Charles I
The Personal Rule, 1629-40
- Charles dissolved Parliament on 10th March 1629. He did not call another
one for 11 years, making clear his distaste for dealing with Parliament and
his belief that the royal prerogative allowed him to rule and to raise
money without it.
Why did Charles resort to a Personal Rule?
- The Three Resolutions – March 1629
- The Forced Loan- 1626-7
- Failure at La Rochelle- July 1627
- The Duke of Buckingham 1625-1628
- The rise of William Laud
- 1625 Parliament- T&P
- 1628 Parliament- Petition of Right
- Charles’ personality/DRoK/Royal Prerogative
- Charles attempts to purge Parliament of opposition 1625-1626
- The Petition of Right – June 1628
- The Five Knights Case – November 1627
- Failure at Cadiz – November 1625
- Charles marries Henrietta Maria – May 1625
- The rise of more radical, Puritan MPs, e.g. Sir John Eliot and John Pym
- 1626 Parliament- calls for impeaching Buckingham
- Death of Buckingham- August 1628
The organisation of the Personal Rule
- Focus: to maintain royal authority in administrative, financial and religious
affairs.
- Key figures: Sir Thomas Wentworth and William Laud (Bishop of London,
and subsequently Archbishop of Canterbury).
- The Privy Council was composed of key advisers and officials; it controlled
the Lords Lieutenants of each county, and below them the JPs.
- The Prerogative Courts: The Star Chamber and the Chancery.
- Regional councils carried out the governance of the North of England and
the Welsh Marches.
Charles' chief advisors
- After Buckingham's assassination in 1628 he did not replace him with
another close, personal 'favourite'. But he did appoint political figures to
advise and to enact his policies.
- Sir Thomas Wentworth
- Wentworth, created the Earl of Strafford in 1640, was born into a
Yorkshire family. Knighted in 1611, he became an MP for Yorkshire in
1614. In 1625 he opposed the war with Spain. In 1626 he was made a
sheriff. He opposed the forced loan and favoured the Petition of Right, but
then quarrelled with Elliot and became loyal to Charles. He was President
of the Council of the North by 1629, and in Jan 1632 was appointed Lord
Deputy of Ireland.
William Laud
,- Laud made his mark at the University of Oxford where he became
associated with the Arminians. He enjoyed the patronage of Buckingham.
James I refused to promote Laud, fearing his ‘restless spirit’, but Charles
created him Bishop of London in 1628, and he became Archbishop of
Canterbury in 1633 after the death of the Puritan George Abbott.
'Thorough'
- 'Thorough' was developed by Wentworth, who had joined Charles' govt in
1628 (despite previous opposition over forced loans).
- He was despised by his former allies as 'the great apostate' [traitor].
- He was made Lord President of the Council of the North.
- It involved making royal govt much more efficient and effective so that
everyone would benefit.
'Thorough': positives and negatives
Positives
- New roads; improvements to the postal service; reform of the militia;
reform of the Navy; and improved relief for the poor.
- Prerogative courts worked speedily.
- Better administration.
- Charles' work ethic: energy and determination made for efficiency and
effectiveness in some areas.
- Centralisation of decision-making led to a
'thorough' implementation of these decisions.
Negatives
- JPs and officials were given a tough workload.
- The structure of government did not change; officials remained
unsalaried.
- Little recognition of the political sensitivities of the political nation.
- The Courts and officials were frequently guilty of high-handedness.
- Local interests were often sacrificed for central interests.
- Enhanced role of the bishops and the Court of High Commission.
- Centralisation of decision-making and
'thorough' implementation of these decisions did not always produce the
right decision.
The punishment of Prynne
- William Prynne, a Puritan criticised the Court for its plays and masques
and referred to actresses as 'notorious whores’.
- The timing was unfortunate, or deliberate, as Henrietta Maria was taking
part in a masque at Court, and the reference was taken as a specific insult
to the Queen.
- Prynne was hauled before the Court of Star Chamber, fined £5000,
deprived of his Oxford degree, expelled from Lincoln's Inn, pilloried, had
the top of his ears cut off and sentenced to life imprisonment. Regardless,
he continued to publish pamphlets from his prison cell.
Successes or failures?
, - Recusancy fines: Virtually nobody objected to the fact that the income
which arose from imposing fines upon Catholics increased from around
£5,300 pa in the late 1620s to £26,866 in 1634.
