Charles I and parliament 1625-29

when did Charles I succeed the throne?

March 1625

What was economic situation Charles found himself in 1625? What did he do?

• Empty treasury

• Dwindling credit

• Gained a loan from City of London Merchants £60,000 (not enough)

• had to face parliament

What were the actions of MPs focused on 1625-29

• taxation

• defence of common law

• occasional impeachment of ‘evil counsellors’

where did disagreements begin between Charles and parliament?

• 1625

• refused right to collect Tonnage and Poundage for life → grant would be made yearly

Charles’ reaction to tonnage and poundage

• deeply offended (not intended)

• adjourned Parliament, ordered it to reassemble in Oxford 3 weeks later

• MISTAKE - MPs had made clear their unwillingness, did not like demand for speedy reply

• Mps turned attention to Buckingham (advisor) for mishandling

• Charles saw this as an attack → dissolved Parlt.

What happened in Cadiz?

1625

• Buckingham (Lord Admiral)

• soldiers drank vats of wine on farms

• expedition degenerated

what happened in the 1626 parliament?

• Charles summoned Parliament → subsidy to continue war

• Parlt. wanted impeachment of Buckingham in return for subsidies

• Charles dissolved parlt. no subsidies, no impeachment

• July - letters to JPs ‘lovingly, freely and voluntarily’ give money (vast majority refused to pay

what was the forced loan?

• 1627

• anyone who refused to ‘lend’ (no hope of repayment) could be imprisoned/conscripted

• £250,000 extracted

• autoctratic

what else did Charles I do at the time of the forced loan?

• billeted soliders to South Coast

• underpaid, undisciplined + were immune to local law

• form of punishment for local opposiiton

• e.g puritan Banbury → William Fiennes

How many were imprisoned for refusing to pay?

76

who were the 5 Knights, what did they do

Sir …Coryton, Darnell, Earle, Hampden, Heveningham

• applied to the court for a writ of Habeas Corpus

• (Charles hadn’t brought cases against them for fear of losing)

outcomes of 5 knight case

• right of monarch to imprison people long accepted → 5 knights sent back to prison

• Charles I gained opposition

• prerogative usually in cases of seditious conspiracy, reputational damage caused

why did Charles summon parliament in 1628? what happened?

• Bucky = disaster at La Rochelle

• Charles at war w/ Spain + France, needed subsidy

• Parliament offered Petition of Right in exchange for subsidies

Did Petition of Right say anything new?

NO

Terms of Petition of RIght

• Crown may not arbitrarily impose taxes w/o consent of Parliament (Forced loan)

• ‘“ “ imprison subjects w/o just cause (5 Knight)

• “ “ arbitrarily billet soldiers on the homes of subjects

• no martial law, crown act within law

When did Henrietta Maria arrive in England? what impact did this have?

1625

• brought court of Catholic afvisors

• Charles had been leaning towards arminiansim

= unpopular

Charles’ reaction to The Petition of Rights

• intially refused to accept but desperate for money

• granted by grace, could revoke by prerogative at any time

• consented 7 june 1628 → got subsidies

• Charles prorogued parlt on 26 June following criticism of Bucky

What did Charles I do after ending parlt in 1628

• asserted right to Tonnage and Poundage through revised version of petitoin

• imprisoned any merchants who refused

  • 1 granted bail by common law courts, charles imprisoned him through Star chamber

BUCKY DEAD

• assasinated August 1628 by army officer John Felton

• tried and executed

RIP

• much celebration = bonfires

when did parliament reassemble in 1629? what did they do?

• 2nd March

• looked into breaches of petition + treatment of merchants

• opponent Sir John Eliot = protestation: 3 resolutions

  • Denounced Arminianism → encouraged Merchants

  • those who paid = branded

How did Charles react to 3 resolutions

• 2nd March Black Rod (maxwell) sent to instruct dissolution → door shut inface

• Speaker (king’s rep) tried to adjourn parliament → forcibly held down by 3 MPs

• motions passed against catholicism, Tonnage and Poundage and enemies of the state

• Charles fuming

• dissolved parliament for 11 years