Charles: The Long Parliament, 1640-42

• MPs were angry over abuses in the Personal rule.
• Wanted to reform Charles to stop any Personal rule in the future. 
• November 1640, Scottish have took over northern England.
• Parliament hate Charles for his relgious policies, tax and attacks on Parliamentary privelige.
• Radical Puritans now in Parliament:
  • John Pym. 
  • Henry Vane.
  • John Hampden.
  • Earl of Warwick
  • Earl of Bedford.

BREAKDOWN OF RELATIONS BETWEEN KING AND PARLIAMENT, 1640-41:

• Earl of Bedford = attempted to settle conflict.
• Would bridge the gap between King and Parliament via...
• Abolish financial aspect of Personal Rule and place MPs in Charles' Privy Council.
• Died on May 1641, made chances for peace harder.

• Parliament knew Wentworth could only help Charles = absolutist.
• MPs targetted Wentworth as he was seen dangerous and a scapegoat.
• Targetted 'Evil Councillors' instead of directly attacking the King.
• But MPs = Split on how to punish Wentworth, e.g. Bedford wanted him imprisoned, Warwick wanted him executed.

• Novermber 1640, Parliament first plan was to impeach Wentworth for wanting to use an Irish army.
• Wanted to impeach him to force King to accpet reform as he had none of his advisers.
• Removing the councillors would allow him to be replaced by Pym and Bedford.

BILL OF ATTAINDER, 1641:

• Bedford disagreed to want Wentworth executed without trial.
• But Scottish wouldn't make peace until he was dead.
• Pym told rumours of an Army Plot, made things worse, thought Charles would rescue Wentworth and Dissolve Parliament.
• Pym wanted Wentworth gone quick as he helped the Scottish Covenants = also treason.
• Wentworth was executed on May 1641, Charles less wanted to negotiate peace now.

• Pym wanted to remove Charles evil councillors, no chance of Charles restoring absolutism and a strong Protestant country.
• Protestation oath = Catholicism and absolutism were linked, to prevent absolutism = strong Protestantism.
• To achieve these aims he had to:
  • Impeach Laud and Wentworth
  • Help the Scottish Covenantiers occupy Scotland.
  • Making the King transer key prerogatives to Parliament 
  • Use Parliamentary finance to pressure Charles to compromise.
• All this worried Moderates and split Parliament.
• Parliament was becoming too radical.

ROOT AND BRANCH PETITION, 1641:

• Made up by radical Puritans.
• Would end episcopacy, Bishops governing the Church.
• Would replace Bishops with lay patronage and more local control over Churches. 
• Many were divided on what to replace Laudianism with.
• Many say removing bishops as dismantling the order of society and structure of the Church.
• Exclusion bill even wanted to remove the Bishops from the Lords.

TRIENNIAL ACT: 

• February 1641, Ship Money was abolished without Parliamentary consent.
• Charles also had to call Parliament every 3 years and shoud last 50 days. 
• If he failed, Parliament was call itself.
• Aimed to prevent Personal rule.

EMERGENCE OF A ROYALIST PARTY:

• May 1641, Bedford dies and Pym needs other ways to solve problems between King and Parliament.
• Caused division that if stopped, may have prevented civil war.
• Division was caused because...
  • MPs were united of preventing the Personal Rule but divided on how to prevent it.
  • Bill of Attainder was too extreme and constitutionally dangerous.
  • Religious issues like the role of Bishops led to more division.
• Moderates were scared of radicals like Pym.
• Parliament taking over royal prerogative threatened nobles, gentry who needed the King to help them. 
• Charles could only keep a moderate Protestant Church, law and order etc.

10 PROPOSITIONS, 1641:

• June 1641, Parliament became more radical.
• Controlled who was in the Privy council.
• Controlled who was around the Queen.
• Controlled relgious education of Royal children.

OCTOBER 1641 INCIDENT:

• Parliament set out to spy on Charles due to untrust.
• Charles was in Scotland whilst there were rumours of a Royalist plot to kidnap Scottish Covenants.
• Wanted to ally with the Scots and if he got their support, he may attack Parliament.
• But this rumour ruined any chance of compromise as Charles went to the Scottish Parliament with an army.

OCTOBER / NOVEMBER, IRISH REBELLION,1641:

• Catholics rebelled against Protestant landowners. 
• Catholic killings were exagerated .
• Thought this was the 2nd Army Plot of Charles.
• Charles needs an army to suppress this Irish rebellion.
• But there = division over who commands it, King or Parliament.
• Divides Moderates and Radicals again.

THE GRAND REMONSTRANCE, NOVEMBER 1641:

• A direct attack on Charles.
• All of Charles' wrong doings since 1625. 
• Showed why Charles couldn't be trusted with an army.
• Timed before the King returned from Scotland.
• There was a division on whether to publish this.
• The vote on this was passed by 159-148, this was split division and MPs left Parliament because of radicalism. 
• Royalists wanted the King to control army.
• Radicals wanted Parliament to control army.

THE MILITIA BILL, DECEMBER 1641:

• Haselrig introduced this to remove King's power over trained bands and give Parliament power to appoint commanders.
• This would control the armed forced to use in Ireland.
• This again directly attacked Charles prerogative.

FIVE MEMBER COUP, JANUARY 1642:

• Charles was going to arrest Haselrig, Hampden, Pym, Strode and Montegu.
• This was due to rumours of them impeaching the Queen.
• He failed and the birds had flown. 
• Pym as a result used this to tell everyone of the dangers of Charles and he couldn't be negotiated with. 
• The coup led to the London mob demonstrating against Charles in London causing him to flee. 
• Parliament and King were now physically divided making compromise harder.

THE EXCLUSION BILL, FEBRUARY 1642:

• Due to the failed coup, Radicals and the London mob now wanted to reduce King's support in Parliament.
• Didi this by preventing Bishops from sitting in the Lords in which it was passed as they were pressured by the London Mob.