In 1640 the bishop wars were fought between Scottish and English forces, who were led by Charles I ("The History of the English Civil Wars"). It all started when Charles I tried to introduce a version of the English Book of Common Prayer in Scotland, Scots rose in rebellion (Collins). This rebellion in Scotland forced Charles I to call upon Parliament, which met in 1640. The purpose of the meeting was to get money to stop the Scots, Parliament refused to authorize any new taxes until the King agreed to get rid of ship money ("English Civil War Timeline"). Ship money was a tax that was paid by coastal towns to pay for the Royal Navy. This tax eventually made its way to inland towns as Charles needed more money ("English Civil War Timeline"). Since Parliament refused to help the king until English grievances had been paid attention to and since they were also generally opposed to any military operation, Charles gave up on trying to win them over ("The Short and Long Parliaments" 223). This parliament was given the name short parliament, due to its short dismissal by the king.
Charles I went on with his military plan even though he didn't have Parliament's support and his attack proved unsuccessful, his army was demolished by the Scots. Now Charles found himself in a bad position, and called upon parliament again in November, 1640 (Ashley 189). Charles needed money to pay for an effective army with which he needed to defeat the Scots ("English Civil War Timeline"). In order to gain support of this newly formed Parliament, Charles I had to agree to some demands. All the methods by which Charles had raised money without the consent of parliament were considered illegal. It wanted to abolish the Star Chamber, a court that violated the principle of the Magna Carta, and people who were summoned before it were tried without a jury (Alderman 21). Parliament even threatened to get rid of the bishops.