Failure of monarchical government and personal rule

what are the two key types of revolution?

political and social/economic

what is a political revolution?

a demand for change in sovereignty of the state

what is a social/economic revolution?

a sudden change which affects the entire social order; often great technological changes result in economic change which provokes social upheaval

name 3 features of a revolution

1. demand for political/religious/social ideologies to change

2. change is relatively sudden and drastic - tends to be violence involved

3. they often result in class structures being overthrown

what 5 things make a country stable?

1. good relationship with the government

2. good economy - flourishing trade, limited inflation

3. good foreign policies - territory abroad, not in debt from wars

4. no power struggles and divisions

5. having an heir to the throne

give 3 reasons why the government wasnt keen on James I

1. james wanted to unite england and scotland (which wasnt popular)

2. james was lenient with religion; he was protestant, but his mother, Mary QoS, was catholic

3. james was extravagant, and gave money to his favourites (duke of buckingham), leaving the country in debt

what were some ways society was not stable in 1625?

• low food availability for people that didnt grow their own - people in urban areas experienced inflation of food products

• limited scientific knowledge, meaning disease was rife

• due to disease, life expectancy was low, meaning population grew exponentially to compensate

• growing population meant diseases spread faster

what were some ways power was not stable in 1625?

• James I and Charles I believed in the Divine Right of Kings, which resulted in arrogance

• power struggle between parliament and monarchy

• underrepresentation of parliament - james and charles saw parliament as a liability

what were some ways religion was not stable in 1625?

• although james advocated for a middle way, after the gunpowder plot, he became stricter on catholics

• puritans and arminians

what were some ways the economy was not stable in 1625?

• crown lands were sold to resolve national debt, therefore it was harder to make money

• inflation meant there was a lack of resources, particularly in urban areas

what were some ways the 3 kingdoms (england, scotland, and ireland) were not stable in 1625?

• ireland had troubles between catholics and protestants

• ireland had different customs and spoke different languages, and was therefore overlooked

• english people looked down on scottish people - scots were mainly presbytarian and england mainly protestant

what year did charles inherit the throne from his father james?

1625

what was the royal prerogative?

the king had prerogative powers which were powers that could only be wielded by the king

what did the royal prerogative include?

• power to declare war and sign treaties

• power to arbitrarily dissolve parliament

• ‘The Prerogative of Mercy’

• the granting of honours (knighthood)

what was the ‘Prerogative of Mercy’?

the ability to grant ‘pardons’ to eliminate ‘pains, penalties, and punishments’

the ability to excuse criminals before trial or verdict

what did the royal prerogative NOT include?

• the highest form of law remained statute law

• cannot collect taxes

• the king could appoint judges but could NOT sit as a judge

give 3 reasons why parliament hated the duke of buckingham

1. buckingham had great influence over the kings decisions and could sway him easily - they suspected charles would act as his father did and give buckingham money

2. buckingham was the first duke in the country to have no trace of royal blood - was nicknamed ‘the great usurper’ for this reason

3. buckinghams mother and wife, before marriage, were catholic

how many parliaments were there from 1625-1629?

3

how long did parliament 1 last?

june-aug 1625

how long did parliament 2 last?

feb-june 1626

how long did parliament 3 last?

1628-1629

why did charles summon parliament 1?

to gather funds for his war with spain

why did charles want to go to war with spain in 1625?

• they were the traditional enemy of britain - they were catholic

• retaliation from the embarrassment of his failed marriage with a spanish princess

• the government usually supported hostility towards spain

what was parliament 1’s main concern when charles summoned them concerning war with spain, and what did they do?

• they were concerned he would overspend (like his father did)

• refused to vote anymore taxation unless they could supervise the expenditure

• only gave charles 1/4 of what he needed to go to war with spain

why did charles end up dissolving parliament 1?

he was offended that they thought he would act like his father and refused to give him money on account of this

what happened in cadiz between parliaments 1 and 2?

duke of buckingham wanted to recreate sir francis drakes victory in the ‘singeing of the kings beard’ at the spanish port of cadiz but it failed miserably

why did buckinghams plan in cadiz fail?

underfunding - not enough resources

british soliders only managed to seize the wine chambers and proceeded to get drunk

what was duke of buckingham nicknamed after his failure in cadiz?

duke of fuckingham

why did charles summon parliament 2?

likewise with parliament 1, he needed money.

name some of the key members of parliament involved.

john eliot, john digby, henry howard

what was the key discussion in parliament 2 when it was assembled?

• buckinghams enemies in parliament drew up a list of charges for his impeachment

• parliament refused to vote any taxation until the lords condemned and sentenced buckingham

why did charles decide to dissolve parliament 2?

• wanted to stop buckinghams enemies gaining a majority

• he was forced by peer pressure to let enemies of buckingham return to parliament

• dissolved parliament to stop buckingham from being impeached

what was the ‘forced loan’?

after dissolving parliament, charles still needed money so he raised a ‘forced loan’ - it netted almost £250,000

what was the billeting of soldiers?

to billet is to temporarily lodge soldiers somewhere - charles did this in civilian homes near the south coast of england

why did charles billet soldiers?

because of its unpopularity, he used it as a method of subduing and punishing his opponents

why was the billeting of soldiers so unpopular?

