Britain Booklet 1

The 1625 parliament

*After Charles succeeded the throne in 1625, he found the treasury virtually empty due to his fathers frivolous spending- crown debt of £400,000.

*When meeting with parliament, Charles I was refused Tonnage and Poundage for life (usually customary for the monarch) and only granted it for one year- so he dissolved them.

The 1626 parliament (prerogative rule)

*Desperate for money, Charles called another parliament in 1626, and faced similar problems.

*Parliament refused to talk about finance, and instead attacked Buckingham, after his foreign policy failures.

*Charles again dissolved parliament who issued a forced loan on the gentry.

*Those gentry who refused this loan were imprisoned, and 5 of the issued writs of habeas corpus (a demand to know why you’ve been detained).

Religious conflict

*Charles demonstrated his close association with Arminanism and Catholicism in a number of ways;

*In 1625, Arminian cleric Richard Montagu was defended by Charles when he argued Calvinist beliefs were incompatible with the church.

*Richard Montagu was appointed Charles’ personal chaplain.

*The Archbishop of Canterbury, George Abbott, was suspended in 1627 for refusing to grant an Arminian sermon.

*William Laud, the most influential of the Arminians, was appointed to the privy council in 1628, where he became bishop of London.

The Mansfield expedition

*Shortly before James death in 1625, he sent troops to assist the protestant commander Ernst von Mansfield in Germany.

*There was little military tradition in England, as the country’s strength lay with the navy.

*Half of the troops, under Buckingham, died of starvation and disease before they reached the battlefield.

*By the time the true extent of the disaster was clear, James was dead, and Charles was left to deal with the consequences.

The attack on Cadiz

*Despite the failure of the Mansfield expedition, Charles planned to continue the war, which led to conscription of troops.

*Cadiz eventually failed due to; The chain of commands being unclear, English hesitation to attack Cadiz, a lack of food and water, and the Spanish treasure fleet (which Charles hoped to capture) was forewarned and fled.

La Rochelle

*When Charles summoned parliament in 1628, he was in desperate need of funds to continue with his foreign policy ventures.

*The attacks on Cadiz had been followed by a further deterioration in relations with the other major Catholic power, France.

*Buckingham’s inept diplomacy led to war an failed attempt to support a protestant rebellion in La Rochelle in 1627.

*The recruits sent to France were of poor quality and lacked basic supplies, around half of the 6000 soldiers sent to La Rochelle died when Buckingham besieged the town, and most of England blamed Buckingham directly for the disaster.

The 1628 parliament

*Parliament tried to impeach Buckingham in the past, and Charles knew this was a possibility when he assembled parliament again in 1628.

*He demanded he would only work with parliament if they did not attack Buckingham.

*Charles wanted to send another force to La Rochelle, despite previous failures, and parliament, led by Sir John Eliot, insisted their grievances be heard first before they granted any taxes.

The petition of right

*Elliot and his allies, prepared a carefully worded document, the petition of right, and presented it to Charles.

*Its clauses included the following; No imprisonment without trial, The decision in the 5 knights case be reversed, No taxation without parliamentary consent, And citizens shouldn’t be asked to pay forced loans.

*Charles initially disagreed with these demands and refused to accept them, eventually in June 1628 he agreed to the petition as he believed he would be able to continue ruling as he previously had without repercussions.

*Parliament agreed to the taxes asked for by Charles, but also began to attack Buckingham again, Charles promptly closed the session.

The three resolutions

*In August 1628, Buckingham was assassinated in Portsmouth by sailor John Felton.

*When Charles recalled parliament for its second session in Jan 1629, its leaders hoped to make progress now the influence of Buckingham had been removed.

*Parliament, again led by Elliot, criticised both Charles methods of collecting money and his Arminian religion- In March 1629 they issued the Three resolutions.

*It included the following; A denouncement of Charles advisers, the announcement of Tonnage and Poundage being unacceptable, and those who paid it to be enemies of the kingdom.

*A royal proclamation was then drawn up whereby Charles announced the formal dissolution of parliament in March 1629.

