James I and his financial problems. Flashcards
What two major issues were faced by James when coming to the throne in 1603 regarding money?
Fundamentally, the issue was James’ overspending, but this was exacerbated by an insufficient income from James’ perspective.
Why was James’ income inadequate? (1/4)
Elizabeth I, the previous ruler had used short term methods such as selling crown lands to solve her deficit. This reduced crown tax, and most importantly had not been addressed when James took over the throne, which was problematic for James.
Why was James’ income inadequate? (2/4)
The subsidies payed by parliament fell as the way of assessing the amounts of taxpayers and what was owed to the King was outdated, thus parliament brought in less tax money under James than the previous ruler.
Why was James’ income inadequate? (3/4)
The 16th century saw high inflation, so grants had less purchasing power - everything was more expensive to buy for James.
Why was James’ income inadequate? (4/4)
There were huge amounts of corruption in the financial system. From the Lord Treasurer to the tax collectors, people were stealing money that was supposed to go to the King.
How did James extravagance create financial problems for him?
Ultimately James ended up in terrible debt as he spent much more money than he had, and struggled to not spend on extravagant things.
However, there were also reasons for his extravagance; he assumed that relative to poorer Scotland, England would be very rich and have a lot of cash, especially after a long war with Spain ended - he was wrong.
- He also thought that generosity was the way to win friends over and was wildly extravagant with gifts for his favourite courtiers such as Buckingham, Hay and Carr.
His wife and son had their own households and also spent a lot.
He enjoyed putting on expensive shows and hosting extravagant parties which were very costly. Elizabeth I and Prince Henry’s funerals were very expensive and spent a lot on Buckingham’s wedding to his daughter.
He very often spent heavily, such as £3000 in one night at the masque of Blackness, or dropping £30,000 on a house for Buckingham
- More detail on James extravagance is provided in further flashcards.
What was the main issue with James’ spending habits?
Not only did James put his country in debt consistently, his spending habits broke down his relationship with parliament as his consistent extravagance infuriated many members, who refused to support him financially due to mistrust that he would fritter away any money given to him.
In response to his money troubles, James attempted to solve some of his financial troubles, what were some of these? (BREIF).
Increasing customs duties by issuing a Book of Rates. Accounted for nearly half of James’ income.
- Selling of Baroncies for £90,000 each.
- Fining Roman Catholics
- Managing crown lands more effectively
-Raising a benevolence from the better off as a free gift to the king.
- Selling ports Brill and Flushing back to the Dutch - estimated raised 1 mil Dutch guilders.
- Increasing revenue from wardships.
What were the five main financial disputes in James’ reign
There were five major disputes about raising finances in James’ reign, these were; impositions, the great contract, 1610, the Cockayne project, Monopolies and the reforms of Cranfield.
What was the argument about impositions focused on?
Impositions were extra customs duties imposed on particular goods, most notably, currants in the Bate Case. In this case, the king levied
