Charles 1 Rule Flashcards
(15 cards)
How did Charles I want to govern the country?
Both Charles and his father James believed in the divine right of kings.
Charles was a fierce believer and installed a huge ceiling in the banqueting house celebrating his father sitting by gods side.
The social hierarchy in England:
King
Nobility
Gentry
Middling sort
People
Most people supported this system without question.
How did parliament want to govern the country?
Parliament wanted to be on the same level as the king especially following the Magna Carta and they wanted the king to respect the law, the monarch also needed parliaments approval to increase taxes. More than anything they wanted the king to listen and respond to their wishes which James did carefully. Charles less so.
Charles I early reign 1625-29?
Charles quickly showed he lacked his fathers political skills.
He tried to raise the wealth and status of the church by taking back all church land given to Scottish nobles who were angry and threatened a rebellion which made Charles eventually back down.
Charles was not a catholic but he was accused of being a sympathiser as his wife was catholic and he seemed to favour catholic religious ceremonies. He increased the power of the bishops. All of these pro catholic views were alarming to fierce puritans.
Charles went to war with Spain in 1625 which was initially a popular move but as it began to go badly mps began to disagree with the cost and how it was run by his closest adviser and friend. The Duke of Buckingham.
All of this caused lots of criticism from MPs which Charles couldn’t handle and when they threatened to put Duke of Buckingham on trial in 1626 he simply dissolved Parliament. The next year he needed money so rather than calling Parliament for approval he raised it through a forced loan (really a tax). Many people dislike this and many MPs and landowners refused. One case five such refuses were held in prison without trial.
Even with the loan Charles was still low on money and in 1628 he was forced to reconvene Parliament who were angered by their dismissal and the unfair treatment of the five ‘knights’ and together the House of Lords and commons forced Charles to agree to the petition of right meaning he could take no steps to raise money without parliament. Divisions still stood and Charles dissolved parliament again in 1629.
Parliaments response to Charles personal rule 1629-1640?
Charles I personal rule ruined his relations with the people. He only recalled Parliament in 1640 because he had to and he expected them to give him everything he wanted but he received a huge amount of complaints to do with:
1: His ‘evil advisers’:
Richard Weston
Thomas wentworth
William laud
The actions of these advisers and how much Charles listened to them angered the MPs as they felt left out of key decisions. Many MPs also felt Charles catholic wife Henrietta Maria had to much influence on him. The MPs rarely criticised the king himself out of respect and fear, but parliament did not grant him any taxes until their concerns were addressed. Charles saw this as a personal attack on him and his royal authority.
Parliament’s concerns about the liberties of freeborn Englishmen?
1:Protecting Protestant church:
Protecting the Protestant church,
England had been torn apart by differences between catholics and protestants but the Elizabethan settlement of 1559 ended this and made England a Protestant country. Catholics were fined if they didn’t go to church and they were often accused of being spies.
2: Defending the rule of law:
Unlike other countries England had the common law which meant everybody was guaranteed a guaranteed a fair trial and couldn’t be imprisoned without. Kings swore an oath to uphold this law.
3: Local power and authority:
The political nation was mostly made up of landowners who were elected as MPs and led the militia forces during wartime. These people were very proud of their authority.
4: not being taxed without parliaments authority:
All taxes in England had to be approved by Parliament first and if they weren’t consulted he could be accused of breaking his coronation oath and trying to rule as an absolute monarch.
Sir Richard Weston methods of gaining taxes?
As Lord treasurer Lord Richard Weston was in charge of raising money for the kingdom and in usual circumstances he would call on MPs to grant the king taxes but now without parliament he used older methods which didn’t involve them.
1: Ship money:
A one off tax the king could use in emergencies paid by people living in coastal towns to pay for the navy. He called in 1634 and 1635 and by 1636 he moved further inland and it became an annual tax which raised £170,000 a year.
2: Sale of monopolies:
Weston sold monopolies to merchants or companies causing prices to rise as no other merchants could sell them. Elizabeth and James had restricted monopolies but weston restarted them. These were very valuable and the monopoly on soap alone brought in £30,000 a year.
3: Distraint of knighthood:
This was a fine for men who owned £40 worth of property but didn’t present themselves at the coronation for a knighthood. Brought in £174,000 a year.
4: Tonnage and poundage:
A tax on goods imported or exported, Parliament only granted for a year which charles saw as an insult and raised it whenever he wanted. Raised £270,000 a year.
