East Anglia :D Flashcards
in 1625 was Charles I meant to be king?
In 1625, Charles I became King of England, Scotland and Ireland. He was never meant to be king, as his older brother Henry was groomed for the role and was well liked. Henry died at the age of 18, leaving the 12 year old Charles to shoulder the burden. When Charles did become king on the death of his father, James, his stubborn and aloof personality did not help in his relations with parliament.
By 1625 what was starting to happen with Parliament?
Although supreme power was given to the monarch, parliament had gradually become a more important institution throughout the Tudor and early Stuart period. Its official duties included making and amending laws, with the approval of the monarch, and approving regular taxation collected on behalf of the Crown.
What happened with Parliament with Charles, Name the dates and what happened.
Charles came to blows with parliament in the late 1620s, particularly over his approach to government finance and a number of failed military expeditions. In 1629, Charles dissolved parliament and ruled alone for 11 years. He recalled parliament in 1640 in order to persuade them to vote him the funds to fight a war with the Scots, who had rebelled over Charles’ decision to impose the English prayer book on them
What critical thing did Charles do in 1629?
In 1629, Charles dissolved parliament and ruled alone for 11 years.During his 11 years of personal rule, the gentlemen who represented their counties as MPs found further cause to resent Charles.
What was the issues with his MPs?
uring his 11 years of personal rule, the gentlemen who represented their counties as MPs found further cause to resent Charles. Many of the MPs were Puritan, and Charles’ religious policy which he formulated with William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, seemed to them to be disturbingly Catholic in appearance.
Was witchcraft usually acted upon and what does this show?
Accusations of witch craft were often not acted
upon by the authorities, which goes some way to explaining why the period 1645-47 is marked by so many trials in such a short period of time.
What did Charles do that damaged the gentry?
He also collected dubious taxes which resulted in financial damage to the gentry.
Between 1640 and 1642 Charles continued to have debates with Parliament. What happened in January-August 1642?
In January 1642, Charles attempted to arrest 5 leading MPs who had acted as ringleaders in the attempts to restrict his powers, but they fled and Charles left London to raise an army in what he claimed was an act of self-defence. In August 1642, Charles raised his standard at Nottingham, signalling the start of the Civil War.
How did the war impact East Anglia by 1645?
By 1645, East Anglia had been through three years of civil war and the county that would become the epicentre of the witch-hunt, Suffolk, served as parliament’s main recruiting ground. The area saw little actual fighting, and many of the locals felt detached from the war, although the inevitably felt the effects of so many men leaving their villages and towns to fight. At a time when mortality rates for both adults and children were already high, further deaths from war added to a strained existence.
Across Suffolk and other Eastern counties, the death of men resulted in what?
in a shift in traditional power relationships.
Witches discovered at Wingfield, Westhorpe and Stradbroke appeared to be connected with what? (Were they??)
Radical Puritan sects that believed that women could be viewed as socially, as well as spiritually, equal to men. Of course, most of the accused women in East Anglia had no connections with radical sects, and the chaos of war provided an opportunity for long-held suspicions to be brought to the surface.
In 1645, stories about what were reaching East Anglia about strange occurrences and omens. Give examples.
A Royalist woman from Lancashire was reported to have given birth to a headless baby; the body of a habitual sinner was dug up by dogs and eaten; and across the region women were beginning to drink and swear like men.
With the chaos of war also came a decline in power for two of the symbols of continuity and power in the region:
· The Church of England
· The local gentry; those with Royalist sympathies faced arrest.
In the absence of traditional authority, various fears began to grow that would ultimately manifest themselves in a witch-hunt. What were they?
What began as a fear of the enemy developed into a fear of ‘enemies within’. Ministers in pulpits no longer preached exclusively about the dangers associated with the Royalists, but also warned about spies on the Parliamentarian side.
What was the struggle, suspicion and hatred against and they accusations against?
ROYALISTS vs PARLIAMENTARIANS
Were the azure courts able to function during the war? If not, what was put in place, was it successful?
The assize courts were unable to function normally during the war, and justice was often given out by local magistrates or by other individuals with only limited legal experience. The already fragile legal structure of East Anglia was threatened further by the later stages of the Civil War
What did the Victory at Naseby in Northamptonshire in June 1645 had confirm?
How powerful the New Model Army could be, and it was followed by another Parliamentarian victory in July. A number of East Anglian gentry began returning to their estates
Charles’ nephew and cavalry commander, Prince Rupert, advised him to do what? How did it affect the assizes?
to renew peace negotiations, but Charles moved his forces east, towards East Anglia. It was felt that fighting in the region was now inevitable
Therefore the assize circuits were disrupted as judges felt it was too dangerous to travel from London.
In July 1945, the Earl of Warwick, one of the most senior Parliamentarians, was commissioned to oversee what, and what happened?
the Essex summer assizes at Chelmsford. He possessed little legal experience, which meant he had to work closely with local magistrates Sir John Barrington, Sir Martin Lumley, Sir Henry Holcroft, Sir Henry Mildmay and William Conyers. Warwick sentenced 19 women to hang.
In Suffolk too, the assizes were disrupted by fighting. Give an example (Earl of Warwick).
Not long after Warwick had been appointed to oversee justice in Essex, news arrived of the latest trouble in Cambridge, where troops were being mobilised from all over East Anglia to engage Charles’ forces at Huntingdon. It was decided that the assizes at Bury St Edmonds would be suspended. Prisoners already condemned were immediately executed and those awaiting trial were sent back to their cells.
In this context- the failures of those not legally skilled, local fears of witchcraft were intensified and in the absence of senior judges, the witch-hunt was able to spread quickly. How did this help Stearne and Hopkins?
Mayors and town councillors were thankful to pay for the services of Hopkins and Stearne because they provided what appeared to be legitimate legal knowledge and efficiency at a time when both were in short supply. Although they did not act as judges themselves, they were able to interrogate suspects and collect evidence in order to take cases to court.
With the civil war affected the assizes and S and H stepping in, what was the conviction rate?
This resulted in a 42% conviction rate.
