Talk:Roundhead

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[edit] Removed...

I'm about to remove this sentence from the preamble: "The goal of the Roundhead party was to give the Parliament supreme control over executive administration."

That's a massive, misleading oversimplification that, in fact, gives completely the wrong impression. First of all, there wasn't a roundhead "party" as such: the Parliamentary side was made up of a number of different religious and political groupings; second, right up until Pride's Purge in December 1648, there were significant numbers of MPs who were in favour of Monarchy, albeit in a form that afforded Parliament its historical rights and privileges (not "supreme control"). The statement is supported by a refence to Macaulay, whose views of the Civil Wars and Commonwealth haven't really stood the test of time.Bedesboy (talk) 19:39, 20 January 2008 (UTC)

[edit] On the subject of oversimplifications

I've rewritten the first paragraph, which included words to the effect that "Oliver Cromwell was leader of the Roundheads". Right up until 1653 there were other men who had as much claim to be the 'leader' of the Parliamentary cause as he did (Bradshaw, for example). My new version is still an oversimplification, but at least it's accurate. I'm also going to add a note to the effect that historians tend not to use the term.Bedesboy (talk) 16:32, 17 May 2008 (UTC)

[edit] And another thing

I've made 'civil wars' plural (there were two of them). The original writer also stipulated that they ended in 1651, which is inaccurate: the Worcester campaign was a foreign invasion (Scotland was independent, with Charles II as its king). EDIT: I see the disambig page for the wars is referring to it as the Third Civil War - so I'll leave it be. Bedesboy (talk) 16:37, 17 May 2008 (UTC)