James I, 1603-1625

Question 1

Jame’s extravagance

Answer 1

QEI only spent £300,000 a year in peace time, under James it was £400,000 but rose to £522,000 in 1614
Cecil’s Book of Bounty
In the last 4 months of 1610 James gave away £36,000 to favourites
1603-1608 army in Ireland cost £600,000

Question 2

The Great Contract

Answer 2

1610
£200,000 annual grant and a one-off payment of £600,000
Abolish wardship, purveyance and feudal tenures
Commons agreed to annual grant but only £100,000 on top of this
Failed because of a lack of trust

Question 3

Cockayne’s scheme

Answer 3

1614
William Cockayne
Wanted to make finished cloth and so increase customs revenue
James granted him the monopoly but customs revenue feel by a third
Huge failure

Question 4

Cranfield and the king’s finances

Answer 4

1618-1624
Agreed if Cranfield reduced the costs of the Royal Household down from $42,000 to £20,000 Cranfield could keep anything beyond that - made £7,000 in one year
Costs of the navy fell from £53,000 to £30,000
Impeached for corruption after promoting his nephew as new favourite while Buckingham was away

Question 5

Hampton Court Conference

Answer 5

1604
Agreed on the KJ Bible
No serious puritan-like reform
James' support for the episcopacy clear
Kept the religious consensus from QEI's reign

Question 6

The Spanish Match (1)

Answer 6

Howard faction (pro-Spanish)
Infanta Maria
1613/1614
Spain was the strongest European power at the time
Parliament afraid of a Charles marrying a Catholic

Question 7

The Spanish Match (2)

Answer 7

Buckingham and Charles go to Madrid incognito
Charles eager to marry
Not allowed to see her
Spanish wanted guarantees of tolerance for Catholics + no guarantees on restoration of the Palatinate
Humiliated

Question 8

Move to war with Spain

Answer 8

James asked for a “sword in his hand”

Parliament voted for £300,000 subsidy

Question 9

Mansfeld’s expedition 1625

Answer 9

German mercenary
Dutch countryside
Many died of disease
Nothing was achieved
£60,000 of Commons subsidy wasted

Question 10

French Marriage

Answer 10

1624
Buckingham wanted an anti-Habsburg alliance
Henrietta Maria to be allowed to practice her religion
Catholics to be granted toleration
Children to be educated as Catholics until they were 13

Question 11

The Parliament of 1604

Answer 11

Disputed election - bad start
James wanted unification of Scotland and Britain but Parliament refused
Commons asserted their rights - “The Form of Apology and Satisfaction”
James given £400,000 after relief of failure of Gunpowder Plot in 1606 (largest peace-time subsidy ever)
Failure of the Great Contract

Question 12

The Addled Parliament, 1614

Answer 12

No agenda
Absence of leadership
No agreement on taxation
One MP demanded Scottish members of the bedchamber be sent home - James dissolved Parliament
No legislation was passed

Question 13

Robert Carr and the Overbury Scnadal

Answer 13

Pro-Spanish faction
James’ favourite from 1607
Found guilty of murdering his wife’s ex-husband, 1618
Formally pardoned by James

Question 14

The Duke of Buckingham

Answer 14

Anti-Spanish faction
George Villiers
Received lavish gifts
1618

Question 15

The Parliament of 1621

Answer 15

Discussion around monopolies - unpopular and caused inflation but Crown could make money by selling monopolies, by 1621 there were over 100 monopolies
King + Commons agreed and a bill restricting monopolies only failed because it was defeated in the Lords (18 abolished)
Sir Francis Bacon removed on a charge of corruption
“Sword in hand”

Question 16

The Parliament of 1624

Answer 16

High anti-Spanish sentiment following the trip to Madrid
The Subsidy Act - £300,000 agreed but only for defence of the realm and would be spent under supervision of officials appointed by Parliament
Statute of monopolies - restricted the right of the King to make grants to individuals but it left a loophole which Charles I would exploit in the 1630s
Cranfield impeached on the basis of corruption