After reading the articles I have mixed emotions towards the execution of King Charles I. One of the reasons why I feel that his execution is justifiable is because it is the 17th century rather than modern day and their viewpoints are completely different than today. After losing the first Civil War he was extremely embarrassed and made a secret pact with Scottish forces to place him back on the throne by force. Rather than working out a deal with Parliament he decided to backstab Parliament with the pact between him and the Scotts. Thousands of British soldiers had perished after this first Civil War and he purposely started a second one to regain the throne. As the article The Trial and Execution of Charles I says “He was a man of blood who sacrificed innocents and went against God’s providence. For those reasons stated above that is why I believe his execution was justifiable.
The reason why I am against his execution is because “No monarch ever left the world with more sorrow: women miscarried, men fell into melancholy(uk.tv.co).” The fact that a king was executed brought so much sorrow and despair upon the country. In addition, as stated in The Trial and Execution of Charles I “Many Parliamentarians did not want to execute Charles.” Also after he was beheaded the crowd released a sad moan, the executioner went against against tradition and did not raise the kings head and say the famous coined phrase. Soon after his head was sewn back upon his body and his execution was listed as martyr status.
I also think that the execution of King Charles I was not completely justified. He was definitely toxic but since when does being toxic cost yo your life? It was not a unanimous decision and left many people upset. They could have exiled him or just put him in prison.
I agree with the fact that you have mixed emotions on the assassination of Charles I because it was in the 17th century and today is a much different time. I also have mixed emotions on assassinating Charles I and it sounds like the people at the time did as well. He is getting assassinated so obviously he deserves it or some people want him dead and you stated that there was a sad moan when he was executed so we can tell that some people were against it and some people were for it.
I agree with the part of your argument that thinks that he should not have been executed. Although I question the legitimacy of some of the details included in the article, i.e women miscarrying because they mourned his death, because of lack of evidence, I do believe that he was a generally favored monarch and that his execution was not because of how unpopular he was. I believe that because of how popular he was Parliament feared for the uprisings he might be able create and that was the catalyst of his execution–which to me, is not a justifiable reason.
I 100% agree with your point that it is important to recognize that we are looking at these events through a 21st century lens. Today, the morality of capital punishment is up for debate, but it is necessary to look at it from a 17th century perspective. Living in 2019, I believe that capital punishment is unjustified, but I can see why England would want to execute a king who caused two wars that left thousands dead.