textbook detailed notes
,Theme 1: KQ1
Why did the monarchical government fail in the years 1625-49?
Monarchy in 1625
- The source of law and government was the monarch, deriving power from God
- The centre of political life was therefore the Royal court, made up of the monarch’s
friends, servants and associates, as well as some foreign ambassadors.
- Within this was an inner circle of close friends and advisors, known as the Privy Council,
whose members advised the monarch
- As head of the church of England, the king appointed the bishops and and archbishops
who controlled the lower clergy
- The church of england was a protestant church
- The institution of parliament played only a limited role in government
→ while its functions were important, its meetings were occasional and at the
discretion of the monarch
- Charles did not have an easy task when ascending to the throne in March 1625
- The main issue that faced Charles was the war with Spain that had been fought by his
father, James I
- Charles found an empty treasury and dwindling credit
- Charles moved to gain a loan from the city of London merchants of €60,000 but this was
not enough so he had to work with parliament
Disagreements with parliament
- Disagreements began when the commons refused to grant Charles the right to collect an
excise, Tonnage and Poundage, for life
- Instead, MPs suggested that a grant should be made for a year, so he would be forced
to call a parliament regularly
- The mood darkened when the new catholic queen, Henrietta Maria, arrived in England,
establishing her own court of royal advisors
- Meanwhile, Charles had shown more of his religious sympathies by promoting
Arminianism clergy in the church and offering a position at court to Arminians such as
Richard Montagu
- Additionally, the foreign policy failures mounted
- The planned war had led to conscription of troops and the forced billeting of troops in
people's houses, at a time when a serious outbreak of the plague had already disrupted
the economy
- In later 1625, a naval expedition was sent to attack the port of Cadiz in Spain
- Poorly trained and equipped, and badly led by Buckingham’s nominee, it failed
completely
- When the commons began discussing impeachment proceedings against Buckingham,
Charles hastily dissolved parliament
, The 1626 parliament and prerogative rule
- Charles’ decision to call another parliament in early 1626 indicates a serious lack of
awareness
- When parliament met, the issue of subsidies was set aside to launch an attack on
Buckingham
- An angry commons combined with the Lords, and court rivals whom Buckingham had
driven from office, to launch impeachment against him
- Forced to dissolve parliament without any grant of taxation in order to stop the process
of impeachment, Charles responded by demanding a forced loan from all taxpayers,
and this time any who refused payment were to be punished by being imprisoned or
conscripted to military service
- For many of the political nation, this was a direct challenge to the law and the existence
of parliaments, and some began to show their unhappiness
- In 1627, a group of 5 knights who had refused to pay their loan and been imprisoned
- They were refused the opportunity to go to court, because the king claimed a right to an
emergency power of arrest
- The result of the ‘Five Knights Case’ was a major confrontation in 1628, when Charles
summoned another parliament to provide funds for the now desperate need for national
defence
- The attack on Cadiz had been followed up by a further deterioration in relations with
other the other catholic power, France, in which Buckingham’s incompetence led to war
and a failed attempt to support a protestant rebellion in La Rochelle
- At war with both France and Spain, Charles had no choice but to seek further subsidies
- On one hand, the commons voted a total of 5 subsidies in taxation
- At the same time, they prepared a carefully ordered document, named the petition of
right, and offered it to the king, asking him to reverse the decision made in the Five
Knights Case
- They also demanded that, in future, citizens would not be asked to pay forced loans, no
martial law, imprisoned without trial or forced to provide free lodgings for soldiers
- After ending the session of parliament because of continuing complaints about
Buckingham and the promotion of Arminians in the church, Charles published a revised
version of the petition that asserted his right to continue collecting tonnage and
poundage without parliamentary grant
- Using the same justification of emergency powers in the national interest, he also
imprisoned any merchants who refused
- Appointed William Laud, a noted Arminian cleric, as bishop of London
- The Petition of right had briefly offered the opportunity for reconciliation between
Charles and Parliament, but the chance of this diminished rapidly as a result of his
actions
,Theme 1: KQ1
Why did the monarchical government fail in the years 1625-49?
