1.1 Why Did Monarchical Government Fail in the years 1625-1649? Flashcards
10 reasons why Monarchical Government failed in the years 1625-1649
- Charles and Parliament 1625-1629
- Buckingham
- Foreign policy 1625-1629
- Financial reforms of Personal Rule
- Laudian Reforms, Order and Uniformity
- Bishop’s Wars
- Parliamentary Opposition / Long Parliament
- Divisions in Parliament
- Civil War
- Politicalisation of Army
6 reasons why did charles 1 and parliament argue 1625-1629 brief
- Divine right of kings
- royal prerogative
- royal finance
- parliaments privileges
- impeachment
- church of england
divine right of kings argument
king = gods regent on earth (accountable only to god)
vs
King may be divine but must still act within the law
royal prerogative argument
king could make decisions beyond competence of parliament (foreign policy, army, dissolving parliament, judges and ministers)
vs
parliament had freedom of speech and parliamentary privileges = free to critisize inside the buildings of parliament
royal finance argument
king had right to raise money without parliaments consent (sell land, taxation, forced loan)
vs
king to live of his own (increasingly difficult in time of luxury/less land /inflation)
money = parliaments leverage over the king
parliaments privileges argument
crown had right to formulate policy (kings prerogative clashed with parliaments legitimate interests)
vs
parliament had own rights and king not allowed to enter commons
right to discuss the issues regarding the commonwealth
impeachment argument
choice of ministers was part of royal prerogative
vs
parliament turning itself into a court of law able to move to bring ministers to account
church of england argument
king was supreme governor of the church (made appointments and set church policy) King was high church vs parliaments freedoms of speech parliament = low church
Foreign policy up to 1625
James 1: started war with spain (religious conflicts in central europe resulting in war in 1618)
need subsidies for war
Wanted to restore daughter elizabeth and her husband to the Palatinate
Buckingham negotiates marriage of Charles to Catholic Henrrietta Maria
Mansfield expedition 1624 = troops dispatched to help the protestant cause in germany, disastrous, wasted away on Belgian coast
james dies and charles now had to deal with the consequences
1625 parliament
Charles= Limited credit - failure to secure loans from city of london
Must now seek parliaments help
parliament rejected tonnage and pundage for life, ind=stead on a one year rolling renewal (king now must open parliament every year, kings power snubbed)
When began discussions to impeach Buckingham Chalres dissolves parliament
1626 parliament
parliament summoned for a subsidy to continue the war
impeachment against buckingham
Charles dissolves parliament again
Charles in need of money
1628 parliaments
parliament follows new strategy
in return for accepting petition of right parliament will grant charles subsidy
Charles agreed, subsides passed
buckingham assassinated August 1628
June 1928 - charles passes petition of right by ‘his grace’ not ‘of parliaments right’ therefore could be revoked by royal prerogative
Parliament now cross
jan 1629 parliament attempts investigation into charles’ actions, charles suspends parliament
black rod
Petition of right
crown may not arbitrarily impose -taxes -imprison -billet troops -martial law -act outside of the law without the consent of parliament divine right severely challenged
Assassination of buckingham
assassinated by disgruntled army officer John Felton
(blamed buckingham for englands military failure in august 1628)
celebration
bonfires lit across south of england in celebration
parliament very happy
king appalled, had just lost a figure who acted like a father figure
black rod insident
1629, 2nd march black rid sent by king to close parliament
door is slammed in his face
inside the house, speaker attempts to end debate
several MPs grab him and forcibly hold him in his chair
MP Denzil Holles shouts 3 resolutions:
-against the growth of arminiasnism
-levying of tonnage and poundage
-actions of those who paid tonnage and poundage
King = furious
Parliament dissolved for 11 years
Foreign policy 1625-1629
War continued with spain
September 1625 - cadiz expedition
Conscription and billeting of soldiers 1625-1626 (already in hard times + plague)
La rocheele expedition october 1627 (relationship with france dented)
who was and background Buckingham
George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham 1592-1628
gentry family
introduced to king in 1614 as an attempt to undermine Robert Carr (kings favourite)
james became found of this charming young man….
bukingham and charles to spain (to try and woo the spanish infanta) failed miserably but strong bond formed between the two men
why hated?
