Scotland Personal Rule

• CHARLES’ AIMS

  Increase royal authority

  Be financially stable

  Promote religious conformity

  • Achieve unity across all three kingdoms
• SCOTLAND: HISTORY

  England and Scotland were different nations with different cultures.

  Long-term tension, England had invaded them multiple times

  Many Scots did not like English

  England was richer and had a bigger economy

  • England had a bigger population (5 million, Scots had 900,000)
• OPPOSITION TO PERSONAL RULE BY 1637

  1. Impositions created general unease
  2. Reaction to Hampden Case
  3. Book of Sports led to objections by Puritans
  4. Puritan gentry turned against the King after the case of Prynne
  5. Laud’s Arminian reforms
• • However, it is difficult to accurately know about opposition because parliament had not been called since 1629 and criticism could be punished by the king so much of it was kept secret
• SCOTLAND AND ENGLAND ARMIES

  • Many Scottish landlords had private armies; they had a reputation for being skilled, tough warriors. This was dangerous for Charles. England on the other hand was largely demilitarised with most military being on the sea not land. Most were not trained well.  
• LAUDIANISM IN SCOTLAND 1625-1637

  Charles was an absent king in Scotland which alienated the Scottish elite. Charles and Laud resented the independence of the Presbyterian church of Scotland. They wanted to align it with the Laudian church of England and reform its practices. 
• 1625: ACT OF REVOCATION

  Took land for the Scottish elite, the aim was to take tithes to have funding for the Scottish Church. This united sections of the Scottish against Charles because this act was done without asking the Scottish Council. The act also annoyed the clergy because the financial benefits were not equal to the amount of power the act gave Charles over the church
• 1633: CHARLES VISITED EDINBURGH

  • It had taken Charles eight years to visit Scotland which showed his lack of priorities for the country. Charles chose Edinburgh's Holyrood Palace instead of Scone. This was offensive to the Scots.

  Charles was appalled by the lack of ceremony and unscripted prayers

  • The Scots were shocked with the surplices worn by bishops and ridiculed the Anglican liturgy
• NEW CANONS 1636

  Charles imposed the new canons on Scotland which were based on the Articles of Perth. (improvised prayers were banned and ministers had to wear a surplice). All these actions were seen as returning to Catholicism.
• JULY 1637: IMPOSING RELGIOUS CONFORMITY

  Charles imposed a new Prayer book, some bishops tried to persuade Charles to modify this

  • He refused and promoted several bishops to the Scottish Privy Council
• RELIGIOUS STRIFE

  • The lowland Scots were Presbyterian, but they accepted some reform to the church
  • Charles  did not like the Scottish Presbyterian Kirk because it was irregular for his tastes.
  • The promotion of Arminianism in Scotland was seen as a threat to “true” religion
  • In July 1637, a riot erupted in Edinburgh upon the first Sunday of the new prayer book’s usage in St Giles Cathedral. In response to the Scot’s rebellions, Charles raised an army, however, many did not want to fight. 
• POLITICAL REACTION IN SCOTLAND

  • An emergency body known as “the Tables” was formed

  In 1638 they drew up the NATIONAL CONVENANT. This document was written mainly by Presbyterian radicals and want meant to unite those against Charles’ religious policy and to maintain Presbyterianism as the main religion.

  It was a  declaration of allegiance that bound the Scottish nationalism and the Calvinist faith

  • The covenanters took a scared pledge to defend the true religion
• CHARLES’ RESPONSE

  Charles originally tried to deal with the Scots without the English parliament. He allowed the Scots to call a religious General Assembly at Glasgow in September 1638. In November 1638 this led to annul the canon laws and abolish episcopacy (the government of a church by bishops). Charles’ army was not ready until April 1639 because he encountered problems with collecting ship money. By then the Scots were prepared to face the king’s army.
• WHY DID CHARLES LOSE THE FIRST BISHOPS’ WAR?

  The English army was put together poorly; most were untrained and underpaid

  Many would rather fight with Spain that Scotland

  Absence of Parliament

  The war was unpopular

  Privately owned weapons were reluctant to be given up

  • Charles tried to threaten Scots into submission which only made their protests worse