A century before the American Revolution, the first great clash between ancient monarchy and modern ideas of liberty took place on the battlefields of England. This epic story of England in the first half of the seventeenth century, a half century of unrest that culminated in the English Civil War, begins with the accession of the first Stuart king, James I, to the throne of England, continues with the infamous "gunpowder treason" of Guy Fawkes, and proceeds through every crucial event leading to the fall of a 600-year-old monarchy. With an eye for both the smallest anecdote and the grandest themes, the great philosopher and historian David Hume narrates a story of politics and people that, like other classic histories such as Thucydides'' Peloponnesian War, reveals much about not just its own time but all times. Originally published in 1754, it was the standard account for a century and is one of the greatest histories ever written. In recent times, however, the book has been too little read, in part because Hume''s language has grown increasingly archaic. This new edition is a gently updated "modern English" version. It contains the full narrative history; it is not censored, bowdlerized, or politically corrected. Hume has his full say and now the modern reader can readily hear it. The editor, a professional copyeditor, originally took on the project of updating Hume''s language so his son could read this great classic with pleasure and full understanding as part of his high school homeschool course on British history. Every sentence of the volume was rigorously inspected; only those changes that improved readability and comprehension were implemented, with great care taken to preserve the felicity, nuance, and power of Hume''s prose. Self-publishing the result became another homeschool project; the son designed the covers and father and son formatted the text together. This edition includes the following major categories of changes: * Obsolete names of persons are rendered in modern style (e.g., Louis XIII for "Lewis"; Colonel John Hurry for "Urrey"; John Cosin, dean of Peterborough, for "Cosins" and "Cozens"; Hugh MacMahon for "Mahone"; Sir Richard Grenville for "Granvile"). * Obsolete names of places are rendered in modern style (e.g., Powderham Castle for "Poudram"; Santander, Spain for "St. Andero"; Drogheda, Ireland for "Tredah"; Moray County, Scotland for "Murray"; Perth, Scotland for "St. Johnstone''s"). * Archaic words are replaced with modern words of the same meaning (e.g., dared for "durst"; half for "moiety"; in no way for "nowise"; boast for "vaunt" (noun); playgoer for "play-haunter") * Archaic senses of still-used words are replaced with modern words to avoid misunderstanding of Hume''s intended meaning when a word still in use has changed in meaning (e.g., reveal, uncover, show, expose, display, evidence, disclose, perceive, betray, or apparent is substituted for "discover" as the context requires; ardent, zealous, warm, or fervent is substituted for "earnest" as the context requires; pledge, promise, agreement, enterprise, enlistment, obligation, contract, commitment, or undertaking is substituted for "engagement" as the context requires; aware, cognizant, mindful, palpable, perceptible, perceived, keenly felt, alert, noticeable, or conspicuous is substituted for "sensible" as the context requires). * Archaic idioms are replaced with modern phrases of the same meaning (e.g., "he resolved no longer to abide by any limits on his conduct with respect to the court" is substituted for "he resolved no longer to keep any measures with the court"). * Archaic spellings of common words are rendered in modern form (e.g., malcontents for "malecontents"; encounter for "rencounter"). * British spellings are rendered in American form. * Capitalizations of offices, titles of persons, and proper nouns follow modern American style. * Archaic syntax and punctuation are rendered in modern style.