5 Relations and disputes with parliaments 1604-29

Describe James' approach to his relationship with Parliament (3)

pragmatic, practical, conciliatory

When was James' first parliament?

1604 - 1611

Define parliamentary privilege

a legal immunity enjoyed by members of parliament that allows them to freely speak during proceedings without fear of legal action (enabled parliament to function effectively as a legislative body to the monarch)

By when could MPs legitimately regard their privileges as theirs by right?

1603

What are the four "ancient privileges" of parliament?

free access to the monarch and the House of Lords to convey their opinion, the right to correct mistakes or misunderstandings that might prejudice the Commons, freedom from arrest while Parliament is sitting, freedom of speech

For how long after the dissolution of a parliament were MPs protected from being arrested?

20 days

Why was the balance between the monarch's prerogative and parliamentary privilege always a matter of interpretation?

because there was no written or codified constitution

Who had been elected as MP for Buckinghamshire in 1604?

Francis Goodwin

When did MPs find out that the election of Francis Goodwin had been annulled?

on the first day of business in 1604

Who annulled the election of Francis Goodwin as an MP?

the Court of Chancery

Why was the election of Francis Goodwin as an MP annulled?

he had broken the law by having two outstanding summonses for debt

Who replaced Francis Goodwin in Parliament?

John Fortescue

Why did many see Goodwin's replacement by Fortescue as a royal interference?

because Fortescue was a privy councillor

What did the Commons vote after hearing Goodwin's case?

voted to reinstate Goodwin

What was James' attitude to the Commons wanting to reinstate Goodwin?

believed they were acting illegally in allowing an outlaw to sit as MP, asked them to confer with the House of Lords to get legal advice

Who did James believe disputed election should be decided by?

the Court of Chancery

How did James eventually bring about compromise concerning the Buckinghamshire election?

suggested both Goodwin and Fortescue should be dismissed and a new election held

When was Shirley's case?

1604

What was Shirley's case?

the MP Thomas Shirley was arrested for debt, which upset MPs who wanted to establish the parliamentary privilege of freedom from arrest while Parliament was sitting

Who was arrested in 1604 for debt?

MP Thomas Shirley

What was Thomas Shirley arrested for?

debt

What did MPs do in response to Thomas Shirley being arrested?

sent the governor of Fleet debtor's prison (where Shirley had been held) to the Tower of London until Shirley was released

When was the Union between Scotland and England proposed?

1606

Why did James want to unify Scotland and England? (2)

wanted the kingdom to be secure internally and have peace with Europe

When was the "Addled Parliament"?

1614

Why was Parliament called "Addled" in 1614?

it was ineffective and confused

How long did the "Addled Parliament" last?

8 weeks

Why did the addled parliament in 1614 fall apart so quickly? (5)

financial need, factional conflict, manipulation of MPs, James' indecisiveness, impositions

What was James' debt in 1614?

£680,000

Why was there great financial pressure on James to call on Parliament for funds in 1614? (3)

failure of Great Contract, death of Robert Cecil, continued selling of crown lands which reduced long-term income

Who did the Howard faction support?

Catholic Spain

Why did the emergence of factions cause political dysfunction?

the Protestant faction called for Parliament to attack the Howards, who supported Catholic Spain

At the start of the 1621 parliament, what did MPs focus on?

abuse of monopolies

Why were monopolies such a big issue? (2)

England was not trading well with its partners and monopolies had been singularly exploited by many courtiers as a way of attacking each other

Why could parliament not discuss foreign policy?

it was part of the monarch's prerogative

When was James' second parliament?

1614

When was James' third parliament?

1621

When did James allow Parliament to discuss foreign policy?

1621

Why did James allow Parliament to discuss foreign policy in 1621?

was a way to frighten the Spanish into agreeing with the Spanish match, as he knew most of parliament was anti-Spanish and would call for war

When did Buckingham and Charles travel to Spain for the Spanish match?

1623

Why did Buckingham and Charles convert to favouring war against the Spanish?

they received poor treatment at the Spanish Court due to anti-Protestant sentiments

When was the agreement for Charles to marry Henrietta Maria signed?

1624

Why did James see himself as "Rex Pacificus"?

tried to secure good relations with Spain even though much of Parliament wanted war

When did James die?

March 1625

How much money did Charles need for war against Spain?

£1 million

Why did Parliament only grant Charles two subsidies at the start of his reign?

Charles didn't explain his position clearly

Why was Buckingham a source of tension between Charles and Parliament?

due to his enormous influence

What position was Buckingham given under Charles?

was made a Gentleman of the Bedchamber

Why did Parliament attack Charles' support of Montagu?

Montagu was an Arminian

When did Montagu become Charles' royal chaplain?

1625

What position was Montagu given under Charles?

royal chaplain

How long did Charles' first Parliament last?

two months

When did Charles dissolve his first Parliament?

