ould have given obvious benefits to whoever held it in possession. It was also one of the major ports of Britain, granting Parliament access to a large portion of international trade as well as naval control. The king did have control of Bristol and Newcastle for a time, however, he was to lose control of both by the end of 1645 meaning Parliament would now control all the major ports, eliminating the possibility of the king gaining arms from abroad. The level of communications was at a high standard compared to other regions of Britain, with London being the centre of the road network, which would have enable quicker mobilisation of troops. But perhaps the most beneficiary factor to Parliament of the occupation of the capital, was the Tower of London. The Tower provided Parliament with a huge arsenal and would have been a huge advantage. Wars are simply battles of resources. Whichever side has access to the most money, the most men, and the most weapons will ultimately win. B. Williams wrote that “only one factor emerges as fundamental and undisputed in an evaluation of Parliament’s victory: financial organisation”. The possession of London tipped the scales decisively in Parliament’s favour.The other critical reason for parliamentary victory was due to their military allegiance with the Scots. They had been involved long before the conflict erupted and their disputes with the king were in existence as far back as Charles’ personal rule. His policies in Scotland greatly imitated those in England. He made taxation no longer a crisis measure and made it an annual occurrence. Charles also ordered the Scots to pay for the building of a new Parliament house and new law courts. When Charles attempted to impose the new English Prayer Book on to Scotland which met with unrest. Archbishop Laud imposed the new liturgy on Scotland in 1637. It was very offensive to the Scots and riots broke out. In ...
