The Way in Which the English Civil War Affected the Guilds of Chester
by The following discussion will also explore the short – term and the long – term affect of the English Civil Wars upon the Guilds of Chester. In many respects the assumption that the civil war harmed the majority of guilds given its associated social and economic consequences is an understandable one to reach, whether or not it is justified by any degree of evidence or well – established facts.
Over all it is not surprising that the way in which the civil war had a detrimental affect upon the Guilds of Chester. Guild members across the country had frequently fought in the civil war whether voluntarily or being press-ganged into the rival armies whilst that who had not experienced military service had paid higher taxes and levies. The civil war had seriously interrupted both domestic and foreign trade, which was certainly a disadvantage for ports like Chester. The Guilds of Chester did not find that there any financial benefits of the fighting in England finishing. Whilst individual traders might have made money form supplying the needs of the New Model Army units sent to Ireland the city as a whole had the high costs of housing such troops before they set sail to Ireland.
Not only was trade disrupted, agricultural production was also reduced due to farmers and farm workers having to perform military service instead of attending to their crops and their livestock. Royalist and Parliamentary armies took a large share of food and other supplies from the villages, towns, and cities they passed through, although the New Model Army often paid for whatever they consumed. Generally the New Model Army did not carry out mass murder, pillage, and rape when they captured towns and cities. The citizens and the Guilds of Chester were treated with considerably less brutality than their counterparts in towns captured by the Royalists.
Nationally the civil war caused an expansion in the industries most closely related to weapons production in areas such as Birmingham, which had a greater number of craftsmen and workers who were not members of any guilds. Such increases were not achieved in Chester due to men being involved in defending the city and the lack of raw materials available during the siege. The Parliamentary regime in general and the New Model Army in particular benefited from the higher productivity levels of non-Guild workers.
In conclusion the way in which the civil war affected the main Guilds of Chester were adversely so. The Guilds of Chester were markedly pro – Royalist at the start of the civil war mainly due to the assumption that a victory for the king would best serve their social and economic interests. Chester as noted above was deemed to be strategically important by both sides because it was a port with access to the Irish Sea. The heavy cost of supporting the ultimately doomed Royalist war effort alongside the confiscation, levies, and taxes to Parliament placed a considerable strain on the members of the Guilds within Chester. The Parliamentary victory in the civil war was probably the main cause for that conflict having a detrimental impact upon the Guilds of Chester.
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