- Wardships: During the Personal Rule, income from wardships increased by
about a third to £75,000 a year - as did opposition.
- Monopolies: Charles exploited a loophole in the 1624 Monopolies Act - an
Act which was supposed to have curtailed the granting of monopolies - in
order to obtain income.
- Customs duties: Charles continued to collect Tonnage and Poundage,
despite the 1625 Parliament refusing to grant it to him for life. He raised
roughly £270,000 a year from customs duties 1631-35. After a new Book
of Rates was introduced in 1635 the revenue the Crown received from
customs duties increased markedly to roughly £425,000 in 1639.
Fiscal Feudalism
- A combination of legal and military customs in medieval Europe.
- Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships
derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.
- James had already made use of what were essentially feudal measures to
raise revenue.
'Distraint' of knighthood’
- Charles levied fines on anyone holding land that generated more than £40
of income a year who did not receive a knighthood at his coronation.
- By 1635 Charles had raised nearly £175,000 by prosecuting people for
refusing to take a knighthood and refusing to pay for not doing so.
- In addition, those who rented land from the Crown but lacked a clear title
to the land (e.g. the 'Earl' of Somerset), or who could not prove they had
continuously occupied the land for the previous 60 years, were fined.
The revival of royal forest rights
- Charles reasserted ancient royal rights over forests that were owned by
the Crown, reserved for the monarch for hunting. From the late 1620s,
Charles decided to enforce these laws again, claiming that the forest land
belonged to the monarch.
- As Charles wanted revenue in the 1630s, he fined enclosing landowners
for using land that was designated as part of the monarchs ‘royal forest.’
- There was intense opposition to Charles' assertion of royal forest rights
amongst commoners. Many people depended on forest lands for part of
their income; access to timber (from trees) and grazing lands (for
livestock) were very important for commoners' livelihoods.
Enclosure fines
Enclosure was the process in England of enclosing several small
landholdings to create one larger farm. Once enclosed, use of the land
become restricted to the owner, and it ceased to be common land for
communal use - to the benefit of the new landowner, and to the detriment
of the commoners.
The Personal Rule, 1629-40
- Charles dissolved Parliament on 10th March 1629. He did not call another
one for 11 years, making clear his distaste for dealing with Parliament and
his belief that the royal prerogative allowed him to rule and to raise
money without it.
Why did Charles resort to a Personal Rule?
- The Three Resolutions – March 1629
- The Forced Loan- 1626-7
- Failure at La Rochelle- July 1627
- The Duke of Buckingham 1625-1628
- The rise of William Laud
- 1625 Parliament- T&P
- 1628 Parliament- Petition of Right
- Charles’ personality/DRoK/Royal Prerogative
- Charles attempts to purge Parliament of opposition 1625-1626
- The Petition of Right – June 1628
- The Five Knights Case – November 1627
- Failure at Cadiz – November 1625
- Charles marries Henrietta Maria – May 1625
- The rise of more radical, Puritan MPs, e.g. Sir John Eliot and John Pym
- 1626 Parliament- calls for impeaching Buckingham
- Death of Buckingham- August 1628
The organisation of the Personal Rule
- Focus: to maintain royal authority in administrative, financial and religious
affairs.
- Key figures: Sir Thomas Wentworth and William Laud (Bishop of London,
and subsequently Archbishop of Canterbury).
- The Privy Council was composed of key advisers and officials; it controlled
the Lords Lieutenants of each county, and below them the JPs.
- The Prerogative Courts: The Star Chamber and the Chancery.
- Regional councils carried out the governance of the North of England and
the Welsh Marches.
Charles' chief advisors
- After Buckingham's assassination in 1628 he did not replace him with
another close, personal 'favourite'. But he did appoint political figures to
advise and to enact his policies.
- Sir Thomas Wentworth
- Wentworth, created the Earl of Strafford in 1640, was born into a
Yorkshire family. Knighted in 1611, he became an MP for Yorkshire in
1614. In 1625 he opposed the war with Spain. In 1626 he was made a
sheriff. He opposed the forced loan and favoured the Petition of Right, but
then quarrelled with Elliot and became loyal to Charles. He was President
of the Council of the North by 1629, and in Jan 1632 was appointed Lord
Deputy of Ireland.
