Chapter 9 political

• how long did the long parliament last?

  12 years

  3rd November 1649 - 1660
• what are MPs united in at the start of the Long Parliament?

  despite religious and political differences, none of them wanted civil war so united against Charles' abuse of the personal rule
• what reforms did Bedford's bridge appointment scheme to reform the Crown's finances by bridging the gap between parliament and the Crown include?

  1. abolition of the confrontational financial and political aspects of the personal rule

  2. return of the Elizabethan protestant church

  3. separate financial settlement for Charles agreed by parliament
• what made progress on the Bedford scheme difficult?

  -Charles was unsure about granting Bedford the title of Lord Treasurer

  -Bedford dies of smallpox in May 1641
• what did MPs view Wentworth as having the ability to do?


  viewed him as someone who could potentially make Charles absolutist
• why was Wentworth liked by Charles?

  1. loyal to Charles and was competent as shown by his ability to deal with the factions in Ireland

  2. he was going to become Charles' main advisor to remedy issues like bankruptcy and war with the Covenanters

  3. he supported war with Spain and aggressive anti-Spanish foreign policy
• what were parliament's criticisms of Wentworth?

  1. blame evil councillors like him and Laud for the Scottish crisis as blaming the king was criminal

  2. a direct attack on the king will undermine his divine right to rule and may result in societal chaos and a revolution

  3. views on his were split, some wanted him imprisoned, others like the Scots wanted him executed
• when does parliament impeach Wentworth and why?

  November 1640

  1. hope Charles will rule with parliament and accept reform

  2. wanted to replace the evil councillors with MPs like Pym and Bedford
• what is the bill of attainer?

  allows parliament to remove anyone seen as a threat to the state
• what do the Scottish declare in February 1641?

  they wont make peace with England unless:

  1. bishops were fully removed from Scotland

  2. Wentworth was executed
• what 2 things heightened the political tension?

  1. after Charles orders all officers to return to the north with their army rumours about him using the army against parliament and him dissolving it began

  2. on the 3rd may 1641 Pym revealed rumours of the Army Plot - a plot where army officers will seize the tower of London to free Wentworth
• why does Charles give royal assent to the bill of attainer?

  -increasing presence of the London crowd

  -the increased atmosphere of the army plot

  -protestation oath - an oath reflecting the shared belief of the link between Catholicism and absolutism

  -Charles began fearing for his family and especially his Catholic wife
• when was Wentworth executed?

  12th May 1641
• what was the London crowd?

  a negative term given to Londoners who participated in politics and supported parliamentary causes
• give 2 examples of events involving the London crowd

  1. signing of the Roots and Branch petition

  2. defence of the Tower of London during the Army Plot rumours
• what are John Pym's main aims?

  1. removal of the evil councillors

  2. political settlement without the fear of being overturned by Charles

  3. establishment of strong Protestantism with the removal of popery as he wants a pure true religion
• what did Pym believe would politically strengthen England?

  1. removing the personal rule

  2. restoring the protestant church
• what are Pym's methods to achieve his 3 aims?

  -impeaching Laud and Wentworth as the evil councillors

  -form an alliance with the Scottish covenanters

  -occupy the North of England using the Scottish covenanters as protection for parliament

  -support Bedford's bridge appointment scheme

  -use financial pressure to control Charles' political options

  -transfer some of the Crown's key prerogatives to parliament
• when is the Root and Branch petition signed and what does it demand?

  December 1640

  -end of bishops

  -end of episcopacy (bishop governed churches)
• how many Londoners sign the Root and Branch petition?

  15,000
• when is Laud impeached and executed?

  -impeached - 1640-41

  -executed - 1645
• why did the Root and Branch petition cause divisions in Parliament in February 1641?

  -Pym supported the petition and wanted to remove Charles' influence over the church

  -there was disagreements as to what to replace Laudianism with

  -many saw the dismantling of the church structure and the removal of bishops as undermining the order of society
• what is the Triennial act and when is it passed?

  15th February 1641

  -abolishes ship money without parliamentary consent

  -states Charles must call a parliament every 3 years

  -a parliament must last at least 50 days

  -if Charles fails to call a parliament the lord chancellor would automatically call a parliament

  -ensures there's no period of personal rule
• what were the 3 reasons for divisions in parliament after Bedford's death May 1641?