Parliament hinnks buckingham leads king astray
king = divine right, therefore all kings faults placed on buckingham?
charles overly loyal (will dissolve parliament over letting buckingham be impeached)
Moonopolised patronage
gained wealth and titles from pleasing the monarch
teachers pet
created huge numbers of enemies
religoius early problems with charles
wife ; Henrietta Mari brought own catholic entourage
charles promoted Arminian men
Finance 1625-1629
In desperate need of finance - war with spain
1625 parliament- tonnage and poundage on yearly basis
1626 parliament called to fund war
impeachment = closed parliament,
July 1926 letter to JPs telling subjects ‘lovingly, freely, and voluntarily’ to give him money. (failed)
Forced loan September 1626
1628 parliament called for another subsidy
subsidy for petition of right
Forced loan
September 1626
anyone who refused to loan charles the money could be imprisoned or conscripted
£250,000 raised
Used billeting troops as form of punishment (Banbury = puritan stronghold and nowhere near the sea)
- five knights case
five Knights case
76 gentlemen and earl of lincon were imprisoned
but didnt take case to court as charles worried about legality of forced loan
BUT 5 imprisoned knights applied to the court of the kings bench for a writ of ‘habeas corpus’
charles won case (royal prerogative to imprison) but politically ruined himself
used a sledge hammer to swat a fly
3 bodies responsible closing of aprliament 1629 (brief)
parliament
king
buckingham
buckingham responsible for closing parliament 1629
responsible for foreign policy
= king having to go back to parliament time and time again
king responsible for closing parliament 1629
bad king?
remains unreasonably loyal to buckingham
obsessive divine right
duplicitous (petition of right)
parliament responsible for closing parliament 1629
petition of right was too far jealousy royal prerogative infringement dealt first blow, tonnage and poundage power hungry
long term impact of closing parliament 1629
autocracy fears
foundation of mistrust laid
short term impact of closing parliament 1629
charles needs money
unhappy political nation (MPs)
resentment
free to do as he chooses
finance 1629- 1636
Treaty of Susa 29 - peace with france treaty of madrid 29 - peace with spain annual spending from £500,000 -> £70,000 (Pre 1629 wartime to 1630s) Recusancy laws (illegal to practice catholocism = fine) royal forest fines distraint of knight hood fines tonnage and poundage collection made more efficient monopoly lisences (inc soap?!) Ship money
Ship money
worth £200,000 pa
supposedly a prerogative tax to be collected from coastal counties once / twice during a monarchs rule
collected 1634
again 1635 (to inland counties as well)
1636 was an annual tax
(big controversy as all parts of society effected. also charles counld now survive without parliament forever?)
Laudian reforms and uniformity during 11 years tyranny
Archbishop of Canterbury = William Laud 1633-45
arminian
uniformity
hierarchy
adherence to rules, ritual and formality
charles introduced because wanted a well ordered regime that respected the monarchy and the religious root of his power
or heading towards an absolute catholic monarchy
church; statues, colour, organs, altars moved to east of church
book of common prayer
puritan clergy disbanded
1935 - an ambassador of the pope was welcomed at court
Reaction and resistance to personal rule 1636-1640
a small group of Puritan gentry set out to test legality of ship money
Hampden Case
Hampden refused to pay ship money 1636 = legal challenge
judges in court of kings bench found narrowly in kings favour (7 to 5)
Court of star chamber = Pyrnne, Burton and Bastwick criticized religious reforms of Laud
laud imposed punishment of having ears cut of, cheeks branded,imprisoned