failure to achieve a settlement Flashcards
overview of why it was difficult to acvhieve a settlement
Parliament had won the war and captured Charles by June 1646. Many hoped a quick settlement could be reached which prevented Charles from returning to his pre-war styles of rule. Whilst Parliament had won the war by June 1646, they had not secured peace. To secure peace they needed to reach a settlement with Charles. Yet, as it turned out, negotiations dragged on for 3 years with many different actors attempting and failing to reach a settlement. To understand why this happened we need to consider the aims and intentions of the different ‘actors’ through the period.
charles’ position at the end of the civil war in 1646
- Charles was a prisoner under the control of the Scottish at Newcastle
- He was king by name only, having no authority to make demands or create policies
- Yet he was still king. Charles knew that without his consent, no political settlement could be made. In this sense he held some power.
- Charles thought that to accept any concession would be to disobey God and would shame him as king. In particular there were three issues over which Charles could not negotiate:
- Charles was unwilling to make any concessions of these three issues. Therefore, Charles’ adopted the strategy of delay. When proposals were put to him he did not respond straight away, asking for more time.
- By doing this Charles hoped, ultimately to achieve a better settlement.
- Through delay he thought he could exploit the divisions amongst the Parliamentary alliance and reclaim his authority with few concessions.
whilst imprisoned after the civil war what were the three issues which Charles could not negotiate
- His control of the Church.
- His control of the militia
- The punishment of his supporters
Charles was unwilling to make any concessions of these three issues
what was parli’s position at the end of the civil ware 1646
- Parliament’s New Model Army had won the war and they now had authority over England.
- They were propped up by the most powerful army England had ever seen, and even had Scottish allies.
- Yet, beneath the surface, Parliament’s authority was not stable
- They had a number of problems to contend with: namely, Political divisions, The New Model Army, The Covenanters, and popular unrest.
- These problems meant that Parliament’s authority was built on a shaky alliance of groups with different aims and priorities. As the period developed these different priorities and aims would split the Parliamentary alliance.
overview of parliamentary divisions
Parliament was divided over how to achieve a settlement with Charles. Just as the ‘peace’ and ‘war’ faction had disagreed over the aims during wartime, Parliament’s divisions continued after the war. Broadly, there were two groups: The Political Presbyterians and the Political Independents. The Presbyterians had developed out of the peace faction and were more moderate; whilst the Independents were more radical.
what were the two divisions in parli and which were majority/minority
1646
political presbyterians- MAJORITY
political independents- MINORITY
Key figures of the poliitcal presbyterians
- Denzel Holles
- Earl of Essex
who were moderates and who were radicals; political presbyterians OR political independents
presbyerians - moderates
independents - radicals
political aims of the political presbyterians
MODERATES -Reach an ‘honourable’ settlement through negotiation. This meant agreeing something that Charles could accept as tolerable. Mostly, they sought to restore Charles’ authority under the reforms of 1641 with the addition of religion reform noted below. Ultimately, they sought to return England to peace as quickly as possible
religious ideas of the political presbyterians
Sought to implement the Solemn League and Covenant
[i.e. introduce a uniform national Presbyterian church across England under Parliament’s control]
were the political presbyterians supported
The Presbyterians had greater support in the broader country because they intended to return England to peace and end the high burden of wartime taxation.
key figures in the political independents
Henry Vane, Oliver St John, Cromwell
political aims of the political independents
RADICALS- Reduce Charles’ authority significantly by imposing strict political reforms. They wanted to maintain the New Model Army until it was certain that new terms would be kept to. This had the prospect of dragging on…..
religious ideas of the political independents
‘liberty of conscience’ [i.e. the right for each congregation to decide their form of worship]. This was a radically tolerant idea for the seventeenth century.
support for the political independents
The Independents power-base came from the New Model Army – the group who would become the power-brokers of the 1646-1660 era.
problems with the New model army
- New Model Army had been Parliament’s greatest wartime asset, but was a little more problematic after .
- The New Model Army was sustained by enormously high taxers, the Weekly Assessment Ordinance. Most Parliamentarians could justify this during wartime, but once peace was made there was an urgency to ‘de-mobilise’
- This involved cutting the army and reducing taxes – (After all, many Parliamentarians had fought at least partly against policies like Ship Money and now Parliament were effectively collecting their own version of it)
- cutting the army was not as simple as Parliamentarians might have hoped
- Soldiers’ pay was in arrears by about £3m in 1646, with the NMA owed around £600,000 - Soldiers did not necessarily want to dissolve until they had been paid. They wanted guarantees that their service for the Parliamentary cause would be rewarded.
- A further problem was that the NMA was becoming increasingly radical both in politics and religion
- The army was beginning to develop ideas that they should have a role in the political settlement. The soldiers and generals had won the War – their aims should be taken into account
- , many of the* rank and file* disliked the formal Presbyterian national church and sought liberty of conscience.
- Finally, many soldiers had committed acts that would, in normal times, be considered illegal [taking horses from peasants for military use; stealing food, etc] and they wanted guarantees [amnesties] that they would not be punished for these wartime acts in any future settlement.
overview on scottish covenanters + probs posed for parli
- In 1646 they remained a powerful ally of Parliament. They controlled Charles and ultimately wanted to ‘export Presbyterianism’ to England, under the terms of the Solemn League and Covenant.
