History

• Dissenters


  Oppose following a centralised national church
• Why will dissent survive and grow?

  • Commitment to their beliefs
  • Support from sympathiser
  • Mistakes by opponents by either increasing sympathy's for dissenters through harsh persecution, or policies that make dissenters and conformists have common grounds
• Puritanism under Charles I

  • Dissenters were a tiny minority in 1625 - Less than 1% of population
  • John Smyth set up the general Baptist movement - 5 churches
  • By 1640 Henry Jacob set up 8 churches in London, but there were only 1000 dissenters in London by 1642 out of the population 350,000
• Charles I and the Puritans

  Using prerogative courts, Charles and Laud sought to persecute dissenters and protect conformity in COFE
• The long parliament


  Saw a general unity between puritan dissenters and moderate Anglicans, allowing them to pursue toleration and spread of their beliefs, principally by encouraging preaching
• Cromwells death


  His efforts to balance freedom of religion and stability had achieved mixed results. Cromwell allowed dissenting groups to set up national organisations and take confessions of faith. Many of the more dangerously political religious sects had disappeared
• Group causing most concern for authorities

  • Quakers
• The Blasphemy Act - 1650


  Used to persecute and wipe out the most extreme dissenting groups, however groups such as the Quakers dug in and kept worshipping
• Clarendon code


  Uniformity of worship - High church strategy to create uniformity - Was four acts over 4 years - Exclude non-conformists from public office
• Cooperation Act - 1661


  Impossible for non-conformists to hold government offices
• Act of uniformity - 1662


  Excluded non- conformists from church offices
• Impact of Act Of Uniformity - 1000 ministers ejected. Many refused to give up their ministries as they had so much support from their parish
• Conventicle Act - 1664


  Forbid meeting in private of dissenters groups
• Five Mile Act - 1665


  Drove non conformists away by forcing ex-clergy to live 5 miles away from the parishes they had previously served
• Why was the Clarendon Code special?

  • Motivated by bitterness and revenge
  • Scale and numbers of people affected
  • Directed primarily at those who wanted to remain in the church
• By 1666 mood of revenge fading among Cavalier parliament


  • 1667 first Conventicle act expired
  • New network of Presbyterians were emerging - Meetings between Presbyterians and Congregationalists
• Huge commitment to beliefs

  • 1669 - Richard Frankland founded an academy to train non conformist clergy
  • 1678 - First ordinantions
  • 1689 - + 100 new recruits had been trained
• Improvements in dissenters in 1660s showed organisation among dissenters and that the average person tolerated dissenters
• Difficulties for Quakers 1660

  • George Fox persecuted heavily
  • 1661-64 - Quaker leaders arrested and imprisoned
  • George Fox was imprisoned in Scarborough Castle in 1664. When released Quakers were on the verge of collapse
• How Fox saved Quakers


  Ran meetings and committees to make Quakers an organised force
• Sheldon's response to increase Quaker impact

  Attempted to crack down - Passed second conventicle act 1670 but impact was limited
• Sympathy for dissenters in the 1660s was growing especially in upper class
• What did Charles II do after the fall of Clarendon?

  • 1667 - appointed a group of close advisors including 2 Catholics, one near atheist and two moderate puritans = Challenged the high church Anglicans in parliament
  • 1672 - Declaration Of Indulgence = suspended conventicle act and other persecuting laws didn't last long but gave dissenters breathing space until repeal 1673 ( Test Act)
• Why was there renewed persecution in 1680s?

  • Politically motivated
  • Popish Plot and exclusion crisis = alliance between Whigs and dissenters
  • Failure of rye house plot and collapse of Whigs gave Charles freedom to pursue own agenda ( including breaking links between dissenters and Whigs )
  • 1683-86 - WORST PERSECUTION!
• Why did the dissenters survive the years of persecution?
• Religion and Charles


  - Charles religious policy created political tension.

