Wentworth Flashcards
Foundation of wentworth
-began as an mp for Yorkshire and a fierce opponent to the crown and Buckingham.
-He was removed as an mp by being placed as a sheriff and in 27 was arrested for refusal to pay the forced loan.
-However by 28 he had been appointed president of the council of the north and thus became a fervent servant of the king and a trusted advisor. -Nicknamed ‘grand apostate’
Why did wentworth become ‘the apostate’
- he hated Buckingham as the instigator of the foreign policy and thus would attack any crown requests for money, in 28 at buckinhams assassination he realised his cause for opposition (the France/spain war) was aliviated.
- He was not a puritan and thus wasn’t so anxious about Charles’s toleration.
-He championed a more moderate version of the petition of right and though he put his name to the final petition he spoke on his belief of the rights of kings.
Laud and wentworth
-very similar aims as servants of the crown, encapsulated by their term ‘thorough.’
-Both loved attention to detail, conformity and order which belongs to the sovereign and the state.
-They both used public officials such as sheriffs and JPs in order to monitor the actions of royal officials and the general public.
Wentworths stance on the right of kings
-he states in his opening speech as lord president of the council of the north, that he feels ‘the kings authority is a keystone that holds together the Arch of order and goverment’ thus with the monarchy nit seen as centeral, the entire of society will fall
Policies of wentworth
-embodied thorough and approached his policies with heavy duty and efficiency.
- Insisted on conformity to the 31 book of orders. I
-n doing this improved lives for the poor through provisions and abolisition of illegal evictions of poor farmers.
Downside of wentworths ‘thorough’ policies
-the north was not used to a central government control and powerful northern gentries resented him.
-Very blunt and authoritarian communication offended gentry families.
-He became very auathoritian in the sense he viewed any attacks on his person as disloyalty to the king
- would use his council as a prerogative court to enforce submission.
Henry bellaisis case
- taken to court by wentworth as a wealthy gentry heir due to the fact he did not remove his hat or stop speaking for him.
-He was sentenced to a month imprisonment after refusing to write a letter of apology.
Foulis family case
-wentworth took sir David fouillis and his son to court after they had accused him of collecting distraint of knighthood fees for himself.
-Hugely inflencuial family.
-Wentworth charged them with slander.
Why was wentworth promoted to Irish governor
-1633.
-Became lord deputy.
-because of his good services in the north
- also because he was never a PERSOANL fav of Charles so was kept at arms length.
Wentworths goals in Ireland
-previous lord deputies had been from Irish families but wentworth had no afficliations
-like the north, felt he had to bring order to the whole of society with no favouritism
-He wanted laudian religious uniformity and conformity.
- he wanted to make Ireland profitable for the king.
Imposition of political/soverign authority on Ireland
-deployed very trusted advisors across Ireland eg cousin Philip mainwaring.
-Suppression of critics.
- High profile targets selected eg death sentence imposed on lord mountnorris who had tried to organise opposition.
Problems with imposing soverign authority
-alienated any Irish political elite through deployment of the English elite.
- Destabilised the balanced factional policies and united dALL of the Irish against the crown.
- Particular upset to the old English elite of whom their leaders had been targeted.
Attempts to impose laudian authority on Ireland
-1634
-39 laudian articles introduced to the Irish church.
-New Irish court of high commission made as enforcers.
-Juries in courts pressured to support church in church/land disputes.
Problems with imposing laudian authority
- landowners, new English elite particularly, were alienated by losing land in church/land courts.
- Earl of cork lost land he’d taken from the church.
-Protestant Irish and the Scottish Presbyterians who had sett;ed were angered by the articles as they saw it as quasi cathlocism.
-Even Irish/old English cathlocis felt forced into uniformity.
Ways wentworth made Ireland ‘profitable’
-book of rates reissued made customs between 33-40 double.
-1634 parliament forced to vote six subsidies.
-70k fine on the city of London for neglect.
- Revival of fiscal feudalism for example 1634 statute enforced stopped heirs from avoiding inheritance tax.
Problems with making Ireland ‘profitable’
-merchants and traders had to pay loads in customs.
-Offended the elite as new rules went against the graces.
- Fiscal feudalism put financial burden on the elite as well and created a sense of corruption.
The graces
- 1628 agreement to smooth Irish parliemtary conflict.
- Parliament would give 3 subsidies per annum.
-In res[pnse the deputy would: garuantee land titles, relax attacks on cathlocism and not collect recusancy fines.
Wentworth and the graces
-wentworth did not honour the graces
- this angering the old English/irish cathlocis who made up the elite due to his lack of toleration and authoritarian character.
- He held a first parliamentary sessopm to vote 6 subsidies (rather than three) and then refused to hold a second to address the graces.
Reasons for delayed uprising against wentworth
-it took time for each ethnic faction to unite against a common enemy.
-They had to accept they would not be able to convert him to their faction.
-He was authoritarian and frightening having swiftly suppressed critics and opposition eg cork and mountnorris.
Why the Irish rebellion occurred
-after he left in 39 he had changed the leading factors so he was the sovereign and there was a vacuum that created a struggle for dominance internally.
-The heavy settlement policies which separated ethnitiices were not bridagble.
Charlses oppression of the English gentry
-his dissolution of parliament had alienated and silenced the political nation.
-Thorough regional control meant that gentry could not dissent in their localities especially due to reformation of the JPs.
-Charlses inner sanctum was incredibly small, the nobility lost any personal access to the sovereign.
