C.12

• How previous Tudor and early Stuart monarchs dealt w Catholic Ireland

  - Ireland was strongly Catholic so caused anxiety 4 early Tudors and Stuarts; Elizabeth I began a policy sending Protestants go settle in North of Ireland in Ulster, the plan accelerated under James I who encouraged Scottish settlers to move to Ireland also, they were given 'plantations' taken from Catholic landowners

  - Small powerful group of Irish Catholics including men like Phelim O'Neill had been watching events in Scot, from Feb 1642 rumours of plotting and overthrowing Ulster (Protestant plantation) emerged. In Oct 22 rebels took control of key strongholds e.g. Charlemont
• Reasons for Irish rebellion

  Constitutional reform:

  • Wentworth's recall back to England in 1639 created power vacuum, the Catholic noblemen behind the Oct 1641 uprising wanted to achieve a similar settlement of Scotland 1638-41 but w stronger Catholicism; In the Long Parli a plan was put together to enforce more anti- Catholic legislation and the plantation policy begun to revive

  VENGENCE:

  • Catholics who had been evicted from homes in Ulster decided to take revenge with military muscle from 30 yrs war. Estimated Protestant deaths : 2,000 - 200,000
• Significance of Irish Rebellion

  Bridge of Portadown:

  • many confirmed this; where 100 of women and children were stripped and forced to jump in to a river to drown

  - Phelim O'Neil claimed the King had ordered him to rebel to strike a blow at Parliament

  - Pym introduced an 'additional instruction' in November to support raising an army for Ireland

  only councillors approved by Parliament should be involved won by 151 to 110
• The militia bill

  - On 7 December 1641, Sir Arthur Haselrig introduced the Militia Bill, removed the king's power to summon the militia + gave Parliament authority to appoint army commanders

  - Charles criticized Parliament for claiming too much power, saw it as a threat to the kingdom's stability

  • Debates over the bill were intense and lasted into February
• Charles by end of 1641

  - king returned from Scotland in Nov 1641 and city alderman and crowds greeted

  - petitions in support of episcopacy were coming in from counties + Charles placed a Royalist, Thomas Lunsford in charge of Tower of London
• Impeachment of bishops + Charles response

  - On 29 dec lords accepted a commons vote of impeachment against bishops , this would lead tho their exclusion in House of Lords weakening Charles support:

  • Parliament galvanised in to action by petitioning a campaign which resulted in 30,000 signatures in support of exclusion

  - Charles response was rapid on 3 Jan 1642 he issued his own impeachment proceedings for 'factitious spirits' :

  Pym, Hampden, Holles, Haselrig, Strode (from commons) and Edward Montagu (Lords)
• What Charles did after announcing impeachment of 5 mp's in commons

  What the 5 mp's did

  - They say in parliament on 4 Jan hearing that they were

  - Charles assembled 500 soldiers and accolades by his brother in law Frederick of the Palatine marched from Whitehall to Westminster

  • Left his armed guard at foot but in defiance of parliamentary privilege entered commons chamber and ordered Lenthall to point out the 5 mp's

  • Lenthalls response was:

  " I have neither eyes to see nor tongue to speak"

  - the 5 mp's had been warned and fled by boat to safety in City of London
• Aftermath of Failed arrest of 5 members

  Charles responded " I see the birds have all flown the nest" in response to them fleeing by boat

  - Mob surged on to street in protest against kings action, King was escorted to safety by Lord Mayor and other civic dignitaries but they were attacked too

  - a false rumour spread the king was advancing w 1,500 Calvary men

  • within an hour city was ready to defend itself, gates were shut, women built barricades across the streets w stools thousands of well armed men prepped to repel kings troops

  • support came in from outskirts of London + 1000 sailors
• What Charles decided to do after the anger of the London mob due to his failed arrest

  - Charles decided to move family from Whitehall to Hampton court palace

  - By entering House of commons and disregard for Parliaments legitimate privilege it portrayed him as absolutist

  - By leaving London he lost physical connection w capital making negotiations more difficult

  - A flood of petition arrived in the capital from the counties focused on addressing religious grievances, a new flurry of legislation followed:

  • Exclusion Bill 4 Feb 1642: removed bishops from House of Lords

  • Militia Ordinace was put before parliament on 15 Feb
• What was Militia Ordinace

  - Put before Parliament 15 Feb 1642: replaced Militia Bill

  - transfers the authority to appoint Lord Lieutenants and their deputies from king to Parliament

  - Turing it to Ordinace instead of bill meant Parliament didn't need Charles royal assent; was enacted on 5 March 1642

  - Parliament proposed raising £400,000 in support of militia by old ship mechanism
• Local grievances


  - Looking across nation as a whole = picture is much more complex + not easy to categorise

  - Multiple interests affected each individual decision; many families split into two
• Indicators of local allegiances

  RELIGION:

  - Parliament = half strong puritans

  - 1/3 of royalist gentry were Catholic

  GEOGRAPHY:

  - Puritanism stronger in south and east of England

  - York (where kings court was based) and North and West were royalist

  EMPLOYMENT:

  - tenants and farmers were royalist as they feared eviction by king

  - those tied to local employment had to follow leads of others

  - city cooperation = support for parliament
• Indicators of local allegiance pt 2

  INDIVIDUAL RIVALRIES:

  - Sir John Hothman was pushed out of local power by Wentworth so sided w Parliament but w ride of Parliamentarian Fairfax family in Yorkshire found himself out of contention so switched to Royalist in 1643

  LEADERSHIP:

  - Some areas picked a side because of strong local leaders, like Oliver Cromwell in East Anglia counties
• The slide in to war

  - efforts to gain control of militia caused sporadic conflict to break out in the early summer; the king only declared war by unveiling his standard (a flag flown when monarch is present; when unveiled means king is summoning those loyal to him to b ready to fight) in Nottingham in August
• Reasons to support the King

  - Fear of disorder: peak of popular disorder (in 1640's where 26 Counties saw riots) seen as society disintegrating

  - Constitutional royalism

  - Religious moderation
• Failure of negotiations between Charles and Parliament

  - Parliaments last efforts was 19 propositions and extension of the 10 in June 1642 included:

  • stronger anti-Catholic legislation

  • Anglican Church reformed according to Parliaments

  • 5 members cleared of all charges

  • king agree to Militia Ordinance and drop his use of commissions

  • Parliament educate royal children + choose who they will marry

  King said NO
• Kings response to 19 propositions

  - Said no, was supported by a petition that swiftly followed from Hertford warning parliament

  - Parliament declared Hertford petition to be scandalous libel
• Military prep for war

  - Queen was in The Hague trying to sell Crown Jewels for money + trying to persuade European royalty e.g Frederick Henry Prince of Orange to support Charles, was not successful.. any potential buyers concerned jewels bought would be claimed back by Parliament

  - King went to Hull in April to requisition the arms and ammunition that were in storage following the Bishops wars; Sir John Hoffman appointed new Governor of Hull by Parliament refused to let King in w/o a warrant
• Military prep for war pt 2

  May +

  - By May both sides began to issue orders from local gentry to raise militia

  - in June Parli issued formal order to raise militia which King countermanded by invoking different prerogative means of raising an army called the Commisions of Array: leading figures in counties given authority to raise forces for Crown

  - 12 July Parli passed a resolution to raise full army under command of Earl of Essex (fervent prosecutor of Strafford)

  - 22 August King raised his standard in Nottingham summoning all loyal English men and women to his cause