James I and Finance Flashcards
1610-1625
What was the context to finances before James I’s reign?
Elizabeth left debts of £350,000 - not a concern because it was crown income and £300k was to come in anyway
£100k was owed to landowners - didn’t expect to repaid
Large sums were lent to Henry VI and Dutch wanted it back
How was James going to spend more anyway than Elizabeth?
Because he had a family to maintain
What did Elizabeth fail to do?
Failed to update the Book of Rates and assessments with inflation
Received less than intended because not in line with inflation
Finances in disarray because EI had policies to sell crown lands worth £800k
What was the problem with the subsidies?
Parliament tax was only meant for emergencies eg war
How much was the decline in revenue collection?
£137,500 to £72,500
System was rubbish
How would the commissions value things? Give examples.
Would undervalue them eg DofB house £400 instead of £400k
How was James an extravagant man?
He was lavish to his Scottish friends - was done to keep friendships due to his trouble growing up
What was Ante Supper 1621?
James spent £3k then having a supper that was just for show which was a massive waste of moneyyyyyy
How much money did James spend on his daughters wedding and son’s funeral?
£185k total
What did he do with customs duties?
Put tariffs on imports and exports which was always conferred with Parliament with each reign
How was the King’s set wage collected?
Collected diligently by syndicates
What were impositions?
Tax to regulate trade and granted via royal prerogative
What was the John Bates Case 1606? What was the result?
He was sent to court for refusing to pay the new impositions by the fact that James upped the Book of Rates
He believed that it was not sanctioned
Judge took James’ side and in 1608, 1000 luxury items was added to the impositions list
What did Cecil (1608-1612) try and do in 1608 in terms of finances? How did he do this?
Tried to organise royal spending as the first Lord Treasurer
Targeted debt via recusants - £9k a day which was a long term benefit
Managed land better by setting up the Book of Bounty (1608) curbing spending
Everything went through Cecil first - unabsolutist
Why was the government critical of this approach?
They were reluctant because of prev. govt errors.
What was the verdict of James I’s finance?
He overestimated wealth and was overgenerous to his friends and himself - Ante Supper 1621 etc
Gave money to Scottish friends with the money from the subsidies - disliked massively.
Who was the 2nd LT? What happened with him?
Tomas Howard (1614-1618) - charged with embezzlement. He was useless and couldn’t do anything.
What were the problems during 2LT’s time?
James rewarding loyal followers became a massive problem due to inability to reform
Offices were unpaid and therefore ministers were paid rewards for pensions etc
Little distinction between reward and word - allowed bribes
Monarchy couldn’t use resources and managed effectively
Kings rewarded patronage leading to bribery
What was the Great Contract of 1610?
Cecil needed money to reduce the debt and therefore asked James to call Parliament
Tried to sanction a 1st payment with convincing them with wardships and ending purveyance as a compromise.
Diverted attention from extravagance of James
Court of Wards was to be abolished
He wanted the funeral of EI to cost a lot to show the other countries how secure the country was
Why was Parliament not convinced?
They were conservative and outdated
Pointed to the favourability to the Scots and that MPs only gave extra during war - they were not in war due to Treaty of London 1605
How did Cecil try to emotionally appeal to them?
Tried to have a ceremony of one of the heirs to try and boost morale etc.
He used the funeral to pull strings honouring the legacy
Took advantage of the assassination of Henry VI of France to show instability of Europe
What did James promise during the Great Contract 1610?
To not initiate anything without consent of Parliament
Why were the MPs unhappy with about the John Bates Case in 1608?
It did not set a precedent to other impositions at the time.
What did the Commons agree to eventually?
Gave £200k in principle but would not compensate for CoW until the money was received.