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Bishops' Wars: Charles I's Campaign and Treaty of Berwick

When
1639
Where
Berwick-upon-Tweed
Episodes
1

The First Bishops' War (1639) arose from Charles I's religious reforms and the National Covenant. It featured the Battle of the Brig of Dee, a Covenanter victory, and concluded with the Treaty of Berwick, which ended hostilities without resolving episcopal authority.

Episodes

  1. 18 June 1639 · Berwick-upon-TweedTreaty of Berwick

    Signed on 18 June 1639, the treaty ended the war but left the issue of episcopacy unresolved.

Background and detail

Background. Charles I imposed liturgical changes on the Church of Scotland in 1637, provoking widespread resentment. In 1638, Scots signed the National Covenant to resist these innovations. By early 1639, minor skirmishing occurred in north-east Scotland, and armies mustered near the border, setting the stage for the First Bishops' War.

Diplomatic Resolution. The Treaty of Berwick was signed on 18 June 1639, ending the First Bishops' War. Charles I agreed to withdraw English forces and convene a General Assembly and Scottish Parliament. The treaty notably avoided addressing the disputed issue of episcopacy, leaving the core religious conflict unresolved.

People involved

Sources

  1. Bishops' Wars Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-28
  2. Battle of the Brig of Dee Wikipedia, revision of 2026-08-22
  3. Treaty of Berwick (1639) Wikipedia, revision of 2026-03-23

Machine-drafted from the cited Wikipedia passages and checked by a reviewing model, not by a human editor. Every passage cites the revision it was written from; dates and places follow those passages.