Financial policies and the reactions to them Flashcards
(8 cards)
Why did Charles I need new sources of income during Personal Rule?
No subsidies from Parliament.
Ongoing expenses of government and court.
Desire to maintain independence from Parliament.
What was Ship Money, and why was it controversial?
Traditionally a coastal defence tax levied in wartime.
Charles extended it to inland counties from 1635.
Collected annually in peacetime without Parliament’s consent.
Viewed as illegal taxation.
What was the Hampden Case (1637), and why was it important?
John Hampden refused to pay Ship Money.
Taken to court to test legality of tax.
Judges ruled in Charles’s favour (7–5), but public support sided with Hampden.
Increased opposition to the king’s financial methods.
What were Distraint of Knighthood fines?
Fined landowners earning over £40 a year who hadn’t been knighted.
Based on a long-unused medieval law.
Seen as a cynical money-raising tactic.
What were forest fines?
Fines for building or farming on former royal forest land.
Boundaries had not been enforced for centuries.
Deeply resented, especially among gentry.
How did monopolies generate income for Charles I?
Crown granted exclusive rights to sell goods (e.g. soap).
Created resentment among merchants and consumers.
Often linked to corruption and raised prices.
How did the public and political nation react to Charles’s financial policies?
Widespread resentment, especially among landowners and merchants.
Viewed policies as illegal and tyrannical.
Contributed to growing opposition during Personal Rule.
What impact did Charles’s financial policies have on trust in the monarchy?
Undermined trust in Charles’s rule.
Created a sense that he was subverting the law and Parliament.
Helped galvanize opposition when Parliament was recalled in 1640.
