1. Division and drift towards Civil War Flashcards
What acts were Parliament in agreement about in 1640?
They agreed to abolish Ship Money and passed the Triennial Act, meaning parliament would have to call parliament every 3 years.
What was the Root and Branch petition and why did it cause division in Parliament?
Passed in December 1640 - 15,000 London Puritans and John Pym called for the removal of Bishops from the Church. Conservatives viewed this as a threat to established order.
What was the Bill of Attainder and why did it cause division in Parliament?
Passed in May 1641 - This was used in Parliament by Pym to justify the execution of Wentworth, the Earl of Strafford. The Bill meant that less evidence was needed to convict someone if they were seen as a threat to the state and no trial was needed. Charles had to sign it. Conservatives were worried that the Bill was bending the law in a way that was just as detrimental to the constitution as Charles’s actions.
What was the Militia Bill and why did it cause division in Parliament?
Passed in November 1641 - This Bill proposed that Parliament should control any army used to crush the Irish Rebellion that had begun a month prior. Conservatives regarded this as a major threat to the most important royal prerogative - command of the army.
What was the Grand Remonstrance and why did it cause division in Parliament?
Passed in November 1641 - Pym, in order to persuade unsure MPs to pass the Militia Bill, produced the Grand Remonstrance which listed Charles’s faults since 1625 and why he shouldn’t be trusted with the army. Moderates didn’t like how the document addressed the people rather than the King and how it dragged up old grievances which had been resolved with past legislation.
How did this division help prepare the two sides of the coming war?
The moderate MPs who opposed Pym’s acts became known as constitutional royalists and they were prepared to support royalism.
