9 Political divisions

The Long Parliament, Pym and the outbreak of civil war

When did the Long Parliament first sit?

3 November 1640

What were the main aims of the long parliament? (2)

destroy the personal rule and curb the power of the king

What did Bedford's proposals include? (3)

abolition of the most confrontational aspects of the personal rule, return to the Elizabethan-based Protestant church, a separate financial settlement for Charles 1

What was the intention of Bedford's proposals?

reforming crown finances by trying to bridge the gap between Crown and Parliament

What roles did Bedford propose for himself and Pym?

Bedford as Lord Treasurer and Pym as Chancellor of the Exchequer

What were Bedford's financial proposals also known as?

the bridge appointments

When did Bedford die?

May 1641

When was Wentworth recalled from Ireland?

1639

Why was Wentworth recalled from Ireland?

to aid Charles in facing the Scots

Define impeachment

when the house of commons brings a legal challenge against someone and they are tried by the house of lords as a court of law

Why did many MPs see Wentworth as dangerous?

he was seen as the man with the potential to make Charles absolutist

Why were the strategic reasons for Wentworth's impeachment?

Parliament hoped that without councillors such as Wentworth Charles would see that he needed to accept reform and rule alongside parl, also removal of such councillors would allow their replacement with men who could ensure what parl saw as a good govt

What was the immediate reason for Wentworth's impeachment?

impeached for attempting to bring the Irish army to England to help Charles control the country

When did Wentworth's trial before parliament start?

March 1641

What was the procedure that was used against Wentworth?

bill of attainder

What was a bill of attainder?

allowed anyone seen as a threat to the state to be removed by parl without the need for a formal trial

When did the Scots declare that they would not make peace unless there was an end to bishops in Scotland and Wentworth was dead?

February 1641

What were the Scots' conditions for making peace in Feb 1641? (2)

an end to bishops in Scotland and Wentworth dead

When did Charles order all officers to return to their commands with the English army in the north?

April 1641

What were the effects of Charles ordering officers to return to their commands in the north? (4)

heightened political tension, undermining of Wentworth's position, fears that he was planning to use the army against Parliament, rumours that he intended to dissolve parliament

When was the army plot revelation?

3 May 1641

What was the army plot revelation?

rumours of a royalist plot which centred on an attempt by officers to seize the tower of London, release Wentworth and dissolve parliament

How many MPs did not vote on the bill of attainder?

about half the total MPs

When did Charles give royal assent to the bill of attainder?

10 May 1641

Why did Charles give royal assent to the bill of attainder? (3)

feared for the safety of his family, was the only way to end the war with the scots, threat of civil war

Why did Charles fear for the safety of his family and so gave assent to the bill of attainder? (3)

due to the heightened atmosphere of the army plot, the protestation oath and the increasing presence of the London mob

What was the protestation oath?

document which reflected the belief that there was a link between Catholicism and absolutism and that there was a plot to establish them

Who drew up the protestation oath?

parliament

When was Wentworth executed?

12 May 1641

Why was there not much support for Wentworth from the lords whilst he was on trial?

key members of the Puritan network had been colluding with the Scots in the 1630s so Wentworth had to die for their own protection

What was the London mob?

the group of Londoners who participated in politics and supported parliament

How many Londoners signed the root and branch petition?

15,000

What was the root and branch petition?

a puritan religious reform which wanted to get rid of episcopacy

Who was seen as Charles' chief opponent?

Pym

What were Pym's main aims in the long parliament? (3)

removal and punishment of Charles' 'evil councillors', political settlement without being overturned by Charles, removal of the threat of Catholicism and strong establishment of Protestantism

When was Laud impeached?

1640/1641

When was Laud executed?

1645

What was the triennal act?

the start of the attack on the "illegal" elements of the personal rule

What did the triennial act do? (2)

abolished ship money without parliamentary consent and stated that Charles had to call parliament at least every three years (should last at least 50 days)

When was the triennial act passed?

15 February 1641

When was there the development of the royalist party?

May 1641 - August 1642

Who were the royalist people?

a more moderate group who felt Pym and the radicals were starting to go too far and became scared that their actions were more of a threat to the political order than Charles' actions

Why did the divisions in parliament (forming a royalist party) come about? (3)

couldn't agree on how to prevent the personal rule happening again or what to put in its place, some saw the bill of attainder (Wentworth) as constitutionally dangerous, divisions over religious issues such as role of bishops

What is constitutional royalism?

the term given to the reaction of the moderates from 1640 to 1642 in the face of radicals such as Pym - they looked to the concept of monarchy rather than the monarch himself as the best protection for a moderate protestant church, law and order

What were the concessions that parliament declared they wanted the king to make in the 10 propositions? (3)

parliamentary input into who was in the privy council, parliamentary control of those around the queen, parliamentary role over the religious education of the royal children

When was the 10 propositions issued?

