Year 12 1629-1640 Flashcards
(46 cards)
1
Q
What were Whig historians interpretations of Charles rule without Parliament?
A
- wrote in the late 19th and early 20th century
- argue that there was a ‘high road’ to civil war
- they say war was caused by a long-term conflict over power between the crown and Parliament and that civil war was inevitable
- they would refer to 1630s as an ‘eleven years tyranny’
- would argue Charles attempted to rule as an absolutist monarch
2
Q
what were revisionist historians interpretations of Charles’ rule without Parliament?
A
- writing from the 1970s onwards
- would argue the war was caused by short term factors
- they stress that conflict was not inevitable
- they use the label of ‘personal rule’
- suggest there was many positives of the personal rule period
3
Q
what were the post-revisionist interpretations of charles’ rule without parliament?
A
- try to find a middle way between whig and revisionist arguments
-argue that while the war was not inevitable, it did have real long term consequences
4
Q
when was parliament dismissed?
A
parliament was dismissed in 1629 - he would not call it again until 1640
5
Q
who were the privy council?
A
the king’s chosen advisors who met to shape the king’s wishes into policies, and oversaw the implementation of these policies
e.g william laud, thomas wentworth
6
Q
What was the role of the courts?
A
- they all inforced charles will
- existed to assert the king’s authority
7
Q
what was the star chamber?
A
- made up of privy councillors selected by the monarch
- cases were heard in secret
- the court could sentence individuals to fines, imprisonment or corporal punishment, but could not give the death penalty
8
Q
what was the court of high commision?
A
- the chief church court
- Laud used it to punish those within the church who defied the uniformity and order he was attemptine to introduce
9
Q
what were the council of the north and council of the welsh
A
regional prerogative courts
10
Q
what was the role of sheriffs in local gov
A
- chosen by the king
- main task was the administration of justice
- held alleged criminals in jail until the country deals with them
- an unpopular role
11
Q
what was the role of constables in local gov
A
- selected by sheriffs
- men from the local community who served for one year - unpaid
- upheld common law
- loyalty was to their local area and to the king
12
Q
what was the Book of Orders?
A
- laid down a clear procedure for organising local government
- ordered the JPs to meet monthly - supervise the work of the constables
- send reports directly to the sheriffs who would pass on reports to the privy council
13
Q
What was Charles court like?
A
- James’ court had been informal with little hierarchy
- Charles preferred a more formal and dignified style - he aimed to restrict access to himself and amphasise the divine nature of the monarch
- once Parliament was dismissed the court took on increasing importance as the only centre of power
- It also became isolated as Charles seemed to be surrounding himself with his closest supporters only
- led to a growing gap beetween court and country which some historians say contributed significantly to the outbreak of civil war.
14
Q
Henrietta Maria and Catholics?
A
- after Bs death they became a devoted couple
- HM continued to practice her Catholic faith
- some courtiers converted to Catholicism mainly to gain influence and patronage
- his wife’s catholicism led some puritans to fear that england was being taken back to the Catholic church
15
Q
What were masques?
A
Eleaborate plays with dancing and extravagant costumes
16
Q
Why was Charles and HM in masques?
A
The usual theme of the masques qas of a country in chaos which was restored to beautiful order by the appearance of the King and Queen
17
Q
What was the problem with art and masques?
A
- Masques were deeply unpopular with Puritans
- Charles’ love of art - suggested a love of Catholic Europeans culture
Van Dyck - his portraits seemed to emphasise the Bivine right of kings and even suggested an absolutist nature to Charles’ rule
18
Q
How did people outside the court feel?
A
Believed that the Catholics at court were corrupting the king and tturning him towards absolutism
19
Q
How did those within the court feel?
A
Believed that radical Puritans were determined to reduce the King’s prerogative and hurl the country into chaos
20
Q
what did article 12 in the magna carta argue?
A
‘no taxes shall be imposed on our kingdom unless by common council’ - in later years this was usually taken to mean that the king could not raise taxes without Parliament
21
Q
what were the first things that he did that achieved savings?
A
- made peace with France (1629) and Spain (1630)
- reforming the royal household (the cost of runnish Charles’ court)
22
Q
what methods of collecting money came from william noy’s searching of the kings mines?
A
- customs duties - such as tonnage and poundage - by 1639 he was collecting £425,000 a year from this tax
- recusancy fines - in 1634 this made Charles £27,000
- distraint of knighthood - a fine for anyone who owned land woth £40 per year or more, who had not recieved a knighthood on Charles coronation - raised £175,000
- monopolies - sold the exclusive right to trade in one product
- wardships - right to run any estate where the heir inherited under the age of 21 - made about £75,000 a year
- forest fines - any landowner who was said to have encroached on royal estates was fined
- land titles - those who rented land from the crown but could not prove continuous occupation for the past 60 years were fined
- enclosure fines - those who had enclosed common land without royal permission were fined
- ship money - the most controversial of Charles’ mines
23
Q
when was ship money extended to inland counties>
A
in 1635
24
Q
why was ship money a disastrous mistake for Charles?
