Charles 1 Flashcards
Why did Charles call his first Parliament (1625)?
- empty Treasury and dwindling credit
- loan of £60,000 from City of London merchants not enough
Did calling Parliament achieve his objectives?
- Commons refused to grant Charles the right to collect an excise tax, Tonnage and Poundage, for life, in response to disastrous Mansfeld campaign.
- Grant made for a year = forced to call Parl regularly.
Who were the Huguenots?
- French Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries
- followed the teachings of theologian John Calvin
What was the Five Knights’ case?
-March 1627
-group of Five Knights refused to pay the forced loan
-imprisoned and sued for release under habeas corpus
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Habeas corpus
A demand made by a prisoner to their custodian. When issued, the prisoner has the right to go before a court and demand to know the reason for their detention.
What was the Five Knights’ case?
- March 1627
- group of Five Knights refused to pay the forced loan
- imprisoned and sued for release under habeas corpus
- refused the opportunity to go to court, because the king claimed a right to an emergency power of arrest.
Habeas corpus
A demand made by a prisoner to their custodian. When issued, the prisoner has the right to go before a court and demand to know the reason for their detention.
Why was this (FKC) important?
- major confrontation in 1628 -> when Charles summoned another parliament to provide funds for the now desperate need for national defence
- attack on Cadiz followed up by a further deterioration in relations with France (Catholic power), in which Buckingham’s inept diplomacy led to war and a failed attempt to support a Protestant rebellion in La Rochelle.
Who was Charles’ favourite in the years up to 1629?
Buckingham (George Villiers)
succeeded Robert Carr
What happened to Buckingham?
As Lord High Admiral seen as responsible for foreign policy failures. Attacked by Parl, defended by Charles. Assassinated in 1628 by John Felton, an army officer who had been wounded in the earlier military adventure and believed he had been passed over for promotion by Buckingham. Felton = considered a hero but was hanged on 29 November and his body was taken to Portsmouth for public display. However, this proved to be a miscalculation by the authorities as it became an object of veneration by the public
What kind of Protestantism did Charles try to introduce?
Tried to introduce Arminian changes. Arminianism is a form of Protestantism that has a lot in common with Catholicism.
How much money did Charles’ First Parliament grant him?
- Rather than direct involvement in the European land war, the English Parliament preferred a relatively inexpensive naval attack on Spanish colonies in the New World, hoping for the capture of the Spanish treasure fleets.
- Parliament voted to grant a subsidy of £140,000, which was an insufficient sum for Charles’s war plans.
- Moreover, the House of Commons limited its authorisation for royal collection of tonnage and poundage (two varieties of customs duties) to a period of one year, although previous sovereigns since Henry VI had been granted the right for life.
- In this manner, Parliament could delay approval of the rates until after a full-scale review of customs revenue.
- Although no Parliamentary Act for the levy of tonnage and poundage was obtained, Charles continued to collect the duties.
What idea did arminianism reject?
challenged the idea of predestination
- Arminianism = set of beliefs which promoted church services involving rituals and formal ceremony
- followed the traditional Catholic belief in free will, meaning individuals could choose whether or not follow a path to salvation
Charles’ support for arminianism shown through:
- promoting the Arminian Richard Montagu to his royal chaplain in the face of parliamentary calls for Montagu’s impeachment (1625)
- allowing his favourite, the Duke of Buckingham, to state his favour for Arminianism at the York House Conference (1626)
- making the Arminian William Laud the Bishop of London (1628)
William Laud worked to impose greater religious uniformity on church services:
William Laud, prominent Arminian, appointed Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633.
- communion table moved to the east end of the church, railed off from the congregation
- vestments and incense to be used in services and hymns and sacred music encouraged
- stained-glass windows to be installed in churches
