CH 10/11 Flashcards
Collapse of Bedford’s scheme =
need for reform shifts into commons – focus on pym as leader
Pym
‘king pym’ ‘ pyms junto ‘ = derogatory
‘ director of whole machine’ + ‘able to do most hurt’
Shaped work of the commons 1640-43
pyms personality
- Religious faith linked tog his actions, insisted any political settlement had to contain religious
- Clarendon
pyms aims
- Wanted to sort out kings finances in long parl
- Wanted to restore Anglicans church of James reign ( puritan + anti catholic)
Removing Strafford
- Strafford and laud impeached, widespread consensus they nearly created an absolutist state, needed to be removed to restore balance to commonwealth and relationship between king and country
- Laud executed 1645 but Strafford = symbol for all abuses and frustrations – hostility towards personal rule directed at him
- feared what he might do back in England again- president of ocunciol north and lord deputy of Ireland – skill at managing gov assemblies, had got council and irish parl to submiss, had reformed and revived irish army
His trial 1641
- Risky = is strfaaord survived he could tuen the tabke in parl leaders , knew pym saye and sele etc had been in contact with scots during bishops war
- Began 22 march 1641, king assured no harm would vome to him regardless
- Public, widely spread news= built up feelings against
- Whole of commons present, audience of 1000
- Newssheets printed
- Charles forbidden from attending, watched from behind a lattice b
- Attempt to portray commonwealth as a body independent of king
Charges
- Treason but problematic as he had acted with kings approval
- Loose definition of treason = ‘constructive treason’
- Accused of tyring to establish ‘ arbitrary gov’, treason by dividing king and his subjects
response to charges
Strafford defned himself effectively , easily portrayed actions as good eg bringin jps inot line, tackling lax and corrupt practice not see as treacherous
Charges were very flawed eg intending to commit treason by bringing Irish army to England but unprovable taken from privy council meeting , quality of prosecution witnesses were poor
Crosby as witness
- Strafford identified as malicious witness 1639 brought false charge against Strafford
The Act of Attainder
MPs impatient at progress urged to have Strafford attainted
Would assert to death
Pym orginially opposed, hoping for office but realised unlikely Charles would forgive him + junto for forcing his hand this way
- April 1 Pym abandons impeachment trial , brings bill of attainder declaring earl a traitor
- Voting for were future royalists
- House of lords reluctant, apart from earl of essex
Brought king involved = test of goodwill against parliament
-pym gets London mob to demand parl to pass, went thru 204 to 59 ,
half commons mps stayed away , even less lords members present
looked like would fail – until army plot broke
The Army Plot
Still fera and mistrust of Charles
Rumours spread of using force to make parliament reverse its legislation
- News all officers to return to commands, upset money for expenses taken from them by parl to pay scots
- Plot to go south and threaten parliament
- Seizure of Portsmouth
- Occupy tower of London and free Strafford
Pym tells parl may = intense debate, claims made king and queen plotting to obtain French military support queen had diverted personal funds to turn Portsmouth into royalist fortress , evidence king gathering funds to try win military men over
Evidence of army plot
- Henry percy letter to his brother of events
- Enough for suspicions but not solid evidence
Significance May 1641
Pushed commons into new bursts of activity
- Protestation oath
- Act against dissolution of parl without its own consent passed
- Parl stepped up efforts aginst Strafford = execution
- Earl of Bedford died = ending bridge appointments scheme
‘own consent act’ = could dissolve parl whenever, signed under pressure, lost royal prerog power
Charles signs the death warrant
- Revelation of army plot = passed attainder in lords
- Refusing will of parl = serious threaten monarchy
- Advice from bishops = reasons of state permitted king to break his word
- Straffords letter willing to sacrifice himself , willing to die to reconcile Charles to subjects
- Crowds gathered outside whitehall calling for his death – worried for safety of his family
- Signed own at consent the same day – gave key prerog right away – under greata emotional pressure and worry = gave in
Impact of death warrant
End of compromise parl and Charles of trust and goodwill
Regretted the decision – blood of an innocent man
Left king isolated and demoralised , had no choice but ot give in to parl demands
Own consent act may 1641
Mps aim to prevent Charles using royal prerog power to dissolve them
Help of Scots but at price of abolition of bishops- unpopular in England
850 a day paid to scot army
King under emotional pressure
MPs wanting share of executive power and policies to be taken note of
Pym = successful manoeuvre to reduce kings power – secured control key committees, prepared legislation, realised gov needed adequate revenue
Religious divisions
- Broad agreement laudianism gone too far, but widespread support for trad church of England
Aim of puritans for church of England
- Purge last of popery
- Evangelism, emphasis sermons
- ‘reformation of manners’ to improve peoples behaviour
- Social justice, removal of corruption
- Improving quality of clergy
- Latitude- deviation from prayer book form services
Attacks on laudianism and episcopacy
Root and branch petitions – to remove innovations of 1630s,abolish episcopacy
Before 1640 little opposition to bishops but enthusiastic support by bishops for Laudianism = more radical approaches
+ pressure from scots to abolish episcopacy, one of their conditions but few in England wanted Scottish-style presbyterian system
Fear of popish plot
- Botched army plot = ideas of popish plot to subvert England’s liberties and impose new catholic tyranny
- Henry marten suggests Elizabethan style ‘ oath and bond of association’, Pym claims threat to prot religion, proposes oath to defend it
Protestation oath
Debated and passed in a day, rejected at first then widespread signatures
Similar to scots covenant – reduced rensions, pledge to prot
Pyms desire to protect church, make more prot BUT also strengthen political position,brign about more reform
His attempts = threatened by growth of religious radicalism
Charles response to pro oath
Under intense pressure, fears for safety of family
JPs role to enforce it , all male adults in England and scotland – each parish
Conseuqences prot oath
Congregations assembled to make oath in church
- Spread raging debates across country
- Lengthy discussions of key issues passing thru parl
Church of St Thomas the Apostle
Mmost congregation swore oath but leading parishioner john Blackwell = attempted to break altar rails claiming ‘popish’ innovations against spirit of the oath
Churchwardens began wrestling him over the rails
Arrest filed
Root and branch debates 1640-41
Intense debates how church should be administered now parl had voice
Oliver st john redrafts Londoners petition into root and branch bill
