James I: the finances of the Crown and attempts at reform

Question 1

what were the sources of Crown revenue and what are they?

Answer 1

Ordinary revenue - was annual income for the Crown that did not depend on parliamentary grants
- included: crown lands, customs revenue, wardship and monopolies

Question 2

what are crown lands?

Answer 2

• leased out for rent, but often on long leases that did not keep up with inflation.
• Income had also declined because of sales of land by Elizabeth.
• increasingly diminished in importance as successive lord treasurers saw the sale of land as being the quickest, easiest way to raise money

Question 3

what are customs revenue?

Answer 3

• Tonnage and Poundage: taxes on imports and exports, normally granted to the King for life by his first Parliament.
• New impositions: new import duties which the King was entitled to raise to protect English trade and industry.
• by 1621, customs revenues brought in three times as much income as crown lands

Question 4

what is wardship?

Answer 4

• the king’s right to act as guardians to the children of tenants who died before the child was old enough to inherit
• Profits could be made from administrating the estate and from profitable marriages and dowries.
• feudal tenures and wardship had lost importance but not financial usefulness

Question 5

what are monopolies?

Answer 5

• the King’s right to grant exclusive rights to make and sell goods of particular kinds.

Question 6

what were the initiatives for reform?

Answer 6

• the sale of noble titles was a huge success
  -> estimated that between 1603 and 1629, the minimum profit earned by the Crown in this way was £620,000
• the sale of monopolies was condemned by Parliamentarians - whilst it provided James with income, it created artificially high prices, put up barriers to trade and innovation in technique, and preserved profits for a clique of royal hangers-on

Question 7

what were the main systematic reasons for James’ insolvency (broke)?

Answer 7

• years of inflation and sale of Crown lands to finance the war with Spain ( Elizabeth had sold over £800,000 worth)
• ensured that royal income was insufficient to meet the demands of the government
• Elizabeth had failed to update tax assessments in line with inflation, so James had inherited a tax system that was entirely unfit for purpose -> it allowed the gentry to assess their own liability to pay tax
• Elizabeth had bequeathed a debt of £420,000 to her successor

Question 8

what were the two main consequences of the Crown’s financial weakness?

Answer 8

• increasingly difficult for the Crown to govern efficiently and to conduct an aggressive foreign policy
• in wartime, the Crown had no alternative but to devise new means of raising money when forced loans were not approved by Parliament. In the PN, the Crown was intent on destroying the right of Parliament to raise taxes
• the Crown’s financial weakness thus threatened to become a serious political problem

Question 9

how was James’ insolvency compounded by his extravagance?

Answer 9

• Elizabeth had spent less than £300,000 in peacetime; under James this rose almost immediately to £400,000 and peaked at £522,000 in 1622
• when he took the throne, he saw England as a land of plenty in comparison to Scotland so was determined to enjoy the greater wealth of his new country
• spent extravagantly and was generous to his courtiers
• his extravagance had gone onto conspicuous consumption and in the hands of the hated Scots which angered Parliament

Question 10

how much money had the Scottish received from James in figures?

Answer 10

• by 1610, nearly £90,000 had been given to the Scots in gifts and a further £10,000 paid in pensions
• in an average year, Scottish followers based in the royal court received £40,000 in total, whilst English equivalents received £10,000
• James considered it perfectly acceptable to pay off their debts before his own - did so in 1607 when he paid off the debts of three men at the cost of £44,000

Question 11

what positive results were there from James’ spending?

Answer 11

patronage was crucial to the political system, especially in buying goodwill for a monarch upon coming to the throne and given the nature of James’ ascension

Question 12

how was Parliament divided into two houses?

Answer 12

• the great landowners, backed by bishops, sat in the Lords
• the country gentry, merchants, lawyers and financiers drawn from the towns, sat in the Commons
• a convention that is deeply rooted in British politics

Question 13

what was Parliament’s role?

