3. Challenges to the arbitrary government of Charles I

Key dates 1625-29

1625:
June- Charles I's First Parliament
Sept- Cadiz expedition
Sept- Treaty of Southampton between England and the Dutch Republic.
1626:
Feb- Charles I's Second Parliament
Feb- York Conference House
May- Parliaments protestation against Buckingham
1627:
Oct- First expedition to La Rochelle
Nov- Five Knights' Case
1627-29:
Anglo French War

Reaction to financial policies: Tonnage and Poundage 1625

-High on Charles' agenda was an anti-Spanish foreign policy which put him under financial pressure , expensive to equip army overseas.
-Needed £1 mil so called Parliament expecting them to grant a one-off payment (subsidy) and to confirm his right to collect tonnage and poundage.
-This was a tax on imports and exports calculated per ton of wine and pound of produce which was awarded by parliament at the beginning of the reign and allowed to collect it throughout.
-HOC mistrusted Charles' foreign policy and Buckingham by only granting 2 subsidies around 140k and 1 year to collect tonnage and poundage which was insufficient for him to conduct his foreign policy.
-P was cautious with money as Buckingham was closely directing Charles and was politically over-dominant and militarily incompetent.
-Buckinghams' title Lord Admiral, highest in naval office, was beneficiary to the money so restricting it was a blow to Buckingham.
-HOL refused to ratify the limitation as it went against tradition and Charles carried on collecting it beyond 1st year and ignore Ps direct attack on his divine right and prerogative.

The forced loan 1626

- Without adequate Parliamentary funds, Charles resorted to asking the country at large for a benevolence (voluntary gift of money) which he could request at times of emergency.
-In 1626, very few volunteered and he used another form of prerogative income easier to demand, a forced loan, to help him finance a war against Spain and France.
-All liable summoned to public meetings where they were individually pressed to pay.
-The public manner of collection made refusal to pay and open act of opposition, creating effectively a test of loyalty to the king.

Opposition to the forced loan

-The forced loan was collected in the face of substantial opposition much of which was anonymous but others were more open.
-Thomas Scot MP attacked Buckingham in print writing subjects may disobey and refuse an unworthy king's command if what he wants goes beyond the normal duty owed to a king.
-He went on to say they ought to oppose a wicked ruler who failed to punish evil subjects as they cause a breach between King and P and forced him to collect loans and taxes that denied right and liberty and oppressed and exhausted the people.
-Some judges refused to endorse the legality of the forced loan and one judge was dismissed as a result .
-George Abbot Archbishop of Canterbury was suspended for refusing to lisence a sermon which defended the forced loan, attempting to use the power of the Church to persuade people that it was their duty to the king to pay.

The Five Knights' Case 1627

-King ordered the imprisonment of 76 gentry and the Earl of Lincoln who had refused to pay but he didn't have them charged with any specific offence.
-Nov 1627 5 of 76 decided to force a confrontation with the king by issuing habeus corpus (tried or released).
-Had to be taken to trial creating a test case which shone a spotlight on the constitutional controversy around the kings authority to raise the loan and jail its opponents.
- A judge upheld Charles prerogative right to imprison without trial those who refused to pay this particular loan.

Reasons for outcomes of conflict over the Church

-Religion was a significant and divisive issue in early Stuart England.
-By 1620s ministers who adhered to strand of Protestantism known as Arminianism were beginning to rise into influential positions within COE.
-

The York House Conference 1626

-At the request of the Earl of Warwick, Buckingham chaired a theological debate in his London home
-Charles didn't attend as he felt it would be a waste of his time
- It focused on Montagu's writings, and how Charles should move away from anti-Calvinists
-Buckingham took the stance of supporting the anti-Calvinists Warwick despised; if he went against Charles, he would lose his position of favourite - this reinforced his relationship with Charles
-Charles would not even be slightly dissuaded from supporting anti-Calvinist Arminians
-Conference focused on the writings of Richard Montagu and Arminian clergyman who generated controversy.

Religious division in Parliament

-Tensions generated between Puritans and Armenians also erupted in P.
- P attempted to bring Montagu to trial because of his religious writings in 1625 which was followed by his arrest by Commons' Serjeant at arms.
-Moderate non-Puritan Anglicans resented also resented Montagu because they felt he characterised all his opponents as Puritans.
-By pursuing Montagu Parliament was directly challenging a clergyman and doctrine that had the support of the king and was a key reason why Charles dissolved parliament that summer.

