Theme 1 Politics Flashcards
(30 cards)
What were the prerogatives of the king 1625?
-Deciding the nation’s foreign policy
-Deciding the nation’s religious policies
-Summoning or dissolving parliament
-Choosing who to appoint to government positions (known as patronage)
What were the privileges of the king in 1625?
-Creating/ collecting taxes
-Freedom from arrest and free speech in the House of Commons
-Collecting tonnage and poundage
-Putting people on trial in parliament (impeachment)
When was the first parliament called by Charles? What was it’s name?
June 1625, the useless parliament
Why did Charles call parliament in June 1625, what did they do?
-He needed money
–Parliament only sat for 3 months and achieved very little
—They refused to grant tonnage and poundage for life
—There was talk of impeaching Buckingham due to failing war with Spain
—Mps were alarmed by Charles’ Catholic queen
-Charles dissolved parliament after it was clear he wouldn’t be getting any money
When was Charles’ 2nd parliament? What was its main focus?
February 1626, Buckingham
Why did Charles summon parliament and what happened during February 1626?
-He still really needed money
–After the failed naval expedition to Cadiz (nov 1625) parliament’s main goal was to attack Buckingham
-Charles dissolved parliament without any money to save Buckingham
How did Charles collect money after the 2nd parliement?
Illegally, he collected tonnage and poundage without parliamentary approval and demanded a forced loan to be collected. He would imprison anyone who refused to pay.
What and when was the five knights case?
1627, 5 men questioned the king’s right to imprison them.
The judges in the case supported Charles
(+this laid a foundation for Charles to be a tyrant)
When did Charles call the 3rd parliament? What was its focus?
March 1628, the ‘Petition of Right’
What was the ‘Petition of Right’?
A carefully worded document, asking Charles to clarify the law. It included:
-Reversing the five knight case
-No more forced loans
-No more imprisonment without trial
-In return for accepting the Petition, parliament would grant subsidies of taxation
When did Buckingham die?
1628
How did parliament react to Buckingham’s death?
“That which has caused all of our miseries is dead”
They threw a party/ Mps celebrated in parliament
How did Charles react to parliament after Buckingham’s death?
He began to collect tonnage and poundage illegally again and imprisoned merchants who refused to pay it
(basically went back on the petition of rights)
When was Charles’ final parliament called (before his personal rule)? What happened?
January 1629
-Mps began to look into breaches of the Petition of Right
-Charles prorogued parliament
–A group of Mps ignored this, held the speaker down in his chair and passed the Three Resolutions
-Charles, angry, dissolves parliament and starts his personal rule
What was the Three Resolutions against?
-The growth of Arminianism
-The collection of tonnage and poundage (w/out parliaments approval)
-The imprisonment of people who refused to pay forced loans
How long was Charles’ personal rule? When did it end?
11 years, 1629-40
When was the ‘Book of Orders’ issued and by who?
1631, William Laud
What was the ‘Book of Orders’? What was its impact?
Instructions to Justices of Peace detailing their duties. It improved the quality of local government considerably
Who were Charles’ two most important advisers for his personal rule?
Sir Thomas Wentworth and William Laud
When was peace made with Spain? How did this impact finances?
1630 with the Treaty of Madrid
-This cut annual spending from £500,000 to £70,000
How did Charles manage his finances during his personal rule (other than ending the war with Spain)?
-He sold monopoly licenses (this had actually been banned in 1624)
-He continued to collect tonnage and poundage
-He made Ship money an annual tax and expanded it to the whole country
What was the ‘Popish soap’ scandal?
1634, when a group of Catholics gained a monopoly on soap, claiming their soap “washed whiter”
When did Charles issue the Book of Sports? What was it?
1633, it encouraged recreation like archery, dancing and leaping on Sunday
How did the policies of Charles’ personal rule face resistance?
-1636. A noble challenged the king’s right to use Ship tax, the court was in the king’s favour but it was 7 judges in favour and 5 against
-1637. 3 Puritan writers publish attacks on new religious policies so had their cheeks brandished and ears cut off despite being members of the gentry