A
- there was no precedent for making it an annual permanent tax
- the only time it has ever been raised from inland counties before was during the spanish armada
- money was used for the navy, but many english ships were actually being used to help protect spanish ships from pirates due to charles’ new pro-spanish foreign policy - this was deeply unpopular in England
25
what do historians who argue that ship money was successful point out?
- about 90% of the tax was paid before 1638 - it raised around £190,000 a year, all of which was soent on the navy
- before 1637 there were few legal challenges to ship money
- many were grudgingly accepting that ship money was likely to become a new permanent tax
- charles could therefore hav survived using these methods providing he did not go to war
26
What changes did Laud introduce when he was made the Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633?
- communion table moved to the east wing on the church, covered with decorative cloth and railed off
- more emphasis on ceremonies
- more decoration, such as stained glass windows
- increased use of music services
- ministers wearing special vestments
- removal of the gentry's ornamental pews at the front of the church
27
what were his most controversial chaneges he imposed?
- reintroduced the chatecism which was used in the catholic church
- passed a law only permitting preaching to take place on sunday mornings and evenings
- issued a book of sports - included a range of activities which people were encouraged to do after their sunday church service
28
how were reforms enforced?
through visitations and the use of ecclesiastical courts - specifically the court of high commision
29
what were puritans most fearful of?
in 1640 a convocation agreed to pass Laud's reforms into law - "by archbishops, bishops, deans and archdeacons etc" - puritans feared the 'etc' meant that Laud wished to bring back the power of the Pope in England
30
what were the four groups in the population of Ireland in the 1630s?
- Irish Catholics - the 'ordinary' irish who made up 80-90% of the population
- catholic old english - landowning nobility descended from the original english settlers before the reformation - regarded themselves as the rightful aristocracy in ireland
- protestant new english - descended from english settlers after the reformation - increasing their power in the 17th century
- scottish presbyterians - many scots had emigrated to ireland during James' reign most settled in ulster
31
what changes did he introduce in ireland?
- book of rates - set new levels for taxation and doubled income from custom duties to £80,000 per year
- fined the city of london - £70,000
- introduced the 39 articles bringing Laudian ideas into the Church of Ireland
- an irish court of high commision was set up to enforce laudian changes to the church
- extended the plantation of protestant settlers
- intimidated juries and JPs into returning land which had belonged to the crown and church
- set up new prerogative courts - specifically to recover land for the church
- attacked the high profile members of the new english - e.g the ear of cork was fined £15,000 by the star chamber
32
what was charles' foreign policy?
charles followed a neutral policy but one which overall favoured the spanish - many of his opponents saw this as part of a general catholic conspiracy
33
how did john morris refer to personal rule?
referred to a 'coiled spring' effect - a build up of tension in the 1630s
34
why were the financial meadures imposed by charles successful in the majority of the 1630s?
- individuals could be punished through prerogative courts for non-payment
- all the methods were essentially legal - 'mining' old methods of raising money rather than coming up with new controversial ideas
- concers over the collection of money would have been traditionally raised through parliament - without this route it was often easier to just pay
35
what was the first opposition?
the earl of warwick who challenged forest fires
36
why was ship money the area that was the most challenged?
- the burden of collection was on local JPs - crown set a target for each county and it was up to JPs to assess how much should be taken from each hundred
- ship money offered the monarch the prospect of long-term financial stability and freedom from calling parliament
37
why did charles decide to accept a show trial?
he decided that a trial would help him establish his legal right to collect ship money
38
who did he put on trial?
John Hampden - he was close friends with men who Charles knew opposed the personal rule; fiennes and john pym
39
what did Oliver St John (Hampdens chief lawyer) argue?
- the call for ship money had been made 6 months before improvements to the navy begun - this meant that Charles had had enough time to call Parliament and raise subsidies instead
40
what was the significance of the trial?
- Charles won the case by a narrow majority - 7 to 5 judges
- collection of ship money went back up to 90 % after the case, however by 1640 it had dropped to 20%.
41
what happened at st gregory's church?
challenged the order to move their communion table, they were brought before the Privy Council as a 'test case' and ordered to obey
42
why was john williams imprisoned?
he was imprisonaed after publishing a pamphlet called 'the Holy Table, Name and Thing' which criticised the government's altar policy
43
why was william prynne taken to court?
he wrote a pamphlet called 'Histriomastix' which criticised the court and the queen in particular for her role in masques
44
what were their punishments?
they were fined £5,000 each, were imprisoned for life and were sentenced to ear cropping
45
what was another sign of opposition?
- high levels of migration to the new world - during 1629-40 around 60,000 left england to start a new life
46
name 2 charter companies
saybrook venture and providence island
