History Stuarts - Monarchs and Parliaments 1603-29

James I

• Reigned 1603-29

• Pragmatic - realised he had to work with parliament

• Did dissolve parliament down to frustration several times

Charles I

• 1625-49

• unsuited to kingship

• unprepared for role

• did not get along with parliament

Charles II

• 1660-85

• spent formative years in mainland Europe

• restored to the throne 1660

• pragmatic

James II

• principled and stubborn

• Catholicism dominated political force which led to revolution

William and Mary

• (1689-1701)(1689-1694)

• Invited to take over from James II

What happened to landowners and the commercial sector during this period?

1. Landowners became less economically powerful and therefore less politically influential

2. The commercial sector grew in economic strength and therefore more politically influential

Why was London a significant centre of change?

1. Increased self-confidence of tradesmen

2. Growth of suburbs

1. What metaphors were commonly used for the monarchy?

2. Explain these metaphors

1. “fathers of families” “head of the body”

2. describes how the king was at the centre of the political nation and provided for his subjects in return of obedience

Prerogative

the power of the crown, given by gods to monarchs

Name four prerogative powers of the king

1. Foreign Diplomacy as the Head of State

2. Declaration of war as the commander in chief

3. Legislation due to his right to call and dissolve parliament

4. Religion as the Head of the Church of England

What stopped James I from being an Absolutist Monarch?

Finance as funds could only be raised through parliament.

Subsidies

a sum of money to promote or aid crown policies e.g warfare

Were Parliament willing to grant subsidies often? Why/Why not?

No, parliament were reluctant to vote for subsidies because it meant the wealthy political nation would have to pay tax.

Name and explain 4 Prerogotive Finances

1. Crown Lands - sold / rented out land. This meant income went down as it couldnt keep up with inflation

2. Custom duties - taxes from goods imported into countries

3. Feudal dues - Monarch could control estates inherited by under 21s

What was the effect of feudal dues on parliament?

Caused issues and distrust with parliament, as it could lead to the monarch not requiring to call parliament

What other than financed led the king to not become an absolutist moncarchy? Why?

The political nation because he needed them to help control the population.

Why couldnt the monarch control the whole population alone?

he didnt have a police force or civil service

he only had less than 2000 officials

How did the monarch rely on the political nation?

1. Justicies of peace ran local government

2. Used to collect taxes

3. trained the militia

4. conducted trials

What was the unwritten constitution?

A mixture of parliamentary laws, common laws and documents such as the magna carta

What was the problem with the unwritten constitution and why could this be beneficial?

It was open to interpretation, but this meant that it could lead to compromises from the ability to interpret in different ways.

1. What were the powers of the monarch

1. Prerogative Powers

2. Crown Income

What were the limitations to the Monarch?

1. Parliament had control over subsidies

2. The crown was reliant on the political nation

How many people were there in england by 1603?

4,110,000

What was the ratio of the normal person to a member of the political nation

1:200

Name 3 groups in the Political Nation

Aristocracy

Lesser gentry

Pseudo-gentry

What was the annual income to be classified as in the Political Nation?

40 shillings(£2)

Was was meant by a patriarchial society? Why was this the case?

Society controlled by men.

It was believed that god gave power to fathers.

What happened to the population 1500-1650

nearly doubled

Name 5 effects of the increase of the population that strained hierarchial society

1. Increased inflation

2. food shortages

3. land shortage

4. unemployment

5. reliance on poor relief

What was the effect of the increased population on the poor?

poorest of the poor couldnt get as much food as the increase in demand couldnt be met.

many died from famine in the 1620s

what happened with the rich due to the increased population

rich got richer due to the increased population allowing them to put land prices up.

What was the paternalist duty?

those above others looked after those beneath them in hardship

Distinguish the two different types of wealth

1. Land - was central to power and wealth because an increase in population meant higher prices for food

2. Pseudo gentry wealth - working in proffesions like the church, merchants, laywers meant they could buy land.