  
  

  - Open support for Arminianism ( close to Catholicism ).

  
  

  - Appointed Laud Bishop of London ( 1628 ).

  
  

  - Marrying Henrietta Maria ( Catholic ) and allowing her to worship openly.
• Henrietta Maria


  - Wife of Charles I.

  
  

  - Catholic.

  
  

  - Own chapel.
• Tonnage and Poundage


  - 1625.

  
  

  - Through out Charles reign he continued to collect custom duties.

  
  

  - Only initially given to Charles for a year, however was meant to be given to him for a year.

  
  

  - 1626 - Charles asked for more Tonnage and Poundage, however parliament refused to give it to him.
• 5 Knights case

  -1627.

  
  

  -5 knights refused to pay the forced loan and were imprisoned.
• Buckingham

  - Failed Cadiz Expedition ( 1625 ).

  
  

  - Defeated at La Rochelle ( 1627 ).

  
  

  - Parliament wanted him impeached but Charles refused

  
  

  - Buckingham assassinated ( 1628 ) - public death increased Charles hostility to parliament
• Petition of right


  1628 : Charles called his 3rd Parliament and demanded finance to continue the wars.

  
  

  - MPs decided that no money would be granted unless their grievances were

  addressed:

  
  

  - No taxation without their consent

  - No imprisonment without cause shown

  - Desperate for funds

  
  

  - The king accepted the Petition
• Finance


  - Treaty of Madrid ( 1630 ) and peace with France (1629) enabled the king to reduce his major costs.

  
  

  - Introduced monopolies : 1634 - Charles issued a monopoly patent to the production of soap, claiming it would improve both the quality and the supply. Generated considerable resentment.

  
  

  - Ship money - Annual tax levied across the entire country, thereby increasing it's value.

  (1637) Hampden's case - challenged the legality of ship money and refusal of tax.
• Religion


  (1633) - Laud was controversially appointed Archbishop on Canterbury.

  - Laudian reforms focused on the 'beauty of holiness' enforced through church courts. Initially there was little opposition to Laudianism.
• Scotland

  (1637) - Charles decided to impose the Laudian prayer book on Presbyterian Scotland without consulting Scottish Parliament.

  - Wide spread riots broke out.

  - Led to Bishops' Wars.

  - Scots were well organised and motivated, however Charles had insufficient funds to pay for his military campaigns.
• Collapse of Personal Rule

  - End of Bishops war = 1639 Treaty of Berwick - Wentworth advises Charles to call a short parliament - opportunity to save the situation through making concessions to personal rule, but Charles demanded money, refused and dissolved after 3 weeks.

  - Charles collects new, ill - organised army - defeated at Newcastle - Treaty of Ripon = Forced Charles to pay the scots £850 a day while they occupied Newcastle.
• Long Parliament

  In desperate need for money parliament had at last cornered Charles and were resolved to make full use of their opportunity.

  
  

  Aim - To destroy his means to govern without parliament = His ministers, his courts, his financial expediency and his rule without parliament.

  
  

  Charles could not dissolve parliament while Scottish in Northumberland.

  
  

  Evil counsellors arrested and impeached = Laud and Strafford

  Impact of Strafford's execution - Kings honour was tarnished, nothing gained, no money forecoming.
• Act of Attainder


  - 1641.

  - Effectively death warrant, no trial.
• Dismantling the tools of personal rule

  - Tonnage and poundage, ship money and other money - declared illegal without consent of parliament.

  - Followed by prerogative courts banned = Star chamber, council of the north, high commission.

  - Parliament not to be dissolved without it's own consent.
• Triennial act


  - 1641

  - Parliament to be summoned every 3 years - ensured king did not have another personal rule !
• Dismantling the tools of personal rule - CARRIED ON


  - After having conceded so much, parliament agreed to in 1641 to grant Charles tonnage and poundage for 2 months. Grant was renewed every 2 months for about a year.