In the Midst of the Kingdom

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This book is the first study to reassess the nature of the royalist cause in the North midland counties of Derbyshire, Leicestershire, Nottinghamshire, Rutland, and Staffordshire during the first civil war (1642-1646). Previous accounts of the war in the region have been heavily dependent on parliamentarian accounts, which were not written to create a thorough narrative of the war, but to demonize the royalists and their cause. The resultant image created by these hostile accounts was one of confusion, rapine, and disorder. Examination of a wider range of information showed that, by contrast, the royalists had a regional command structure that effectively exploited the resources of the region to fund their war effort. However, there were several problems within that war effort. Command was subject to internal rivalries and the interference of the king. Moreover, the higher levels of command in the royalist cause created problems for the royalist commander Lord Loughborough, as his region was divided between different commanders at several points in the war. These conflicts are explored in this book.