Succeeding James I was Charles I, and his policies propelled England to civil war. In the early seventeenth century, political and economic conflicts between the English monarchy and Parliament resulted in the English Civil War. James I’s political and economic struggles with Parliament are what began the slump of the English government. He believed in the “divine right” of kings, meaning that he considered himself to be God’s representative on Earth and no one could challenge his authority. Because he wanted as little interaction with Parliament as possible, he levied new custom duties called impositions to raise funds.
Although, there was no lack of other factors – such as finance and religion – that also led to the deterioration of the relationship. Buckingham’s Policies continued to develop a fundamental rift with parliament when he supported Richelu in his campaign against the protestant hueganauts and because he was perceived as the kings favourite by parliament the actions of Buckingham only exacerbated the relations between parliament and the crown. Relations between England and France quickly deteriorated when in 1627, Louis XIII was displeased with Charles’s failure to fully extend the promised toleration to Catholics, and Charles was annoyed at Louis for using English ships in the suppression of the Huguenots. Buckingham had also tried to seduce the French Queen, however, the element that had a tremendous impact on the
Henry VI was a weak character and personal issues, being mad and prone to favoritism among his nobles, was a major contribution to the Wars of the Roses. However also other factors such as his wife, Margret of Anjou, and the 100 years war between France is argued to have contributed majorly also. Henry VI suffered from mental illness, one personal problem he had. In 1453 England had lost Gascony, which is to be, said one of the reasons that lead to Henry’s mental break down which lasted 18 months. His condition was so bad he was said to have not even recognized the birth of his own son, Edward, which is a very proud moment for a king in the middle ages.
However, his arrogant disposition and repressive domestic policies fashioned him unpopular by many, therefore it hindered the success of his foreign ingenuity. Castlereagh recognised that in order to defeat Napoleon the Great Powers must group together in alliance; but by 1813 the anti-French coalitions were still in dissonance and disagreements, particularly the Reichenbach Convention (June1813) with Russia, Austria and Prussia, in which Austria agreed to declare war on Napoleon should the French refuse to surrender and comply with the conditions of peace, however this proved to be fruitless as Napoleon rejected. Howbeit, in 1814 Castlereagh convinced Russia, Prussia and Austria to sign an alliance of 20 years, financed by British subsidy, securing their substantial influence over the terms for France following her defeat; the treaty committed all four powers to not negotiate separately with Napoleon and cooperate to defend any settlements against any future French attacks, this was the Treaty of Chaumont. Castlereagh acknowledged the urgency and
Napoleon's soldiers were not prepared for the Russian winter. This meant that Napoleon lost more than half his army. It made him militarily weak and brought an end to the magnificent army. Napoleon's military failures meant that European countries started feeling bolder and more willing to stand up against Napoleon. The continental system also failed since it did not actually affect Britain, but rather France and the other European countries.
Parliament were initially enthusiastic, saying to James “take your sword in your hand… direct the point of your sword at Spain”. However, due to James’ continued good relations with Spain, Parliament were reluctant to grant James the huge sums of money necessary for war, and hence voted him a mere subsidy of roughly £140,000 which was woefully inadequate for the purpose that it was intended. However Parliament had every right to be suspicious, as James had placed 2500 troops on the continent, but actually forbidden them to fight and was continuing his negotiations with Spain. James felt that the Spanish Match should be used as a tool to restore Frederick to the Palatinate, and this would allow him to avoid military intervention. The King, however, neglected to mention this to his Parliament who became understandably confused and wary due to the carelessness of James and his lack of communication.
Also, another issue with the court system was all the power to the King. This was an issue because a large mass of people (The 3rd Estate) had no share in the government, which meant that the likelihood that they were unhappy was high; to make it worse, Louis XVI was not a great ruler. He was famous for the line, “The thing is legal because I wish it,” which basically means, “What I say goes,” which is not a good plan because there is no planning or foresight involved. Also, he used the lettres de cachet, which is like a warrant where any critic of the government would receive a letter that
It has been argued that Charles I was the main reason that war broke out. I will be investigating whether this is a far accusation by looking at the long-term and the short-term causes for the English Civil War and assessing how far Charles was really to blame. Firstly, it has been argued that Charles was to blame for the long-term reasons such as wanting to make changes to religion, the power of the king and money. For example, Charles was partly to blame for money because he was trying to buy off the Scottish with £850 a day (which he could not afford) as a result from trying to make the Scottish Puritans. They rebelled and tried to attack.
Was the League of Nations a failure? The League of Nations is thought to be a failure by many, because of hard irony and limitation on military might. The League accomplished very little in stopping wars and conflicts while having very little power. Often they just shook fists at ruthless, evil dictators such as Germany’s Adolf Hitler and his conquests, without intervening. Another Major flaw was that “the country, whose president, Woodrow Wilson, had dreamt up the idea of the League - America -, refused to join it.” The league’s most powerful militaries Britain and France not only suffered casualties, but also economically as they were greatly in debt to the United States.
How far was Henry VI to blame for the conflict of 1455? The causation of the first battle of St. Albans is a complex and intricate issue, involving many factors. The king’s weaknesses and incompetence made him an innately unsuitable ruler for the times, and his failures to accumulate the majority of the attributes expected of a king, such as control of the nobles and successful military pursuits, may have contributed substantially to the battle in 1455. However, this can be disputed; given the financial state of the country, it is hardly surprising that Henry was unable to keep a firm control over the avaricious nobles, whilst also lacking a standing army. Additionally, the underlying problem of who had a greater claim to the crown, instigated when Henry IV usurped the throne from Richard II, was still a concern, and inevitably this was bound to result in a bloody battle in order to settle the disagreement.