Charles I and Parliament - History of England during the 1600s - PDF

**Since the last days of Magna Carta, most English monarchs had accepted that they should share power with the people they ruled.** Coming from Scotland, however, the Stuart kings thought differently. The Stuarts believed that because God was all powerful, their family must have been chosen to rule...

**Since the last days of Magna Carta, most English monarchs had accepted that they should share power with the people they ruled.** Coming from Scotland, however, the Stuart kings thought differently. The Stuarts believed that because God was all powerful, their family must have been chosen to rule England directly by God. To question them, therefore, was to question God. This belief is called the divine right of Kings. King of Scotland James the first wrote a book called the *True Law of Free Monarchies*, which explained: "Kings are called gods; They are appointed by God and answerable only to God end quotation". **Charles I** James I's son Charles was a shy sickly child, who only learned to walk and talk at the age of 4, and suffered from a stammer that would stay with him his entire life. He was crowned Charles the first after the death of his father in 1625, and showed a fatal combination of bad judgement and stubbornness. The early years of Charles I's reign were a catalogue of errors. In order to make peace with France, he married the daughter of the King of France, a Catholic named Henrietta Maria. War with France continued anyway, and many of England\'s Protestant population were furious their King was married to a foreign Catholic. Some even suspected Charles was the secret Catholic, who planned for the old faith to creep back into the Church of England. These suspicions increased when he appointed William Laud as Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633. Laud brought many aspects of Catholic services back into the Church of England and sent inspectors to parishes across the country who would find any priest not following his reforms. This disturbed the overwhelmingly Protestant people of England: it has been estimated that by this time 97% of England\'s population were Protestant, as well 88% of the nobility and Gentry. Most concerned by Charles' sympathy for Catholicism were England Puritans. Many Puritans sat in parliament, where they repeatedly questioned Charles the first policies and tried to limit his power. By 1629, Charles was sick of parliament questioning his divine right to rule. So, from 1629 until 1640 Charles rules without calling parliament once, a period known as 'the eleven years tyranny.' It appeared to many that he wanted to exercise complete and total control over their Britain. Without parliament, however, Charles had no means of raising new taxes. He found a clever way around the problem. There was an old tax called ship money, which was used to tax towns by the coast and build up the Navy when England was under threat of invasion \[such as during the Spanish Armada\]. Charles did not need parliament\'s permission to raise ship money so, even though England was at peace, he extended it to all parts of the country. Soon, ship money was making Charles 200,000 pounds a year, and he spent the money on anything but ships: in particular his fine clothing, new palaces and enormous art collection. In 1637 John Hampden a wealthy landowner and member of parliament, was imprisoned for refusing to pay **Ship Money**, and became a hero for parliament\'s courts. Those who criticise Charles the first could be called before his own personal court, the star chamber. When a puritan lawyer called William Prynne published a book in 1632 which implied the Kings dancers were immoral, he was put on trial before the star chamber. Prynne was imprisoned for life, and had his face branded and both his ears chopped off. Charles the first, son believed, was becoming a tyrant. +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ | **Puritans** | | | | During the 1600s, radical form of Protestantism became popular in | | England. Its followers tried to live lives that was 'godly' and | | 'pure' as possible, so became known as Puritans. | | | | At Puritans wanted a world of strict Christianity, a 'heaven on | | earth' with no sin or wickedness. They were simple black clothing, as | | they believe that jewellery, makeup and colourful clothing were | | sinful. Activities such as gambling, drunkenness, dancing, music, | | Theatre and sport will also frowned upon, and on Sundays no activity | | was allowed except for reading the Bible and going to church. | | Puritans did not believe the English reformation had done enough to | | change the Church of England, and had a fierce dislike of | | Catholicism. Because they were hard working, and did not spend much | | money, many Puritans became successful merchants and farmers. As they | | grew wealthier, Puritans gained more political power. | +-----------------------------------------------------------------------+ **Check** **Your Understanding** 1. What was meant by the 'Divine Right of Kings'? 2. What was misjudged about Charles I's decision to marry Henrietta Maria? 3. Why was the period between 1629 and 1640 known as the 11 years tyranny? 4. Why was Charles the first decision to collect taxation through ship money so controversial? 5. Why were England Puritans gaining power during the Stuart period? 6. Who do you think is responsible for the falling out between Charles and Parliament? Explain your thinking with evidence.