Answer 13

• hear the king’s needs and provide appropriate counsel
• provide financial supply when requested (known as subsidies)
• provided a forum in which the political nation could gather and make its views known to the King

Question 14

what were taxation granted by Parliament called and what were they?

Answer 14

• direct taxes/ extraordinary revenue
• tenths and fifths, subsidies, poll tax, ship money

Question 15

what were tenths and fifths?

Answer 15

a tax on moveable goods (except personal clothing) , paid by all

Question 16

what were subsidies?

Answer 16

a tax on income for landowners, office-holders and wage-earners, or moveable property for merchants, craftsmen and tenant-farmers. It was not levied on the poor.

Question 17

what was a poll tax?

Answer 17

a tax paid by individuals (rare).

Question 18

what was ship money?

Answer 18

a tax levied in wartime from coastal areas for building ships.

Question 19

why was Parliament’s role changing after 1603?

Answer 19

• Parliamentarians were beginning to get excited that their remit could begin to extend beyond Crown finances -> wanted to be involved in:
• foreign policy (with particular regard to Spain)
• the Crown’s sale of monopolies
• the Crown’s taxation of imports (‘impositions’)
• religious issues

Question 20

what excuse gave Parliament the right to make demands?

Answer 20

the financial state of the monarchy now arguably gave parliament more leverage to make additional demands about their role in Parliament

Question 21

what was James’ view on monarchy with quotes?

Answer 21

• James was a firm believer in the theory of the divine right of kings
• believed he was only answerable to God and not any earthly authority
• believed he was God’s lieutenant on Earth
  ‘the state of monarchy is the supremest thing upon earth

Question 22

what was James’ main issue with his First Parliament of 1604-1611 and what was it known as?

Answer 22

• 1604-1611 Parliament was known as the ‘Blessed Parliament’
• mainly dissolved due to James’ view that it is not right for the House of Commons to make so many complaints against their king, and that their behaviour has delayed the capacity of the king to collect sufficient revenue

Question 23

outline the Goodwin case in 1604:

Answer 23

• in 1604 Sir Francis Goodwin, a known outlaw [criminal], was elected to Parliament as MP for the constituency of Buckinghamshire
• The election of outlaws had been prohibited by royal proclamation and James demanded that the Commons exclude Goodwin from its membership, placing Sir John Fortescue as the new MP
• However, the Commons claimed it should be the judge of its own election results and after some time, James pragmatically backed down
• this event created some animosity between the Crown and Parliament
• although a compromise was reached, James’s conduct during this and the union dispute raised concerns among some MPs.
• led to the drafting of a protest called ‘The Form of Apology and Satisfaction’ at the end of the 1604 Parliamentary session
• the document expressed worries that while royal prerogatives were expanding, the privileges of MPs remained constant.
• Although the Commons ultimately decided not to present the protest to the King, its creation highlighted fears that parliamentary rights were at risk from a monarch who believed in his divine right to govern.

Question 24

what did James’ first parliament of 1604-1611 set the tone for?

Answer 24

• James’ first Parliament set the tone that was to prevail for the next 40 years
• James’ first Parliament sat for four sessions over the course of 6 years until he broke it up in 1611
• only part of the money he demanded was voted and the Commons spent much time discussing his domestic and foreign policy
• James responded by ordering them to leave affairs of State to the King and Privy Council -> he argued were the only people qualified to understand them
• Of James’s four Parliaments only the first possessed any longevity, finally collapsing over the Great Contract - a scheme to reform the royal finances.

Question 25

what were the overall reasons for the failure of the first Parliament?

Answer 25

• dominated by the Bate’s case, debt and Robert Cecil’s failed Great
• it failed over the Great Contract and impositions

Question 26

what quotes show opposing views towards kingship by James and Parliament in 1610?

Answer 26

• James’ position: ‘As to dispute what God may do is blasphemy, so it is sedition in subjects to dispute what a King may do in height of his power. I will not be content that my power be disputed on’
• Parliament’s position: ‘We hold it in an ancient, general and undoubted right of Parliament to debate freely all matters which properly concern the subject and his right or state.

