politics 1.1

• upon taking the throne in 1625 Charles was greeted with a nation facing some level of instability
• shortly after coming to power Charles established forced loans (an illegal tax) in order to make up for his lack of tonnage and poundage
• parliament proposed the petition of rights to Charles I, this was a reasonable doctrine that included basic liberties: no tax without consent, no marital law in peace time, no baseless imprionment. Charles I declined it 
• Charles I disolved pariament multiple times: in 1625 because parliement where critical toward him and didn't grant tonnage and pounded, in 1626 because parliament once again refused to grant him money, In 1629 he embarked on personal rule
• parliament unfairly blamed Charles I for the failings of his father but Charles I also acted unreasonably
• Buckingham was Charles' I main advisor but he was also responsible for the failure in Cadiz and La Rochelle. Parliament can be described as being overly critical towards Buckingham, this made Charles upset and caused tension between the crown and parliament
• in 1626 parliament tried to pass several laws. after the failure of the petition of rights they proposed the 3 resolutions: a limit on extra taxations, a limiting on the power of troops, and a limit on billeting. these where all very reasonable but Charles I rejected them 
• Laud was promoted by Charles I to help establish more arminian values and practices. the laudian reforms where very extreme: dissenting ministers would be called before the church courts and punished by the star council in cruel ways
• Charles I forced religious reform on Scotland ordering the conversion of the high Kirk into an anglican cathedral as well as forcing ministers to use the English prayer book
• religious reforms in Scotland triggered the riot as St Gilles cathedral which started the Scottish revolution
• as a consequence of the Scottish revolution the bishops war began which resulted in the triumph of the Scotts over the crown. this only made England's financial issues worse
• Charles I was unable to run the country under personal rule due to a lack of funding. he tried to implement absolute taxation such as: forest fines and distraint of the monarch but these caused tension and led to civil war 
• because of parliaments constant refuse to grant Charles I money he was publicly weak which cause him to be unable to control Scotland, ultimately starting the civil war
• when Charles I embarked on the bishops war there was a taxpayers strike
• parliament made many attempts to cooperate with Charles I though the petition of rights, the three resolutions and the removal of Buckingham. but Charles I was unable to help himself
• despite being aware that his access to funds was dependant on his relationship with parliament, Charles I continued to act irresponsibly
• in January 1642 Charles I attempted to arrest 6 MP's despite just having been in a period of personal rule and having a pressing need to cooperate with parliament
• in forcing the book of cannons (the English prayer book) on Scotland Charles I knowingly provoked a powerful army causing an unwinable war
• in order for the rump to continue functioning they needed to finance a standing army which meant a high level of taxation
• in April 1649 the rump began to sell crown land in order to raise money
• the war with the dutch led to the government being in debt 700k
• as protector, Cromwell embarked on a rule of major generals under which he had extensive power over the army and politics
• for the first 9 months of the rule of the major generals Cromwell acted as a dictator as parliament hadn't been called 
• the protectorate was allowed to have a standing army of 30k
• Cromwell didn't allow the parliament to redraw the constitution during the first protectorate
• Cromwell arrived in Ireland in 1649 in order to suppress royalist and catholic support - this caused mass death
• Cromwell was simply a king without crown. he acted as though he was the champion of democracy while simultaneously endorsing military rule and acting in a tyrannical manner
• despite being critical of Charles I personal rule, Cromwell's protectorates where essentially just a more legitimised personal rule
• there was no separation of powers under Cromwell as he was head of army, politics, and in control of religion
• under Cromwell the republics where very unstable as there was essentially a revolving door of power
• Cromwell was offered the humble petition and advice which would have allowed him to become king but he declined this
• the rump parliament faced a constant threat of rebellion: the 5th monarchists where attempting to seize power as they thought christ was being re-born, the ranters believed they where destined for salvation so caused anarchy 
• the anglo dutch war cost England 90k in one month
• the republics where conservative in nature with only 125 acts being passed between 1649 and 1652
• the first protectorate has minimal legislative success with only basic reforms being achieved: the postal service was reformed, roads where maintained and bear baiting was banned
• the nominated assembly didn't pass any reforms. this reflected badly as the republic's claim to legitimacy was that they would be more efficient than a monarchy
• despite ruling like a king Cromwell rejected the humble petition and advice which would have made him a more stable and democratic leader
• post exclusion crisis James I ascended the throne facing minimal opposition from parliament and being given ample finances
• James' I main aim as a Catholic king was to achieve religious toleration so he tried to pass the indulgence act but this raised too much suspicion so he had to pass the act of uniformity
• the restoration settlement was passed in 1660 and intended to limit the kings powers and bring stability to the nation