James and parli Flashcards
james 1 personality
- rude and undignified
- relied heavily on ‘favourites
- extravangance
- interested in extravagant shows called Masques
- cowardly
- neglected his public image
- strong believe in divine right
- an intellectual
- religiously tolerant
example of james extravagance compared to elizabeth 1
Elizabeth spent around £300,000 per year, while James spent around £522,000 in 1614
what happened in 1603
key chronology of james reign
march- accession of james
april- millenary petition prrsented to J
what happened in 1604
key chronology of james reign
March: Parliament sits
March-April: The Goodwin Case
August: Treaty of London ends war with Spain
what happened in 1605
key chronology of james reign
Nov- gunpowder plot
what happened in 1606
key chronology of james reign
Bates Case
September: Catholics are forced to take a new oath of allegiance.
what happened in 1610
key chronology of james reign
nov- the great contract rejected
what happened in 1611
key chronology of james reign
February: Parliament dissolved
New version of the Bible published – The King James Bible
what happened in 1613
key chronology of james reign
February: James’ daughter Elizabeth married to Fredrick of the Palatinate
Fredrick was a leading Protestant in central Germany
what happened in 1614
key chronology of james reign
April-June: The Addled Parliament
December: The Cockayne scheme
Parli dissolved in June. Between 1615-1620 there was no Parli
whta happened in 1618
key chronology of james reign
May: Start of the Thirty Years War and James issues the Book of Sports
what was the 30yrs war
simple
The Thirty Years War was a devastating conflict between Protestants and Catholics in Europe. Frederick was a leader of the Protestant side
what happened in 1621
key chronology of james reign
January: Parliament recalled
December: The Commons Protestation
what ahppened in 1622
key chronology of james reign
Jan- parli dissolved
what ahppened in 1623
key chronology of james reign
February: Buckingham and Prince Charles travel to Madrid to arrange the Spanish Match
what happened in 1624
key chronology of james reign
February: Parliament recalled
June: Marriage of Charles and Henrietta Maria agreed
Henrietta Maria was the sister of the French King and a Catholic
whta happened in 1625
key chronology of james reign
March: James I dies and is succeeded by Charles I.
when was the first parli under J
1604-1611
probs under the first parli
*Parliament frustrated James’ attempts to create union between England and Scotland *
- Parliament was wary of James’ accession because of his writings on the divine right of kings. Also, parliaments in Europe were having their powers curtailed by kings
- Relations got off to a bad start in 1604 when the crown tried to intervene in a disputed election return which Parliament believed to be its prerogative to decide (Goodwin case)
- the Gunpowder Plot somewhat restored relations between the King and Parliament and a generous subsidy of £400,000 was voted
- However, the Commons refused to support full union between England and Scotland because it feared it would give the king too much power
- James tried to get around Parliament’s objection to union by resorting to the courts (1608 Calvin case). Parliament saw this as an attack on its privileges
- In the final session of this Parliament in 1610, James lectured it on his divine right to rule
what was the second parli called
the addled parli
when was the addled parli
1614 [only lasted a matter of weeks]
problems facing the addled parli
- passed no legislation nor voted any money
- The Commons refused to consider a subsidy until its grievances over impositions (customs duties on specific goods) and the domination of Scots over positions in the Bedchamber were addressed
- The criticism of Scots’ dominance of the Bedchamber was a thinly veiled attack on James’ favourite at the time, Robert Carr
- It can be argued that James mismanaged the situation by having so few Privy Councillors in Parliament to win over support for the King
- James dissolved it in frustration and expressed his frustration to the Spanish ambassador in these terms
whne was the 3rd parli
1621-22
when did J face most opposition to his policies
the final two Parliaments of his rule
problems facing 3rd parli
Disagreements between James and Parliament, especially over foreign policy and Charles’ marriage but also over the use of monopolies and there was an attempt to impeach Buckingham.
This Parliament was called to provide money in case of a foreign policy emergency
The Commons wanted to help James’ son-in-law Frederick, Elector Palatine, to recapture his lands but was unwilling to vote the £1 million a year required without more of a say over the direction of James’ foreign policy
Instead it offered £140,000
James seemed to invite their input but then grew frustrated when they openly criticised his pro-Spanish policy and the proposed marriage to the Spanish Infanta
He saw this as an attack on his prerogative and ordered Parliament to stop interfering in royal policy. He added that he would punish MPs, even when sitting in Parliament if they continued to do so
Parliament retaliated with the Protestation – a defence of parliamentary liberty and freedom of speech
James, ripped up the Protestation and abruptly dissolved the Parliament
when was the final parli undrr J
1624-25
probs facing the final parli under J
Subsidies voted and agreement over foreign policy, although disquiet over Charles’ marriage to Henrietta Maria
Parliament was delighted by the safe return of Charles from his Spanish escapade and pleased by the change in foreign policy which the failure to woo the Spanish princess caused
It voted James a £300,000 subsidy but placed restrictions on how the money was to be used and restricted the grants of patents of monopolies to new inventions only and companies rather than individuals
However, the marriage contract that Buckingham negotiated with France did not sit well with Parliament
It particularly disliked the toleration of Henrietta Maria’s continued open practice of Catholicism, which applied to her household and any royal children until the age of 13 and the relaxation of the recusancy laws
Also it expected there to be a military alliance between England and France against the Spanish as a condition of the marriage but Buckingham failed to gain such a concession
Furthermore, a dangerous precedent was set when Parliament was allowed to impeach Lord Treasurer, Cranfield, for corruption
summary of J’s relation with parli
Disagreements over finance, religious and foreign policy
Use of dissolution to subdue criticism and silence contrary views
An instinctive dislike and distrust of Parliament
factors regarding What was the main reason for disputes between James and Parliament?
