The thorough - Personal Rule Flashcards
What is the thorough
The name given to a centralizing administrative policy developed and carried out by Wentworth and Laud during ‘personal rule’
Rigorous and uncompromising enforcement of law
Overall issue with the structure of government
There was very little communication between people governing localities
No liaising between bottom of structure
Charles has enhanced his power - he is in power of all industries - no one to represent interests of the people now parliament has been dissolved - dictatorship
Beliefs of Wentworth and Laud when imposing the thorough
- Believed should be rooted out of public life and order should be returned to the church and state
- Believed non-conformity was a challenge to the King’s authority
- Wanted royal officials to be held accountable for their actions in the king’s service
Argument that the privy council = absolutist
Their role was to support the monarch with advice by enacting the royal will back in their home regions
Provided him with a broad base of advice that would help him stay in touch with the political nation during his Personal Rule
How was the effectiveness of the privy council mitigated
Designed to give advice to the king and had 2 weekly sessions.
Between June 1630- June 1631 Earl of Manchester attended 89 times were as Charles only attended 3 times
Charles’ use of law courts = absolutist
Star chamber - Made up of privy councillors selected by the King - could remove cases and give them to the chamber to by pass common law
The court of high commission was designed to enforce conformity to common law
Counter argument for law courts = absolutist
The council of the north and the council of the welsh marshes functioned as prerogative courts. The leader of each Council acted as a regional governor, ensuring local officials carried out royal requirements effectively
The administrative government = absolutist
The book of orders - Jan 1631 - set out a significant reform of local government created by Earl of Manchester (Henry Montagu). - Aimed to maintain the King’s peace so communities could enjoy stability, rested on cooperation between local families and the king
Local government enforced royal prerogative - JPs to send monthly reports about their meetings to the sheriff
Regional prerogative courts
- 2 regional prerogative courts to impose control on the far reaches of England
- The council of the north: Dealt with/ enforced Royal policy against the powerful families of the north
- The council of the welsh marches: Initially created to protect the borders from the welsh, but no longer a threat, less important than council of the north
Counter argument for the administrative government = absolutist
Local government had some autonomy - orders were innovatory as they outlined new, more professional working practices for the JPs - JPs to convene a monthly meeting of enforcement officials
The book of orders 1631
Means of communication between Crown and local government
The 1631 Book set out significant reform for local government including: preventing vagrancy; allocating poor children to apprenticeships; employing the idle
Cabinet council compared to privy council
The cabinet council refers to indiviuals who Charles was even closer to where as privy council had authoirty to investigate any aspect of government business
Wentworth’s political history
Took an ambivalent approach to politics before 1629 - In 1628 was one of the more vocal supporters of the petition of rights but also led the movement for a compromise bill.
In 1629 he became privy councillor choosing to support the crown
Differences between Wentworth and Laud
Wentworth took an idealistic approach to the thorough whereas Laud was more pragmatic
Wentworth was aiming for perfection
Conformity vs contingency
Aims behind Wentworth’s policy
- Wanted corruption to be rooted out of public life and oder should be returned to church and state
- Non conformity was a challenge to the King’s authority that should be quashed
Reason’s why the thorough was being dismantled in the late 1630s
The Hampden Ship Money case had directly mobilised a significant network of Puritan gentlemen and was the main reason why general ship money receipts declined in the end of the 1630s
- The King’s circle of advisors shrunk, creating increasing alienation and therefore discontentment among his natural supporters in the gentry
- Although the efficiency of the thorough increased the King’s authority on a local level it provoked anger as it disrupted local communities and individuals who had benefitted from a lack of efficiency from government
Why were demands for the recall of the English Parliament becoming more popular
- The absence of parliament prevented the political nation from debating and expressing its collected will to the king
- The Thorough’s control over the regions meant conformity and accountability was being imposed onto those who would have previously had a political say
- The increasingly narrow court circles meant the nobility had lost their personal access to the monarch and therefore reverence diminished
Despite demands for the end of personal rule why did nothing come to fruition until 42
Despite much individual disquiet and some organised groupings, there was no assembled voices demanding that parliament should be recalled or the King’s power limited
