(5) Charles I's Personal Rule Flashcards
How long was Charles’ Personal rule for?
11 years
How many people were in the Privy Council?
Around 35
What was the Privy Council?
A group which supported the monarch and enacted the royal will in their home regions
How could the Privy Council have benefited Charles in his personal rule?
Providing him with advice and keeping him in touch with the political nation
What were the two factors that mitigated the usefulness of the Privy Council?
- Charles rarely attended the twice-weekly Council meetings
- Charles allowed a ‘Spanish faction’ to emerge, who were Roman Catholics
With the absence of Parliament, what could Charles not do?
Enact Laws
What were prerogative courts?
They helped govern the country more effectively
What was the Star Chamber?
- made up of Privy Councillors
- privately questioned
- could not give the death penalty, but heavy fines
What was the Court of High Commission?
Cheif court of the church, to impose canon laws
What were Regional Councils?
Functioned as prerogative courts to impose royal control away from Westminster
What were the two Regional Councils?
- Council of the North
- Council of the Welsh Marches
What were the primary punishments of the Regional Councils?
Imprisonment and fines
What was the aim of local government?
Ensured the king’s peace was maintained and communities had stability and order
What was ‘Thorough’?
Wentworth and Laud’s strict authority imposed tightened controls upon royal officials (sheriffs, JPs etc)
What was the Book of Orders?
A long-established means of communication between the Crown and local government
When was the Book of Orders revised?
1631
Why was the Book of Orders revised?
Due to harvest failures in 1629 and 1630
Who reformed the Book of Orders?
Henry Montagu and his brother
What did the Book of Orders consist of?
- 8 orders and 12 directions
- directions were instructions on preventing vagrancy, allocating poor children to apprenticeships, employing the idle and repairing the roads
- JPs to report to sheriffs
- sheriffs report to Circuit judges
- Circuit judges report to the privy council
What was the penalty for non-compliance to the Book of Orders?
Punishment by Star Chamber
What was Charles’ debt in 1629?
£2 million
How did Charles reduce expenditure?
- reduce spending on foreign affairs by concluding peace
- reform Charles’ household
What was the treaty with France?
1629 Treaty of Susa
What was the treaty with Spain?
1630 Treaty of Madrid
How much did Charles’ royal household cost in 1628?
40% of his ordinary income
What were the ways that Charles was able to receive money?
- customs duty
- recusancy fines
- distraint of nighthood
- monopolies
- wardships
- forest fines
- building fines
- enclosure fines
What was customs duty?
Including tonnage and poundage, this was a tax on imports and exports
What were recusancy fines?
Fines on those who did not attend compulsory CofE Sunday services
What was the distraint of knighthood?
Anyone who held land worth £40 pa had to be knighted at the coronation of a new monarch or fined
What were monopolies?
Buying a monopoly gave a corporation the sole right to produce, import or sell a product - ‘Popish soap’ earned Charles £33,000
What were wardships?
The Crown could administer the estate of an heir who inherited under the age of 21
What were forest fines?
Fines for any land extended property into royalist forests
What were building fines?
Fines for buildings beyond the chartered boundaries of a town
What were the enclosed fines?
Fines on landowners for illegally enclosing common land
When had Charles previously tried to levy Ship Money?
In 1628
When did Charles levy Ship Money on coastal towns and cities?
1634
When did Charles extend the levying of Ship Money to all of England?
1635
How much did Charles raise pa from Ship Money?
£300,000
When was the Hampden Case?
November 1637
What was the Hampden Case?
John Hampden was taken to court for failing to pay Ship Money dues - the case became a test of the king’s prerogative
How many judges out of 12 agreed that Ship Money was unlawful?
5
Who defended John Hampden?
Oliver St John
What was the impact of the Hampden case?
It reduced the speed of collecting Ship Money and reduced compliancy
What percentage was compliancy to ship money at in 1635?
98%
What percentage was compliancy to ship money at by 1639?
25%