*Eliot, along with 8 of his allies, were arrested and imprisoned- Parliament would not meet for another 11 years.

Financial policy under personal rule (methods of increasing revenue)

*Charles signed the Treaty of Madrid in 1630, this ended hostilities with Spain (annual spending on war reduced from £500,000 per annum in the 1620s to £70,000 in the 1630s).

*He raised £358,000 from the continued collection of Tonnage and Poundage.

*Fines for building or encroaching on royal forests raised around £40,000.

*Charles revived a medieval custom on an act from 1278, known as Distraint of knighthood, whereby all those with land worth more than £40 per annum were expected to to be knighted by the monarch on their coronation. If they failed to present themselves, they were fined (raised £175,000).

*The most infamous of Charles taxes was Sip money, a charge traditionally levied on coastal counties to pay for the navy. Charles introduce it as an annual tax, not just for those near the coast but to all counties (raised £200,000 per annum).

Personal rule religious issues- The beauty of holiness

*Laud changed the fabrics and ordering of churches, he believed a visit to church should be a stimulating experience for all the sense.

*Organs were installed, Statues and colours returned to churches, and Stained glass installed

Personal rule religious issues- The book of sports

*In 1618, James I had published a book of sports and this was reissued by Charles in 1633.

*The book permitted people to take part in a number of approved activities on Sundays, a reaction the the established Puritan belief that only worship and spiritual reflection should take place on Sundays.

Personal rule religious issues- The feoffees of impropriations

*The increasingly popular practice of puritan gentry buying up the right to appoint a local minister or right to collect the tithes that formed his salary was strictly forbidden by Laud.

*A group known as the feoffees, who had organised this practice in order to appoint third favoured Puritan clergy, were forced to disband.

Reaction and resistance- John Hampden and ship money

*The most high profile challenge to the kings authority to collect ship money came from Puritan John Hampden.

*Hampden refused to pay ship money in 1636, and initiated a legal challenge against it.

*Charles decided to use Hampden’s challenge as a test case in 1637- 7 judges ruled in favour of Charles continued collection of taxes, and 5 ruled against.

*The reaction of the gentry to the case was generally hostile and created issues for Charles by the end of the decade.

Opposition to religious reforms

*As part of his quest for uniformity in the church, Laud dismissed Puritan ministers and banned Puritan members of the gentry from appointing their own chaplains.

*As a result, hundreds and clergy and as many as 20,000 Puritans emigrated to the North American colonies in the 1630s to escape persecution in England.

Bastwick, Burton, and Prynne

*Three high profile Puritans who resisted Lauds reforms were all presented for trial in the star chamber in 1637.

*John Bastwick- A doctor who wrote a number of tracts attacking bishops.

*Henry Burton- Minister whose sermons deviated from those approved by Laud.

*William Prynne- A lawyer who wrote Histriomastix, attacking theatres and actresses.

*All 3 men were fined £5000 imprisoned for life, and ordered to have parts of their ears cut off.

Scottish troubles- Charles & Scotland

*Charles returned to Scotland in 1633 for his Scottish coronation, in 1633, he was out of touch with Scottish affairs and surrounded himself with anglicised Scots.

*Opposition in Scotland took the following form;

*Charles issued the revocation act- Nullifying the claims of Scottish nobles to disputed lands.

*Charles visitation led to him deciding the Presbyterian church be overhauled through the imposition of hierarchical structure, like England.

*Charles issued a book of canons- Introduced a number of practices associated with the Church of England.

*Charles issued the English prayer book.

The first bishops war

*Charles quarrel with the Scot’s came to a head in 1639, with both Charles and the Covenanters raising armies.

*The Scottish armies was far superior, and included Protestant soldiers who served in the 30 years war.

*Charles troops lacked enthusiasm and were generally reluctant conscripts- he also lacked the money to fight a war.

*Realising he could not win, Charles signed the treaty of Berwick in 1639, ending the First Bishops war.

The taxpayers strike

*Most counties generally paid ship money in full, and in 1635-36, just under 98% of expected revenue was collected.

