James - Finance Flashcards
How much was the Royal Debt when James became King of England?
£420,000.
What was the Size of the grant James received from Parliament in 1601?
£300,000
What large expense did James have to deal with initially?
The costs of Elizabeth’s Funeral.
List the 4 main reasons James had financial issues:
1) Debt.
2) Inflation.
3) Extravagance.
4) Declining Value of the Subsidy.
When did Inflation rise suddenly?
Inflation rose considerably under the Tudors in the 1500’s.
What was the Subsidy?
A tax controlled by Parliament which was designed for emergencies such as war. Parliament had to authorise the collection of the Subsidy.
Why was the Subsidy declining in value?
1) Inflation.
2) The amount of tax people had to pay was valued by their neighbours, as such the value of property and possessions were often undervalued.
How much was the Subsidy worth under Elizabeth?
£137,000
How much was the Subsidy worth under James?
£72,500. (Almost half of what Elizabeth received)
Why was Inflation a big issue for James?
Because he was already getting a reduced income, and Inflation made this lower sum of money have less spending power, since prices had risen.
Why was James extravagant?
Because he had a very harsh upbringing and needed to retain friends and people around him by giving them large gifts and titles.
What was an anti-feast?
When James would organise a feast with expensive food and then throw it out and replace it with new food, just to show the fact he was rich.
How much did James spend on his daughters wedding and Sons funeral?
£116,000
What was a Customs Farm?
A contract was awarded to a company to collect the custom duties on behalf of the crown. The company would pay the King an annual income and they got to keep any profits.
Why were customs farms good for James?
1) Removed logistical issue of collecting tax.
2) Increased his income by £12,000 compared to Elizabeth.
3) Provided James with a regular income so he could
better manage his finances.
Why were customs farms bad for James?
1) As Trade Increased the amount of profits the custom farmers received increased, but the fixed income James received, remained fixed. This meant the contract had to be renegotiated.
2) Money was lost to the company which the crown could have received.
When was the new book of rates issued?
1604
What was contained in the new book of rates?
The prices of commodities and how much they could be taxed.
What were the positives about the New book of rates?
1) Raised £70,000 a year.
2) Allowed value of commodities to be updated for new trading conditions.
Why were Merchants upset about the New Book of Rates?
Because the old book had existed since 1558, so the new system was more expensive and took time to get used to.
Who was involved in the Bates Case?
John Bates.
Which Court was the Bates case heard in?
The court of the Exchequer.
When was the Bates case?
1606
Who was John Bates?
A merchant for the Levant Company.
What was the Bates Case?
John Bates refused to pay custom duties on currants being imported from the Levant. He lost the case and James was allowed to impose taxation on individual goods.
Why was Parliament angry with the bates case?
1) Gave James more power which made him less dependant on Parliament.
2) Felt it was an abuse of James’ power.
What was a Recusant?
A person who was not willing to give up their religion.
What did Salisbury do about Recusants?
He looked through past records and determined who had outstanding payments and collected them.
Why were Recusant fines good for James?
- Provided him with an additional £9000 a day.
What were the negatives of Recusancy Fines?
1) Took time to identify who owed money.
2) Angered Catholics.
What was the initial problem with crown lands?
1) Reduced in size as they were sold or given away as gifts, this reduced the income the crown received from them.
What did Salisbury do about the crown lands?
1) Sold of ineffective properties which raised money in the short term.
2) Sold products produced by the crown lands such as timber.
3) Persuaded James to retain the crown lands and to not sell them off.
Why were crown tenants angry about the changes to crown lands?
They had to pay higher entry fines when they leased land.
What was the book of bounty?
It was a list of what lands were able to be rented and what gifts James was able to give out to people. It was designed to reduce his extravagance.
What was a negative of the book of bounty?
It took longer for people to apply for leases.
Who created the great contract?
Robert Cecil (Earl of Salisbury)
When was the great contract created?
1610
What was the purpose of the Great Contract?
To make a deal with Parliament, in which James have up Feudal rights such as warship in return for an annual income from parliament.
Why did James withdraw from the Great Contract?
He was no longer willing to give up his rights, as he worried it would make his subjects more difficult to control.
Why were Parlament sceptical about the Great Contract?
They worried giving James financial independence would make him more difficult to control. As Parliament controlled the Subsidy tax which James relied on heavily.
What issues did Wardships create in the great contract?
Because Ward-ships were initially not included in the contract, Parliament wanted them to be included and offered James £100,000 a year to give up the privilege. James wanted £200,000, Parliament refused.
Why were some MP’s not concerned with purveyance?
Because Purveyance only effected Mp’s near London and not those from the rest of the country.
What happened to Salisbury after the Great Contract Failed?
He lost a lot of power and influence, he died of cancer shortly afterwards.
How much money did the sale of titles earn James?
£98,185.
Give an example of a new title James created:
The Baronette.
How much did a Baronette title cost?
£1095.
What happened to the Value of titles over time?
They decreased considerably in value, people who bought them at the start were angry that they lost money.
What did James use the money from the sale of titles to fund?
His Army in Ireland.
When was Cockaynes scheme created?
1614.
Who was Cockayne?
The governor of the “Eastland Company of Englsih Merchants”
Until Cockaynes Scheme, what sort of cloth products were exported from England?
Unfinished cloth products, they were sent to the Netherlands to be finished.
What was the idea behind Cockaynes scheme?
To finish cloth products in England and then sell them for higher profits.
What did James grant Cockayne?
A monopoly on the cloth industry.
What happened to the Dutch when Cockaynes scheme began?
They were very angry over the lost trade, and refused to buy back unfinished cloth from the English, once the scheme failed.
How much money was James supposed to earn from the Cockaynes scheme?
£40,000 per year.
Why did Cockaynes scheme fail?
Because Cockayne was unable to raise the capital necessary to buy the equipment or to pay skilled dyers to create the products.
When did Cockaynes scheme fail by?
- (Ended in 1617)
What were the two cautionary towns called?
1) Brill.
2) Flushing.
In what year were the cautionary towns sold?
1615.
What were the Cautionary towns?
The English took ownership of two Dutch towns as securities on a £500,000 loan to the Dutch, in case they failed to pay it back.
How much did the English sell the cautionary towns for?
£250,000 (Half of the loan)
Why did James need to raise money by selling the cautionary towns?
Because Charles was old enough to need his own household.
What was a Monopoly?
A Monopoly was when an individual or company controlled a trade or service by themselves.
What happened in 1621 with Monopolies?
James had to remove 20 of them as concessions. (As there was widespread discontent among the public)