- they wanted the English to** establish a national Presbyterian church** in England and retain what they had in Scotland
- Their allies in Parliament were the Presbyterians.
- However, there was an element of distrust between Parliament and their Scottish allies.
- Scots were increasingly concerned that Parliament would not implement the Covenant in England and that they were being excluded from talks of a settlement
- The Scots felt their voice should be heard in negotiations too.
what were the 4 factors that contributed to unrest in the counties (after civil war 1646)
- high taxes- primarily to maintain the army
- Parliament was** enforcing Puritanical rules on the population. included rules which banned the celebration of* ‘Christ’s Mass’** [because it was deemed to be a pagan festival intertwined with Catholic tradition].*
- Parliamentary county committees [charged with collecting taxes] disrupted the social order by appointing men of ‘lower social rank’ to run local affairs. This dissatisfied the nobility.
4.** religious anarchy** in England. Charles’ Laudian church had been demolished but had not been replaced. This religious vacuum radicalised and diversified local regions, creating a multitude of religious grouping
examples of religious groupings following the destruction of C’s laudian church
(unrest in counties, 1646)
- Ranters complained about the Puritanical obsession with sin and called for a world free of sin
- **Fifth Monarchists **believed the *new government represented a biblical prophecy about the coming rule of a human despot. *
- Quakers argued individuals could have a direct relationship with God, justifying non-attendance at congregations
impact of the probs faced by parli
- Therefore, the** Parliamentary ‘side’ was split between different and competing groups **– the Presbyterians, the Army, the Scots, and the Independents.
- Further, there was problem brewing in the counties. The longer negotiations dragged on, the greater the divisions would be on the Parliamentary side.
- Hence,** Charles was not entirely unjustified in his strategy of ‘delay**’, for there was the possibility of a split amongst Parliamentarians.
order of the negotiations with charles
- the newcastle proposal, july 1646
- negotations between C and the Scots, july 1646-Feb 1647
- the newcastle proposal, feb-may 1647
- the heads of proposal, august 1647
when was the first newcastle proposal
july 1646
who offered the first newcastle proposition to C
+background to where C was
Whilst Charles was still under Scottish control at Newcastle, Parliament [Political Presbyterians] offered Charles the NC proposition
terms of 1st newcastle proposition
- Politics: maintain 1641 reforms [e.g. Triennial Act, Act Against Dissolution; Parliamentary control of taxes, etc]
- Militia: Parliamentary control of the military for twenty years
- Religion: Agreement to the Solemn League and Covenant, the abolition of bishops, Religion to be controlled by Parliament
- 58 leading Royalists punished, the rest pardoned
impacts of 1st newcastle propositions
- Charles, predictable, refused to provide a response. Charles believed that the longer he delayed a response to Parliament’s proposals, the greater his advantage would be. He knew that Parliament and its allies were divided over their aims, and Charles hoped to exploit the divisions within Parliament’s ranks. By delaying, he hoped that more moderate proposals would be submitted.
- Scots were unhappy with Parliament’s proposal to control the church, for they *preferred a national Presbyterian church *which was independent of Parliament’s influence.
when was C’s negotiations with the scots
july 1646 - feb 1647
overview of Negotiations between Charles and the Scots, July 1646-February 1647
Charles* surrendered to the Scots intentionally*. He could have surrendered to the New Model Army on the outskirts of Oxford, but decided to travel to the Covenanters.
Yet, their negotiations with Charles were just as frustrated as Parliament’s. the Scots wanted the following, presented after an agreement within the Scottish Parliament in December 1646:
- Agreement to the Solemn League and Covenant in return for:
- Scottish support for the monarchy
- Scottish support for the monarchy in England
impact of negotiations between Charles and the Scots, July 1646-February 1647
- Charles refused to negotiate
- Scots decided to** give Charles to Parliament** in return for a £400,000 payment for their services in the war. So in February, the Scottish handed over Charles and withdrew from England.
when were the second newcastle proposal
feb-may 1647
overview of The Newcastle Proposal, February-May 1647
Charles was now under Parliamentary control in Holdenby House, Northamptonshire where he finally responded to the Newcastle Proposal noting his terms
what terms did C propose in The Newcastle Proposal, February-May 1647
- Parliament’s control of the Militia should be reduced to ten years [from 20]
- A Presbyterian church for three years, after which there would be discussions
- Complete pardon of his supporters
- To maintain his prerogative to control ministers and appointment of military generals.
impact of The Newcastle Proposal, February-May 1647
- Parliament: there was now hope of a compromised settlement, and Charles did appear to be more willing to negotiate.
Political Presbyterians in Parliament: - Since the war was over, Charles in custody, demobilisation now nee*ded to occur. The *Political Presbyterians pushed forward a proposal to disband the New Model Army in February 1647 and it was agreed in Parliament in May. Their rationale was the following concern:
high taxes leading to unrest in the counties, leading to solider repression leading to dislike of parli
what did the proposal to disband the New Model Army in February 1647 lead to
the army revolt in 1647
