Long Parliament and the outbreak of Civil War (Nov. 1640 - Aug. 1642) Flashcards
When does the first session of the Long Parliament begin and end?
November 1640 - August 1641
What, in general, did Parliament expect from the Long Parliament?
Parliament had significant leverage over Charles, and expected:
- Political reform
- Religious reform
- Curbing of Charles’ royal prerogative
- Opposition to the ‘evil counsellors’ (Laud and Wentworth)
What was the English Triennial Act, when was it passed, and under what Parliament?
English Triennial Act - February 1641 (Long Parl.)
- Limited royal prerogative by requiring that Parliament meet for at least a fifty-day session once every three years
> If the King failed, the Lords could assemble and issue writs for the election of the Commons
What was the Tonnage and Poundage Act, when was it passed, and under what Parliament?
Tonnage and Poundage Act (June 1641) regulates taxation
> Long Parliament (first session)
What was abolished in July 1641?
Prerogative courts abolished
What was forbidden without Parliamentary consent in August 1641 (three things)?
Ship Money forbidden without Parliamentary consent, as well as distraint of knighthood and the Forest Act declared unlawful.
By August 1641, what had the Long Parliament effectively achieved?
Succeeded in its aim of peacefully dismantling the Personal Rule
- Prerogative income was limited so that Charles could not be financially independent
- Prerogative courts were abolished so Charles could not use power arbitrarily to intimate and silence opposition
- ‘Evil counsellors’ had been impeached or executed
- Triennial Act prevented a Personal Rule for longer than 3 years
- By May 1641, over half the Privy Council from the previous year had been imprisoned, exiled or disgraced.
Who was John Pym?
Pym was a Puritan driven by religious fanaticism
- Death of the moderate Earl of Bedford allowed Pym to become the undisputed leader of Parliamentary opposition to Charles.
What did Pym argue against in terms of Charles’ rule?
Pym argued against…
Religious policy
Taxation
Use of prerogative courts
Accused Charles of:
causing war with Scotland
absolutist rule in Ireland,
attacked the plan of the use of the Irish army to restore order in England.
What did Pym want for Parliament, and who was he supported by?
Pym wanted Parliament to have the power; he initiated the legal attacks on Strafford and Laud
Pym was supported by Hampden, Haselrig, Vane and St John.
Who were the most influential members of opposition in 1641?
Pym
Hampden
Haselrig
Vane
St John
+ (in the lords)
Lord Saye and Sele
Earl of Essex
Lord Brooke
What was the Root and Branch Bill, when was it signed and who introduced it?
Abolishing episcopacy from the ‘roots’ and in all its ‘branches’
- Introduced by Cromwell, Vane and St John)
> In Parliament they could not reach a consensus on radical religious reform, the debate went on and on and divided Parliament.
> The Bill was defeated in August 1641 - Parliament did however decide to exclude the bishops from the House of Lords in December 1641 in the Bishops Exclusion Act (took effect Feb 1642).
What was the Ten Propositions and when was it signed?
Ten Propositions (June 1641)
- Accepted by both the Lords and the Commons, defining Parliament’s negotiating position in any discussion on a settlement.
> Included contentious clauses placing limitations on royal prerogative, like control of Henrietta Maria, Parliament choosing the King’s counsellors, and that Parliament have control over the religious education of royal children.
What does Charles do inbetween the two sessions of the Long Parliament, which heightens tensions?
Charles travels to Scotland, agreeing to a settlement which withdrew earlier Laudian reforms, and agreed to the re-establishment of a Presbyterian Church without episcopacy.
- English Parliamentarians feared this could be bad for them (they now feared Charles might raise an army to march south on Parliament)
What was ‘The Incident’, when was it, and what did it demonstrate?
‘The Incident’ (October 1641)
- Royalist plot led by Charles’ ally, James Graham to kidnap a group of Scottish nobles who were key Covenanters.
> Instead of reducing the influence of these nobles and disrupting the Covenanters, the plot was discovered.
> Once again, Charles demonstrated he could not be trusted. Charles had hoped he would return from Scotland in a much stronger position.
What erupted in October 1641?
Irish Rebellion
Why did the Irish Rebellion erupt, and what were the aims of the rebellion?
‘Old Irish’, and the ‘Old English’ were united by their Catholicism, and by the threat that was posed to them by Protestant settlers of English and Scots stock.
- Encouraged by Charles’ difficulties in England and Scotland, the rebellion began as an attempted coup d’état - its aim was to seize control of the English administration in Ireland to force concessions for Catholics.
Why were Parliament conflicted on their response?
Parliament was conflicted and further divided on how to respond.
> As fervent anti-Catholics, they wished to see the rising put down – but they didn’t know what to do.
> Should they allow the King control of the army that would be needed to successfully put down the Irish Rebellion?
Who did the Irish Rebellion further radicalise, and why?
The rebellion further radicalised the Puritan faction in Parliament (the radical opposition); evidence of a ‘Popish Plot’.
What question did the Irish Rebellion directly pose?
The Irish rebellion directly posed the question of who should have control over the armed forces – the King, or Parliament?
- Parliament was scared that Charles would use the army against Parliament after containing the Irish Rebellion.
What did the Irish Rebellion escalate into, and who finally ended it, and when?
The uprising escalated into the eleven-year Confederate War that was finally brought to an end with Oliver Cromwell’s subjugation of Ireland in 1649-53.
When was the second session of the Long Parliament?
October 1641 - August 1642
What, in general, happened during the second session of the Long Parliament?
- Opposition programme became more radical, demanding fundamental constitutional changes
- A Royalist party begins to emerge
England drifts to civil war
What was the Grand Remonstrance?
Pym demanded radical constitutional changes; parliamentary control of the King’s ministers, bishops excluded from the Lords, and the root and branch reform of the Church.