5: Forced loans:
Supposedly loans but really taxes on merchants if not paid they would face a huge fine or imprisonment. Brought in £200,000 a year.
6: Forest fines:
An ancient Fine the king could impose on people who lived within the boundaries of the old royal forests. These were highly unpopular but raised an extra £39,000 a year.
The problems with Weston’s taxes?
Whilst legal many of the taxes were unused because of how society had changed and people saw these as unfair ways of getting money.
People also disliked how ruthless Weston was in getting the taxes. And of course none of the taxes were approved by Parliament and most thought Charles was taking his powers too far and if he succeeded there would never be need for parliament.
The John Hampden case 1637?
The most famous challenge to the kings financial policies came in 1637 when Hampden form Buckinghamshire refused to pay ship tax. Despite the judges all being appointed by the king they were split 7-5 in Charles favour.
Despite losing his case shows many people opposed Charles policies. Hampden was seen as having the moral victory.
Sir Thomas wentworths actions?
He had been an MP in the early parliaments of Charles I reign and had been regularly criticised by the kings ministers and had been a critic of the crown even refusing to pay a forced loan. But in 1628 he changed sides and was appointed as president of the council of the north and powerfully enforced his rule sacking many ‘incompetent officials’ and he made local officials send regular reports to the kings government in London.
Lord deputy of Ireland
As he structured the north so well Charles promoted wentworth to lord deputy of Ireland as it had been a problem for English kings for decades due to the deep divisions between catholics and Protestants in the region causing regular rebellions draining English finances. To establish control wentworth bypassed the law and acted as ruler of Ireland enforcing his actions with his own army and persuaded the Irish Parliament to pay Charles taxes. Wentworth was seen as charles most dangerous ally and his opponents did all they could to drag him down in 1640
William laud archibishop of Canterbury
William laud Archbishop of Canterbury
In 1633 charles made Lauf Archbishop of Canterbury laud feared the collapse of the English church due to Elizabeth’s settlement allowing religious leniency.
The puritans worries laud more than anyone due to their simplistic services and allowance for anyone to preach, this meant less control for Laud.
Puritans believed they could speak directly to god collapsing the need for priests or churches. This would greatly limit Laud and Charles control.
Lauds religious reforms
Erection of altar rails (stopping everyone but the priest reaching the altar.
Priests the only people allowed to preach.
Elaborate decorations and services
Book of sports for activities to do after church.
Many of lauds changes were to combat puritan change and were strictly enforced on local churches. Laud and his armian bishops carried out visitations on churches to ensure the reforms were enforced. Charles backed these reforms and when people criticised them they were accused of breaking Englands censorship laws which forbade criticism of the king, could be savagely punished.
In 1637 three puritans Burton, Bastwick and Prynne were arrested for publishing critical pamphlets on lauds reforms. They were tried to a biased judge and were imprisoned, fined £5,000 and had their ears clipped.
Reaction to lauds reforms
Most people followed the reforms out of a lack of care or fear. Many gentry men agreed to the reforms out of an equal dislike for the puritans.
Some people dislike how catholic the changes seemed even though Charles was a devout Protestant.
Scottish crisis and the end of personal rule.
In 1637 Scottish discontent for Charles rule had shrunk but it was still obvious. The lack of Parliament meant people could express any thoughts or concerns causing many puritans to emigrate to America to start a new godly life.
Charles wanted to unite England and Scotland but was facing some challenges, and when he introduced the book of common prayer making all services the same the Scot’s rebelled.
National covenant
Following the common book of prayer Scottish opposition met without the kings permission to draw up what would be known as the national covenant, rejecting Charles authority and accused him and laud of spreading Catholicism.
Charles was furious and raised an army of English militia triggering the first bishops war, confident they would flee and gain him support of the Scot’s. He was wrong and when they met in Kelso he retreated and removed the common book of prayer and bishops in Scotland.
Short and long Parliament?
In September 1639 charles recalled Wentworth to help him deal with the Scot’s, wentworth advised Charles to call parliament to raise funds.
Parliament first met in April 1640 but refused charles any funds until he dealt with their complaints. So charles dissolved Parliament.
Long Parliament
Charles was still facing crisis so he recalled Parliament in November 1640, the MPs attacked Weston, Wentworth and Lauds actions as his evil advisers hoping he would reverse their actions.