August 1625

How were troops for Mansfield raised?

by force, with no training and limited equipment

How many died on Mansfield's expedition?

4000 out of 6000

What did 4000 of Mansfield's troops die from when shipped to the Netherlands for the Cádiz failure

disease and starvation

How were the majority of troops lost at Cadiz?

lack of food

Why was the Cadiz expedition a failure?

the English fleet failed to take Cadiz or capture the Spanish treasure fleet

How did Charles immediately antagonise the 1626 Parliament?

asked the anti-Calvinist, William Laud, to preach the opening sermon, in which he stressed obedience to the king

How did Charles shut out parliamentary critics of 1625 for the next Parliament?

it was ensured that they would be picked out as sheriffs, who were responsible for organising polls so couldn't stand for election

Why was Charles very antagonistic towards the 1626 Parliament?

MPs started impeachment proceedings against Buckingham

Why did Charles dissolve the Parliament of 1626?

to save Buckingham from impeachment

When was the forced loan?

1626

What did Charles use the forced loan to do?

finance his war efforts without parliamentary input

When was the expedition to the Ile de Re?

1627

Why could the troops not get into La Rochelle?

the scaling ladders were too short

What was Charles' reversal of the Crown policy?

he aided the Catholic French monarch against the Protestant Huguenots

Why was the policy reverse rendered basically useless?

the king of France and his chief minister had already made peace with the Huguenots

How many soldiers went to the Ile de Re with Buckingham and how many returned?

7833 went and only 2989 returned

What did Buckingham's attack signal?

that Britain was now at war with both Spain and France

Who were the Huguenots?

French Protestants who were a persecuted minority in France and who Louis saw as a threat

Why was Parliament willing to compromise at the start of the 1628 Parliament?

Charles allowed his secretary of state to communicate directly with MPs rather than doing it himself and causing more unrest

In 1628, how many subsidies did Parliament agree to grant Charles if he addressed their grievances?

5

What were the grievances which Parliament wanted to be addressed in 1628? (4)

taxation, billeting, martial law, imprisonment without trial

What were Parliament's concerns about taxation in 1628?

MPs were concerned about the illegality of extra-parliamentary taxation

Give an example of extra-parliamentary taxation that Parliament was worried about

tonnage and poundage

What were Parliament's concerns about billeting in 1628?

troops raised for war were lodged temporarily with local populations in the southwest, and citizens had to house and feed the soldiers but were often not payed as promised

What were Parliament's concerns about martial law in 1628?

martial law had been imposed to prevent billeted soldiers from being too out of control, but it was imposed on the whole town as well, and was too absolutist for many of the gentry

When was the Five Knights Case?

November 1627

How many people were imprisoned for not paying the forced loan?

76

What was the result of the Five Knights Case?

a judgement upheld Charles' prerogative to imprison without trial those who refused to pay the forced loan (BUT only in this particular case, not as a general right)

What did Charles allow one of his leading legal officers to do after the Five Knights Case?

falsify the records to state that the king had a general right to imprison people without need to show good reason (the judgement had said he could only do this in this particular case)

When was the Five Knights Case released?

1628

Why did MPs consider creating a bill of rights?

as a response to Charles allowing the records of the Five Knights Case to be falsified, didn't want anything like that to happen again

What would the bill of rights be?

a document stating the rights of subjects that the king could not overrule

When was the Petition of Right?

1628

What was the Petition of Right a response to?

a response to the concern that Charles could not be trusted to rule by the unwritten constitution

What were the four main points of the Petition of Right?

Parliament had to consent to taxation, people could be imprisoned only if just cause was shown, the imposition of martial law on the population was illegal, imposition of billeting on the population was illegal

When did Charles accept the Petition of Right?

7 June 1628

Why did Charles accept the Petition of Right? (2)

under threat of further parliamentary proceedings against Buckingham and because he was desperate for parliamentary funds for foreign policy

Define royal assent

the method by which a monarch formally approves a bill passed by parliament, which then becomes an Act of Parliament or official law

What did Charles first reply to the Petition of Right not use?

the traditional form of royal assent to bills

Why did Charles' handling of the Petition raise the question of whether he could be trusted?

it took him a while to give the conventional and legal assent to the Petition

When did Parliament write a Remonstrance?

17 June 1628

What was the Remonstrance (1628)

a written grievance in which the Commons viciously attacked Buckingham's foreign policy failure

Why did Parliament issue a second Remonstrance?

Charles continued to collect tonnage and poundage even though it went against the Petition of Right

When did Parliament issue a second Remonstrance?

a week after the first

Why did Charles temporarily suspend Parliament after the Second Remonstrance?

so he could claim his right to continue collecting tonnage and poundage

When did Charles temporarily suspend Parliament after the Second Remonstrance?

one day after

When was the Duke of Buckingham assassinated?

23 August 1628