Charles I Pre-U Paper 1b Early Modern British History Notes (Written by a D1 Student)
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Course
Paper 1b British History, c.1399–c.1760
Institution
CIE
In need of some help to smash your Pre-U exam on Charles I? Then look no further!
Written by a D1 student who later obtained a first in History from Oxford, these detailed notes can help you save time and obtain a better mark.
The 29 pages of word-processed notes cover the following core topi...
- Foreign polic
- Clashes with Parliament to 162
- The religious outlook of Charles I and religious policies under Lau
- Wentworth and Irelan
- The personal rule in England and its opponent
- The end of personal rule and the calling of Parliament 164
The origins, course and outcomes of the British Civil Wars
- The Short Parliamen
- The Irish Rebellion of 164
- The summoning of the Long Parliament; the parliamentary opposition; limitations
imposed on the King’s power; the widening breac
- Declaration of war; the balance of the side
- The First Civil War; main events, political and militar
- The growth of radical religious and political movements; the Leveller
- Explanations for Parliament’s victor
- The Second Civil War; causes and outcome
- The role of the Scots, 1642–5
Commonwealth and Protectorate 1649–1660
- The trial and execution of Charles
Question
1) How wisely did James I and Charles I deal with the challenge of Puritanism? (2010
2) Assess the importance of the Scots in military and political events in the period 1642–
51. (2010
3) ‘The dif culties faced by James I and Charles I in dealing with Parliament in the period
1604–29 were of their own making.’ Discuss. (2011
4) Why were the British people increasingly divided by religious issues in the period 1603–
42? (2011
5) How is the renewal of civil war in 1648 best explained? (2011
6) How successfully did James I and Charles I deal with their nancial problems between
1603 and 1629? (2012
7) Do religious issues alone explain the unpopularity of Archbishop Laud? (2012
8) ‘Superior military organisation accounts for Parliament’s success in the First Civil War.’
Discuss. (2012
9) With what justice may Charles I’s personal rule (1629–40) be regarded as a period of
tyranny? (2013
10) ‘Finance lay at the root of the problematic relationship between Crown and Parliament
between 1603 and 1629.’ Discuss. (2014
11) How persuasive is the view that the personal rule of Charles I (1629–40) was a time of
peace and good government? (2014
12) Account for the appeal and signi cance of Puritanism in the years 1603–42. (2015
13) Was Charles I personally responsible for the outbreak of civil war? (2015
14) How effective was the personal rule of Charles I in the years 1629–1640? (2016
15) Why was Charles I executed in 1649? (2016
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, Backgroun
Charles only acquired signi cance in 1612 following the death of his brother Henry from typhoid
fever, when he became heir to England and Scotland
Charles became increasingly alienated from his father, whose lack of personal dignity disgusted
him. This was worsened after 1615 by James’ growing infatuation with Buckingham, who was only
a few years older than Charles and clearly preferred over Charles by the king.
However, by 1619 Charles gave up challenging Villiers and they became good friends. This may
have been because he realised that siding with Buckingham was the best way to regain James’
affection or because of Villiers’ charm
Buckingham and Charles’ friendship was cemented by the 1623 trip to Madrid. They failed and
returned to “the greatest expression of joy by all sorts of people that ever I saw” (Laud).
Charles convinced himself that the Spanish had treated him dishonourably in Madrid. When James
died in March 1625, Charles succeeded him and war with Spain followed
Personal traits
Unlike his father, Charles was re ned, cultivated, nancially responsible and careful to portray
himself as a worthy holder of the sacred of ce of kingship. However, his character had two aws
Lack of empathy
- Charles failed to understand the views of others and refused to accept that he should be
expected to try to do so
- Conrad Russell: Many of his mistakes were the result of “simple incomprehension of ideological
positions remote from his own.
- Charles did not like to be criticised, was a poor negotiator, lacked con dence in his ability as a
leader and did not like abandoning his policies, no matter how unpopular they were
- Charles demanded total loyalty from those who served him but was incapable of inspiring it.
When Lord Cottington's (one of his closest advisors) wife died in childbirth, Charles insisted he
remained at court rather than join his family in the country
Stubborn attachment to underlying principles of kingship
- Belief he could be called to account only be God. Charles did not enjoy politics and did not
believe he should demean himself by engaging in it
- He alone knew best what was good for the state and anyone who challenged his policies was
attacking his capabilities and his authority
- He could appear dishonest and untrustworthy. If he didn’t accept the premise of opposition, or if
he felt that it went against his God-given authority, then he believed that the was justi ed in
reversing decisions
- Kevin Sharpe (1992): Charles was “a man of profound and deep principle”
- Sharpe (1992): Charles saw the process of government as the “devising of the right rules and
the implementation of them.
Buckingha
He was Charles’ closest friend. However, he was intensely unpopular
- The jealousy of other courtiers turned into fear by the end because Buckingham’s grip on power
and the extent of his patronage were so great
- Buckingham was blamed for the failure of the invasion eet against France in 1625
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, - He urged Charles to adopt “new councils” and dispense with parliaments
Lockyer has argued that the nature of Buckingham’s power and in uence has been exaggerated.
Wilkinson further argues that Buckingham was simply a scapegoat. However, he was deeply
involved in foreign policy (La Rochelle and Cadiz) and in religion (he championed Laud and
Arminianism)
Parliaments 1625-2
Whilst there was generally optimism at the start of a new reign, this was especially true in the case
of Charles
- It was clear that he would take his responsibilities seriously and would be a more digni ed head
of state than James
- Charles was the rst adult male monarch since Henry VIII to have been brought up in England,
so it was felt that he knew the country very well
- Since 1623 he had gained great popularity for championing an aggressive anti-Spanish foreign
policy and had cooperated closely with the MPs of the 1624 Parliament to achieve this
This optimism quickly evaporated and by the end of the 1620s “the stability of the government and
the nation had been threatened to a degree which had not occurred since the 1550s” (Durston)
- Growing tension and con ict in the rst three parliaments of the reign, so much so that Charles
decided to dispense with Parliament for the foreseeable future
- Simultaneous war against both France and Spain
- Rapid rise of Arminianism
- Charles’ questionable use of prerogative taxation (e.g. impositions)
- Buckingham was intensely unpopular
- Fear of tyranny and absolutism
The early weeks of the reign were dominated by the king’s marriage to Henrietta Maria, who
arrived in England in early June 1625. The marriage, however, was unsuccessful
- She was too lively to be a natural companion for Charles
- She was a devout Catholic and took seriously her promises to the pope and her family to
advance the cause of Catholics in England
- Buckingham wanted the marriage to fail as he didn’t want competition for Charles’ affections
The rst parliament (1625
Charles needed money for the war against Spain. MPs granted him two subsidies (worth around
£100,000). Most of them failed to understand that this would meet the costs of a major military
campaign for only a few weeks. Charles failed to explain his position to Parliament and the pro-
Catholic French alliance further antagonised MPs
MPs did not pass the traditional vote giving the monarch the right to collect tonnage and poundage
for life, granting Charles to authority to collect them only for a year. This has traditionally been seen
as a provocative challenge to Charles’ authority. However, it could have been just a temporary
measure that would allow them to revisit the question and consider reforming the customs system
once the plague had receded in London. Charles collected it anyway
Religion also caused issues. Charles favoured the Arminians. When John Pym strongly attacked
Richard Montagu’s book “A New Gag for an Old Goose” in the 1625 parliament, Charles made
Montagu one of his personal chaplains
Interval between the rst and second parliament
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