Monarchy in 1625
- The source of law and government was the monarch, deriving power from God
- The centre of political life was therefore the Royal court, made up of the monarch’s
friends, servants and associates, as well as some foreign ambassadors.
- Within this was an inner circle of close friends and advisors, known as the Privy Council,
whose members advised the monarch
- As head of the church of England, the king appointed the bishops and and archbishops
who controlled the lower clergy
- The church of england was a protestant church
- The institution of parliament played only a limited role in government
→ while its functions were important, its meetings were occasional and at the
discretion of the monarch
- Charles did not have an easy task when ascending to the throne in March 1625
- The main issue that faced Charles was the war with Spain that had been fought by his
father, James I
- Charles found an empty treasury and dwindling credit
- Charles moved to gain a loan from the city of London merchants of €60,000 but this was
not enough so he had to work with parliament
Disagreements with parliament
- Disagreements began when the commons refused to grant Charles the right to collect an
excise, Tonnage and Poundage, for life
- Instead, MPs suggested that a grant should be made for a year, so he would be forced
to call a parliament regularly
- The mood darkened when the new catholic queen, Henrietta Maria, arrived in England,
establishing her own court of royal advisors
- Meanwhile, Charles had shown more of his religious sympathies by promoting
Arminianism clergy in the church and offering a position at court to Arminians such as
Richard Montagu
- Additionally, the foreign policy failures mounted
- The planned war had led to conscription of troops and the forced billeting of troops in
people's houses, at a time when a serious outbreak of the plague had already disrupted
the economy
- In later 1625, a naval expedition was sent to attack the port of Cadiz in Spain
- Poorly trained and equipped, and badly led by Buckingham’s nominee, it failed
completely
- When the commons began discussing impeachment proceedings against Buckingham,
Charles hastily dissolved parliament
, The 1626 parliament and prerogative rule
- Charles’ decision to call another parliament in early 1626 indicates a serious lack of
awareness
- When parliament met, the issue of subsidies was set aside to launch an attack on
Buckingham
- An angry commons combined with the Lords, and court rivals whom Buckingham had
driven from office, to launch impeachment against him
- Forced to dissolve parliament without any grant of taxation in order to stop the process
of impeachment, Charles responded by demanding a forced loan from all taxpayers,
and this time any who refused payment were to be punished by being imprisoned or
conscripted to military service
- For many of the political nation, this was a direct challenge to the law and the existence
of parliaments, and some began to show their unhappiness
- In 1627, a group of 5 knights who had refused to pay their loan and been imprisoned
- They were refused the opportunity to go to court, because the king claimed a right to an
emergency power of arrest
- The result of the ‘Five Knights Case’ was a major confrontation in 1628, when Charles
summoned another parliament to provide funds for the now desperate need for national
defence
- The attack on Cadiz had been followed up by a further deterioration in relations with
other the other catholic power, France, in which Buckingham’s incompetence led to war
and a failed attempt to support a protestant rebellion in La Rochelle
- At war with both France and Spain, Charles had no choice but to seek further subsidies
- On one hand, the commons voted a total of 5 subsidies in taxation
- At the same time, they prepared a carefully ordered document, named the petition of
right, and offered it to the king, asking him to reverse the decision made in the Five
Knights Case
- They also demanded that, in future, citizens would not be asked to pay forced loans, no
martial law, imprisoned without trial or forced to provide free lodgings for soldiers
- After ending the session of parliament because of continuing complaints about
Buckingham and the promotion of Arminians in the church, Charles published a revised
version of the petition that asserted his right to continue collecting tonnage and
poundage without parliamentary grant
- Using the same justification of emergency powers in the national interest, he also
imprisoned any merchants who refused
- Appointed William Laud, a noted Arminian cleric, as bishop of London
- The Petition of right had briefly offered the opportunity for reconciliation between
Charles and Parliament, but the chance of this diminished rapidly as a result of his
actions