• troops infrequently paid and therefore harboured anger and resent

• troops were destructive in civilians homes and towns

• due to soldiers being under ‘martial law’, civilians found it hard to hold them accountable

what was the ‘martial law’?

soldiers could only be tried and held accountable for their actions in a military court

what is a ‘habeus corpus’?

act of parliament which ensures that no one can be imprisoned unlawfully

why was the five knights case bad for charles?

he was using his monarchical power for unprecedented means

what happened in the case of the five knights?

charles imprisoned 76 people for refusing to pay the ‘forced loan’ as it was not parliament approved

five knights from the 76 people applied for a habeus corpus against the king - it got denied

when was buckingham’s expedition to the rhe?

summer of 1627

what was the ile de rhe?

french land

why did the expedition to the rhe fail?

underfunding, lack of resources, losing soldiers to disease

what repercussions did the failure of the expedition to the rhe have on buckingham?

it increased his unpopularity

who assassinated buckingham? who were they?

john felton → he was a disgruntled, unpaid, unsuccessful soldier who took revenge for buckingham’s dismissal of his petitions

stabbed him to death

what punishment did buckingham’s assassin recieve?

death by hanging

what was the publics reaction to buckingham’s assassination?

englands population rejoiced, and buckingham’s assassin gained national popularity

what was charles’ reaction to buckingham’s assassination?

he went into mourning

why did charles summon parliament 3?

he was unable to continue the war without money

who were the key member(s) of parliament involved in parliament 3 discussions?

john eliot, robert phelips, edward coke

what were the key discussions/conclusions of parliament 3?

• forced loans and billeted soldiers were condemned as grave violations of the Fundamental Laws of England

• complaints of charles still illegally collecting tonnage and poundage and spreading arminianism

• denied that king could exercise emergency powers, ever tax without consent, or impose martial law while parliament still existed

what 3 resolutions to the issues raised in parliament 3 were given?

1. whoever makes efforts to introduce arminianism shall be declared an enemy of the kingdom and commonwealth

2. same was to be declared of anyone who participated or advised in the collection of tonnage and poundage

3. anyone who paid would be seen as an enemy of the state

why did charles dissolve parliament 3?

after hearing the 3 resolutions, charles immediately dissolved parliament and blamed the failure on ‘some few malevolent persons’

how long did charles reign without parliament?

11 years

what is the period of time where charles ruled without parliament known as?

personal rule

how did the privy council help charles achieve absolutism in his personal rule?

shut down his line of communication between constituents and himself - less representation from MPs

they met 2x a week and were only advisors

what were the two prerogative courts called?

court of star chamber and court of high commission

what did the two prerogative courts do in charles personal rule?

they reinterpreted old laws to make ‘new laws’

give 4 features of the court of star chamber

1. made up of members of the privy council - king appoints the members

2. defendants were questioned in private meaning more room for suspicious activity

3. no death penalty but fines and corporal punishment can be issued

4. crown could take cases of conspiracy, perjury, and riot from the common courts

give 3 features of the court of high commission

1. highest ecclesiastical (to do with the church/clergy) court

2. was used to enforce religious uniformity

3. guilty cases on non-religious conformity were sent to the court of star chambers

define personal rule.

the personal rule was a period from 1629-1640 when charles ruled without parliament - the king was entitled to do this under the royal prerogative

why were many of charles’ new close advisors during his personal rule previously his enemies?

his previous enemies saw buckingham’s death as an in to be able to gain the kings trust and then have influence on his decisions - which they couldn’t do before when buckingham was there

what religion were most of charles advisors during personal rule?

catholic

what was charles’ personal rule also known as?

“the 11 year tyranny”

what did the (forgotten) ‘new law’, ‘distraint of knighthood’ state?

freeholders of land more than £40 per annum had to apply for knighthood - if they fail to do so they would be fined

what did the (forgotten) ‘new law’, ‘the forest declaration’ state?

reintroduced the limits of the royal forest - claims that people are illegally living in the kings land were made in order to fine them

what was ‘ship money’ and why was it hated?

required coastal towns to pay for the upkeep of the naval defences - this got extended to inland countries too

this wasn’t an emergency as wars had all been resolved, therefore it caused great social upheaval

who was william laud and why was he disliked?

archbishop of canterbury → fear that he was a crypto-catholic, plotting to return england to papal obedience

how did william laud abuse the power of the courts of star chamber and high commission?

used their prerogative power to:

• punish his critics

• restore the full value of tithes

• dismiss non-conformist ministers/puritan lectureships

how did william laud enforce his policies?

with corporal punishment → cutting ears off, branding, flogging, mutilating, and imprisoning for life

who was wentworth also known as?

“Black Tom Tyrant”

what position was wentworth transferred to in 1632?

lord deputy of ireland

what did wentworth do in ireland?

gained funds for the crown and enforced charles’ power

how did wentworth gain funds for the crown in ireland?

said that if people paid the king subsidies he would give them a title for their lands

he would then collect the subsidies but not give the title

how did wentworth enforce charles’ power in ireland?

• used Laud’s religious policies

• took away land from native irish

• ‘book of orders’

• gives JPs and sheriffs clear instructions of how to handle criminals regardless of their situation

what were 4 ways that personal rule wasnt an “11-year tyranny”?

1. court rules → virtues, good behaviour, investment in art, stage plays

2. all of the privy council were previously his opposition - befriended him in a vulnerable state to gain influence

3. (technically) the taxes he collected were legal → only exception being tonnage and poundage

4. majority of population complied

what were 3 ways that personal rule was an “11-year tyranny”?

1. corporal punishment was used in the Star Chamber on people who disagreed with ideologies

2. charles abused his prerogative power e.g. collecting ship money

3. there was no parliament

how did presbytarianism in scotland differ to anglicanism in england?

• anglicanism: run by bishops, had sermons, king was head of church

• presbytarianism: no head of church, run by elders

what did charles try to introduce in scotland in 1637?

a new prayer book

what was the scottish response to charles’ introducing a new prayer book in scotland?

very violent → st. giles riots

a woman (jenny) threw her stool at the priest to which everyone else followed → priest pulled two pistols out to get everyone to stop

what triggered the end of personal rule?

the introduction of the new prayer book in scotland which resulted in outrage