Britain: Charles as King 1625-49

• Charles I

  Inherits the throne in 1625 and inherits a £400,000 crown debt, refused a loan from the Commons, and refused tonnage and poundage
• Charles issues a proclamation forbidding discussing sensitive religious topics


  1626
• Five Knights case

  1627 - a number of gentry refused to pay forced loan. When they demanded habeus corpus they were told they were detained under special command of the king.
• George Abbott (Archbishop of Canterbury) suspended for refusing to grant an Arminian Service


  1627
• William Laud appointed to the Privy Council


  1628
• Role of Buckingham

  • Great influence over the King led to the opposition attacking him in Parliament in 1628
  • Had command of the Mansfield expedition in 1625 – half of the troops had died of starvation and disease before they had reached battle
  • Had command of the La Rochelle expedition – half of the 6000 troops died when Buckingham besieged the town – most of England blamed Buckingham
  • Charles stated that he would only work with Parliament if they stopped attacking Buckingham
  • Assassinated by a disgruntled sailor in 1628
• Petition of Right


  1628 - demanded there should be no imprisonment without trial, no forced loans, no martial law – Charles agreed
• The Three Resolutions - stated the collection of tonnage and poundage was unacceptable

  March 1629
• Eliot and 8 others arrested and Personal rule began

  March 1629
• Personal Rule 1629-40


  The Eleven Years' Tyranny
• Finance

  • Signed the 'Treaty of Madrid' 1630 - ended hostility with Spain annual war spending decreased from £500,000 in the 1620s to less than £70,000 in 1630s
  • Gained £358,000 from tonnage and poundage
  • 'Ship Money' tax made annual and for every county - raised around £200,000 a year
  • Issued monopolies for a fee – soap monopoly in 1634
  • Distraint of Knighthood tax – nearly £175,000 raised in fines for failing to present themselves at Charles' coronation
  • £40,000 in forest fines collected
• Religion

  • Beauty of Holiness – more colour added to Churches, stained glass windows – making churches look more Catholic again
  • Laud wanted more uniformity – more 'set' prayer, Catholic bishops being controlled – having to send detailed reports, pulpit moved so less preaching could take place
  • Star Chamber judging religious cases
  • Book of Sports reissued in 1633 – permitted people to take part in a number of approved activities on Sundays
  • 1636 - Book of Commons issued - included instructions on how Churches should be laid out
  • 1.1% of the population were Catholic
  • Feofees forced to disband
• Resistance

  • John Hampden cases 1636 – refused to pay ship money and when he was put on trial, 5 members ruled in favour of Hampden and 7 ruled in favour of the King
  • St Giles Cathedral 1637 – When the English Prayer Book was first read out, a riot broke out
  • National Covenant was made in 1638 to defend their religious rights
  • Tax Payers' Strike 1629 – 98% of ship money tax was pated in 1635-36, only 20% was payed in 1639
  • The First Bishops' War 1639 – The Scots raised an army to fight Charles' troops – The scottish army was far more superior and enthusiastic – Charles signed the Treaty of Berwick 1639 to end it
  • The Short Parliament – When Parliament met again, Charles was flooded with petitions against the personal rule and he dissolved parliament after just three weeks
  • The Second Bishops' War – The Scots once again easily defeated Charles' troops and he was forced to sign the Treat of Ripon which required him to pay £850 a day to the Scots to ensure they would not invade more of England whilst they occupied Newcastle
• Civil War 1640-46

  • Removing the Kings Counsellors - Laud imprisoned in November 1640 and executed in 1645, Wentworth imprisoned in 1640 and executed in 1641, Judges in the prerogative court were impeached, Lord Keeper Flinch fled to Europe in December 1640
  • Ensuring he was unable to collect taxes - 1641- tonnage and poundage outlawed, August 1641 – ship money made illegal, Declared it was illegal to impose fines in relation to knighthood and forest fines banned
  • Dealing with the Irish rebellion 1641 - Rumours and exaggeration made about the scale of people killed – was said 200,000 people killed in Ulster which was more than the population, Rmours of Irish Army in North-west England and tales of brutality and torture – led to a genuine fear and people were convinced that there was a popish plot and that Charles backed the rebels
  • Restricting the royal prerogative - Demands made such as giving Parliament command of the military for 20 years, List of grievances given to Charles – The Grand Remonstrance – and Bishops removed from government
• Windsor Prayer meeting - Ireton and other officers held a prayer meeting for 2 days asking for divine guidance - decided that a trial should be held


  April 1648
• Prides Purge - excluded 186 MPs from Parliament and arrested 45


  1648
• Putney Debates 1648


  Led by leveller officer Sir Thomas Rainsborough – demanded complete religious freedom and annual elections elected by all adult males – Cromwell was present but focused on maintaining civility between participants
• Charles trial took place

  20-27th January 1649
• Charles publicly beheaded


  30th January 1649