As a result of the English Civil Wars, England became a republic
As a result of the English Civil Wars, England became a republic , the monarchy was abolished, and King Charles I was beheaded. Following the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Charles II acted promptly to punish those responsible for his father’s execution. All the commissioners who had signed the death warrant of Charles I eleven years earlier, and who were still alive and could be found, were tried and sentenced to death, along with the lawyer for the prosecution, the officers of the guards at the king’s trial and execution, and the preacher who had encouraged and attended the execution. Execution for regicide was an especially brutal way to go. The prisoners were dragged, hung, drawn and quartered; meaning they were first dragged through the street by horses, then they were hung but cut down while still alive, then they were disemboweled while alive, then they were dismembered into four pieces. Oliver Cromwell was already dead by the time of the restoration, but the ne...