1625 - 1629 Flashcards
When was Charles king
1625 - at the age of 25
Always had a……….accent, differentiating him from the English noblemen of the court
Scottish
How was the Duke of Buckingham described Edward Coke
“The cause of all our miseries”
What happened in 1624
Charles encouraged James to declare war on Spain and for Parliament to support that decision
What was the Mansfield expedition
1624-25, Encouraged James to send an army to support Ernst Von Mansfield (a German Protestant) in his attempts to invade the Palatinate and win it back for Fredrick (James son in law)
The expedition failed, costing £500,000, and 4000 out of the 6000 died of disease and starvation, the rest never went into battle
What was the Cadiz expedition
Charles + Buckingham decided to attack a significant Spanish port. The troops were mainly untrained. They found a huge wine store and got mortifyingly drunk.
Failed to capture the Spanish port or any Spanish ships, Parliament furious at the expensive failure
What was the Île de Ré expedition (1627)
Of the 8000 soldiers, only 3000 returned
Duke of Buckingham launched another naval expedition to relieve the Huguenots (protestants in France) from attack by forces at Rochelle
England vs France (Spain + France = allies)
English lost as scaling ladders were too short, the fleet sailed home after an expensive debacle
Give an example of Charles moving towards Armineasm
Charles promoting Laud to the archbishop, therefore a movement away from the religious balance shown during the reign of James
When was Charles’s marriage to Henrietta Maria and how was it a failure
1625
The English expected France to cooperate with them and isolate Spain, however, France only acted within their own interests - refused to join alliance between English and Dutch and a number of English ships loaned to France were used to defeat the Huganouts
Marriage started with intense arguments
Alignment with France proved pointless when they made peace with Spain
During the years 1624 - 1628,………..men had served in Buckingham’s forces and nearly a……of them died
50,000
Third
High on Charles’s agenda in 1625 was an anti………..policy
How much was needed for this
Spanish
Under lots of financial pressure - needed £1 million
What is tonnage and poundage
A tax on imports and exports
Since 1547, used to support the navy because of their role in patrolling the English seas
Normally confirmed just once at the beginning of a new reign, allowing the monarch to collect it for the duration
Why did Parliament give Charles limited money in 1625
Mistrust in Charles’s foreign policy (disliked the influence of Buckingham). Only granted two subsidies worth £140,000 and one years right to collect tonnage and poundage
Why was Parliament wary of Buckingham in 1625
Buckingham very influential over Charles and had shown himself to not just be politically over-dominant but also military incompetent
Also Buckingham = Lord High Admiral, highest naval officer - he was a direct beneficiary of the money raised by tonnage and poundage
When was the forced loan and why did it happen
A voluntary gift of money subjected to the whole country, only used in times of emergency.
However in 1626, very few paid so he imposed a forced loan where all were liable to pay, to help him finance a war against France and Spain
How was the forced loan imposed
All liable were summoned to public meetings where they were individually pressed to pay. The public manner of the collection made refusal to pay an open act of opposition, creating a test of loyalty
Was there opposition to the Forced Loan
Yes, substantial amount such as by the Earl of Lincon urging people not to pay through a pamphlet however much of the opposition was anonymous
What was and when were the 5 knights cases
1627
Charles ordered the imprisonment of 76 gentries and Earl of Lincoln who refused to pay the forced loan - did not charge them with any specific offence
Five of them appealed with Habeas Corpus
Charles had no choice but to take them to trial, shone a spotlight on the Consitution controversy around the king’s authority to raise a loan and to jail its opponents
A judgement supported Charles but only on this particular loan
Who was Sir Robert Heaton and what did he do
Edited the judgement of the 5 knights cases to be more fully supportive of Charles to imprison people without good reason
Changed particular to the general right (falsified the document)
Why did Charles favour Armineasm
Valued order, and hierarchy - interlinking with Divine Right
When was the York House Conference
1626
What was the York House Conference
At the request of Puritan (Earl of Warick), Buckingham chaired a theological debate at his London home.
A number of key Puritan nobles attended
Clergymen on both sides of the religious debate attended
Warick intended the conference to persuade Charles away from Armineasm, however, Charles who didn’t even want to attend remained in support of Armenisasm
Was Buckingham religious
No, but in the heightened religious tensions of the mid-1620s he was becoming increasingly vulnerable to criticism as his mother was a catholic and he had close links to the Armenisasm clergy
In the York house conference, he took Charles side in support of Armenisams to reinforce his political relationship with him
Who was Richard Montague
Armenian clergyman who wrote a very divisive book called ‘An old Gag for a New Goose’. - pointed out the similarities between Catholicism and the Church of England
His arrest by parliament in 1627 caused him to write a pamphlet titled ‘Appeal to Caesar’ pleading Charles to protect him against the evils of puritan beliefs
How did Montague affect parliament
Parliament attempted to bring him to trial because of his religious writings in 1625 and renewed their attack in 1626 by affirming that he was guilty of religious doctrine and arrested him.
Moderate non-puritan Anglicans also resented Montague because he characterised all his opponents as Puritans
By pursuing Montague, Parliament was directly challenging the king’s religious beliefs and was the main reason Parliament was dissolved that summer
Parliament blamed Buckingham for the foreign policy failure but Charles blamed Parliament for……………….