*In 1639, many of those expected to pay ship money refused, and only 20% of expected revenue was collected.

*The cause of the taxpayers strike include, the outcome of John Hampden’s case giving taxpayers confidence, many taxpayers sympathising with Scots in the First Bishops war, and the poor having to now pay taxes.

The short parliament

*The taxpayers strike of 1639 now meant that Charles most successful tax, ship money, was now useless.

*With finance lacking, Charles turned to Wentworth for advice- who told Charles to call another parliament.

*When this shirt parliament met in 1640, a flood of petitions against various aspects of personal rule, led by John Pym, were presented to Charles.

*Charles instead demanded money before he would hear their demands, and was compelled to dissolve parliament after only 3 weeks.

The second bishops war

*Charles hastily collected an ill-organised and under equipped force to fight a second war against the Scot’s.

*Many soldiers however, sympathised with Scots and even burned down symbols associated with Arminianism.

*The Scot’s easily defeated Charles at the battle of Newburn. With the treaty of Rippon being signed shortly afterwards, and under its terms Charles was required to pay the Scots £850 per day.

*With all of his revenue streams exhausted, and with new debts to pay, Charles was left with no choice but to call another parliament- this was known as the Long parliament (assembled in 1640 and dissolved in 1660).

John Pym’s personality

*Pym emerged as a chief opponent of Charles in the Long parliament.

*He was a Puritan from an early age, and aimed to restore ‘the true religion’.

*Pym was prepared to negotiate more reasonably with Charles, but his experience of personal rule hardened his view of Charles and the monarchy.

Pym’s junto

*Pym and a number of his associates, including John Hampden, formed the group that organised the opposition strategy to the King.

*At the first meetings of the long parliament, Pym pushed for the ‘evil councillors’ to be removed- there was no call to abolish the monarchy or attack Charles directly.

*The opposition were in unanimous agreement that Charles’s advisers were at fault, and after their removal balance would be restored to the constitution.

*Shortly after, William Prynne and Henry Burton, who were imprisoned by Laud, were released from prison- 10,000 people celebrated their return.

The root and branch petition

*In Dec 1640, the commons received a root and branch petition signed by 15,000 Londoners.

*It listed religious grievances relating to the treatment of the clergy and the encouragement of Arminianism- in short it asked for the abolishment of bishops.

The erosion of the royal prerogative- Attacks on Charles advisers

*The majority of judges who sat in the prerogative courts in the 1630s were impeached.

*Archbishop Laud was arrested, and held in the tower of London for 5 years, he was not executed until 1645.

*Strafford was arrested and charged with high treason.

The erosion of the royal prerogative- Ensuring the future security of parliament

*A triennial act was passed in 1641, it obliged Charles to call a parliament at least once every three years- if not parliament would meet anyway.

*In 1641, Charles passed the act against forcible dissolution under enormous pressure- the long parliament could only dissolve with its own consent.

The erosion of the royal prerogative- The trial and execution of Strafford

*Strafford was perhaps the most significant influence over Charles in the 1630s, he epitomised the ‘evil councillors’.

*Strafford’s trial was arranged for April 1641, and to be found guilty of treason, he would be tried in the House of Lords.

*Pym and his allies spent 3 weeks trying to persuade the Lords of Strafford’s guilt, they were not convinced.

*Pym then resorted to ‘the act of Attainder’ which effectively operated as a death warrant- with it only requiring a suspicion of guilt, and as long as it was passed by both Houses and the monarch, no trial was needed.

*To secure the passage of the act, Pym revealed a plot by Catholic army officers to release Strafford from prison and dissolve parliament by force.

*Many previously reluctant MPs were now convinced and the Attainder was passed with a vote of 204 to 59.

*Strafford was executed in May 1641.

The erosion of the royal prerogative- Steps taken to further erode the prerogative

*In June, Tonnage and Poundage was abolished.

*In August, ship money was declared illegal.

*Forest fines were banned.

*The star chamber was outlawed due to its role in enforcing Laud’s religious policies.

