Staurt England - Entire Summary

Income:                                                               Problems with Finance

•  Subsidies.                                    -  Inherrited £400,000 debt from Elizabeth       
• Impositions.                                  - Inflation due to population growth.
• Monopolies.                                  - rent on Crown Lands.
• Crown Lands .                              - Grossly undertaxed country.
• Wardship and Purveyance.          - James' general extravagence - gifts, pensions. 

Attempts at Reformity:

• Robert Cecil - Great Contract, Custom Farmers
• Cranfield - More efficient spending cuts, Re-issues customs farmers
• Cockayne Project - Improve the quality of cloth made in Britain = More revenue

Millenary Petition:

• Given to James as he rode from Scotland to England.
• Signed by 1000 clergy men.
• It contained moderate demands.
• However little legislation was passed.

Bancrofts Canons:

• 141 religeous laws.
• Aimed at extreme Puritain ministers
• Enforced priestly dress, communion and divine right.
• Generally accpeted, but forced Puritain ministers out of the church.
• Angred Parliament as they believed that they should settle church matters

The Gunpowder Plot also played a key part as recusancy fines were not tightened, thus making the Catholics no longer a threat.

Goodwin v Fortesque:

• Disputed MP election
• Goodwin won however James disallowed it as Goodwin had unpaid debts.
• Parliament claimed that they should decide, and James saw this as an attack.

Shirley's Case:

• Shirley was an MP that was imprisoned for debt.
• Parliament imprisoned Govenor of Debt until Shirley was released.
• Confirmed freedom of arrest whilst Parliament is sitting.

Bates Case:

• Bates was a merchant who refused to pay impositions.
• Taken to court fand Bates lost.
• This allowed Parliament to make new impositions.

Spanish Match:

• Aimed to marry Charles to the Spanish Infanta.
• This would provide a good dowry and trade relations with Spain.
• Would prevent any religeous wars as family do not wage war againt each other.
• Also a peaceful wasy to regain the Palatinate.
• Finally it would supposedly put an end to European wars altogether.

Trip to Madrid:

• Charles and Buckingham organise a trip to Madrid to see the Infanta covertly.
• They are refused and are told to leave.
• They leave humilliated.

1625 Parliament

Foreign Policy:

• Failures of Cadiz  and Masfelds Expedition.
• Terms of French Marriage questionned.
• Not enough money granted.
• Royal prerogative questioned. 

Finance:

• Tonnage and Poundage only granted for a year and not for life.
• Not enough money granted for wars.

Constitutional:

• Charles collects Tonnage and Poundage permanently.
• Royal prerogative in terms of Foreign Policy is questioned.

1626 Parliament

• Occured at a time of economic depression.
• Buckingham' enemies made Sheriffs to prevent them from standing in the election.
• Laud aggrivates Parliament by supporting divine right.
• Lord of Bristol reveals terms of Spanish Match to discredit Buckingham.
• Lords unite attack Buckingham, forcing Charles to dismiss Parliament to protect him.

1628-9 Parliament

Finance:

• Parliament called to provide funds
• Forced Loan

Religion:

• Rise of Arminism raised fear of Catholicism.

Constitutional:

• Forced Loan, Billeting and Martial Law seen as illegal and unjust
• 5 Knights' Case
• Petition of Rights issued outlawing above issues.
• Tonnage and Poundage
• Rolle's Case
• Three Resolutions Case

Rolle's Case:

• Rolle, an MP that refused to pay Tonnage and Poundage
• Rolle takes to prerogative court and lost
• Commons intervene and challenge prerogative
• Charles dismisses Parliament before the case's conclusion.

Three Resolutions :

When Charles dismisses Parliament Eliot and his followers barred the door and forced the speaker to pass Three Resolutions naming: 

• Tonnage and Poundage
• Arminianism 'capital offences'

Foreign Policy:

• Military failures
• Marriage Treaties
• Caused financial problems
• Billeting and Martial Law

Buckingham:

• Blamed for military disasters
• Parliament dissolved to protect him
• Control of patronage
• Assassination angred Charles
• Supported Arminianism

Constitutional:

(Same as 1628 Parliament)

Forrest Fines:

• Boundries of royal forrests were declared to be the as they were during Edward III's reign. This meant that people who were not before, were now living within a royal forrest and could be fined. This rasied little money, but aggrivated many people.

Distraint of Knighthood:

• Charles revived an old law that allowed him to fine anyone elligible for a knighthood that had not claimed the honour. This angred the gentry.

Monopolies:

• Despite the 1624 Monopolies Act, both King and countries found loopholes that allows monopolies to reappear at high prices and low equality.

Hampdens Case

• MP who refused to pay ship money.
• Taken to court by Charles.
• Charles narrowly won but a strong opposition damaged his case.
• A campaign of tax refusal began as a result of this case and Ship Money way 2/3

Ship Money:

• Ship money which was given to coastal dwellers was now set on the whole country to pay for the maintainence of ships. Lead to Hampdens Case of 1634.

The sale of crown lands - £350,00 was raised short-term at the expense of long term rent

Customs - the period of peace lead to a great increase in trade, increase customs revenue.

Lord Treasurer Weston attempted to cut royal expenditure, however he was prevented from doing so by 'political cocts' (i.e. all the political powers had invested interest in maintaining expenditure.)

Laud and the Arminians:

Rose rapidly after Charles' ascension and Laud believed in the 'beauty of holiness' and aimed to:

• Enforce conformity
• Restore the economic fortunes ofthe Church and improve its quality
• To restore the clergy's political power and influence.

Lauds Actions:

• Moving the Altars
• Feofees for Impropriation
• Book of Sports
• Burton, Bastwwick and Prynne
• Enforced 1937 Prayer Book In Scotland

Moving the Altars

• Central 'communion table' moved to east end of the Church and made an alter
• Done to prevent disrespect of the communion table
• Seen as highley Catholic move
• Also aggravated gentry as they had to pay for their private pews to be moved.

Feofees

• Fees raised by Puritains to pay for Puritain preachers
• Laud banned these to enforce conformity

Opposition to Laud

Belief in Divine Right and support for the King created political oppenents.

Seen as too close to Catholicism - actions such as moving the altar and his ideas of 'the beauty of holiness' very close to Catholicism.

Laud's wishes to raise the Church and make priests independent of gentry angered nobles who were used to having power over local clergymen.

Laud was of low status and did not conform with social order p showing no respect for rank.

Seen as barbaric by England

Split into four main groups:

Old English, New English, Gaelic Irish and Presbytarian Scotish.

Wentworth:

Had his economic policy, wanted to apply the Graces. Which were:

• Recusansy fines would not be levied
• Relaxation of 'checks' on Catholics in office
• Guarantee of land titles over 60 years

Wentworth didn't uphoald his promise and alienated the Old English and Gaelic Irish.

Accused Mountnorris of corruption and fined Cork, angering the New English.

Background:

• Scotland an independant nation, unlike Ireland
• More feudal than England
• Far more Presbytarian
• Volatile due to strong Calanism, independence and absentee King

Land:

• Issued an Act of Revocation - cancelling all grants of Royal Church land.
• Also raised concers that it would restore the Church to its strong Roman Catholic Model.

Religeon:

• Charles and Laud wished to enforce Arminianism on the strongly Calvanist country.
• Laud enforced this by wishing the new prayer book in 1637 - this enraged Scotland.