The Long Parliament was first called by King Charles I on 3rd November 1640, six months after the dissolution of the Short Parliament, and within weeks of the defeat of the English against Scotland. The king was reluctant to summon another parliament, but the expense of the wars had left him desperately short of money and in urgent need of parliamentary subsidies. The Long Parliament met from 1640 to 1653 and from 1659 to 1660.
The Long Parliament was first convened in 1640, and under the leadership of John Pym and John Hampden, it passed a series of bills designed to weaken the power of the king. After Charles tried to arrest Pym, Hampden, and three other members of the House of Commons, civil war broke out. With the help of the Scots, parliament defeated the forces of King Charles, and he was captured in 1646.
Meanwhile, the Independents, made up of the Puritans in parliament led by Oliver Cromwell, had become very powerful. Civil war broke out again, time over the issue of religion. The Independents won in 1648. In 1649, parliament abolished the monarchy and the House of Lords, and established the court that had Charles put to death.
In 1653, Cromwell forced parliament to disband. After his death the remaining members of the Long Parliament reconvened. They were persuaded to make way for a newly elected parliament in 1660.