Personal Rule and the reasons for embarking on personal rule

Question 1

What was the Personal Rule (1629–1640)?

Answer 1

Period during which Charles I ruled without calling Parliament.
Lasted for 11 years.
Known by critics as the “Eleven Years’ Tyranny”.

Question 2

Why did Charles I dissolve Parliament in 1629 and begin Personal Rule?

Answer 2

Ongoing conflict over taxation and tonnage & poundage.
Anger at Parliament’s opposition to Arminianism.
MPs’ defiance (e.g. Three Resolutions).
Belief in Divine Right — he saw Parliament as a threat to royal authority.

Question 3

How did Charles I justify ruling without Parliament?

Answer 3

Belief in the Divine Right of Kings.
Saw Parliament as disruptive and disloyal.
Felt entitled to govern independently if Parliament refused to cooperate.

Question 4

What nickname was given to the Personal Rule by Charles’s opponents?

Answer 4

“Eleven Years’ Tyranny” — reflecting fears of absolutism and loss of liberty.

Question 5

How did Charles I finance his government without Parliament?

Answer 5

Imposed Ship Money on inland counties.
Revived old feudal dues and fines.
Monopolies and forest fines.
Used the Court of Star Chamber to enforce compliance.

Question 6

Why was Ship Money controversial?

Answer 6

Traditionally a tax for coastal defence in wartime.
Charles extended it to inland counties in peacetime (from 1635).
Seen as taxation without consent of Parliament.

Question 7

What role did religion play during the Personal Rule?

Answer 7

Charles and Archbishop Laud promoted Arminian reforms.
Introduced more ceremony and hierarchy in the Church.
Alienated Puritans who saw this as a move toward Catholicism.

Question 8

What was the impact of Personal Rule on Charles’s reputation?

Answer 8

Alienated political nation through unpopular taxes and religious changes.
Created fears of absolutism.
Built underlying resentment that erupted in the 1640s.