26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

Charles I as King of England to c.1640

II. Rule with Parliament
Summons parliament 1625

Met in London over the summer

o

Moved from London because of the plague to oxford.

18 June- 11 July London

1-12 August Oxford

Suspicions and doubts in parliament from the start

Marriage with Henrietta Maria

Catholic princess

Laws against catholics in England and wales

were to be relaxed
o

MPs and peers are strongly anti-catholic

Agree to lend Royal Navy ships to the French

crown
o

To be used to fight against Catholic power

(Holy Roman Empire)

MPs and Peers are worried about what

they will actually be used for.

French king had an issue with Huguenots

(Minority French protestant communities)
found around the coasts mainly and are
grudgingly tolerated.

Richard Montague (English clergyman)

o

In favour with James I (Royal Chaplain)

Written inflammatory pamphlet

Criticised protestant element of

CofE

Argued in some areas that RC was

closer to the word of God.

A New Gag for and Old Goose

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

Parliament want him done for

heresy

Count Mansfeld
o

Continental mercenary military leader

James wouldnt commit to the 30 years

war

Did however employ Mansfeld to

raise volunteers in England to fight
in Europe.

The parliament of 1624

voted this money.

James pocketed some of the money

himself

Was allowed to recruit English

troops

Could only go any further than the

Netherlands, they just sat in the
ports and died of starvation and
exposure during the winter of 24-25

Isnt charles fault, most of these issues come

from his fathers reign.

Granted 2 subsidies 120,000 pounds.

Parliament dissolved 12 August 1625.

Customs Duties
o

Bill never passed to give him the income from custom duties

Decided that as king he was going to collect them anyway

Charles protects him.

Parliament not happy because the right was never

granted.

Causes an issue that runs through most of his reign.

Charles does have enough money to go to war with Spain AutumnWinter 1625-26
o

Attack on Cadiz (Major Spanish port)

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

o

Launches a fleet, most of the fleet doesnt get there because

of the weather

At the same time the French king attacks the Huguenots using the
Royal Navy ships
o

Re-imposes anti-catholic legislation

Upsets French king because of the marriage

agreement.

1626 2nd Parliament

o

6 feb- 15 June

Unhappy start- seeks to identify the leading trouble makers

from the Parliament in 25 so he can stop them entering 26

Makes many of them sheriffs.

Also identifies Earls of Bristol and Arundel, tries to stop

them sitting in the house of lords.

Cant sit in the parliament

They do anyway.

MP and Peers attack the Kings advisors and ministers

Duke of Buckingham, (Lord High Admiral)

Blamed for the failure of the Fleet at Cadiz.

Begin to impeach him for mishandling of the Navy

Supported by Charles, so he dissolves this parliament

before they can impeach him.

This happens before the granting of more

subsidy bills.
o

No extra money to fund war effort.

Another English fleet sent against Spain is destroyed by the weather

and Spanish counter-attach.

Another part of the fleet is sent against the French.

o

La Rochelle (under bombardment by the army and navy of

the French Crown)

Protestant stronghold.

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

Some troops land on Isle de Rhe (heavily

defeated by French catholic troops)

Commanded by the duke of Buckingham

Forced Loan of winter 1626-27- 260,000

o

Enforced loan on upper echelons of society

Effectively a non-parliamentary tax on the landowning elite

Some resist, only 100 English land owners resist long enough
to be imprisoned.

Group carry on resistance

5 knights Case

Darnell

Corbett

Erle

Heveningham

Hampden

All indefinitely imprisoned

With out due legal process

o

Habeas Corpus

Go to court claiming that they have

been imprisoned without cause.

Court of kings bench 1627

`imprisoned on the direct orders of

the king

Judges say that the king has the

right to imprison these men.

Charles try to get publicity for the victory

in court

Charles re-words verdict so that he

has the right to imprison anyone at
will.

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

And implied the legality of the

forced loan.

5 knights released in early 1628

Charles calls 3rd Parliament (Long Parliament )

o

17 March- 28 June 1628

Full of discontent

Dont like FP

Dont Like Buckingham

Dont like his religion

Charles is patient, allows expression of discontent

Allows parliament to draw up petition of right

Arbitrary taxes
o

Arbitrary imprisonment
o

People in prison without trials

Free billeting
o

Taxes without consent from Parliament

Troops billeted in households without

compensation

Martial law

Presented to Charles after passing through both

houses

Charles accepts it as an act of parliament 7th June

Session ends in harmony

King granted subsidies to help pay off debts

Second Session to be called 20 Jan- 29 March 1629

During the gap the Duke of Buckingham is murdered by a

drunk sailor

Upsets Charles

Makes the rest of the country happy

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

Charles gets petition of right printed but changes wording

again.

