Stuarts 1625-1701-Politics Flashcards
Religious causes 1625-29
P1-Charles marriage
P2-Abbot
Charles married Henrietta Maria, a French Catholic princess in 1624. In 1625 he appointed Montagu, an Arminian, as royal chaplain. 1625-26 invited Laud, an Arminian, to preach at the opening ceremonies of parliament (which is puritan at this point).
1627 Archbishop Abbot is suspended for refusing to licence a sermon by an anti-Calvinist. 1628 Laud becomes Bishop of London. 1629 parliament protested over Arminianism and intruding Catholicism.
Financial Causes-1625-1629
P1-Limits by house of commons
P2-Distraint of knighthood
P3-Five knights case
The House of Commons limits its authorisation for the collection of tonnage and poundage to a year. Charles continued to collect the duties anyway. Charles, to fund the war, imposed a ‘forced loan’, a tax without parliamentary consent.
Charles resurrected the ‘Distraint of Knighthood’, a long-forgotten law that required a man who earned more than 40 a year to be present at the coronation. Charles back fined everyone who had not attended his coronation.
In November 1627 the test case ‘Five Knights’ Case’ found that the king had a prerogative right to imprison without trial those who refused to pay the forced loan. When parliament was summoned again in 1628, they adopted a Petition of Right, calling Charles not to levy taxes without parliament’s consent, impose martial law on civilians, and imprison without due process. Charles assented but by the end of June he prorogued Parliament and continued to collect customs duties without authorisation.
Prerogative
P1-Buckingham and HOC response
P2-Buckingham death
Buckingham, Charles’ favourite, leads a disastrous naval expedition against Spain, and the HoC(house of commons) begins proceedings to impeach him. May 1626, Charles nominated him Chancellor of Cambridge University in a show of support and had two members of parliament, who had spoken against him, arrested. Commons was outraged and both were eventually released. Commons launched an official protest in June, instead of dismissing his friend, Charles just dismissed parliament. Buckingham was then involved in another disastrous expedition at La Rochelle in 1627.
Buckingham was assassinated in 1627, crowds celebrate in London. Charles was not happy. Implicitly blamed parliament. 1629 Parliament criticised the customs officers who had seized merchants’ goods and Charles dissolved parliament. The king ordered the arrest of a number of MPs on charges of treason, wanted to try them in a Court of Star Chamber, Privy Council advised against this, but parliament protested over their arrest anyway.
Cause of Problems 1629 - 1641 (Charles, religious)
P1-Book of common prayer
P2-Scotlands response to book
P3-Newcastle
P4-Catholic sympathies+ Catholic uprising
Presbyterianism is where the church is ruled by a group of elected elders or presbytes. Charles, in 1637, attempted to order a Book of Common Prayer (book everyone forced to use) to be used in Scotland.
February 1638, representatives from all sections of Scottish society agreed on a National Covenant, pledging resistance to religious intervention. Leads to the First Bishops War (1639) and Second Bishops War (1640).
After the second, the Scots take Newcastle. Charles was forced to pay 850 daily to ensure they didn’t advance any further, forcing him to call parliament.
Suspicions over Charles’ Catholic sympathies (he had married a Catholic), led to rumours that he was part of the Irish rebellion. Felim O’Neill issued the Proclamation of Dungannon(1641), claiming he had the king’s authorisation to rise in defence of the Crown and the Catholic religion.
Cause of Problems 1629 - 1641 (Charles, finance)
P1-Financial policies enforced
P2-Hampden case plus short parliament
Unpopular financial policies during personal rule. Extended the Ship Money tax from the coast to all parts of Britain, and changed it from a wartime to a peacetime tax. Collected 800,000 1634-40. Very unpopular.
In 1636 John Hamden refused to pay, narrowly upheld in Charles’ favour in a court decision. When Short Parliament is called in 1640 they demand that Ship Money be made illegal, angers Charles, he dissolves the parliament.
Cause of Problems 1629 - 1641 (Charles, divine right)
P1-Short parliament length
P2-Charles Impeachment proceedings on parliament
When the Short Parliament protested in 1640 against ship money and church policy he dissolved it in anger after three weeks.
Charles orders the House of Lords to begin impeachment proceedings against Viscount Mandeville and 5 other MP’s (Pym and Hampden)
Charles appeared at the House of Commons with a warrant of arrest of MP’s, accompanied by 300 armed guards: the members had been warned in advance—took refuge in London (absent on that day) convinced everyone he was a tyrant
Cause of Problems 1629 - 1641 (parliament) P1-Parliament impeachment proceedings P2-Charles agreements to proceedings P3- Act of attainder P4- Ten propositions
November 1640: begin impeachment proceedings against Laud and Strafford.
Charles agreed to remove bishops from the Privy Council, reducing their role in administration and government
Triennial Act: made provision for parliament to be assembled at least once every three years, even if not called by the monarch (Charles agreed with obvious reluctance and resentment—raised fears that he may later seek to reverse the decision and possible punish those he deemed responsible)
Act of Attainder is passed against Strafford, he is condemned to death, passed in the HoC 204 votes to 5. Pym is decisive in stirring up fears by revealing a plot to dissolve the HoC and release Strafford. Strafford was executed.
Ship Money was made illegal. Star Chamber and the High Commission were abolished, which limited his prerogative legal power.
Ten Propositions: a petition to the king from both Houses of Parliament, they ask him to delay his return to Scotland, to remove Catholic priests from the Queen’s service; to allow parliament to choose and suggest his advisors. Charles refused and went to Scotland.
