Charles I and Parliament Flashcards
Pym's Junto
1
Q
Who was John Pym
A
- Son of wealthy landowner and educated at Oxford
- Elected to parliament in 1627 and sat in every parliament until his death in 1643
2
Q
Pym’s Role in the Short Parliament
A
Made an opening speech which outline the problems in the Kingdom, covering the themes of…
- Infringement of parliamentary liberties
- Innovations in religion ‘corrupt men of the clergy abuse the truth of god’
- Violations of property = ‘men’s goods are seized’
3
Q
Pym’s Junto’s expectations at the opening of the long parliament
A
- Group of MPs who opposed Charles and his evil counsellors - wanted to manipulate parliament in pursuit of their own ambitions
- The Junto was politically able to the political links and skills of Pym
- Many of the members were supporters of Sir Edward Coke
4
Q
Edward Hyde - A Constitutional Royalist
A
- Became a Constitutional royalist during the Long Parliament to protect the king from taking any aggressive measures in the search fro a settlement
- As a royal adviser to Charles I, he produced answers to the nineteen propositions
5
Q
The development of a Royalist party
A
- Bedford’s death in May 1641 led to MPs such as Pym attempting to solve crown and parliament relations which led to divisions in the party, leading to the development of the Royalist party
- Main divisions were…
- Preventing personal rule
- Bill of attainder
- Religion
- Moderates believed the actions of Pym posed a greater threat then Charles I - Moderates actions were labelled as ‘Constitutional Royalism’
6
Q
The Short Parliament
A
- April 1640
- Called for money to finance the Bishop’s war
- Lord Finch = ‘King doesn’t require their advice, but an immediate vote of supplies’
- Dissolved as Charles was not being granted any subsidies - Charles even offered to get rid of ship money in return for 12 subsidies
- Relations worsened as a result and Charles appeared Autocratic
7
Q
Issues flowing the dissolution of the Short Parliament
A
- Convocation was not dissolved which was what set laws for the church - Therefore gave produced a set of cannons which reassured that Laudianinsm had no ‘suspicion of revolt to popery.’
- ‘etc’ in the oath worried many about a Catholic takeover
8
Q
Opening of the Long Parliament
A
- 3rd November 1640
- MPs were optimistic as they wanted to redress grievances and work with the king
- There was no suggestion of the Civil war
9
Q
Pym’s opening speech
A
- 7th Nov 1640
- ‘Design to alter the kingdom’ which included religion, Attacks on parliamentary privileges and Catholics in leadership
10
Q
Strafford and Laud arrested
A
- 13th November 1640
- Targeted because they are close to the king - seen as his evil counsellors - The MPs couldn’t attack the king
11
Q
Bedford finance plan
A
- Dec 1640
- Bedford and Pym’s Junto wanted to work with the crown
Involved… - Abolition of financial and political aspects of the personal rule
- Return to the Elizabethan Protestant church
- Financial settlement which provided Charles with a fixed settlement
- Bridge appointments - Parliamentary leaders would be brought into the Privy council to ensure the changes were being made - Challenged the Kings prerogative right to choose his own advisers
12
Q
Impact of the Bedford Finance plan
A
- May 1641
- Charles didn’t give any parliamentary men power within the Privy Council
- After the Triennial act Charles wouldn’t accept any more changes to the royal prerogative
13
Q
Root and Branch petition
A
- 11th Dec 1640
- Called for the removal of the Laudian reforms and the reformation of the church
- Issue wasn’t resolved as their was division over the matter e.g. Fiennes for and Falkland against the petition
14
Q
Triennial act
A
- Feb 1641
- Parliament should meet every 3 years - Increased parliaments power
- Passed easily - Shows MPs moderate position, only wanting regular conversations regarding the running of the country
- Charles agreed with such poor grace that many thought he would go back on his word
15
Q
Trial of Strafford
A
- March 1641
- Accused of treason - Strafford defended himself well
- Radical MP’s passed the Bill of Attainder which meant that the Commons could just vote that someone was guilty
16
Q
Vote of the Attainder
A
- 21st April 1641
- Warwick = supported the bill
- Bedford = Not support the bill
- Vote = 204 in Favour - 59 against
17
Q
Army plot
A
- May 1641
- Plan to seize tower of London and release Strafford
18
Q
The Protestation
A
- May 1641
- Pym’s Junto described Army plot as a Popish plot
- This took the the form of an oath to defend the Protestant religion
- Using Catholicism to scare people
19
Q
Death of Bedford
A
- 9th May 1641
- Had been moderate and hope for a compromise settlement with the king
- Pym now has more power
20
Q
Lords and Charles agree to Strafford’s attainder
A
- 8th to 10th May 1641
- Demonstrators encouraged by Pym stormed Whitehall ( King was staying here) and scared Charles into signing the the death warrant
- Charles now sees Pym as untrustworthy and a threat
21
Q
Act against Dissolution
A
- 10th May 1641
- Parliament could only be dissolved if it gave consent
- Gives the parliament way more power
22
Q
Charles announces intention to visit Scotland
A
- May 1641
- He wanted to negotiate peace personally
- Pym’s Junto feared he would strike up military alliance with them
23
Q
The ten Propositions
A
- June 1641
- To defend the country from ‘Papists’ and ‘evil Counsellors’