Charles turns to Henrietta Maria, the begin to look

happy and then children happen.

Charles carries on collecting tonnage and poundage,

against parliaments wishes.

Second Parliament

Not happy

Criticise:

Collection of customs duties

Advisors

Religious policy

Foreign policy

Leading critics at the end of the session hold the

speaker in his seat so that he cannot adjourn the
house.

3 resolutions speedily passed 2nd March 1629

o

Condemn

high church policy associated with

Laud

imposition of customs

do not pass through lords

parliament is formally dissolved by

the king on 29th March

arrest of the leading MPs who held down

the speakers

most say sorry and are released

Elliot is never released though and

dies in the tower in the 1630s.

Rule without parliament

o

The Eleven Years Tyranny

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

o

Personal Rule

Thomas Wentworth (Earl of Strafford)

Runs Ireland for the King.

Had a lot of influence over Charles.

William Laud, Bishop of London from 1633 Archbishop of

Canterbury

Francis Windebank, Sec of State

Richard Weston, Earl of Portland, Lord Treasurer to 1635

Privy Council and council committees

Bishops, Judges on assize, Sheriffs, Lords Lieutenant, JPs etc.

Routine of local govt is royal so it carries on.

Books of Orders 1630-31

o

Only applies to England and wales

Has drawn up every so often during his personal rule.

Charles needs money to keep Personal rule going

o

Curbing expenditure- Peace

With both France and Spain.

Boosting income

Creation and selling of monopolies

Soap monopoly sold for 33,000

Loans from city of London

Customs duties from 275,000 p.a. to 425,000

p.a.

Revival of medieval sources of income

o

Distraints of Knighthood, 175,000

Men who didnt present themselves

at the coronation to be knighted
due to land ownership

Wardship- up to 75,000

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

o

Ship Money- pay to support the navy in

times of war or emergency.

Coastal in 1634- 85,000

Whole of England and wales, 163540 (worth nearly 200,000 p.a90% came in down to 1639)

Imposed on an annual basis

Imposed when England is at peace.

Challenged in the courts

Feb 37- judges support it

1637-8- challenged by John

Hampden who refuses to pay
it
o

Judges support the

king.

1629- royal income at around 600,000 pa and debt of 2M

late 1630s

Religion and the CofE

High church Protestantism, arminianism or Laudianism

o

Charles claims that his branch of arminianism is English and

labels it laudianism

Who took the lead in religious policy?

o

Charles or Laud- difficult to distinguish between the two

Physical repair of churches

Only well-educated ministers

Money found to augment poor parishes.

Alter controversy
o

Fixed east end alters, and alter rails

Not moveable communion table

Claimed to be undoing the reformation and a move

back towards Catholicism.

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

Book of Sports
o

Go to church worship then play sports

Body and soul

People dont like the ideas of this on a Sunday, should be

doing other religious stuff.

Clamp down on non-official religious meetings/ lectureships

Book of instructions
o

About getting control over the CofE

Visitations from bishops to ensure people are following the

instruction of the church.

Most people conform, very few directly oppose these policies.

Those who do are strictly punished.

Star Chamber case of 1637

William Prynne- clergymen

Henry Burton- doctor

John Bastwich- Lawyer

Branded, ears cut off and carted off to prison.

Discussing Charles as king

Kevin Sharpe
o

Looks at official state records.

Call it a success.

Period of ordered well working govt which did well and was
widely accepted

Peter Lake, Simon Salt, John Fielding

o

Misinterpretation

Look level below state papers

Journals

Common place books etc

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

o

People in there private writings do not like the personal rule.

But they carry on conforming on the surface.

Charles and War in Three Kingdoms 1637-42

The Kingdom of Scotland

James VI
o

Absentee king

Expansion of power of Scottish crown.

Religious

Secular

Charles I
o

Absentee and unknown king- visits for coronation in 1633

Revocation

Procedure in place to deal with child inheritance

Scottish king could review the grants of land given

before he was 25

Charles didnt have much of a minority

Chooses to use sweeping revocation reaching as

far back as 1560.

Does a u-turn and backs down due to

unhappiness.

1635- Lord Balmerino

Arrested and charged with treason for having

derogatory writings about Charles as king of Scotland

Convicted and sentenced to death

Charles pardons him.

Causes the landowning elite to distrust Charles.

1636- new book of Canons

Charles tries to change Scottish religion

Does this against advice

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

Imposes English style canons north of the border

1637- new Scottish prayer book

Based on the prayer book of the church of England.

Tries to bring the Presbyterian church in Scotland in

line with the church of England.

Again, ignores advice against this action.

Crisis and War

o

July 1637 onwards- mass unrest.