1642-1649
Cause of Problems 1642-49 (Charles)
P1-Newcastle propositions+ other parliament propositions
P2-Charles betrayal
Charles turned down the Newcastle Proposition (1646), Heads of the Proposals (1647) and the Four Bills (December 1647), and rejected negotiations for a different church structure that might have reached a compromise, turning religious radicals against him.
In 1647, rather than negotiating with Parliament, he went behind their back and allied with the Scots, causing the army to decide that he could not be trusted, and leading to his execution.
Cause of Problems 1642-49 (parliament)
P1-Charles betrayal 2 + money owed to New Model Army
P2-Pym and the scots
Parliament was divided, allowing Charles to undermine them in negotiations. By March 1647 the New Model army was owed more than 3 million in unpaid wages.
Pym had signed the Solemn League and Covenant with the Scots, where they got Scottish help in return for promising a Presbyterian system.
Arguably this was too extreme of a settlement to demand of Charles and it split parliament, as many did not want the Scottish version of the church.
Cause of Problems 1642-49 (army)- P1-ungovernable NMA P2-Charles caught P3-proposals+king dead P4-Prides purge
New Model Army(NMA) became more radical, site of Levellers, Diggers, Fifth Monarchists. 250 Leveller pamphlets 1645-49. Saw themselves as divinely favoured, because of successive victories. Refused to disband when parliament ordered them to in 1647.
Seized Charles in June reducing the possibility of settlement and dividing the negotiating basis of parliament.
When Charles rejects the proposals and sides with the Scots, the army hold a 3 day prayer meeting at Windsor, at which they declare the king was challenging God’s judgement.
NMA carried out Pride’s Purge, 47 MPs arrested, leaving those that would vote for the execution of Charles.
1649-1660- Oliver Cromwell
Instability 1649-60 (Cromwell)
P1-actions in Ireland + Dissolving of first rump parliament
P2-Nominated Assembly(Barebones)
P3-Lord protector and instrument of gov
P4-Cony case+ dissolving of the first protectorate
Cromwell’s actions in Ireland: storm of Drogheda involved the massacre of 2,000, including 150 parliamentarians.
Cromwell intervenes, and does not allow the Rump to hold elections without screening to exclude disaffected candidates (Rump had wanted free elections).
Cromwell dissolved them, passing power to himself and the Council of Officers. This proves to create an unstable government, and the Nominated Assembly splits between religious radicals and moderates. Moderates vote to dissolve the assembly against the wishes of the radicals, transferring power back to Cromwell.
He became Lord Protector in 1653. Backed by a constitutional document, the Instrument of Government, which defined the powers of the Protector, the Council of State and Parliament. Cromwell institutes an ordinance (IoG allows him to do) on taxing wine, a merchant George Cony refuses because parliament had not ratified the document.
Cromwell order Cony imprisoned, arrested two judges who had questioned the authority of the Instrument. This caused the resignation of the Lord Chief Justice Rolle. Cromwell intervened by dissolving the parliament under the First Protectorate due to the protests and attempts to amend the constitution in January 1655.
Instability 1649-60 (army)
P1-Leveller ideas + pamphlets+ demands of NMA
P2-Payment of army
P3-Major Generals +Richard short-lived rule
P4-Committee of safety
Army influenced by Leveller ideas. Lilburne was important in spreading these ideas through pamphlets, which attacked Cromwell and Ireton. April 1649 300 infantrymen refused to serve in Ireland unless their demands were met. In London, in the same month, soldiers refuse to leave London, this triggers a huge demonstration when a leader Robert Lockyer is hanged. Lilburne is tried for his pamphlets, but acquitted due to popular demonstrations.
Payment for the army causes increased taxation, which spreads antipathy for the new government. In November 1650, the Rump raised the monthly assessment to its highest-ever level.
Major-Generals August 1655 to January 1657 leads to issues. They were heavy handed in enforcing laws against brothels, gaming houses. The MG disrupted the local government system of JPs.
When Cromwell’s son, Richard abdicated, the army restored the Rump. The army petitioned for reforms, and when nine leading army officers were dismissed, used force to end the sitting of parliament.
A Committee of Safety made up of the leading officers and their civilian associates took over responsibility for governing the country, but there was increasing resistance to its directives in the localities.
Instability 1649-60 (religion) P1-Different church structure Anglicanism,Congregationalism,presbyterians P2-rump and Nominated assembly P3-First protectorate+Naylor P4-second rump
Anglicanism: King at the head of the Church, hierarchical, monarchist, stress uniformity and institutionalisation of practice.
Congregationalism: church services do not need to occur in an institutional context, they do not need bishops, archbishops, uniform prayer books.
Presbyterians: the church is governed by a council of elected elders of presbytes.
Rump: The Act against Blasphemous Opinions: roughly 50 people were executed according to its terms.
Nominated Assembly: dissolves because of disagreements over tithes. Radicals want no more tithes. This concerned moderates who thought it would undermine the social order. They dissolved the assembly in 1653.
First Protectorate: National Church that was set up endorsed freedom of worship for all except Catholics and Anglicans.
Major-Generals: Naylor re-enacted Christ’s entry into Jerusalem. MP’s demanded that he be stoned to death. Cromwell intervened, he was sentenced to whipping in the streets.
1659: Monck, a Presbyterian favouring a national Church, was alarmed by the Rump government, which had been taken over by the army, instigate the return of Charles II
