Religious Issues and Divisions

James had to manage the views of both Puritans and Catholics, and showed a preference to high church policies:

• 1604, Hampton court conference to address grievances of Puritans. James rejected the abolition of episcopacy.
• The anti-puritan, Richard Bancroft was appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury.
• James issued the Book of Sports in 1618 - which allowed a number of recreational activities on Sunday which angered many Puritans.
• 1605, Gunpowder Plot - resulted in increased Recusancy fines (fines for not attending Church) and anti-catholic Hysteria.

Relations between crown and Parliament

ENGLISH AND SCOTTISH PARL DIFFERENCES

• Found the English Parliament to be confrontational and Independent - whereas his Scottish parliament was generally loyal.
• The English Parliament had two chambers - House of Lords and Commons, rather than a single chamber from Scotland.
• Unable to intervene in elections - which he had been able to do in Scotland.

Relations with Foreign Powers

HOPE OF MAINTAINING CATHOLIC + PURITAN RELATIONSHIPS (through diplomacy):

• 1604, Treaty of London - Ending war with Catholic Spain. Later attempted to marry Spanish Princess.
• 1609, alliance with France - Catholic but anti-Spanish.
• 1613, married Son to Daughter of Frederick of the Palitinate V (Eliazabeth) - demonstrating a pro-Protestant stance in the Holy Roman Empire.
• Reluctant to get involved in Thirty Years War - concerned with destabilising effect on foreign relations.

Financial Weaknesses

• Inherited large debts in 1603 from Elizabeth due to decades of war. Peace with Spain in 1604 reduced expenditure.
• Personal Spending - reputation as Lavish entertainer, gifted money to close advisors.
• Parliament granted 3 subsidies in 1606 to help him pay off his debts.
• Resorted to selling titles and honours cheaply.
• Economic depression and poor harvests in early 1620's - royal debt stood at £900,000 in 1620 with Parliament not willing to grant subsidies.

The Mansfield Expedition

Shortly before Charles death in 1625, James sent troops to assist the Protestan commander Ernst Von Mansfield in the Holy Roman Empire.

• Little military tradition in England as the Country's strength had always been its Navy.
• Half of the troops died of Starvation before arriving, under Buckinghams command.
• By the time the true extent of the disaster was revealed Charles had inherited the throne.

Attack on Cadiz

Charles decided to continue the war despite Mansfield. This involved the conscription of troops and forced billeting of soldiers in peoples houses.

FAILURE:

• Chain of command unclear - meant that Spanish vessels were able to escape and English were not given orders to stop them.
• Hesitant to attack Cadiz - mounted an assault on Fort Puntal.
• Lack of supplies when reached land - commanders allowed soldiers to break into farmhouses to drink wine.
• Unable to capture Spanish Treasure fleet - forewarned of the attack and fled.

La Rochelle

When Charles summoned parliament in 1628, he was in desperate need of funds. Attacks on Cadiz had been followed by a further deterioration in relations with France.

• Buckinghams inept diplomacy led to war and a failed attempt to support a Protestant rebellion in La Rochelle in 1627.
• The recruits sent were of poor quality and lacked basic supplies.
• Around half of the 6000 soldiers died when Buckingham besieged the town.
• Buckingham was blamed directly by most the nation.

The 1628 Parliament

• Parliament had tried to impeach Buckingham in the past - Charles knew this risk when assembling.
• Charles insisted he would work with Parliament if the MPs did not attack Buckingham.
• Charles wanted to send another force to La Rochelle, MPs, led by John Eliot insisted their grievances must be heard before taxes granted.

The Petition of Right

Eliot, Coke, Selden and Wentworth prepared and presented a carefully worded document to Charles, CLAUSES:

• No imprisonment without trial with the decision made in the five knights case reversed.
• No taxation without parliamentary consent.
• Citizens should not be asked to pay the forced loan.
• Forced billeting should not be allowed.
• Should be No martial Law.
  
  

RESPONSE:

• Authors claimed these clauses to be enshrined in law centuries earlier (Magna Carta). Charles disagreed and refused demands.

  
  

• He accepted them in June 1628, believing he could continue ruling as previously without repercussion.

  
  

• Parliament consented to the taxes but also started to attack Buckingham again. Charles promptly closed Parliament.

