Stuart Britain - 1929-40 Personal Rule

Question 1

Crown and Parliment: Thorough

Answer 1

Wentworth and Laud top advisers - close attention to detail
Wentworth Lord Deputy of Ireland 1632
HM closer influence?? - unpop as catholic

Question 2

Crown and Parliment: Prerogative courts and bishops

Answer 2

Chancery, Star Chamber and regional councils depended on more
Laud dominates PC with Neile and Juxon
Court of High Commissiion extended to civil affairs
Juxon to Lord Tresurer 1635

Question 3

Crown and Parliment: Book of Orders

Answer 3

Jan 1631 - 314 books of instuctions sent to JP’s from PC - ie collections of poor rates, upkeep of roads, control of markets etc
Books reaction to threat of the mob - poor harvest = riots 1630/31
Helped with some problems, but only 1/10 submitted, later on ignored as depression passed and more pressing issues

Question 4

Crown and Parliment: Reform of Militia

Answer 4

1629 - attempt for reform - regular training and equipping - overseen by lords and deputy lieutenants
Failure as no urgency as no war - legal?? statues repealed allowing militias - failure in Bishops’ wars indicative of failure to reform

Question 5

Crown and Parliment: Failure to reform

Answer 5

No structural changes, apart from the little ones of books of orders and militira - 1635 - JP’s in ship money so no focus on orders, smae 1637 with Scottish wars
Resentment of Ruling Classes and preferential treatments - 1632 Star Chamber awards damages to Earl of Suffolk for enduring ‘undeferential behaviour’
Wentworth furthered his own interests against Sir John Savile
Anger against influence of episcopacy - and return to catholicism

Question 6

Financial Policy: Cutting Expenditure

Answer 6

Peace cuts costs - 1620’s £500,000 on military/navy 1635 £66,000
Royal Court Expenditures down 35%
Purveyance - right to purchase at reduced costs - saves £30,000 pa 30-35

Question 7

Financial Policy: Raising Ordinary Revenue

Answer 7

Up 25% to £600,000 1635
Feudal Duties: 1630 Distraint of Knighthood - to take title you had to pay - commission identifies those who don’t and fines - 9000 fined £174,000 raised
Courts of Wards and Liveries £17,000 1613 to £75,000 1636-41
Monopolies - renewed 1624 - C1 same monopolies resold eg License to East India Company resolt to Sir William Courten
1632 scandal with Popish Soap
Justice - London Buildings fined (scams), recusancy - 1630 £5000 1635 £27,000

Question 8

Financial Policy: Custom Duties and Crown Lands

Answer 8

Up to £358,000 1635
1630 T&P royal decleration allowing collection without parl
Impositions £53,000 pa 31-35, £120,000 pa 36-41
£650,000 made in sale of crown lands (long term loss)
1630 Commsision for Defective Titles new rents imposed and fines for illegal enclosures or encroachment on royal forests £40,000 (followed with 1634 judicial enquiry for forests, 1635 2nd commision of defective titles)

Question 9

Financial Policy: Ship Money

Answer 9

1634 - 40 £800,000
35 inland counties = wider tax base - levied on whole counties, fell to JP’s so administrative costs lower

Question 10

Financial Policy: Success?

Answer 10

1637 £1m annual revenue
crown jewels redeemed
Large debt no addressed - not enough money to fund a war

Question 11

Financial Policy: Opposition

Answer 11

Ship Money - fear of absolutism as a long term solution which did not require parl
However opposition dealt with - Hampden Court case - refusal to pay tax 1637 ruled in favour of king - he had right to command a levy - delay of payments but after resolution people paid
1639 income collapse and true opposition due to Scottish War - taxpayer strike 20% of expected returns 1639

Question 12

Religous Policy: Arminianism and Laud

Answer 12

Relgion - emphasis on beauty of holiness - appealed to C1
Politics - opposed calvinists in parl so tended to support royalty
Laud Thorough - obsessed with detailed- impatient and unable to work effectively with others - reacted badly to criticism of his low birth

Question 13

Religous Policy: Appointments

Answer 13

1632 Neile Archbishop of York
1633 Laud Archbishop of Canterbury, replaced by Juxon as Bishop of London

Question 14

Religous Policy: Foreign Catholics

Answer 14

NOT Catholic - Aug 1628 - Jesuits detained and those who recieved them punished
Recusancy - income £6000 31 to £32,000 40
Papal agents welcomed tho - Panzani 1634, George Con friends with C1
Marie de Medici HM mother from 1638
HM new chapel 1636 - 2000 catholics for opening

Question 15

Religous Policy: Laudian Reforms

Answer 15

Reduced importance of predestination
1633: bishops shoudl reside in dioceses, visit each parish every 3 years, send detailed reports to their Archbishops : focus on episcopal hierachy
Ritual emphasised - holy communion, Book of Common Prayer, kneeling, bowing towards altar
Preaching limited - avoiding contraversy and spread of ideas
Foxus of worship reversed - 1633 Book of Sports reissued lawful recreactions on Sunday
Beauty of Holiness - music, decoration

Question 16

Religous Policy: Opposition to reforms from low church

Answer 16

Predestination key to calvinism
uniform standars from above reflected claim of clergy as a powerful and distinct group with special status
Rituals and decoration encouraged supersition at expense of inner faith
Economic cost - refurb of churches expensive

