2nd Bishops War + Long Parliament

2^nd Bishops’ War 1640: C1’s troops were poorly disciplined and threatened to mutiny. 2 army officers were murdered by their own men because they were Catholic. August 1640, Scots invade Northumberland. C1’s opponents used this to put pressure on C1. Those who wanted another English P communicated w/Covenanters to push for a Scottish invasion. There was no capable royal army and C1 had to call truce at Ripton in Yorkshire (October). Scots were allowed to occupy Northumberland/County Durham + were paid £850 a day until peace could be made. C1 couldn’t afford to keep paying out and he had no option but to call a P for £. He wouldn’t be able to dissolve it whilst Scots were in England so his weapon against a difficult P couldn’t be used.

November 1640, Long P was summoned (named after not being officially dissolved till 1660). Much more unwilling and v different to the previous ones. Lords/Commons united in belief to return to a traditional government. They wanted to remove ‘evil counsellors’ and to mobilise the biggest demonstration of public opinion anti-C1’s policies.

Elections in which the results are challenged.

1620’s – 20-40 contested elections

Long P – 86 contested elections

People clearly mistrusted C1’s policies:

·         Puritans saw P as the best defence against popery. FEAR: popish plot would take over the realm. Some wanted to go further and make the Church indisputably Protestant in all its actions.

·         Moderates ‘constitutional royalists’ wanted return of the status quo. They were against further Church reformation (especially bishop removal) but supported the use of the prayer book.

Religious/£ innovations needed huge deal of consent to be undone and for Laud/Strafford to be punished (they were imprisoned in the first few weeks). Petitions flooded against:

·         Irregularity of P’s

·         Canons

·         Conscription of men for military service

·         Punishment of those responsible

Ship money judges were impeached. The Scots’ presence in Northumberland removed the threat of an early dissolution. December, 2 subsidies were voted to cover immediate needs. At this point, P was dominated by the Junto:

·         Led in Lords by: Earl of Bedford, Lord Saye and Sele, Lord Mandeville, Lord Brooke

·         Led in Commons by: John Pym, Oliver St John, Nathaniel Fiennes, Denzil Holles

·         Wanted a P in the summer and to be part of the gov. If C1 took them into office, they promised to provide adequate P revenue based on the system of collection of ship money.

·         Were in collusion (secret co-operation) w/Scots

·         Wanted to be C1’s advisors and change his policies

·         Wanted a Protestant foreign policy and Puritan Church reforms to sweep away Laudianism

·         Many were associated w/Providence Island Company in 1630’s (a company that wanted to establish a God-fearing population in an ideal commonwealth who’d support themselves by growing tobacco/cotton and to attack Spanish shipping in the Spanish Main, it gave a chance for like-minded…