Very brief essay plans Flashcards
Early seventeenth-century monarchs had very limited powers. Asses the validity of this view.
ELI5: did early 1600s monarchs have power?
Although the monarchy had the powers like starting war or summoning parliament, their powers were at the root of parliament financing this
James show of no power
- Parliament only grant James £140,000 for thirty years war in 1621 war, as they wanted him to address their grievances
- In the Shirley’s Case 04’, Shirley abused his parliamentary privilege as MPs were immune from arrest while P was sitting. he was arrested and P put in a habeas corpus, claiming he cant be arrested due to privilege, he was then released
James show of power
- For instance, he dissolved the “Addled Parliament” in 1614 when it refused to grant him subsidies.
- James I authorized the translation of the Bible into English, resulting in the creation of the King James Version. This royal patronage demonstrated his power to influence religious matter
Charles show of no power
- Parliament granted him 2 small subsides and tonnage and poundage for 2 years, leading to the failure of the Cadiz expedition
- No tonnage and poundage
- 5 knights case resulted in the ruling that the King did not have the power to imprison individuals without lawful justification Habeas Corpus
Charles showed power
- his various ways of taxing the people, ship money, monopolies, forced loans
- Ability to dissolve parliament and go on his personal rule
- Ability to dissolve parliament after the 3 resolutions in 29’
“In religion, James was successful while Charles was a failure.” Assess the validity of this view from 1603 to 40.
ELI5: is it true James was better than Charles in terms of religion
James was more successful than Charles, as James was less provocative
James’ religious successes
- Hampton court conference and how it led to the King James bible
- Catholics, as well as other dissenters were relatively passive
James’ religious failures
- Bancroft Canons supressed puritan practices such as prophesying, leading to a wave of petitions from puritans
- Failure in Jacobethan balance with the gun powder plot in 05, Catholics hated him
Charles religious successes
- Able to uphold the divine right of kings till his death?
Charles’ religious failures
- Imposition of Laudianism caused Bishop Wars 39’
- Favouring of Arminanism and by co-signing Richard Montagu; allowing his anti calv publishes and making him royal Chaplin and bishop of Chichester in 28’.-=
Puritans had good reason to believe James and Charles were supporting Catholicism. Assess the validity of this view
Despite signs of the monarchs being against Catholicism, they showed various signs of that they were for it, so the statement is valid
James showing of Catholicism
- Bancroft Canons supressed puritan practices such as prophesying, leading to a wave of petitions from puritans
- James’ Spanish Match in 23’, a marriage between his son Charles and Maria Anna of Spain (Spain were Catholic)
- Securing peace with Spain
Charles showing of Catholicism
- Imposition of Laudianism caused Bishop Wars 39’
- Favouring of Arminanism and by co-signing Richard Montagu; allowing his anti calv publishes and making him royal Chaplin and bishop of Chichester in 28’.
(Arminanism is closest to Catholicism)
- He had a Catholic wife
James against Catholicism
- Collection of recusancy fines
- Oath of allegiance in 06’ forcing Catholics recusants to declare their allegiance to him not the Pope
Charles against Catholicism
- Ending war with France and Spain in 30
- Recusancy fines
- Engagement in the 30 years of wars, such as the failure of the Cadiz expedition
‘The personalities of the early Stuart monarchs were responsible for a breakdown in relations between Crown and Parliament in the years 1604 to 1629.’
Assess the validity of this view.
ELI5: The reason why parliament and monarch fought was because of their personalities
True but applying more to Charles
James for
point:
- James had an outgoing and fun nature, which can be reflected by his court, which was very open, with entertaining masques.
Evidence:
- James giving away money to his favourites, when given subsides by parliament, James would give it to his friends, such as giving £90,000 to Scots in gifts
- James’ ante suppers which cost 4 grand
- Parliament can be seen trying to impeach Buckingham in Charles 2nd parliament in 26’
James against
Point: Despite this, James’ pragmatist personality meant he was able to acknowledge changes were needed to be made
Evidence
- James employed financial advisor Robert Cecil, who reissued the book of rates to be inline with current inflation
Charles for
- He deeply believed in the divine right of kings, and had poor communication because of this, he felt as though he didn’t need to explain him self.