William Laud
,- Laud made his mark at the University of Oxford where he became
associated with the Arminians. He enjoyed the patronage of Buckingham.
James I refused to promote Laud, fearing his ‘restless spirit’, but Charles
created him Bishop of London in 1628, and he became Archbishop of
Canterbury in 1633 after the death of the Puritan George Abbott.
'Thorough'
- 'Thorough' was developed by Wentworth, who had joined Charles' govt in
1628 (despite previous opposition over forced loans).
- He was despised by his former allies as 'the great apostate' [traitor].
- He was made Lord President of the Council of the North.
- It involved making royal govt much more efficient and effective so that
everyone would benefit.
'Thorough': positives and negatives
Positives
- New roads; improvements to the postal service; reform of the militia;
reform of the Navy; and improved relief for the poor.
- Prerogative courts worked speedily.
- Better administration.
- Charles' work ethic: energy and determination made for efficiency and
effectiveness in some areas.
- Centralisation of decision-making led to a
'thorough' implementation of these decisions.
Negatives
- JPs and officials were given a tough workload.
- The structure of government did not change; officials remained
unsalaried.
- Little recognition of the political sensitivities of the political nation.
- The Courts and officials were frequently guilty of high-handedness.
- Local interests were often sacrificed for central interests.
- Enhanced role of the bishops and the Court of High Commission.
- Centralisation of decision-making and
'thorough' implementation of these decisions did not always produce the
right decision.
The punishment of Prynne
- William Prynne, a Puritan criticised the Court for its plays and masques
and referred to actresses as 'notorious whores’.
- The timing was unfortunate, or deliberate, as Henrietta Maria was taking
part in a masque at Court, and the reference was taken as a specific insult
to the Queen.
- Prynne was hauled before the Court of Star Chamber, fined £5000,
deprived of his Oxford degree, expelled from Lincoln's Inn, pilloried, had
the top of his ears cut off and sentenced to life imprisonment. Regardless,
he continued to publish pamphlets from his prison cell.
Successes or failures?
, - Recusancy fines: Virtually nobody objected to the fact that the income
which arose from imposing fines upon Catholics increased from around
£5,300 pa in the late 1620s to £26,866 in 1634.
- Wardships: During the Personal Rule, income from wardships increased by
about a third to £75,000 a year - as did opposition.
- Monopolies: Charles exploited a loophole in the 1624 Monopolies Act - an
Act which was supposed to have curtailed the granting of monopolies - in
order to obtain income.
- Customs duties: Charles continued to collect Tonnage and Poundage,
despite the 1625 Parliament refusing to grant it to him for life. He raised
roughly £270,000 a year from customs duties 1631-35. After a new Book
of Rates was introduced in 1635 the revenue the Crown received from
customs duties increased markedly to roughly £425,000 in 1639.
Fiscal Feudalism
- A combination of legal and military customs in medieval Europe.
- Broadly defined, it was a way of structuring society around relationships
derived from the holding of land in exchange for service or labour.
- James had already made use of what were essentially feudal measures to
raise revenue.
'Distraint' of knighthood’
- Charles levied fines on anyone holding land that generated more than £40
of income a year who did not receive a knighthood at his coronation.
- By 1635 Charles had raised nearly £175,000 by prosecuting people for
refusing to take a knighthood and refusing to pay for not doing so.
- In addition, those who rented land from the Crown but lacked a clear title
to the land (e.g. the 'Earl' of Somerset), or who could not prove they had
continuously occupied the land for the previous 60 years, were fined.
The revival of royal forest rights
- Charles reasserted ancient royal rights over forests that were owned by
the Crown, reserved for the monarch for hunting. From the late 1620s,
Charles decided to enforce these laws again, claiming that the forest land
belonged to the monarch.
- As Charles wanted revenue in the 1630s, he fined enclosing landowners
for using land that was designated as part of the monarchs ‘royal forest.’
- There was intense opposition to Charles' assertion of royal forest rights
amongst commoners. Many people depended on forest lands for part of
their income; access to timber (from trees) and grazing lands (for
livestock) were very important for commoners' livelihoods.
Enclosure fines
Enclosure was the process in England of enclosing several small
landholdings to create one larger farm. Once enclosed, use of the land
become restricted to the owner, and it ceased to be common land for
communal use - to the benefit of the new landowner, and to the detriment
of the commoners.
