Chapter 8 - Radicalism, dissent and the approach of war Flashcards
Radicalism, dissent and the approach of war
Scottish prayer book events
- July 1637
- St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh
- use the new Scottsh prayer book for the first time
- demonstrators had organised themselves in advance, armed with things to throw as well as tools and sticks
When were the seeds of religious radicalism sown?
1630s
What happened to those who went to university for a conventional education in the 1630s
- those who planned to enter the Church found themselves in an atmosphere of noisy religious debate as the Church struggled to cope with the profound impact that Laudianism was making
- the academic environment was also stimulating them to think more critically of the world they lved in
- exposed to a rise in satirical writing that posed a challenge to accepted ways of thinking
Independent communities of faith
By the later 1630s, an increasing number of congregations were splintering out of the Anglican Church, forming their own ‘Independent’ communities of faith. Even the idea of this was radical.
One ‘independent’ church was founded by William Wroth (welsh)
In 1633, he refused to read the Book of Sports and was reported to the Court of High Commission.
In 1639, he set up the first Independant Church in Wales.
He copied the model of the New England non-conformist ‘Congregational churches’
Wroth’s church joined a small tradition of Independent churches.
He was helped by a leading figure in the dissenting movement - Henry Jessey.
Wroth’s church was part of a growing tide that would swell into a significant proliferation of many more such churches in the 1640s.
Reaction to the Scottish Prayer Book
- kirk ordered to use the Prayer Book from July 1637 onwards
- priests took pistols with them to church in case they needed to defend themselves
- riot in St Giles Cathedral, followed by a similar uprisng in Glasgow
- resistance grew and petitions against the policy began to proliferate as an opposition movement developed
- further riots broke out, causing the Scottish Privy Council to abandon Edinburgh in October
- Charles refused to yield; he was convinced that the authority of the Crown would prevail
- in February 1638, Charles issued a new proclamation that made it treason to protest against the Prayer Book
The Tables and the National Covenant
- a small group within the Scottish Parliament formed known as ‘The Tables’
- it drew up a ‘National Covenant’ in February 1638
- promise to the Scottish people that the king would not comply with his requirement that the kirk be transformed.
- the Covenant was in keeping with Scottish tradition because the absense of a genuinely independent and representative national Parliament
- Thorough had not extended to Scotland, so regional government was still functioning in its normal way
Covenanters and King
Hundreds of thousands of Scots put their names to the Covenant and thus became known as Covenaneters
Charles had two choices:
1) to back down
2) use resources to enforce his will
King said “I will rather die than yield to these impertinent and damnable demands… I intended not to yield to those traitors, the Covenanters”
The Bishops’ War
Both sides were set for armed conflict and both sides began to mobilise.
- to buy himself time, Charles allowed the Scots to call a religious General Assembly at Glasgow in November 1638
- General Assembly immediately voted to remove the episcopacy and abolish the Prayer Book
- By April 1639 war was imminent
- When was started it became known as the Bishops’ War as the struggle over episcopacy was so central
Covenanters vs. the King’s army
Speed of mobilisation
Covenanters:
- Rapid
- miscalculation by Charles who had not realised that the Scots nobility could so swiftly raise an army
King’s army:
- patchy and slower
Covenanters vs. the King’s army
Resources
Covenanters:
- made use of their good relationship with the Protestant powers of Northern Europe
- bought weapons and equipment in Holland and the Baltic
King’s army:
- access only to non-Parliamentary finance
- e.g. feudal revenues, personal loans and priavte gifts
- Charles struggled to fund his army
- Many deserted as they weren’t paid
- Ship Money dropped, partly in response to the Hampden Case, and partly because many in England sympathised with the Covenanters (collection fell from 90% to 20%)
- Charles endeavoured to raise ‘Coat and Conduct’ money - a prerogative levy to support militia fighting outside their own country
- met with widespread oppositioin and non-compliance
Covenanters vs. the King’s army
Composition of forces
Covenanters:
- a large number of Scottish soldiers, both nobility and common folk returned from Europe, where they had been fighting in the 30 Years’ War
- they were battle hardened and professional and used to train less experienced recruits
- the Scottish nobility also mobilised local soldiers using a militia system of military districts pioneered in Protestant Sweden
- the Covenanters also aksed the King of France for help
King’s Army:
- Wentworth’s Protestant Irish Army
- Loyalist Scottish highland nobility
- English nobility summoned to York in April 1639, ordered to take an oath of allegiance and commanded to put men and money at the king’s disposal
- Charles forced men into the army rather than using the established local militia, possibly because he did not trust their political loyalty
- Charles let it be known that he was planning to bring in Catholic troops from Ireland and Spain to fight alongside him, and reinforced the impression by allowing a Spanish Army to march across southern England to avoid the Dutch fleet who were lying in wait for them
Covenanters vs. the King’s army
Size and leadership
Covenanters:
- ~12,000 men
- led by General Alexander Leslie, a veteran of the Thirty Years’ War
- Regimental commanders were drawn from the nobility, but all other key leadership positions were reserved for professional soldiers who were able to direct the army efficiently
King’s Army:
- ~15,000
- led by the Earl of Arundel and supported by the Earl of Essex
- Charles annoyed them by putting Lord Holland in independent command of the horses and soldiers of the cavalry
Covenanters vs. the King’s army
Discipline and order
Covenanters:
- well disciplined, highly motivated and expertly commanded
- the smaller Scottish forces were ready to fight
King’s army:
- disorderly and ill-prepared
- the English Army committed robberies, riots and murder as they were marched up north
Lord Brooke and Viscout Saye and Sele
- secret contact with the covenanting leaders
- due to their shared hostility to Laudiansim
- both men refused to swear the oath in front of the King at York and were briefly imprisoned
What did Charles expect of his forces?
- his forced to prove so intimidating that the Scots would choose not to fight
- confident that his army would have the upper hand