Question 27

describe the tensions that emerged between the Crown and Parliament?

Answer 27

• as James saw it, Parliament existed principally for the collection of tax revenue
  so their duty would be to vote ‘subsidies’ or ‘supply’ for the King
• Parliament felt that increased taxes could only be justified if it were able to exercise influence upon James’ conduct of government business

Question 28

explain why there was a failure in Anglo-Scottish unity:

Answer 28

• James was hoping to build on the personal union of the crowns of Scotland and England to establish a complete and permanent union of the two kingdoms under one monarch
• when he called upon the English parliament to create a union of states he was rebuffed
• in April 1604, the Commons refused on legal grounds his request to be titled ‘King of Great Britain’
• In October 1604, he assumed the title “King of Great Britain” by proclamation rather than statute [Parliamentary law]
• a sign that where he lacked the consent of the Commons for his policies, James intended, unlike to resort to the royal prerogative.

Question 29

outline the 1606 Bate’s Case:

Answer 29

• in 1606, a merchant, John Bate was taken to court for refusing to pay a duty on currants
• Bate claimed the duty had not been sanctioned by parliament
• the judges decided in the King’s favour because the monarch had the right to regulate trade for the security of the realm
• this opened the scope of customs - in 1608 Book of Rates, brought in new duties known as impositions that were levied on 1400 items with no real pretence that it was in the interest of trade
• legally backed the Crown’s levying on impositions and additional duties on imports

Question 30

how much had James spent on gifts between 1603 to 1607?

Answer 30

between 1603 and 1607, James gave away monetary gifts to the value of £68,153 and pensions worth almost £30,000 a year

Question 31

how did Robert Cecil attempt to manage the issue of impositions?

Answer 31

• on the basis of a 1606 court judgement that the Crown had an ‘absolute’ prerogative to issue import duties (impositions)
• Cecil advised James that the crown had the right to levy impositions both as a source of revenue and to regulate trade
• with this justification Cecil issued the Book of Rates

Question 32

what was the success of impositions introduced in the 1608 Book of Rates?

Answer 32

• impositions immediately brought in an additional £70,000 of revenue a year
• roughly equivalent to a single subsidy

Question 33

who introduced the 1608 Book of Bounty?

Answer 33

issued by Robert Cecil in an attempt to convince James to curb his extravagance and prevent James giving away major items such as lands, customs or impositions

Question 34

did James listen to the 1608 Book of Bounty?

Answer 34

James gave cash away instead. In the last 4 months of 1610 alone, he gave away £36,000

Question 35

how did Robert Cecil respond to James not listening to the Book of Bounty?

Answer 35

• Cecil also understood that he needed to keep the King’s favour to keep his position, so persuaded James to give Carr (his favourite) the Sherborne estate forfeited by Walter Raleigh
• where ministers ‘bent the rules’ for James, it undermined the financial viability of the Crown

Question 36

why was the practice of impositions widely condemned by Parliament by 1610?

Answer 36

• Something which in 1606 affected a few merchants’ profits, in 1610 became a political issue affecting the liberties of Parliament.
• The King’s new impositions attacked the “old fundamental right” of Parliament as they deprived Parliament of their reasons to assemble: to supply the King revenue.

Question 37

who was Robert Cecil?

Answer 37

• the Earl of Salisbury (1563-1612)
• James I’s first chief minister who had also been chief minister under Elizabeth I

Question 38

how else did Robert Cecil attempt to manage Crown finances in 1609?

Answer 38

• Robert Cecil sought to increase income and cut James’ spending - James promised Cecil to stop giving gifts of land
• in 1609, James promised not to grant any gifts or pensions without Cecil’s agreement but he failed

Question 39

what did Robert Cecil, Earl of Salisbury propose in February 1610?

Answer 39

• In 1610, he started negotiating with Parliament in a major reform of the Crown finances
• A believer in the necessity of Parliamentary contribution to government, Salisbury proposed to the Commons, in February 1610, an ambitious financial scheme, known as The Great Contract

Question 40

what did the Great Contract of 1610 entale?

