Stuarts - Chapter 3: Finances Flashcards
What were the key financial issues when James became King in 1603?
- PN were undertaxed
- Crown income was falling due to a poor financial system
- Heavy Debt from Elizabeth I
- Due to a century of inflation, crown expenditure was rising
Why was there tension between the king and parliament over finance?
Parliament wanted to prevent King becoming self sufficient and absolute by limiting his power. Furthermore, as Parliament has to pay for the subsidies personally they would often choose minimal subsidies.
What was impact of Treaty of London(1604) on finance?
Less money was spent on the war with Spain so significantly more money is available
Why would the Antesupper cause tension and what was it?
Antesupper was when the court prepared 2 feasts and threw one out as a show of extravagance, this caused tension with the PN as they were the ones who got taxed
What was the Cockayne Project (1614) and why was it a bad idea?
Where the crown granted monopolies, this was a bad idea as the cloth trade monopoly meant there was no competition so prices were high, therefore the Dutch won’t buy cloth and so caused a cloth trade slump
How did the Subsidy act (4th Parliament - 1624) limit James I’s power?
It meant James had to be supervised on what subsidies would be spent on to get them and they must be used for war
How did the Statute of monopolies (4th Parliament - 1624) limit James’ power?
The king can no longer grant monopolies so the king has less revenue and more restrictions
Did the Book of Bounty (1608) improve finance and what was it?
The Book of Bounty was a survey of crown land that Cecil used to revise the leasing policy of the lands to make money from the land, it was effective but James kept giving away the Crown lands undoing Cecil’s work so he had to resort to short term ways of generating finance like selling Crown lands
When was Cecil Lord High Treasurer?
1608-1612
How did Cecil attempt to cut royal spending 1608-9?
James promised Cecil he’d stop giving off land to his courtiers and not grant pensions as gifts without Cecil’s permission
How did the Book of Rates (1608) improve finance? (How did it threaten Parliament?)
Cecil revised the Book of Rates which listed the official value of items you can pay customs duties on so more tax was paid and equally
(The revenue made = Parliamentary subsidy so this threatened Parliaments rights)
How did the creation of knighthoods increase revenue short term and lose revenue in the long term?
When James first became king he gave out knighthoods to make money but devalued the title as a result, so in 1611 handed out ‘baronet’ title but this was devalued over time too
1611=£1095, 1622=£220
What was Cecil’s Great Contract of 1610?
Cecil wanted a £600,000 subsidy as expenditure was high and the crown was in serious debt, this was granted by Parliament in exchange for the King’s wardship right (land inherited by >21 under King’s control) and another £200,000 subsidy for some feudal rights ( gave up right to pass impositions (tax to levy on imports)
What did Cranfield do 1618-25 to reduce Crown spending?
He reduced the spending of the royal household, navy etc. but these savings weren’t a permanent solution
Why did Charles carry out the forced loan of 1626?
Charles needed money to fund a war with Spain and France, he tried to get money from Parliament but he was only granted the power to collect tonnage and poundage for 1 year (normally monarch allowed to collect for reign)