Question 17

Religous Policy: Feoffees of Impropriations

Answer 17

Group of Puritan Latmen who set up a trust 1626 to buy impropriated parishes and use income to better educate preachers
Aquired 30 parished by dissolved by Laud 1633 - puritan focus
Concerning attack on property

Question 18

Religous Policy: Protestant Fear and Anger

Answer 18

Pushing of citizens to the margins of the religous spectrum
15,000 Migration to New World
Fear of Catholic Success in 30 Year War - repression of protestants in Europe and C1 attempting to be closer to europe’s catholics

Question 19

Religous Policy: Repression Examples

Answer 19

No parl to express oppositions
Bishops control and make sure reforms are respected
Defiance sent to prerogative court of high commission - censorship
1637 Burton Bastwick and Prynne - series of pamphlets attacking Laud, HM - sentenced to be pilloried, branded by Star Chamber
Shocking as they were gentlemen being treated like this

Question 20

Relgious Policy: The Coiled Spring

Answer 20

Pent up anger released
1640 - Pym speech Apr in short parl - concerns of trust and power placed in catholics
Dissolution of short parl May 1640
Continuation of convocation - etcetera oath - canons in 1640 - 6th canon = oath to never alter govt of church etcetc - ambiguity of oath raises fear of popish plot

Question 21

Religous Policy: Cause of Resentment??

Answer 21

Few religous protests before scottish troubles- not a cause of anger
Some serious concerns not voiced because of lack of parl - leading to coiled spring
Encouragement in belief of popish plot

Question 22

Foreign Policy: Wentworth financially in Ireland

Answer 22

Aim to make Irish govt independent financially
Book of Rates - income of customs doubles from £40,000 1633 to £80,000 1640
Irish Parl Subsidies - 6 1634-5, 4 in 1640
Commission of Defective Titles 1634 - enabled monarch to demand feudal dues

Question 23

Foreign Policy: Wentworth’s failed politics

Answer 23

Old English: Angered by selective graces - Wentworth only guaranteed right to own land to some Catholics (not in Connacht)
Protestant Plantation Policy - Policy of attracting Protestants from England to Ireland undermined Old English’s elite position- they were fined in Galway for not supporting a plantation
New English: Angered by Laudian Reforms, and Attack on corruption - Boyle Earl of Cork fined £15,000, Lord Mountnorris court martialled on trumped up charges due to a personal insult on Wentworth

Question 24

Foreign Policy: Wentworth alienates the City of London

Answer 24

Corporation of Landon received land in Londonderry for low rent - they didn’t attract migrants so were fined £70,000 - in 1639, they only gave £5000 to a desperate C1 for war as they were angry

Question 25

Foreign Policy: Scotland and Ireland

Answer 25

Scottish affairs worsened the Irish situation by:
Encouraging opposition (ie success of covenanting scots 1637 encouraged Irish and New English to challenge weak English control)
Power Vacuum after 1639 - repressive methods built up problems for future

Question 26

Foreign Policy: C1’s bad moves in Scotland

Answer 26

Attempts to unify Scottish and English Chruches - bishops back n Scotland, 1621 restablishment of English Prayer book order of service withdrawn due to fierce opposition
C1 High Handedness - only visited once 1633, ignored parl and only called once for 10 days, ignored Scottish PC

Question 27

Foreign Policy: Religous Reforms in Scotland

Answer 27

1636 Book of Canons reflected CofE traition not Scottish Calvinist one
1637 New Prayer Book angered scots as it included festivals, ornaments, was imposed without soncultation of Scottish Parl of Assembly of Kirk
Riots St Giles Cathedral - Jenny Geddes threw stool at bishop

Question 28

Foreign Policy: Further Scottish Religous Response –> War

Answer 28

National Covenant Feb 1638 - Scottish clergy and nobility draw up covenant to defend the kirk by force if necessary
C1 outraged and prepares for war - £200,000 released by treasuring
Glasgow Assembly Nov 1638 - Scottish Chruch leaders call for abolition of episcopacy
English preperations poor, half-hearted and militia unwilling

Question 29

Scotland: 1st Bishop’s War

Answer 29

No real military action as C1 realised he had no chance
Spring 1639 - C1 20,000 poorly prepard men vs committed Scots
Treaty of Berwick June 1639 - armies disbanded, scottish parl and general assembly called to negotiate
Scots aggressive as they had upper hand - Prayer Book and bishops abolished

Question 30

Scotland: Short Parl

Answer 30

C1 furious with scots so Wentworth recalled and convinced C1 to call parl for money for 2nd war
April - May 1640 - C1 speech too brief and too few concessions
Opposition and attacks of 11 years come out - ie Pym, Earl of Bedford, Lord of Saye and Sele, Nathaniel Fiennes
C1 dissolved Parl 5th May to prevent more opposition - but convocation = £20,000 pa for 6 years and new canons

Question 31

Scotland: 2nd Bishop’s War

Answer 31

Weak English army and poorly led by an ill Earl of Northumberland - catholic money borrowed and officers used - antagonising English protestants even more - complete failure
Treaty of Ripon Oct 1640 - English had to pay £850 a day for expenses of Scots - and army to remain until parl agreed long term peace

Question 32

Scotland: Impacts

Answer 32

Successful challenge gave English an example
English Purtians inspired as they see Scottish example - who were abolishing the episcopacy
Power to parl - Scots insisted on English parl and limits on C1