Answer 40

Parliament would grant a lump sum of £600,000 to pay off the king’s debts in return for ten royal concessions (prerogative income), plus an annual grant of £200,000.

Question 41

was the Great Contract accepted in 1610?

Answer 41

both Crown and Parliament felt they had too much to lose in such an agreement, however, and reform was never attempted again under James

Question 42

what were the overall attempts to strengthen royal finance between 1603-1610?

Answer 42

• the 1604 Treaty of London made peace with Spain and reduced the Crown’s expenditure significantly
• largely because of James’ lavish spending at court, the Crown’s debt increased to £600,000 by 1608

Question 43

why else had royal expenditure spiralled (systematic issues) ?

Answer 43

• unlike his predecessor, the King was obliged to maintain two other royla households apart from his own
• one for the Queen, Anne of Denmark and the other for the heir to the throne, Prince Henry
• the latter cost a total of £35,765 in 1610-11

Question 44

what was the Second Parliament called and when was it?

Answer 44

• it was called the ‘Addled Parliament’
• the only Parliament that was briefly called from 1611 to 1621

Question 45

what was the ‘Addled Parliament’ and how long did it sit?

Answer 45

• sat between 5 April and 7 June 1614
• its name denotes its ineffectiveness: it lasted less than 8 weeks and failed to resolve the conflict between the King, who wished to raise a supply of £65,000 and the House of Commons (who were resisting further taxation)
• Parliament saw no reason for a further grant: they saw the king’s continued debt as a result of his extravagance (esp on Scottish favourites such as Robert Carr) and saw no justification for continued high spending

Question 46

what were Parliament’s objections towards James I economically?

Answer 46

• a desire not to be taxed further
• a distaste for James’ spendthrift ways, addiction to hunting, fondness for handsome young men and extravagant consumption of foodstuff and alcohol - and resentment that the PN was being asked to pay for it
• a fear that financial independence would allow James to sidestep Parliament and the PN and impose a continental-style absolutism on the country

Question 47

what is some evidence to show that Parliament had to spend excessively for James’ extravagance?

Answer 47

• in 1606, Parliament granted three subsidies in finance debts, but James gave £44,000 away to Scottish friends
• in 1611, he gave away £90,688 with £67,498 going to just eleven Scots
• Parliament had been awarding an average £115,000 in annual subsidies

Question 48

what were James’ two other Parliaments?

Answer 48

• 1621-22 Third Parliament (more factions and in-fighting over finance, with concerns raised over religion and foreign affairs in the context of the Thirty Years War
• failed over finance, The Spanish Match, religious and foreign policy
• 1624-25 Fourth Parliament, the ‘Happy Parliament’ (the Thirty Years War continued, finance remained an issue)

Question 49

what did Parliament vote on in 1621?

Answer 49

• Parliament voted James only two subsidies, totalling about £140,000
• MPs were reluctant to grant more because of the economic depression -> also wanted their grievances addressed before allowing James any more money

Question 50

what was King James’ debt in 1620?

Answer 50

• in 1620, the King’s debt totalled about £900,000, a figure which had risen from £500,000 in 1613
• the economy was entering depression

Question 51

why had debt continued to mount?

Answer 51

debt continued to mount not only as a consequence of the ‘continual haemorrhage of outletting’ effected by the King but because of the impact of persistent and significant inflation
- increased prices by about 500% during the course of the 16th century

Question 52

what systematic issue cause by Elizabeth exacerbated the weakness of Crown finances?

Answer 52

• Elizabeth did not update the Crown’s sources of income and with a sustained period of inflation, the weakness in Crown finances exacerbated

Question 53

what are some examples of under-assessment?

Answer 53

• in Sussex, the average sum that 78 families were assessed fell from £48 each in 1560 to £14 in 1626
• the Duke of Buckingham was assessed at £400 even though his income was about £15,000 in 1623

Question 54

how much had the 1621 Parliament given to James in subsidies and why?