The erosion of the royal prerogative- The emergence of the constitutional royalists

*By August 1641, a ‘middle group’ of moderates emerged in both the commons and Lords.

*They favoured a settlement based on the concessions already won by parliament and felt that Pym’s demands were too extreme.

*The opposition drew up 10 propositions to be considered by Charles, and requested he accept them before he left for Scotland to make peace - these included significant extensions of parliamentary power.

The Grand remonstrance- The Irish rebellion

*Growing rumours of a rising among Irish Catholics and attacks on Protestant settlers in Ireland began in Oct 1641.

*These reports soon turned into reports of a massacre- with it being reported 200,000 were killed.

*There soon began a fear of English Catholics rising to join the Irish began to spread.

The Grand Remonstrance- Impact in England

*There were talks of brutality and torture, however there were only a few thousand deaths.

*All those involved in politics now agreed an army needed to be raised to put down the rebellion.

*However, the key debate was over who would control the army- with many in the commons believing Charles could not be trusted to control such a force.

The Grand remonstrance- The failed arrest of the 5 members

*Moderates flocked to Charles by the time he returned from Scotland. He now felt he was in a strong position to attack the opposition, this turned out to be a massive miscalculation.

*The catalyst for Charles taking action, was the impeachment of the 12 bishops formerly seized by parliament.

*He targeted 5 members of the opposition of the house of commons: John Pym, John Hampden, Denzel Holles, Arthur Haselrig, and William Strode.

*He also attacked the leader of the opposition in the House of Lords, Edward Montagu. #

*In Jan 1642, Charles entered the commons with an armed escort-n demanding the speaker tell him where the 5 members were.

*However, they had already left, and Charles left parliament with nothing to show for his efforts.

The Grand remonstrance- The slide into war

*The 5 members were hidden and protected in London by their allies.

*Fearing for his safety, Charles fled London with his wife and children for Hampden court.

*In June, parliament issued the 19 Propositions, as a final basis for a negotiated settlement- This included requirements such as parliamentary approval for royal tutors and future royal marriages.

*Charles rejected these propositions, and in August Charles declared war.

Attempts to reach a settlement- The Newcastle propositions

*Parliament offered Charles an initial settlement proposal whilst he was in custody of the Scots at Newcastle .

*The propositions consisted of the following demands; Parliament would control the militia for 20 years, bishops would be abolished and a Presbyterian church be created for an experimental 3 years, the war in Ireland would resume under the command of parliament, and 58 royalists punished for their involvement in the civil war.

Attempts to reach a settlement- Charles handed to the English

*The Scots came to realise their prisoner would not agree to their demands for him to implement a full Presbyterian Church of England.

*When it became clear Charles was not going to agree to any peace treaties, the English paid the Scots for custody of Charles.

*The Scots left England in 1647, and Charles was held at Holmby house in Northamptonshire.

Attempts to reach a settlement- Charles attitude in 1646

*Despite being defeated militarily, Charles still felt he was in a strong position in 1646.

*He was still King, which gave him legitimacy and a wide support base amongst ordinary English and Scottish people.

*Most of the political nation, including his opponents in parliament, also accepted he should be restored to the throne as quickly as possible.

Attempts to reach a settlement- Charles attitude to the Newcastle propositions

*Even before he received a copy of the Newcastle propositions, Charles was aware of their probable content and always vowed he would not accept them.

*He believed a Presbyterian church would damage the power of the monarchy.

*Letters to Henrietta Maria before the propositions had been formally presented show that Charles never intended to negotiate, and stated that if he accepts them he would lose his ‘conscious, crown and honour’.

Attempts to reach a settlement- Charles response to the Newcastle propositions

*Charles delayed his answer as long as possible, in the hope divisions amongst his enemies would increase.

*When Charles eventually replied to the propositions in August, he acknowledged a willingness to surrender the militia for 10 years, and experiment with Presbyterianism for 5 years- on the condition the Anglican church would eventually be restored.

*He suggested a Presbyterian settlement for 3 years, however the assembly he proposed would consist of 20 Presbyterians, 20 independents, and 20 of his own nominees.