Reactions against foreign policy and the role of Buckingham

-Parliament was wary of Charles' active foreign policy and refused to grant hum sufficient funds to pursue a war with Spain without ongoing cooperation with Parliament.
-One of Ps reasons for Charles' inept foreign policy was the Mansfield Expedition 1624.
-This was a military campaign that Charles and Buckingham persuaded the ageing James to support intending to support Frederick, Charles' brother in law to take back lands in Palatinate from Spanish Hapsburg conquerors.
-They sent an army under Count Mansfield to join with French but disaster as diplomacy broke down bc French King demanded his allies help him on his own military mission in Spanish Netherlands.
-James refused compliance and Louis XIII retaliated by refusing to grant safe passage of Mansfield's men through French territory.
-The expedition marooned in United Provinces where its soldiers wasted away through starvation and sickness.

The Cadiz expedition Sept 1625

-Although Charles and Buckingham's anti Spanish policy was popular in the last Parliament of James reign the failure of the Mansfield expedition and concessions to Catholics in marriage treaty frustrated 1625 Parliament.
-Charles continued to endeavour to support Elector Frederick and decided to send an invasion fleet to Spanish port of Cadiz.
-This was financed by queen's 120k dowry and intended to start a war on a second front to distract Spanish away from Palatinate.
-The Cadiz campaign set sail in Sept 1625 failed to capture the port or any of the Spanish treasure but most soldiers rendered themselves useless getting hideously drunk on Spanish wine.
-Parliament was furious and the expensive failure blames on Buckingham as Lord High Admiral.

Relations with France

-With the marriage of Charles to Henrietta Maria the English expected France to cooperate in foreign policy to isolate their common enemy the Spanish Hapsburgs.
-However Louis XIII was determined to act only in France's own interests and revealed his reluctance t act against Spain in 1625 when he refused to join an alliance between the United Provinces and England in Sept. Of several other countries asked to join only Denmark did.
-As a result Charles agreed to pay 30k to develop the Danish army.
-In Sep 1625 a small number of English ships loaned to France were used by Richelieu, French chief minister, to defeat a force of Huguenots at La Rochelle.
-Embarrassing for Charles when he recalled the English ships he was ignored by the French.
-Charles' marriage began badly resulting in a complete breach. Seemed the alignment with France to be pointless and when France had agrees a separate peace treaty with Spain in Feb 1626 it appeared disastrous for Protestant cause in England.
-Buckingham was the focus of blame given his role in French negotiations was furious and attempted to effect the removal of Richelieu from power.
-He contacted disaffected French nobles and planned and uprising supported by Huguenots which needed to be financed so Charles recalled Parliament in Feb 1626.

Attempted impeachment of Buckingham May 1626

-Whilst Parliament sought blame for forign policy on Buckingham, Charles blamed Parliament for not giving him enough money.
-Charles was seen as more antagonistic to 1626 P was despite his attempts at compromise by indicating a shift to anti-French policy, Mps launched impeachment proceedings against Buckingham
-sir John Elliot and Dudley Diggs directed the attack in the Commons but testimony of Earl of Bristol proved dangerous for Buckingham as he was the ambassador of Spain when Buckingham and Charles arrived in 1623.
-He knew that Charles had bribed Spanish courtiers and promised to offer concessions to English Catholics if a Spanish match secured.
-Charles charged Bristol with treason but the earl offered evidence in the Lords that persuaded them Buckingham should be charged instead.
-once impeachments hearings heard in May 1626 Eliot and Digges imprisoned in Tower of London.
-Trying to stop the impeachment Charles threatened Parliament's future in a statement of absolutism so it was easy to make a case of this bc of his continued reliance on prerogative financial measures and the dissolution of the 1626 Parliament to protect Buckingham and Montagu.

La Rochelle raids 1627-28

-Late 1627 Buckingham launched another naval expedition in the hope of relieving the Huguenots under attack by Richelieu's forces at La Rochelle .
-Now England and France were at war and the international situation complicated further by a new alliance between France and Spain.
-Buckingham's forces landed on the Ile de Rhe when French troops withdrew into the stronghold of St Martin, Buckingham laid siege.
-After months of deadlock a direct assault failed bc the English scaling ladders were too short. The fleet sailed home after another expensive debacle.
-During 1624-28 50k men had serves in Buckingham's forces and nearly a third died.
-Of 7833 soldiers sent to La Rochelle only 2989 returned, disappointment that one of them was Buckingham.
-Charles' loyalty to the duke appeared misguided and dangerous to England's interest and all his funds had been spent and he had to recall Parliament in 1628.