Charles I, unable to work with Parliament, attempted to rule without it. Eventually he was to raise his standard against the parliamentary forces, leading to civil war and his eventual judicial murder.
England was to be a republic until the collapse of Cromwell\'s Commonwealth and the restoration of Charles II in 1660. Shortly afterwards, a devastating plague swept through the country followed by the Great Fire of London.
Compromise between the crown and Parliament finally achieved a balanced government and the two
kingdoms of England and Scotland became joined in the 1707 Act of Union.
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