*In May 1647, he offered to accept a modified version of the propositions- he did this as he was already building a Scottish army to help him regain the throne.

Divisions in Parliament (attempts to reach a settlement)- Presbyterian beliefs

*Like the Scots, this group of MPs wanted to abolish episcopacy and replace it with a Presbyterian system.

*There would still be a national church, but the hierarchy of bishops would be replaced with an assembly.

*The chief spokesperson was Denzil Holles, who was involved in writing the nineteen propositions- they favoured a negotiated settlement with Charles.

Divisions in Parliament (attempts to reach a settlement)- Independent beliefs

*Instead of a single national church, the independents believed each Christian congregation should be autonomous.

*Although a minority in parliament, t still had prominent supporters such as Oliver Cromwell.

*Politically, they wanted to force a settlement on the King, rather than continue with protracted negotiations.

Divisions in Parliament (attempts to reach a settlement)- The extent of divisions 1646-47

*As Charles delayed his response to the Newcastle propositions, the Presbyterians in parliament became weaker.

*This balance of power now shifted between the Presbyterians and Independents.

*From the beginning of negotiations, the Presbyterians hatched a campaign against the ‘New model army’ which they viewed as a seedbed for religious extremism.

*The independents in parliament had close links to the ‘New model army’.

*In 1647, the House of commons voted that only Presbyterians and non-MPs should serve as officers (army)- the army backed by the Independents refused.

*Since Pym’s death, a ‘middle group’ led by Oliver St John emerged- they favoured a negotiated settlement like the Presbyterians, but were no longer prepared to deal with Charles inflexible demands.

*Both factions however, agreed there was a threat of radials such as the Levellers- as they became ncreasingly a

Divisions in Parliament (attempts to reach a settlement)- The role of the army and agitators

*Many soldiers were uncomfortable with the direction of the political settlement in 1646-47.

*They were aware the Presbyterians intended to send some soldiers to Ireland and disband the rest, who were still owed significant arrears of pay.

*Due to their important role in defeating the royalists, they felt they should have a say in the peace settlement.

*In 1647, they elected their own political spokesmen, known as agitators.

Divisions in Parliament (attempts to reach a settlement)- The army revolt

*In June 1647, a junior officer arrived with an armed escort at Holmby house to take possession of the King, effectively kidnapping him from Presbyterian custody.

*Charles was taken to join the army, from where he was transferred to his old royal palace at Hampden court.

*The next day, leading officers such as Oliver Cromwell signed an engagement to stand with the Army.

*A general council of the army was established, consisting of both officers and Agitators.

*Henry Ireton (Cromwell’s son in law) published ‘The Representation of the army’ where he demanded the expulsion of 11 Presbyterian MPs and fresh elections.

*Thomas Fairfax led his forces into London in August and 6 of the 11 Presbyterians named by Ireton fled abroad.

Divisions in the army (attempts to reach a settlement)- The head of proposals

*By mid 1647, the Independents and the army were in a position of strength.

*Ireton presented Charles with a new offer for a political settlement known as the ‘head of proposals’.

*It included; 7 royalists to be exempt from pardon rather than the 58 in the Newcastle propositions, Parliament would nominate key officers of state for 10 years, continued use of bishops in the COFE but a restriction on their coercive powers, and the triennial act to be repealed and replaced with Biennial parliaments (every 2 years).

*The ‘head of proposals’ was more reasonable to Charles than the Newcastle propositions- he now accepted these as his favoured settlement proposals.

Divisions in the army (attempts to reach a settlement)- The Putney debates

*The Leveller influence in the army became more pronounced and many demanded a more radical blueprint than the ‘heads of the proposals’.

*In 1647, the Leveller-influenced soldiers offered their own proposals in the ‘case of the army truly stated’ which was drawn up into a political settlement ‘an agreement of the people’.

*Agitators and senior officers from the army met at a church in Putney to discuss the political settlement.

