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James I Flashcards

1
Q

James 1 view on monarchy and kingship

A

Believed in the divine right of kings - mentioned in his books ‘the trew law of free monarchies’ and ‘the Basikan Doran.’
Meant that parliament couldn’t dispute him as his only superior was god - ‘The king of England is an absolute king’
Used this idea to prove his succession to the throne after the 1604 succession act

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2
Q

Was James absolute?

A

Denied it as he needed parliament for subsidies - never defined the prerogative as it would most likely show he was absolute

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2
Q

The character of James 1 - Young life and marriage

A
  • neglected by both of his parents
  • marriage to Anne of Denmark declined - later began relationship with Cousin Esme Stewart
  • Suspected Homosexual
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3
Q

The character of James 1 - Favourites

A

gave certain individuals honours and roles that they were not deserving of

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4
Q

The character of James 1 - Learning

A
  • manners were very poor
  • known to talk to parliament for hours on end - had to formally apologise tot he parliament as a result
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5
Q

The character of James 1 - Weaknesses

A

described as cowardly - wore padded clothing to stop stabbings and tried to avoid war under any means - wanted to be ‘Rex-pacificus’ = peaceful
seen as vulnerable due to the multiple plots against him including the gunpowder plot

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6
Q

James’ Extravagances

A
  • From 1603 - 1610, Scottish beneficiaries received £40,000 annually compared to £10,000 for the English
  • Elizabeth created 878 knights in 45 years whilst James created 906 in 4 months
  • During James’ first 4 years, he gave £68,153 in monetary gifts and £30,000 in pensions annually - generosity was potentially caused by the pound Scots being worth one Twelfth of the pound Sterling, making it difficult for the king to adjust his sense of value
  • Spent £ 400,000 annually peaking at £522,000
  • £30,000 on Jewels in 1608
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7
Q

James I and Ireland

A
  • James wanted to enhance his reputation as a peacemaker
  • James had inherited a kingdom which had conquered but not yet pacified Ireland
  • Earl of Tyrone fled to the continent in 1607 - put an end to the Irish resistance and enlarged the English government’s freedom of action
  • 1609 - James appointed commissioners to oversee the plantation of Ulster by Scottish and English settlers
  • by 1613, all but two of Ireland’s judges were English
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8
Q

The financial situation in 1603

A
  • inflation in the 1590s meant the royal income was inadequate
  • James inherited a debt of £100,000 from Elizabeth
  • Elizabeth failed to update tax assessments meaning that even when parliament granted extra taxes, the king received less than he should of done
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9
Q

Ordinary revenue - Crown lands

A

leased out for rent - often leases did not keep up with inflation - Income had also declined as Elizabeth had sold £800,000 worth

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10
Q

Ordinary revenue - Wardship

A

Kings right to act as a guardian to the children of tenants who died before the child was old enough to inherit - Profit made from administrating the estate

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11
Q

Ordinary revenue - Marriage

A

Kings right to remain marriages for female heirs of tenants

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12
Q

Ordinary revenue - Livery

A

Kings right to receive a git of money from those who inherited land from him in feudal tendency

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13
Q

Ordinary revenue - Purveyance

A

Kings right to buy food and supplies for the court at reduced prices - made £40,000 annually

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14
Q

Ordinary revenue - Monopolies

A

Kings right to grant exclusive rights to make and sell good of a particular kind

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15
Q

Ordinary revenue - Justice

A

Fines, Court fees etc

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16
Q

Custom Duties - Tonnage and Poundage

A

Tax placed on imports and exports - led to Custom farmers who would pay the king for the right to collect custom revenue

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17
Q

Custom Duties - New impositions

A

Import duties which the king is entitled to raise to protect English trade and industry

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18
Q

Occasional sources - Forced Loans

A

gifts and loans from individuals

19
Q

Custom Duties - Loans on credit

A

There is a risk the loans are not repaid

20
Q

Direct taxes - Subsidies

A

tax on income for landowners etc - not levied on the poor

21
Q

Direct Taxes - Ship money

A

Levied in wartime on coastal areas for building ships

22
Q

Bates Case

A

1606 - A merchant was taken to court for refusing to pay a duty on imports - claimed the duty wasn’t sanctioned by parliament - the case increased the scope of customs - 1608 new impositions were levied producing £70,000 annually