Evidence:
- In Charles very first parliament, he only was given small subside of 200k and tonnage and poundage for 2 years as he couldn’t explain properly why he needed the finances
- led to him failing in the Cadiz expedition
Charles against
Point:
- The breakdown of the church was rather parliaments fault, as they were radical in their nature trying to strip power away from the monarchy
Evidence:
- Parliament seeking to remove Charles powers in the petition of right, such as premovement of arbitrary taxation, forcing Charles to be dependent on Parliament
How significant were religious divisions to political instability in the years 1640 to 1660
For:
- The outbreak of the civil war was due to religious reasons
Evidence
- The Parliamentarians, largely composed of Puritans and other dissenting groups, fought against the Royalists, who supported the Anglican establishment and defended the authority of the king
Against:
- the political instability of 1640 to 1642 focused on constitutional elements of Charles’ use of his
prerogative, such as the Militia
Evidence
The Militia Ordinance In 1642, Parliament passed the Militia Ordinance, which sought to transfer control of the militia from the king to Parliament. This move was a direct challenge to Charles I’s prerogative power
For
- he political tensions between the New Model Army and Parliaments was linked to their differing perceptions of religious toleration
Evidence
- During the Putney Debates in 1647, the Levellers and other factions within the New Model Army expressed their frustrations with Parliament’s failure to address their demands for religious freedom and toleration
Against
- the failure of settlement in the years 1646 to 1649 was linked to political division between the
different groups and increasingly between Parliament and the New Mode
Evidence
- Diggers told the low rank officers they’d be sol short in the settlement, leading to political instability
‘The Restoration Settlement was a failure.’
Assess the validity of this view of the years 1660 to 1685.
For
- The limited constitutional arrangement at the Restoration that meant a continued tension in the Crown-Parliament relationship
Evidence
- The exclusion crisis can be seen as evidence of a struggle between Parliament’s desire for influence and the king’s prerogative powers.
Against
- Charles’ pragmatic dealing with the immediate issues he faced at the Restoration,
Evidence
things listed in the declaration of Breda such as paying the army their arrears, allowing those who killed his dads
For
- the failure to provide a religious settlement, for example like Catholics
Evidence
- The Popish Plot of 1678, a conspiracy that alleged a Catholic plot to assassinate Charles II
- The Test Acts of 1673 and 1678 excluded Catholics from public office by requiring individuals to take oaths denying Catholic beliefs
Against
- Charles’ achieved his main aim
evidence
- getting his way in the exclusion crisis?
IGNORE
How far was the growth of political and religious radicalism in the years 1640 to 1660 due to the breakdown of authority in State and Church
For
- limits of authority during time of war allowed development of radical groups like the Levellers and Diggers
Evidence
- Levellers told low rank officers that they’d be sold short in the settlement, leading to in balance
- leading to Putney debates and agreement of people (the request of a more democratic system)
Against
- the influence of the New Model Army as a source of radicalism through millenarian officers,
regimental chaplains, prayer meetings
To what extent was Charles II personally responsible for the success of the Restored Monarchy in the years 1660 to 1681?
For:
Charles’ flexibility in his religious and political views allowed him to manage the different groups and problems he faced across the period
Evidence:
- Allowing the test act of 73’ which was against Catholics, but was against the exclusion crisis
Against
- It wasn’t even him who issued these things, it was the help of his ministers
Evidence
- shown by the Clarendon Code, the 1673 Test Act.
For
- Charles II displayed political astuteness and pragmatism throughout his reign. He adeptly navigated the complexities of the Restoration period.
