 The outbreak of war was followed ominously by the Great Plague and the Great Fire of London, hitting the only major urban centre of the country.These events, occurring in such close succession, virtually brought England to its knees, as the English fleet had suffered from cash shortages even before these calamities, despite having been voted a record budget of £2,500,000 by the English parliament.However, as Charles lacked effective means of enforcing taxation; those taxes voted were collected neither in full nor quickly.