23
Q

Structural Weaknesses

A
  • peace with Spain in 1604 didn’t mean a reduction in military spending
  • In Ireland, £600,000 was spent on the army from 1603-1608
  • Royal officers would regularly take money that was meant for the king
24
Taxation
- Very corrupt - Buckingham ( richest man in the country) claimed to be worth £400 - 1624 Subsidy act granted James £300,000 which was inadequate for his needs - 1606 - James granted £400,000 after the Gunpowder plot - Due to his spending James struggled to get grants - 1606-1621 he only received one grant worth less than £100,000
25
The Great Contract
- Suggested in 1610 by Salisbury - James would receive £200,000 annually and a £600,000 one-off payment to clear his debts - In return, James would abolish Wardship, Purveyance and Feudal Tenures
26
Why did the Great Contract fail?
- MPs didn't want to fund the Kings extravagances as the Scots were the major beneficiaries - Court realised the king would gain £85,000 annually - James didn't feel he would benefit from the contract
27
Official self-interest
- People trying to profit at the Kings expense - e.g. Earl of Salisbury who gained £1400 from wardship whereas the crown only made £370 - 1610 Salisbury negotiated the renewal of silk duties which made him £7000 annually
28
The Years of drift
- James' eldest son and Salisbury died in 1612 - a committee replaced Salisbury as James lacked the application to take over the role - 1612-1614 the Gov was drifting with no purpose - 1614 - James granted no money - instead created the title of baronet to sell - made him £10,000
29
Cockayne's scheme
Persuaded the king to ban the export of unfinished cloth - the Dutch found new sources of cloth which resulted in high unemployment in England's clothing district
30
New treasurer
1614 - Earl of Suffolk became lord treasurer - Crowns debt grew from £500,000 to £900,000 - convicted of embezzlement in 1618
31
Cranfield
Became 'master of the wardrobe' in 1618 - reduce James's costs to less than £20,000 annually - demanded the end to payment of pensions to Scots etc - also reduced costs within the navy etc - New impositions on coal which raised £16,000 for James (£8000 went to Buckingham though) - Forced loans in 1622 and 1623 to raise money to solve the Kings immediate demands
32
Why did James have financial difficulties - Problems left by Elizabeth
- Debt - left £100,000 in debt (not hat bad) - Corruption - Didn't offer monetary rewards which led to lots of bribery and exploitation - No financial reform during her reign - Didn't keep royal revenue in line with inflation - instead she chose to sell £800,000 worth of crown lands to make up any losses - Inflation - The rents collected from crown lands were falling in value -the value of parliamentarian subsidies also fell from £130,000 in mid 1500s to £55,000 in 1628.
33
Expectations of the monarchs financial position
- Live of his own ordinary crown income - James struggled with this as he had a family to support whereas Elizabeth didn't - The crown would only ask for parliamentary subsidies during times of emergency e.g. war
34
The fundamental problem - The system of patronage
- System by which the king chooses people for offices in government - Most offices were unpaid and relied on rewards in the form of pensions or the right to collect fines etc - e.g. Cecil was given the right to manage the court of wards
35
Failure of reform - The great farm of customs 1604
The crown sells the right to collect Custom fees for a fixed price of £112,000 - was successful but widely disliked
36
Failure of reform - Book of bounty 1608
Introduced by Cecil - Prohibited the crown giving away major items such as land and customs - It failed as James gave away cash instead
37
Failure of reform - Book of rates 1608
Following the Bate's case it was decided that the crown didn't have the right to impose levies at will - Confirmed a non-parliamentary source of revenue for the king ( Custom Duties) - raised an extra £70,000 annually - Disliked widely by parliament
38
Failure of reform - Crown lands survey
- Cecil sold off the least profitable - Short term income of £445,000 was not enough to clear crowns debt - Lost the crown £14,000 annually in regular income
39
Failure of reform - The Great Contract 1610
James demanded an additional £100,000 annually - caused the contract to fail and created further mistrust between king and parliament
40
Failure of reform - Selling titles
1612 - 1914 the role of Lord Treasurer was run by a committee - Baronet was created and sold which generated £90,000 annually by 1614 but created disillusion with honours and the court
41
Failure of reform - Renewal of monopolies
- by 1621 there were more than 100 monopolies - MPs angered by this and reintroduced the right to impeach ministers of the crown over the issue e.g. Lord chancellor Bacon
42
Disagreements with parliament over finance - The first parliament 1604-1610
- Granted James Tonnage and Poundage for life - 4 subsidies granted - mainly as a gesture of good will after the gunpowder plot - however rejection of the great contract led to James dissolving the parliament
43
Disagreements with parliament over finance - The second 'Addled' parliament 1614
- would not grant subsidies unless impositions were abolished - James saw this as an attack on his royal prerogative - finance became a constitutional issue
44
Disagreements with parliament over finance - The third parliament 1621
- Finances were needed after the thirty years war - James was granted two subsidies - Lord chancellor bacon was impeached as he had been issuing monopolies
46
Disagreements with parliament over finance - The fourth parliament - 1624-1625
- James given 3 subsidies but they were insufficient as England was going to war with Spain - Impeachment of Cranfield on Buckingham's advice and due to a war which Buckingham had favoured - MPs on good terms with James as he had accepted the monopolies act

History Stuarts (17 decks)

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