Give a quote from Charles to support this
Not giving him enough money
“Now that you have all things according to your wishes…you begin to set the dice and make your own game”
What made Charles even more antagonistic towards the 1626 parliament
Despite his attempts to compromise by shifting towards an anti-French policy, MP’s launched an impeachment process aginst Buckingham
What happened to Elliot and Digges after Buckingham’s impeachment process
Imprisoned in the Tower of London where he died in 1632
How did Charles try to stop Buckingham’s impeachment 1626
Unidipolmatically - implied a threat to Parliament’s future existence in a statement which brimmed with Absaloutilsm.
Why was it easy to argue that Charles was becoming more absolutist in 1626
His continued reliance on prerogative financial measures and the dissolution of Parliament in order to protect Buckingham and Montague
What happened to Black Rod in 1629 when he came to inform Parliament that it had been dissolved and what MP’s do
Door slammed shut in his face - a devastating blow to royal authority
Several MP’s forced the speaker back into his seat so that Sir John Elliot could give 3 resolutions, condemning the king’s government. MP’s accepted this mid-scuffle and Elliot passed, what is effectively known as the Commons Protestation
Why did Charles recall Parliament in 1628
Dire need of money to fund his foreign policy
What peacemaking actions arose from both crown and Parliament in 1628
Charles allowed Sir John Coke to communicate directly with MP’s rather than himself - helped the Commons to feel he was respectful of their due process.
Buckingham demonstrated his willingness to be flexible by reconciling with old political enemies
The Commons offered 5 subsidies and a grant of tonnage and poundage, in return they expected the king to consider their grievances
What financial grievances did Parliament want the king to address in 1628
Extra-Parlimentary taxation (ship money + tonnage and poundage)
Billeting - Troops preparing to leave for Europe were dispersed around local households, pay for them
What legal grievances did Parliament want the king to address in 1628
Martial law = in order to stop billeted troops from going out of control. Local gentry feared that the king might permanently undermine the English legal system (cloak for the introduction of Abslaloutism)
Habeas Corpus = MP’s wanted to discuss the constitutional consequences of the 5 knights case in the new parliament
What was the reaction to Heath’s editing of the judgement
MP’s across the political spectrum were horrified and united together in response
The Petition of Rights was put forward
When was the Petition of Right
1628
What did the Petition of Right make the king conform to - 4 ancient liberties traced back to the Magna Carta
1) - Subjects could be taxed only by Parliament’s consent
2) - Subjects could be imprisoned only if just cause was demonstrated in court
3) - The imposition of billeting on the population was illegal
4) - The imposition of martial law on the civilian population was illegal
Why is the fact that the Petition of Right was able to be passed significant
It needed the support of both the Commons and the Lords
It is a mark to the extent to which Charles had alienated himself from his natural allies in the Lords that ultimately, they chose not to stand up for his prerogative Rights and instead gave their agreement to the Petition
Why did Charles accept the Petition
Parliament threatened further proceedings against Buckingham and was again desperate for money
Petition = not that radical, just calling for the civil liberties of MP’s
What were the consequences of the Petition
Although relatively conservative in its nature, swiftly evaporated any hope of trust between Crown and Parliament
Charles initially accepted the petition without using specific terminology to make it legally binding, financial needs eventually lead to its legal accent
The Petition was intended to demonstrate that both King and Parliament shared a common……………of the……..and customs in England
Understanding
Laws
When and where was Buckingham assassinated
August, 1628
Greyhound Inn, Portsmouth - stabbed in the chest by army guy who served in the Îld de Ré expedition and had been plunged into debt by delays in pay
What were the reactions from the assassination
Spontaneous public celebrations erupted as the news spread
Caused Charles to abandon any ideas of a lavish funeral
Charles was shocked by the extent to the public celebration and felt personally betrayed by the apparent disloyalty of his subjects - distanced himself further from ordinary people
Why did Charles hold parliament responsible for Buckingham’s death
Felton (the killer) said at his trial that he was inspired to action by June’s remonstrance
What were the impacts of Buckingham’s death
He had amassed so many titles that it gave Charles an opportunity to relocate patronage to a wider circle
Charles and Henrietta fell deeply in love
Buckingham had acted as a convenient scapegoat for grievances in the past 10 years, increasing criticism would be levelled directly at Charles
What issues remained in the 1629 Parliament
Tonnage and Poundage - The petition did not specifically mention the custom duties or tonnage and poundage. As a result, Charles had claimed he had not surrendered his rights to collect it. Took the blame away from the collecters but this opened himself to direct criticism from Parliament
Religion - Charles promoted Lord and Montagu to key bishoprics. Parliament worried that king was attracted by Catholicism and this attraction might grow
When was the Protestation passed
1629 - Charles sent Black Rod to suspend Parliament but Sir John Elliott pinned down the speaker and called out 3 resolutions which were passed
What was included in the Protestation
1) - Armineasm was to be seen as a traitorous act
2) - Anyone who recommends tonnage and poundage without Parliament is a traitor
3) Anyone who pays the Tonnage and Poundage is seen as an enemy
