personal rule and it's failure, 1629-40

what was the personal rule?

* a period of eleven years when Charles I ruled without parliament.
* it came to an end after events in Scotland forced Charles to recall parliament in 1640

what was Charles’ financial position like?

* Charles sought to secure his financial position so that he would not have to recall parliament.
* peace with France (1629) and Spain (1630) reduced his major costs
* the king exploited traditional feudal dues (payments which the crown didn't need parliamentary approval) - eg. monopolies were granted to individuals or groups of merchants who had exclusive rights to import a product and fix its price at a high level

what was the key source of finance for Charles I

* ship money - traditional only levied on coastal counties but he extended as a national tax from 1635-40 - it was very successful
* at a time when a parliamentary subsidy was worth around £70,000, Ship money earned Charles around £200,000 annually - makes it less likely to need to recall parliament to secure further funds.
* this caused much opposition and resentment

Hampden’s case (SM)

* October 1637 John Hampden (member of Buckingham gentry) challenged the legality of Ship Money
* it was upheld by 7/12 judges hearing the case - this alarmed public opinion as it seemed to confirm that the king could raise taxation without parliamentary approval

what was Charles’ religious views?

* in the 1630s Charles continued to impose Arminianism through William Laud (Archbishop of Canterbury since 1633)
* the key measures of Laudianism focused on the so-called ‘beauty of holiness’, through age wearing of vestments and the use of music, candles and altar cloths.
* to ensure conformity he enforced these measures through the use of visitations and supervision through the church courts.
* for visitations, bishops’ representatives reported which churches were conforming and brought any offenders before church courts.

what was the opposition to Charles’ religious views?

* initially there was little opposition to Laudianism - those who opposed were a minority, predominantly the more radical Puritans whose strength of belief made some of them more inclined to protest.
* the limited examples of open opposition indicate that there was general passive acceptance of Laudianism

why were there issues with Scotland?

* 1637 Charles decided to impose Laudian prayer book on Presbyterian Scotland, without consulting the Scottish parliament.
* widespread rioting broke out and in 1638 many nobles and clergy signed the National Covenant, swearing to resist all changes to the Scottish Kirk.
* The military conflicts that followed were known as the Bishops War and were inconclusive:
* the Scots were well organised and motivated, whereas Charles had insufficient funds to pay for his military campaigns

why did personal rule collapse?

* 1640 - he called a parliament to finance an army to crush the Scots - this ‘short parliament’ only lasted three weeks before it was dissolved because Charles refused MPs demands to remove Laudianism and end the practice of feudal dues before they would grant funds.
* Charles was determined to force the Scots to comply without parliamentary financial backing - h.er this lack of finance undermined his attack on the Scottish forces of the National Covenant
* August 1640 - the Scots invaded northern England and occupied Newcastle forcing Charles to negotiate - Scots kept Newcastle until a settlement was reached - Charles payed the Scots £850 a day until there was a settlement (he called parliament)
* the long parliament met for the first time in November