The emergence of conflict and the end of consensus 1625-29
The Acceded the throne with a tactical parliament, religious divisions, financial
Legacy complexities and a hostile international climate
of James
I
Religious 1. Gunpowder Plot:
issues - James Initially Promised not to 'persecute any that will be quiet and
and give a quiet obedience to the law'. Public hostility was larger to this
divisions policy and he was outmanoeuvred by his first Parliament: had to
reverse the policy. This triggered Gunpowder Plot to kill the king and
government in 1605
- Consequences:
- recusancy Fines increased
- Catholics removed from government posts
- Catholics had to affirm to Oath of Allegiance in 1606
- Growth of fear of catholicism
2. Parliament had seen the cause of war with the Palatinate as one of
religion that was started by Catholics. However, James and likewise
Charles saw it as one of political power. Therefore a political solution
was pursued regarding the Spanish match, but only made English
people worry about connections to Catholicism
- However Charles did agree with Parliament that Spain was the
enemy after their 1623 captivation in Spain and wanted
revenge.
3. Charles promised no religious concessions would be made over a
marriage treaty with France but it was broken as recusancy laws were
suspended and she could freely worship in a chapel open to the
Catholic public.
Relations Political:
between 1. unpopular officials could be impeached despite the king
Crown - Bacon's impeachment in 1621, by which parliament attempted to
and regain a degree of dominance over chancery that was lost with Coke's
Parliame dismissal from office. Canfield joined with Coke to remove him on
nt charge of corruption as Lord Chancellor. Parliamentary heads using
revenge to undermine crown powers for rivalry and their own political
gain.
2. King cannot stop it except by dissolving parliament = a limitation of the
royal prerogative powers e.g., the only way James could stop the
impeachment of Mompesson and Mitchell (monopolists) was to
dissolve the 1621 parliament which he could not do if he wanted them
to discuss foreign policy, so had to sacrifice them
3. aspects of the king’s prerogative could be curbed by legislation
(monopolies)
, - 1621 Parliament ‘The Statute of Monopolies’= limits kings right to grant
individuals monopolies, was an easy source of revenue that had
allowed James to sell 100 monopolies
Slightest support for Parliament was met with over optimism= believed their
authority was growing
Financial:
1. Commons learnt lessons in how to strengthen their position under
James as they could restrict how much money was spent.
- Exploiting the monarch’s financial weakness, in The Great Contract of
1610 Parliament was able to offer a counter argument (of requesting
an additional abolition of impositions) that prevented the passing of the
deal that would mean 200,000 a year and 600,000 one off subsidy.
Short term limited Charles to his ordinary revenue
- Granted two subsidies worth £140,000 at political cost of discussing
foreign policy, the Palatinate (discussed Protestant leading action)
- 1624 Parliament, voted £300,000. However within the subsidy act it
was outlined ‘maintenance of that war’, and ‘Royal Navy’. Puts Crown
under supervision by officials appointed by parliament. Significant
infringement on royal prerogative by parliamentary powers= insatiable
desire for increased political authority in its role.
- 1625 Disregard for Subsidy Act as the expedition was a land
war to Germany, and France after failure, consumed their
treasure as 1621 Parliament stated. (60,000 of the subsidy
wasted in expression of defiance)
Relations 1. James had made efforts for a balanced foreign policy
with - 1604 Treaty of London ended war with Spain
foreign - 1609 Alliance with France
powers - 1613 Marriage of daughter Elizabeth to Elector Frederick V of the
Palatinate
- Pursuit of Spanish match for son, Prince Charles
2. Crown moved away from stated intentions as there was no naval war
or battle with Spain but expedition led by Mansfield to the Continent
against Commons wishes took place
Monarchy
and the
Divine Right
,Character of - Reserved = favoured company of trusted few = such as Buckingham
Charles I and Laud etc
- 1st February 1624 Laud diary entry, if [charles] had to choose a
profession, he could not be a lawyer because: ‘I cannot defend a
bad nor yield a good cause’ = automatic politician and not a
constitutional figurehead, potential issues as he needs the ability to
compromise
- Won’t give up on something he believes is right ‘protection, but not
liberty’
Aims of
Charles I
The Queen 1. Religion
and the - Henrietta Maria’s mother (Marie de Medici) was a fervent Catholic
court - Freedom of worship and attendants written into marriage treaty
- ⅕ English gentry catholic
- With Earl of Holland (Protestant), secured freedom of arrests in
1630s
2. Politics
- Estrangement and dismissal of French courtiers 1625-28 provoked
by Buckingham, her political influence grew
- French ambassador Marquis de Châteauneuf consolidated
her position and developed a faction that included Earl of
Holland and Wat Montagu = pro-French balance assembling
around pro-Spanish faction regarding Laud and Weston
3. Court culture
- Brought French culture such as court masque 1625, Puritans often
saw as ungodly
- References to Virgin Mary e.g. Catholic Ben Jonson poem ‘Epigram
to the Queen, Then Lying in’ opened ‘Hail Mary’ and compared royal
birth to royal birth of Jesus
Ideas of 1. Demonstrations
royal - Remodelled Whitehall, ceiling by Peter Paul Rubens included ‘The
authority Apotheosis of James I’ = depth of convictions of divine right
2. Divine right opposition
- Some parliamentary members resisted monarchical power
perspective
- Catholics think Pope’s authority could be displaced
, - Puritans believed king had earthly power = shouldn’t be allowed to
appoint bishops
Challenges
to the
arbitrary
government
of Charles I
Reactions 1. Tonnage and poundage - 1625 Parliament - charles wants money
against for war with Spain (no indication of amount required)
financial - An Act of Parliament that set custom duties noted in Book of Rates
policies
was traditionally passed once at the start of each reign.
- Session was going to be cut short because of plague so the House
of Commons passed T + P for one year only, parliament
adjourned and reassembled three weeks later but MPs were no
more sympathetic and made clear their unwillingness to grant more
money = Charles saw this as an attack on his authority =
dissolved parliament and no customs duties are made ->
effectively made all the customs duties impositions, as king
continued to collect duties (on the basis of necessity as he
could not give up half of his ordinary income when faced with a
possible war) but they had not been passed by parliament (most
important part of royal income)
- Outcome of 1625 parliament:
- First parliament of reign not a success – both king and
Commons lost trust in the other:
- Charles – felt betrayed, did not understand how Commons
refused to finance a war they had approved by failure to
grant T+P = believed the Commons was being led astray
by a small group of conspirators who wished to undermine
royal authority
- MPs – bewildered by King’s refusal to negotiate with them
in the usual way Charles’ felt it was Common’s duty to
supply his needs first then to trust him to attend their
problems
2. 1626 Forced Loan
- 1626 parl. dissolved to save Buckingham = gov outgoings on war
w/o additional income except inadequate French ships (bringing
£50,000 in 1626)
- Loan levied on all subsidy payers, essentially parliamentary
taxation that had not been agreed by parliament, most people
summoned individually to pay = by 1627 end £260,000 had been