Starts when leading Scottish churchmen try and lead

services usuing the new anglicised prayer book.

Genuine, people who wish to defend their Presbyterian

faith.

Leading members of Scottish society are leading this

opposition against the royal power in Scotland.

Scottish privy council tell Charles that to stop the

unrest he needs to withdraw the prayer book, or use
military power

1638 royal prolaimation to the scots, prayer book shouldnt

be opposed due to being royal religious policy. Any one who
continues to cause unrest will be seen as high treason.

Scottish people react- national covenant begins to be

signed

Mass movement that starts in Edinburgh, copies

spread through out much of Scotland.

Didnt directly oppose Charles I and was

respectful to him.

our church and our religion are under threat

and we will band together to pledge to oppose
the threat to the Scottish church and to support
each other if any one is attacked defending the
church.

Draws major support in the lowlands, and some

support from the highlands.

Become known as the covenanters

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

o

Scottish council cant deal with this mass

movement, power transfers from the privy
council to the leaders of the covenanters

Marquis of Hamilton, leader of privy council and

he claims that he cant deal with the issue

Spring summer 1638

King starting to get a tighter grasp of what is

happening in Scotland

He is looking for a military solution.

o

Needs time to prepare, too late to make a

summer campaign against Scotland.

Concessions offered to Scotland (some

see this as him making himself time)

Revoke some of james innovations

Allows the general assembly of the

kirk to meet in 1638 and discuss
religious policy

Most covenanters do not trust Charles,

they think he is playing for time.

Kirk does meet in Glasgow towards the

end of 1638

Kings representatives lose control

of the kirk.

Dominated by covenanters and

theologians that are opposed to the
crowns religious policy

Abolition of bishops, they have no

place in Scotland.

Hamilton attempts to adjourn the

assembly, the kirk refuses.

They create annual

assemblies of the kirk, the
king no longer has the right
to summon the assembly.

king now planning for war against the scots.

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

Summer 1639, the first scots/ bishops wars.

King plans 4 pronged attack

Wentworth with 10,000 irish would attack

SW Scotland (Dumfries and Galloway)

Antrim (Catholic) commands force from

ulster to also attack SW

Hamilton would attack east coast of

Scotland.

Charles himself would raise an army

(north midlands and wales, 20,000) to
meet in the north and attack the border.

Scots raise around 20,000 to defend

against the men.

Summer in 1639 is a disaster

o

Wentworths army is too slow

Antrim runs into issue due to being

catholic

Hamiltons naval attack is disrupted by

bad weather, so never attacks east coast
of Scotland

Charles land army gets to 10-15,000men

and invades Scotland.

4th June, part of the kings army (5,000) enters

southern Scotland and get as far as Kelso, met
by a bigger covenanter army, where they come
under fire and run away.

King loses interest, 18th June, Pacification of

Berwick.
o

Both armies pull back and will not engage.

Autumn 1639, Scottish parliament and the

kirk meets.

Demolish royal power in Scotland.

Abolish bishops

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

Renounce canons and prayer

book.

Condemn episcopacy across

the border.
o

Bishops are against

the word of god.

Parliament decides to meet

every three years
independently of any royal
summons.
o

Right to pass
legislation

Bill passed by the

Scottish parliament
would become law in
Scotland without royal
ascent.

In the intervals
between parliament,
the king and kings
privy council will not
run Scotland, an
executive committee
(chosen by
parliament) will run
Scotland.

Constitutional
revolution

Charles is not happy about

this

Summer 1640 2nd scots/ bishops war

Convention was that before the

king took England and wales into
war, the position should be
discussed with a parliament.

Not done in 1639, first time a

king had done this since,
Edward II

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

King calls parliament due to

needing at least 600,000 to be able
to make war against the scots.

Ends 11 years of personal

rule

Short parliament, 13 April-5 May

1640

MPs arent hostile towards

the scots
o

Have more pressing

issue closer to home

No money voted

5 may parliament is
closed.

Supreme governing body of the Church of

England

Convocation

Same time as short Parliament but

it lasts longer

Overseen by William Laud

New church laws, Canons of

1640
o

High church policies.

Imposition of a new
oath on ministers and
public officials.

Condemn
policies and
personnel.

Summer 1640 2nd scots/ bishops war

Would not seek

to change the
church.

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

o

Through loans and pawning crown jewels he gets some

money to have a second campaign.

Hope for wentworth to raise an army in Ireland

Ships to attack east coast

Both dont happy

King raises a new English and welsh land army to be

led north

Wish to cross the border

Scots cross the border and attack the English army.

English defend Newcastle upon tyne.

Cross at Newburn where the scots brush aside

the English defenders.
o

Surviving elements of the English army

withdraw from the north of England

Scots take northern counties of England.