*The spokesman for the radicals was Colonel Thomas Rainsborough, the highest ranking Leveller officer- who demanded complete religious freedom and annual parliaments elected by all adult males.

*Ireton, speaking for the army grandees, countered that voters must be men of property and if all men were given the vote, anarchy would ensue.

*Cromwell was present, but focused on maintaining civility between the two and avoiding a complete breakdown on relations between the two groups.

Divisions in the army (attempts to reach a settlement)- Charles escape

*The Putney debates were brought to an abrupt end by the news that Charles had escaped from captivity at Hampton court.

*He was soon in custody again in the Isle of Wight.

Divisions in the army (attempts to reach a settlement)- The Corkbush field mutiny

*Charles’s escape signalled the end of the Putney debates and the Agitators had to return to their regiments.

*At one army base at Corkbush field, a group of radicals appeared with copies of ‘An agreement of the people’.

*Cromwell quickly rose into the ranks to restore order, and publish their leaders (one of whom was shot).

*For Cromwell, the unity of the army mattered more than ever in this time of uncertainty.

Divisions in the army (attempts to reach a settlement)- The Engagement

*Whilst on the Isle of Wight, Charles was approached by envoys from Scotland.

*He was offered the engagement, which he accepted in December, whilst rejecting Parliaments Four bills (a modified version of the Newcastle propositions).

*In return for military assistance from the Scots, Charles agreed to establish a Presbyterian church in England for 3 years.

Moves toward a trial (attempts to reach a settlement)- Vote of No address

*In Jan 1648, the house of commons passed the ‘vote of no address’ by 141 votes to 91.

*It stated that no more negotiations would be held with Charles because of his negotiations with the Scots.

Moves toward a trial (attempts to reach a settlement)- Charles defeated

*The Scots entered England in Apr 1648, triggering the brief second civil war (Apr- Aug).

*This invasion followed a number of pro- royalist protests across the South of England.

*The Scots were easily defeated at the Battle of Preston.

*The Second Civil war was a failure for Charles for a number of reasons; the new model army was experienced and efficient, the leadership of the Scottish army was a poor battlefield commander.

Moves toward a trial (attempts to reach a settlement)- The Windsor prayer meeting

*In Apr 1648, whilst Cromwell was away fighting the Second Civil war and pro-royalist riots were increasing in the city, Ireton and other officers from the Army council held a prayer meeting at Windsor castle.

*The meeting lasted 2 days, and after they had searched their consciences and asked for divine guidance, they decided that Charles ‘the man of blood’ should be held to account for the blood he shed.

Moves toward a trial (attempts to reach a settlement)- Negotiations at Newport

*Ireton petitioned parliament a number of times, in the hope of organising a trial, with the support of many rank- and- file soldiers.

*Parliament, however, attempted one more round of negotiations with Charles and in Aug discussions began at Newport.

*Charles resorted to his old tactics of deception and delay.

*Ireton introduced ‘the Army remonstrance’ in Nov, calling for royalist sympathisers and Presbyterians to be expelled from parliament and a trial of the King to be held.

Moves toward a trial (attempts to reach a settlement)- Prides purge

*The view that Charles should be brought to trial was still that of a minority in Dec.

*Fairfax called Cromwell- who had been silent on the issue of Charles final fate- to London, and parliament voting to reject Ireton’s ‘Remonstrance’.

*In Dec, they voted to continue negotiations with Charles.

*The next day, a regiment led by Colonel Thomas Pride surrounded the House of Commons, and excluded 186 MP’s who supported continued negotiations- and arrested another 45.

Moves toward a trial (attempts to reach a settlement)- The trial

*With Cromwell finally in agreement with Ireton, the House of Commons issued an ordinance creating a special court to hold the trial in Jan 1649. The Lords rejected this.

*The commons then declared it had sole authority to pass laws without the King or Lords.

*They passed an act to set up a high court of justice and Charles trial began.

*68 commissioners heard the case, including Ireton and Cromwell, throughout the trial, Charles refused to recognise the authority of the court and was found guilty of treason.

*He was publicly beheaded outside Whitehall on January 30th.