DROK
finance
foreign policy
what was DROK
The king’s decisions are supported by God
Disobedience to the king was sinful to God
This idea legitimised a hierarchical society and prevented uprisings
probs arising from belief in DROK
- justified a absolutist monarchy
- monarch could rule outside of the laws of Parliament if required
when was the goodwin case
1604
expalin the goodwin case
Disputes with Parliament over Divine Right
Francis Goodwin was elected MP for Buckinghamshire in 1604, but the election was disputed:
James’ lawyers disputed the election of the grounds he was an outlaw.
The House of Commons supported Goodwin and were shocked by apparent royal interference.
James’ believed he had the Divine Right to settle the election:
Goodwin was dismissed and his opponent, John Fortescue, who was a privy councillor, was returned in his place.
Concerned by royal interference, the House voted to re-instate Goodwin
Their concern was that James was attempting to reduce the political independence of the Commons and fill it with his own allies
Yet, in April James backed down and conceded the right of the Commons to settle elections.
explain Union of England and Scotland
Disputes with Parliament over Divine Right:
Scotland and England were separate kingdoms despite being ruled over by the same monarch. This meant they had different laws, religion, cultures and political systems.
Yet, now they had the same king, James I believed it was his divine right to unite the kingdoms – believing it was what God wanted him to do.
James made a proposal to Parliament unite the kingdoms under the name of ‘Britain’.
Parliament, however, rejected his proposal for the Union. MPs were fearful that the new kingdom would have no laws and that the English Parliament would be a mere provincial assembly.
outcome of proposed union of england and scotland
James recognised, again, that this was an impossibility. So, he stepped away from the political proposal and advocated a symbolic one. By royal proclamation he:
- Called himself The King of Great Britain
- Created the ‘Jack’ flag after the latin name for James
- Re-designed the Royal Coat of Arms with the lion of England balanced by the Unicorn of Scotland.
key highlight of James’ 1610 proclamation
Disputes with Parliament over Divine Right:
“The state of the monarchy is the supremist thing upon Earth”
significance of disputes over divine right
James belief in Divine Right exacerbated (worsened) disputes with Parliament but did not cause them
Disputes were about concrete issues, such as the election of an undesirable individual to Parliament, purveyance, wardship, the unification of England and Scotland (Great Contract), not about the theory of kingship
James was usually pragmatic about these issues, backing down when there was significant opposition
Ultimately, James was willing to rule within the law
two types of income under the monarch
- ordinary
- extradionary
use of ordinary income AND extradionary incoem
an expectation that the King paid for the running of government out of his ordinary income and only turned to Parliament in ‘extraordinary’ times – such as war
prob facing both james and charles regarding ordinary income
unfortunately for James and Charles, the** cost of government had expanded dramatically by the 17th century** for a number of reasons. This meant that the monarchs** ‘ordinary income’ was no longer enough to pay for the costs of government.**
nature of ordinary income
Monarch’s private income: supposed to cover the day-to-day costs of government. E.g. patronage, cost of administration, royal court.
types of ordinary income
7
- income from crown land
- ship money
- wardship
- purveyance
- tonnage and poundage
- impositions
- monoplies
what is income from crown land
*farming and other forms of income such as rent from land owned by the monarch *
In the Middle Ages the crown had been the largest landowner. However, over time these lands had been gifted to favourites and loyal servants or had been sold to pay debts. B**y 1641 time only a small proportion of these estates remained to the crown, raising less than £100,00 a year. **
what is ship money
the right to raise money from coastal counties to pay for the navy. Only accepted in times of national defence
what is wardship
The king had the right to take income from a member of the nobility’s estate when he died if the heir was a minor or an unmarried woman.
This was a relic of the feudal period. Wardship could be given as a reward to courtiers for which the crown would be given a cut. It was dreaded by noble families because two wardships in quick succession could ruin a family.
earnings of wardship in 1625 and 1640
In 1625, it was raising £40,000 a year for the crown, by 1640 this was £76,000 a year
what is purveyance
The crown’s right to purchase goods below market value
what is tonnage and poundage
a customs tax on imports/exports. Usually conferred by Parliament to a monarch at the start of their reign
Tonnage was the tax levied on every tun (cask) of wine imported, mainly from Spain and Portugal. Poundage was the tax levied on every pound of weight imported or exported. It raised nearly one half of the crown’s annual income, about £400,000 a year. These were not collected by the crown directly but by customs farmers. Farmers would bid for the right to collect – the contract would go to the highest bidder and payment would be up front. By the 1630s, bids were made for up to three years in advance.