English History

• The advisors of the king were not popular with Parliament, some promoted Catholicism or Arminianism
• Charles had married Henrietta Maria of France, a Catholic, and she was allowed to freely practise Catholicism
• Charles's court had a closed nature, leading to suspicions of Catholic plots and straining relations with his subjects
• Charles believed in the divine right of kings and had contempt for Parliament, threatening to dissolve it if it opposed his policies
• Charles dissolved Parliament multiple times due to disagreements, including over funds for wars and the influence of Buckingham
• Forced loans were introduced to finance wars, unpopular and led to imprisonments
• The Act of Revocation 1625 took back land granted to Scottish nobles, unpopular as it seemed to restore Catholic influence
• The Five Knights Case 1627 involved imprisoned knights appealing for release, court found no authority over the king's decision, leading to more disdain towards Charles
• Third Parliament issued a Petition of Right to curb the king's power, forced Charles to accept demands, Buckingham was assassinated
• Charles dissolved Parliament in 1629 and ruled alone, known as the Personal Rule
• Charles attempted to raise funds without Parliament's consent, leading to tensions and discontent among his subjects
• Charles's court was viewed as alien, rumours of Popish plots arose, and religious tensions increased under the Personal Rule
• William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury, favored by Charles for his conformity, seen as attacking Anglican tradition due to his Arminian views
• William Laud introduced Laudian reforms to create a uniform church throughout the kingdoms
• Changes introduced by Laud:

  • Communion table moved to a different location in the church, from the centre to the side
  • Altar to have a rail around it
  • Clergy to wear more traditional and decorated attire to services
• Laud aimed to increase the power and authority of the clergy by restoring their lands and lay positions of power
• Protestants were concerned that Laud's changes resembled a gradual restoration of Catholic practices
• Charles's support of Laud and the Laudian reforms hurt his standing in the realm
• In 1637, Charles introduced the English Prayer Book to Scotland, causing riots
• Scottish nobles and clergy signed a Covenant to uphold their traditional church and not allow changes to be imposed on it
• Charles raised an army to force the Scots to accept the changes, leading to the Bishops' War
• Charles realized he needed Parliament to finance his army
• Parliament vs Charles:

  • Parliament was unwilling to vote large sums of money for military expeditions that were poorly executed
  • Insufficient funds led to conflict with Parliament and affected the success of foreign enterprises
• Anglo-French War 1626:

  • Relations with France deteriorated
  • Buckingham's failed expedition to La Rochelle in 1627
  • Parliament crisis fueled by the failure of the expedition
  • Buckingham's assassination in 1628 by Lieutenant John Felton
• Peace agreements:

  • Treaty of Souza in April 1629 with France
  • Treaty of Madrid in November 1630 with Spain