Stated that… - Court should be cleansed of Catholics
-Parliament could approve the Kings counsellors
These propositions were not passed
24
Q
Root and Branch petition discussed
A
- June 1641
- Many saw the removal of the bishops as undermining the whole order of society - Moderate protestants supported Charles instead
25
Abolition of Prerogative courts
- 5th July 1641
- Removed the Star chamber and the high commission
- Removed the ability for the king to deal with legal cases by prerogative alone
26
Ship money declared Illegal
- 7th August 1641
- Not replaced with anything
27
Charles goes to Scotland
- 13th August 1641
- Increased Charles's reputation for Treachery (Long term)
- Parliament insisted on a committee of MPs to accompany Charles (Short term)
- Charles received some support e.g. from Montrose
28
Treaty with the Scots Concluded
- 7th September 1641
- Charles accepted the abolition of episcopacy in Scotland
- No longer a need for Parliament to sit - Charles could reverse all actions made by Pym
29
Resolutions against the Ecclesiastical Innovations
- 4th - 9th September 1641
- Communion tables to be taken down
- Moved Communion tables
- Removal of crucifixes and images
- Led to an increase in Iconoclasm as Puritans raided Churches in anger
30
Opening of the Second session
- 20th Oct 1641
- MPs concerned about encroachments on the Kings power
31
Charles in Scotland - The incident
- October 1641
- Royalist plot to kidnap radical Scottish Covenanters
- Destroyed Charles's hopes of Scottish support as he was believed to be involved in the plot
32
Irish Catholic Rebellion
- 22nd October 1641
- Catholic's of Ulster rebelled, Encouraged by the Scot's
- Resulted in the death's of 3000 protestant's
- Created two groups in society
- Pamphlets spread misinformation which led to rumours of an Irish invasion of England
- Meant Parliament needed to remain sitting to raise funds for an army
33
The 'Additional Instructions'
- 5th November 1641
- Parliament should deal with settling Ireland themselves - depriving Charles of his Prerogative (defence of the realm)
- 151 in Favour - 110 against
34
Grand Remonstrance
- November 1641
- Pym attempts to reunite the Common's
- Didn't accuse the Kin directly - instead blamed Bishops etc
- 159 In favour - 148 against
- Charles response = he was standing by traditional laws - Gained support from Conservative MPs
35
Haselrig's Militia bill
- 7th Dec 1641
- Forced MP's to take sides on who should command the army - Removed the kings power over local militia and gave parliament power to appoint army commanders
- 158 in favour - 125 against
- Charles refused the bill as it overstepped his privilege - Important as it positioned Charles as the protector of fundamental laws
36
Decision to publish the remonstrance
- 15th Dec 1641
- Pym published it as he wanted to appeal to the people
- Was a radical act as it went against the great chain of being
- Increased iconoclasm and caused demonstrations outside parliament
- Again helped develop support for Charles as he was protecting social order etc
37
City of London elections
- Dec 1641
- Parliamentarian sympathisers won and therefore had control of the city militia
- Increased support for Charles as many felt threatened by the increased control over the capital
- Charles was very concerned
38
Appointment of Lunsford as lieutenant of the tower
- Dec 1641
- Was a felon - Charles appointed him anyways - appeared the king was going to use Lunsford in a coup to remove parliament
- Charles quickly removed Lunsford but damage was done - Caused intense riots
39
Impeaching the Bishops
- 30th Dec 1641
- Bishops returned to parliament and claimed all legislation passed in their absence was void
- Parliament impeached all bishops
- Moderate MPs felt this was too far - meant Charles believe he could regain control as he now had a large support base
40
The Five members
- 3rd - 4th Jan 1642
- Charles accused 5 MPs including Hampden, of treason
- Made Charles look autocratic and foolish
- Charles entered Commons with an army = Led to growing support for Pym as Charles was acting unconstitutionally
41
Charles Leaves London
- 10th Jan 1642
- Lots of riots against him
- This makes the king appear weak
42
Exclusion bill to remove Bishops from house of Lords
- Feb 1642
- Hyde had persuaded Charles to give consent for the removal of the bishops - shows Charles is still open to working with Parliament
43
Militia Ordinance
- March 1642
-Parliament Could now pass Laws without the Kings consent
44
Act of £400,000
- March 1642
- Parliament were raising money for their own through the use of ship money (which had been banned)
45
Commission of Array and Hull confrontation
- April 1642
- Charles was trying to raise his own troops - attempted to enter Hull and gain control of their arsenal - Very unpopular as he was raising an army without parliaments consent
46
Neutrality pacts
- May 1642
- Showed most didn't want war
47
Nineteen propositions
- June 1642
- Blamed evil counsellors for all troubles
Parliament demanded
- 5 MPs to be pardoned
- Parliament would reform the church
- Charles would accept the Triennial act and the Militia Ordinance
Charles claimed these propositions would lead to a 'dark equal chaos of confusion'
48
Commons steps to war
- July 1642
- Commons voted to raise an army - Essex made Commander in chief
49
King's steps to war
- 22nd August 1642
- Raised his standard at Nottingham = declaring war