Three resolutions

Buckingham was assassinated in Portsmouth in August 1628. When Charles recalled Parliament in January 1629, its leaders hoped to make progress now the influence of Buckingham was gone.

Parliament, led by Eliot criticised the Kings methods of collecting money and his Arminian religion. March 1629, Eliot issued the three resolutions:

• A denouncement of the King's Arminian advisors.
• A statement announcing Tonnage and Poundage was unacceptable.
• Those who paid it were enemies of the Kingdoms.
  
  

Charles had ordered the dissolution before the Resolutions had been read, so a group of MPs (led by Denzil Holles and Sir John Eliot) held the speaker in his chair until the resolutions were passed.

A royal Proclamation was then drawn up announcing the official dissolution of Parliament in March 1629. Eliot and eight of his allies arrested.

Parliament would not meet for 11 years - PERSONAL RULE.

Ideas of royal authority

Charles's firm belief in the Divine was reinforced when he commissioned Dutch artist Peter Paul Rubens to paint a ceiling banqueting hall at Whitehall - very CATHOLIC culture.

Charles believed that Political Power should lay firmly in his hands and a select number of advisors.

REFORMS TO ROYAL COURT

• Ceremonies surrounding visits to the King modelled on those exercised in France.
• Made himself difficult to access and viewed outsiders with suspicion.
• A sense of ritual was brought back to the court and Charles was served food on a bent knee.
• He appointed Arminian chaplains who believed strongly in divine right.

Buckingham

Buckingham (George Villiers) had been James I's favourite and on his death assumed his place as Charles Chief Minister.

• Buckingham masterminded the quest for a Spanish wife and Charles marriage to Henrietta Maria.
• Buckingham was also eager to promote arminians in the church, leading to catholic suspicion.
• Buckingham given unrivalled power in the court, which led to resentment and suspicion from the political nation.

The Queen and the Court

Charles married the CATHOLIC French Princess Henrietta Maria in May 1625. Their relationship was poor until the death of Buckingham in 1628.

CATHOLICISM VIEWED WITH SUSPICION

• Charles granted concessions to English Catholics following the marriage - including the non-enforcement laws against them.
• Queen brought a number of catholic courtiers - isolated her from Charles and the wider nobility.
• Marriage would be followed by closer alliances with catholic powers.

Aims as King

• Restoring a sense of order and decorum to the courts.
• Maintaining order in the Church (in there Kingdoms of Ireland, England and Scotland).
• Establishing a sound financial base - in response to debts created by father.

1625 Parliament

When Charles succeeded to the throne in 1625 the treasury was virtually empty. James I's lavish spending on top of an inherited £400,000 debt created financial problems for Charles which led to a confrontation with Parliament:

• James left a crown debt of over £1 million.
• Charles asked for a £60,000 loan from the city of Merchants.
• When the Houses of Commons met, it refused to grant Charles Tonnage and Poundage for life. A usual accustom to a monarch.
• Parliament granted one year of Tonnage and Poundage which contributed to Charles decision to dissolve.

1626 Parliament and prerogative rule

Charles was desperate for money to facilitate his foreign policy, he called another parliament.

SIMILAR PROBLEMS TO 1625

• Parliament refused to engage in debates over finance but rather attacked Buckingham who was associated with failure and suspicion.
• Charles dissolved Parliament and levied a forced loan on Gentry.
• A number of Gentry who refused to pay the loan were imprisoned, and five of them issued writs of habeas corpus.
• Gentry involved in the 'Five-Knights case' (1627) were detained by special command of the King - approved royal tyranny and alientated this class.

Conflict over the Church

Charles demonstrated his close association with both Arminians and Catholicism in a number of ways in the years 1625-29:

• In 1625, the Arminian cleric Richard Montagu was defended by Charles when he argued that Calvinist beliefs were not compatible with the Church.
• Montagu was appointed Charles Personal Chaplain.
• A religious conference was held at the Duke of Buckingham's home - York House in 1626 - Arminians pitted against Puritans, serving to harden Charles's religious views.
• In 1626, Charles issued a proclamation that forbade the public discussion of sensitive religious topics.
• The Archbishop of Canterbury, George Abbot was suspended in 1627 for refusing to approve an arminian sermon.
• William Laud, the most influential of the Arminians, appointed to Privy Council in 1627 and later became the Bishop of London.