Answer 54

• in 1621 Parliament voted James only two subsidies, totalling about £140,000
• MPs reluctant to grant more because of the economic depression
• also wanted their grievances addressed before giving anymore money to James

Question 55

what were two factors that resulted in a political effect?

Answer 55

the declining value of a subsidy combined with MP’s reluctance to offer supply

Question 56

what was the political effect of these factors?

Answer 56

• the monarch had little incentive to call Parliaments and instead was encouraged to exploit non-parliamentary sources of revenue according to his prerogative powers
• resulted in a vicious circle of frustration and mutual incomprehension between Crown and Parliament
• turned finance into the most vexatious issue of Jacobean parliamentary politics

Question 57

what was the issue of monopolies during the 1621 Parliament?

Answer 57

• As James’ financial position had deteriorated, he had increasingly granted monopoly rights to businessmen for a price
• by 1621, there were more than 100 monopolies
• MPs examined monopolies with James’ agreement

Question 58

how was the examination of monopolies used as a factional dispute?

Answer 58

• used as a factional dispute by Lionel Cranfield and the Lord Chief Justice Edward Coke to remove their rival, Lord Chancellor Francis Bacon
• Cranfield and Coke revived feudal device of impeachment, last used in 1450

Question 59

who was Lionel Cranfield?

Answer 59

• from a merchant background and made a member of Merchant Adventures in 1602
• rose to prominence through the patronage of Buckingham after the demise of the Howard faction
• became Lord Treasurer in 1621

Question 60

what were Cranfield’s aims?

Answer 60

• to amass as much money personally as possible
• to reform royal finances

Question 61

what would Cranfield need to achieve his aim of reform?

Answer 61

• raise the revenue of the king
• decrease James’ spending

Question 62

what was Cranfield’s incentive?

Answer 62

after Cranfield was appointed Master of the Wardrobe in 1618 it was agreed that if he could reduce costs from the existing £42,000, Cranfield could keep an additional saving

Question 63

how much financial reform did Cranfield bring?

Answer 63

• he soon made a profit of £7000
• the costs of the navy fell from £53,000 to £30,000
• the costs of ordinance (supply of weapons) fell from £34,000 to £14,000

Question 64

what were Cranfield’s measures?

Answer 64

• he called a halt to borrowing and the indiscriminate sale of Crown lands; tried to obtain as much as possible from existing revenue
• savagely cut the payment of gifts and pensions and made many enemies
• Cranfield obtained a Declaration from James in October 1622 that no grants of lands, pensions or allowances would be made without Treasury approval
• by 1623, the Bohemian crisis led James to spend lavishly on ambassadors and spies, the navy and mercenaries

Question 65

outline Cranfield’s fall from grace:

Answer 65

• Cranfield’s attempts to reform finances were blown in 1623 when Charles and Buckingham went to Madrid which cost £46,668
• when in 1624 opposed against war with Spain, Buckingham turned against him
• in May 1624, found guilty of corruption by the House of Lords

Question 66

what were the issues in the 1624 Parliament?

Answer 66

• finance remained an issue
• bad harvests in 1623 and 1624 further weakened the Crown’s finances

Question 67

what was the Subsidy Act of 1624?

Answer 67

• this act granted a subsidy of £300,000 to the Crown for warfare
• to gain the subsidy, the Crown agreed that the money would be used only for specified areas of foreign policy as supervised by parliamentary officials

Question 68

what was the Statute of Monopolies in 1624?

Answer 68

this act limited the Crown’s right to grant monopolies to individuals

Question 69

was there any reform to finances by the time James died?

Answer 69

• by the time James died in March 1625, there had been no systematic reform of Crown finances
• James’ extravagance made the financial position weaker than it had been in 1603
• Unable to obtain sufficient funds from Parliament to alleviate his financial situation, James became reliant on prerogative income such as impositions and monopolies
• the use of these income sources only increased tension with the Political Nation
• Crown and Parliament became caught amid distrust and vested interest, making financial reform politically impossible