Northumberland

Durham

Bits of Cumbria and north Yorkshire

Treaty of Ripon,

Scots occupy northern England,

controlling the tyne side coal fields
(London requires these)

Charles pay 850 per day for the

Scottish army.

Scots will not talk with Charles, only

with an England parliament.

Power of Charles in England

is falling apart.

King has a meeting of peers in York

Summons another English

parliament in November 1640 (long
parliament.)

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

Parliament 1st nov 40-may 41

o

Isnt finally dissolved until spring 1660

Lots of contested elections

Many who are elected are critical of the kings

government

Particularly critical of policies and personel of

the personal rule.

Leading Peers

Essex, Saye & Sele, Bedford, and Warwick

John Pym, MP for Tavistock

John Hampden, Oliver St John

Remove polices and personel of personal rule and prevent it

ever being repeated.

Removal of kings key evil councillors

Sir Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford

o

Charges drawn up by parliament and he is

arrested.

Commons and lords move to impeach

Strafford.

Charged in role as minister and

Ireland, and in England. He had
broken the law and together these
things constituted high treason.

Normally this would mean he

had been threatening the
king.

Pym and others claim that he

had undermined the kings
power and turned the people
against the king. Which was
paramount to high treason.

Spring 1641, Strafford is brought before

the court, he mounts a good defence and
that he is innocent.

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

Trial is going no-where and Pym

and others are worried.

Impeachment proceedings are

abandoned

Parliament passes a bill of

attainder
o

21st april 1641, pass the bill of

attainder.

Lords wasnt so sure, theyd sat in

the impeachment trial.

Lords pass the bill

Charles has to now sign this bill,

hed said he wouldnt so Lords
passed it because he said he
wouldnt.

Mobs in London in early may, leads

to Charles to signing the bill

Executed 12 May 1641

Moved to the tower

o

He is just left there

Windibank

Charles makes a speech to

the Lords claiming that he
will never pass the bill of
attainder

Archbishop Laud

Parliament declares
his guilty of high
treason (death warrant
for Strafford)

Urgent issues in france

Finch

Long holiday on the continent.

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

o

Key personel of the personal rule are removed.

Religion
o

Most MPs dont like Laudian/ High church innovations

Would happily take the church back to how it was in

1625

Others want to do much more and push reform much further.

Wish to be more ambitious

Dismantle the CofE

o

Commons receives a reform minded petition

from godly men around London, wants sweeping
reforms of the church of England
o

Maybe getting rid of Bishops and Arch

Bishops

Known as the rout and branch petition.

Pym and others kill off the religious debate so

they can push other things that will not divide
the house.

Charles is currently giving ground

Signs bill of attainder

Doesnt help Laud

Spring 1641, first army plot.

o

Remainder from 2nd bishops wars.

Wishes to entice the army south and to

maybe want to launch a military coup
against parliament.

Money bills passed to pay off some of charles

debt.

Feb 1641 Triennial Act, no more than 3 years

between parliaments

May 1641- Act v dissolution of the long

parliament, it cannot be dissolved by the king. It
can only be dissolved if a majority of mps agree
to dissolve.

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

May to September 1641

o

Bishops removed from lords

Abolish episcopacy, doesnt pass commons

Sept 3 resolutions on religion

Removal of fixed alters and alter rails and crucifixes

Firmer Sabbath observance

No more bowing at the names of jesus or mary

Passed by commons

Not passed by lords, apart from 1st

Passing of one off taxes.

Poll taxes, to pay for the expenses of the

Scottish army.
o

Anglo-scottish treaty signed in Edinburgh,

late summer 1641

Charles plans visits Scotland at the same

time.

English parliament are worried

about what Charles is going to try
and pull

10 propositions addressed to the king, 24th June

Suggest that Charles should stay in London.

Air greivences
o

Clamp down on Catholicism in court

Education of the royal children.

Beginning of bigger more contensious

demands

Only people approved by parliament

should be able to be privy council or royal
positions

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.

o

Charles appoints john Williams as the archbishop of York

o

Also appoints other middle of the road

CofE people into bishopries.

2nd army plot.

o

In England and wales the lords

Lieutenants, should be approved by
parliament.

Charles may have wanted the same thing

hed have wanted in the first plot

Charles does visit Edinburgh in august/

September 1641
o

Alleged assassination

the incident- some supporters of Charles

would assassinate the leading
covenanters

Didnt end up happening

Argyll, Lanark involvement.

End of September 1641, parliament had run for

10-11 months and decides to adjourn for
6weeks.

Charles spends too long in Scotland to take

advantage of the parliament adjournment.

Remaining power in England and wales damaged by

what happens in Ireland.

26th and 03rd Charles I into the civil war.