Evidence:
- his diplomatic efforts, such as the Treaty of Dover with France, showcased his ability to secure alliances and financial support, contributing to his success, especially in the exclusion crisis where parliament would not vote subsides if he didn’t accept it the exclusion
Against
Therefore it was not his doing, if he hadn’t of had the help of Louis XIV, he’d be in trouble as he’d have no funds
Evidence
- Louis XIV was able too fund him in key moments when parliament would not give him money
The triumph of the Political Nation over absolute monarchy.
For
- measures taken by Parliament illustrated the influence of the Political Nation
Evidence
- Settlement Act of 01’ meant the Monarch’s advisors must be accepted by the political nation, permission of the monarch to declare war on non English states
- Disbanding Bill reduced kings army to 70,000
- Place Bill removed foreigners from kings advisors
Against
- The monarchy was never absolutist, parliament always held some power
- The Glourious revolution can be seen as a coup, a revolution from the top
Evidence
- Powers they held like with finances, every monarch had to rely on parliament
- James ii was forced out after the birth of his 2nd son, in which parliament were scared of a catholic succession
To what extent did James I’s favourites undermine his relationship with his Parliaments
in the years 1604 to 1625?
For
- Buckingham was an issue with regard to monopolies in the 3rd Parliament.
- Buckingham was an issue in the 4th Parliament with regard to the tension over the direction of foreign policy after the Madrid Trip
Against
- Issues like finance were at root; Buckingham only done monopiles because James needed a way of making money
- Parliament were mad at James for his conspicuous spending with the ante suppers or giving subsides to friends.
‘In the years 1660 to 1678, Charles II dealt with religious issues more successfully than Oliver Cromwell had done as Lord Protector in the years 1653 to 1658.’
Assess the validity of this view.
Charles ii for:
- the removal of potential leaders of religious radicalism as part of the show trials of 1660, e.g Thomas Harrison who was a fifth monarchist
- Charles II’s pragmatic agreement to Clarendon Code which included the conventicle act, file mile etc
Cromwell for
- Dealt with religious radicals who posed a threat like Biddle who denounced holy trinity
- Act of Toleration in 1650
Charles ii against
- Declaration of Indulgence in 1672 was a failure, trying to secure freedom of religion for Catholics, caused tension and was rejected by parliament
Cromwell against
- Quaker fears of 58’
- Cromwell didn’t truly deal with Quaker issues of toleration. While Cromwell was in rule they gained a lot of toleration through the Instrument of Government which was established freedom of consciences
- but when he died there were fears that Charles would persecute them, and he did with the The Quaker Act of 1662
To what extent was Charles I’s character and views the main reason for his failures as king in the years 1625 to 1646?
For
- deep belief in divine right of kings and his insecurities meant he didn’t feel the need to explain himself properly, not allwoing him to get finances
- for example in his first parliament in 25’ he asked parliament for funds for his Cadiz expedition
- he didn’t explain himself properly and was given 2 small subsides and tonnage and poundage for 2 years
- the expedition failed
against
- No monarch could have been successful, inheriting a debt of over 900k from his dad, the country was economically poor with substantial inflation
- for e.g the population of the country grew by 25% in the last 50 years, thus demand outstripped supply
For
Charles inflexibility can be seen with him rejecting settlement, with the four bills, which consequently closed any chance of him being successful
- he said “Without me you fail”.
Against
- Demands were unreasonable, and clearly a disrespect to his authority, they included biennal parliaments, parliamentary control of the army
- he only lost the war because of a lack of resources not due to his own failures as a leader
‘Charles II’s successes, in the years 1660 to 1681, were due to his own political skills rather than the work of his ministers
For
- Charles dealt with issues immediately such as the paying army their arrears, indemnities, attempts religious expansion and such
Against
- Clarendon was key in providing the stability needed in the first seven years of Charles’ reign to establish a working relationship with the Political Nation
For
-He showed his political astuteness by securing funds from Louis XIV in the treaty of dover and didn’t need to accept the exclsion
Against
- The declaration of Breda was written up by advisors such as Edward Hyde
- Danby helped with finances such as withdrawal from Dutch war, and helping customs revenues