24 June 1641

How was the 10 propositions perceived by the king?

as humiliating and an attack on royal prerogative

When did Charles visit Scotland?

August 1641

What did some members of parliament insist on doing when Charles left for Scotland?

organised a committee of defence to send commissioners to keep an eye on Charles

What was 'the incident'?

a royalist plot to kidnap radical scottish covenanters while Charles was in Scotland

Who were the instigators of 'the incident'?

extreme royalists and moderate covenanters

What was the result of 'the incident'?

destroyed Charles hopes of gaining more support in Scotland

When did Charles leave Scotland?

17 November 1641

When did the Irish rebellion start?

October 1641

When did the Irish rebellion end?

February 1642

What happened in parliament as a result of the Irish rebellion? (2)

• some Protestant English politicians became radicalised,

• Parliament was divided over whether Charles could be trusted to lead an English army to put down the rebellion

What was the Grand Remonstrance?

a list of criticisms of Charles' government since 1625

Why was the Grand Remonstrance significant? (3)

was seen as a direct attack on Charles, political issues were directed away from Westminster so as to involve the people themselves and put more pressure on MPs, the debate as to whether to publish it shows division in parliament

How long did the debate on the Grand Remonstrance last?

12 hours

When was the vote on the Grand Remonstrance?

23 November 1641

How many MPs voted for and against publishing the Grand Remonstrance?

159 for, 148 against

How many MPs actually voted on the issue of the Grand Remonstrance?

about half (300 ish)

What would the militia bill do? (2)

remove king's power over the trained bands completely, give parliament the power to appoint army commanders

When was the militia bill introduced?

7 December 1641

Why was the militia bill revolutionary?

directly questioned Charles' prerogative and attempted to transfer prerogative powers to parliament

How did Charles respond to the militia bill?

positioned himself as defender of the fundamental law

When did Charles announce the impeachment of his key opponents?

3 January 1642

Which opponents did Charles announce he would impeach in January 1642? (6)

Pym, Hampden, Haselrig, Holles, Strode and (Edward) Montagu

When did Charles attempt the coup to impeach 6 of his opponents?

4 January 1642

Why did Charles try to impeach 6 of his opponents?

the lords had accepted a commons vote of impeachment against the bishops which could lead to their removal and loss of significant royalist support in the lords

When did the lords accept a commons vote of impeachment against the bishops?

29 December 1641

What were the consequences of Charles' attempted impeachment of 6 of his opponents? (4)

strengthened position of the radicals , propaganda victory for the radicals (Pym could use it as proof of the danger Charles posed), popular demonstrations against him, Charles lost some support from moderate MPs

What did Charles do as a result of the popular demonstrations against him after the five members coup?

had to flee with his family from London to Hampton for their safety

What was the exclusion bill?

a bill pushed for by radical MPs, which would forcefully prevent bishops sitting in the house of Lords

When was the exclusion bill accepted?

5 February 1642

How many signatures were there for a petition for the removal of bishops at the end of December 1641?

30,000

Which group put lots of pressure on the lords to accept the exclusion bill?

the London mob

When was the militia bill issued as an ordinance?

February 1642

What was the militia ordinance?

an ordinance which appointed lords lieutenants and their deputies by the authority of parliament, and parliament therefore got control of the armed forces

When was the militia ordinance passed by parliament without Charles' approval?

March 1642

How did Charles respond to the militia ordinance of Feb/March 1642?

by using the commissions of array

What was the commissions of array?

a prerogative means of raising armed forces in which commissions of array were sent to leading figures in the counties to authorise them to raise forces for the crown (Charles used this in response to the militia ordinance)

When was there an increase in religious radicalism?

March - July 1642

What did the increase in religious radicalism (March - July 1642) lead to?

societal breakdown

What were the 19 propositions?

Parliament's attempt to avoid war and negotiate with Charles for a settlement

When were the 19 propositions?

June 1642

What were the demands of Parliament in the 19 propositions? (4)

all privy councillors to be appointed by parliament, five impeached MPs to be pardoned, Charles had to accept militia ordinance and triennial act, parliament would direct a reformation of the church

What was the response of the constitutional royalists' to the 19 propositions?

wrote 'the answer to the 19 propositions' for the king

What was in the answer to the 19 propositions? (2)

portrayed the king as a force preventing anarchy, stated that parliaments proposals would lead to a 'dark equal chaos of rebellion'

What was iconoclasm?

destruction or damaging of icons in churches (radical Puritans doing it)

Who brought a resolution through the commons encouraging iconoclasm?

Pym

When did Pym bring a resolution through the commons encouraging iconoclasm?

September 1641

What did Pym encourage iconoclasm against?

popish images and altar rails

When did the civil war start?

22 August 1642

Where did the civil war start?

Nottingham

Who officially started the civil war?

Charles