  1. preventing personal rule - MPs couldn't agree on how to prevent it

  2. Bill of Attainer - some MPs viewed Wentworth's removal using it as constitutionally dangerous

  3. Religion - for example the role of bishops cause divisions
• what's constitutional monarchy?


  radical beliefs like the London mob's power and parliament overtaking royal prerogative scared moderates who looked at the concept of monarchy rather than Charles as the protection of the moderate Protestant church, law and order
• what confirmed the radicalisation of parliament?

  the Ten Propositions of 24th June 1641
• what 3 things would Charles have to grant as stated in the 10 propositions?

  1. parliamentary input to the members of the privy council

  2. parliamentary control of those around the queen

  3. parliamentary control over religious education for royal children
• what does the Earl of Montrose and the 17 nobles sign in august 1640?

  how does Charles react?

  the Cumbernauld Band - stated a desire to defend the king

  -this agreement was appreciated by Charles who saw this alliance with the Scottish as an opportunity to remove the occupying army of Scotland from the north of England

  -he agrees to the abolition of episcopacy and the Scottish reforms
• when does Charles leave for Scotland?

  what do the commons organise and why?

  august 1641

  -commons organise the Committee of defence to send commissioners to keep an eye on Charles as he was distrusted

  -this fuelled divisions in parliament
• what was the Incident of October 1641?

  why was it known as the incident?

  -a plot created by extremist royalists to kidnap radical covenanters with the aim of getting rid of them

  (for example Archibald Campbell)

  -this destroyed Charles' hope for Scottish support as he was associated with the plan by attending the Edinburgh parliament on the 12th of October 1641 with his armed force and by the time he left on the 17th of November he had lost all Scottish support

  -this left him appointing opponents who didn't support him into the English parliament
• when does the Irish rebellion begin?

  why is it described as a billiard ball effect?

  October 1641, lasts until 1642

  -the rebellion was largely prompted by the events in Ireland and Scotland which in turn radicalised the situation in England

  -parliament were divided over if Charles could be trusted with leading the English army
• what heightened fear in Ireland during the rebellion?

  -protestant minorities felt threatened by Catholicism and wanted to avenge the protestant massacres

  -second army plot of 1641 also raised fear as there was rumours about Charles bringing Wentworth and his army to Ireland to undermine the parliament
• what was the grand remonstrance and when is it introduced?

  when is it times to be introduced and why?


  November 1641

  -list of criticisms of Charles' government since 1625 and Buckingham's foreign policy

  -Pym used this as evidence that Charles couldn't be trusted to lead the English army

  -it was timed to be introduced right before Charles came back from Scotland so it can be appealed to the London crowd
• how did moderates feel about the grand remonstrance of November 1641?

  felt alarmed and threatened with its anti-Catholic language and content
• when did the Westminster Assembly of divines meet and what was it?

  July 1643

  -a parliament of clergy who meet separately to discuss religious issues
• what 3 things made the grand remonstrance significant?

  1. it was a direct attack on Charles despite it's attempt to not directly accuse the king

  2. the political issues were directed to involve the people in order to put pressure on MPs

  3. there was major debates as to whether the grand remonstrance should be published or not showing the deep divisions in parliament
• what were the 2 reasons many MPs were leaving parliament in 1641?


  1. grand remonstrance was passed by 11 votes showing the strong divisions in parliament

  2. parliament had become radicalise due to Pym's growing influence
• when was the Militia Bill introduced and what was it?

  who introduced it and with what aim?

  7th December 1641 - a bill that forced MPs to decide on who should be in charge of the army

  -introduced by Sir Arthur Haselrig

  -its main aims were:

  1. remove the king's power over the trained army bands

  2. give parliament the power to appoint army commanders

  -this was an attempt of parliament to propose they should be in charge of the army to crush the Irish rebellion
• why was the Militia Bill revolutionary?

  1. it directly questioned Charles' prerogatives

  2. attempted to transfer those prerogatives to Parliament
• how does Charles respond to the Militia Bill?


  -Charles releases his public statements on the 23rd December 1641 claiming himself to be a protector of the fundamental law

  -this idea of Charles as a defender of the constitution was favoured and acknowledged by constitutional royalists

  (for example Edward Hyde)