Realtions with Parliament

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  • Relations with Parliament 1625 - 1629
    • Dominance of Buckingham
      • Lord Buckingham was a dominant figure in James’ rule as well as Charles’. The king idolised him and as a result of this he was rewarded many tittles without even earning them
        • This in itself made members of Parliament very angry and jealous, which caused tension between them and Buckingham, which was a problem since Buckingham was given the responsibility of making big decisions
      • Buckingham caused many problems that Parliament didn’t like, such as; starting wars and loosing them and failed expeditions, all of which costed them a lot
      • At the York House conference, that Buckingham was leading he showed clearly that he favoured the Arminians, this caused tension since they were the closest religion to Catholicism, which Parliament didn't like as England was a protestant country
      • As a result of this, and the failure of the expedition to Cadiz, people began to look for a scapegoat, and most people blamed Buckingham for his bad decisions and unnecessary authority. As a result of this Parliament tried to impeach Buckingham, but Charles defended him
      • Parliament was united in its belief that ‘the Duke of Buckingham is the cause of all our miseries’
      • Eventually, In August 1628, Buckingham was assassinated by Lieutenant John Felton, to the intense joy of the nation and the sorrow of the king
      • Buckingham's domination had suppressed effective discussion in the Privy Council, which was the arena where policy was normally debated. This distorted the traditional system and meant that Parliament became the only place for expressing dissent
    • War against Spain and France
      • Charles was put into a difficult position but decided anyway to start an attack on Spain, even though he lacked the money to fund it. Altogether £500,000 was spent preparing the navy for the war, however, it still lacked many essentials, despite using the queen’s dowry of £120,000
        • The administrative system could not cope with the size and complexity of the task. The fleet set off in October of 1625. Yet when it arrived in Spain it began to degenerate into a farce
        • They returned home after achieving nothing. Buckingham received much of the blame. Despite this, him and Charles continued with further military preparations. A year later, another fleet sailed for Spain
        • This time the expedition failed to even reach the coast of Spain. It was struck by violent storms in the Bay of Biscay and had to return home
        • It seemed that England was incapable of conducting a successful attack against one country, yet the Duke of Buckingham was also preparing to go to war with France
      • Relations with France had deteriorated from the beginning of 1626. Buckingham was completely outmanoeuvred in his dealings with France by Cardinal Richelieu
        • He used English ships on loan to France to defeat a Huguenot force the previous year, which caused outrage in England, and then made separate peace with Spain
        • Buckingham decided that he must remove Richelieu before there could be any hope of changing Drench policy. He made contact with Lorraine and Savoy who were determine on a three-pronged attack
        • An English fleet would be sent to La Rochelle, the Huguenot stronghold, to begin the uprising, to be followed by attacks for Lorraine and Savoy
    • Reluctant to grant money
      • All that the Commons would offer was two subsides worth £140,000. This decision was justified on the grounds that no war had been declared and there had been no account given of the money voted in 1624
        • This clearly made things difficult when England went to war with Spain, the failure was heavily associated with the lack of money that was available, which led to a lack of essential resources. The same could be said for the war against France
      • Parliament was unwilling to vote large sums of money only to see them frittered away without anything being achieved, which was a reoccurring theme
        • In turn, the inadequacy of the sums voted made defeat much more likely. Insufficient funds had an inevitable effect on the success of foreign enterprises
      • The dissolution of Parliament left the government with enormous outgoings on the war and no additional income. In 1625, a forced loan worth two subsidies had been levied
        • In total he raised £260,000. This removed the threat of immediate bankruptcy from the Crown. However, some people such as Sir Thomas Wentworth refused to pay the loan and they were imprisoned
    • Foreign Policy failures
      • Buckingham himself led one expedition to Rhe in 1627 with the objective of capturing the island, which guarded the approach to La Rochelle
        • At first, troops were landed on the island and its citadel was besieged, all was going well. However, there was no backing from England, with the result of necessary supplies and reinforces not arriving
        • Ultimately this lack of resources led to its downfall and many people blame Buckingham for this, although he bore the major responsibility for the policy that had led to it and not for the failure of the attack itself
      • As well as this, an expedition to relieve La Rochelle, under siege by Louis’ troops was sent out in the spring of 1627
        • This was led by Buckingham’s brother-in-law, and was even more of a failure than previous undertakings
        • Parliament was in session when the expedition returned and its failure fuelled a parliamentary crisis which led to the Petition of Right
      • This led to mass national humiliation
    • Forced loan and the Five knights’ case
      • The dissolution of Parliament left the government with enormous outgoings on the war and no additional income, other than captured French ships, which brought in £50,000 in 1626
        • In 1625, a forced loan worth two subsidies had been levied on Charles’ richer subjects
        • This was, in effect, parliamentary taxation that had not been agreed to by Parliament and caused considerable ill-feeling. In total he raised £260,000
      • If the king could raise money without Parliament, then all other liberties were at risk
        • Seventy-six people were imprisoned for refusing to pay the loan
        • It was too risky for the Crown to allow the case to come to court as the judges might release the knights, so the council stated that they had been imprisoned ‘by special command of our lord the king’.
    • Charles angry: dissolved Parliaments abruptly
      • 1625 - The Commons had not yet voted tonnage and poundage. It was decided that a temporary grant of one year only would be made
        • Charles was deeply offended
        • . Parliament was adjourned, but was ordered to reassemble in Oxford only three weeks later. This turned out to be a mistake, they turned their attention to Buckingham
          • Charles saw tis as an attack on his authority and he dissolved Parliament
            • Charles was deeply offended
      • 1626 – Parliament once against attacked Buckingham, blaming him for the failures in recent years
        • To avert the threat to his friend, Charles dissolved Parliament
      • 1629 – The second session, which began in January 1629, was dominated by two issues: Arminianism and tonnage and poundage
        • Chair Sir John Eliot called out three resolutions. The resolutions were passed with shouts of acclamation
          • Charles then dissolved Parliament and imprisoned those involved in the demonstration
    • Religion: rise of Arminians
      • The religion first started to rise when Buckingham favoured the Arminians in the York House conference
      • Years later in 1629, Arminians had been steadily increasing in influence. The Commons resolved unanimously that religion should take precedence over all business and they wanted to bargain with the customs to obtain religious concessions
      • However, one of Sir John Eliot’s resolutions stated that anyone who promoted innovation in religion, popery or Arminianism as ‘a capital enemy to the king and commonwealth’ should be condemned, this would’ve reduced the rise of Arianism

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