding of these was the "Battle of Santa Cruz" in the Canaries in April 1657 where Blake defeated the Spaniards in the most decisive naval victory since the defeat in of the Spanish Armada in 1588 by Sir Francis Drake.

9. Which of these is not a type of artillery piece used at the time of the English Civil War?

Answer: montero

A montero is a cloth hat, similar to a modern balaclava. The others are field artillery, the largest being the demi-culverin which fired a shot weighing 9 pounds.

10. Which of these was a Civil War nickname for cavalrymen, first given to Oliver Cromwell's regiment, but later applied generally?

Answer: Ironsides

Cavaliers is a nickname for Royalist forces in general. Buffcoats are thick leather jackets worn by cavalry and sometimes by other soldiers. Guidons are the standards (flags) carried by a troop of cavalry or dragoons. Oliver Cromwell himself was known as "Old Ironsides"!

11. Various types of musket and pistol were in use during the English Civil War. Which of these is not a type of musket or pistol?

Answer: Cage lock

Matchlocks used a smouldering chord to fire the charge. Wheel locks had a wind-up spring loaded mechanism, and flintlocks were fired by a small flint striking a steel plate and producing a spark. There's no such thing as a cage lock!

12. Which of these is not a major English Civil War battle?

Answer: Battle of Otterburn

The Battle of Otterburn took place in 1388 between English and Scottish forces. The two main protagonists were the Douglas (Scotland) and Percy (England) families. The English commander was Henry Percy, better known as Henry Hotspur. The Scots won!

13. When was the King executed?

Answer: January 1649

He was beheaded on 30th January 1649. Because it was a very cold day, he decided to wear two shirts in case the cold might cause him to shiver, making people think he was frightened. In some ways he may have been a foolish and even arrogant man, but he met his end bravely.

14. What title was assumed by Oliver Cromwell, during his leadership of the Country after the English Civil War?

Answer: Lord Protector

He was appointed by Parliament in 1651 as "Lord Protector of Ireland", then after dissolving the "Rump Parliament" in December 1653 took the title of "Lord Protector of England". Cromwell was offered the title of King, but his belief was that this was not God's will. Following his death, his son Richard tried for a short time to assume his father's mantle, but was quickly ousted paving the way for the monarchy to be restored under the former King's son Charles II.

15. Some years after the English Civil War, the former King's son was invited back to England by Parliament and crowned King. This event is known as?

Answer: the Restoration

Following his father's execution by beheading on January 30th 1649, Charles II remained in Scotland, where on 1st January 1651 he was crowned King.
As King of Scotland he attempted an invasion of England in 1651 and got as far south as Worcester, where he was defeated by Parliamentary forces commanded by Cromwell. Charles then spent 45 days evading capture, before finally escaping to France. The monarchy was finally restored by Act of Parliament in May 1660, and he then returned to England as King.

Source: Author picqero

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor bloomsby before going online.
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The English Civil War Trivia Quiz

The English Civil War took place in the mid 17th Century. Although commonly called the "English Civil War", it was in fact fought throughout the whole of Great Britain and Ireland.

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