Buckingham had too much influence with the King; this meant he was seen as one of the main causes to the break down in parliament. James wanted money from the Parliament in 1625 because of the war with Spain. Parliament decided to grant a tonnage and poundage as the monarch’s main source of Revenue. Opposition MPs discussed Parliament choosing the Kings ministers for him and also the impeachment of those who gained undue influence over him; this was especially aimed at Buckingham. A breakdown in parliament then occurred because Charles realized the parliamentary attack on Buckingham was increasing so in 1625 dissolved his first Parliament in order to protect his close companion.
The next most important reason for the collapse was religion and Charles’ push toward Arminianism and absolutism. The fear of Charles becoming absolutist shaped how his policies were viewed and the MP’s political attitudes. Appello Ceasarum produced by Montagu and commissioned by the King angered many MPs as it argued the similarities between Protestantism and Catholicism. This brought MPs to call for the impeachment of Montagu as they felt it promoted anti-Calvinism. Charles’ reaction to this, as he imposed his prerogative as the Divine Right Monarch, promoted Montagu to Royal Chaplain.
Why do we need a king that’s so selfish and disrespectful to rule our country? Religious conflicts permeated Charles’s reign. He married a Catholic princess over the objection of our parliament and public opinion. He also allied himself with controversial religious figures like Duke of Buckingham and Archbishop Laud. As his subjects, we think that this brought our Church of England too close to Roman Catholic.
In 1625 Buckingham decided England needed a new ally in Europe in France after the failure of the Spanish match, they could see diplomatic advantages, France was becoming worried about the successes of the Hapsburg Spanish and might be persuaded to take part against them. This however made Puritan minded MPs suspicious of Charles as not only was Henrietta Maria, the King’s prospective wife, Catholic, but also the terms of marriage included toleration for Catholics – something Parliament would certainly not welcome, rather it resented the Crown’s decision to do this. The Alliance with France however, had broken down by 1627 leading England into war. Buckingham was to blame because it was his flawed policy of creating an alliance with the French under terms not possible to keep such as toleration for Catholics, which caused the French Chief Minister to decide not to join the English in a war against the Hapsburgs, because of which Buckingham reversed his policy of French alliance. Furthermore to gain popularity Buckingham decided to help the Huguenots who were held at the port of La Rochelle – again this was another flawed move as now England was at war with two countries.
Both sides were seizing the estates of their enemies to finance the war effort, creating even more political chaos. The King gained several victories, which all the more inclined him not to negotiate or compromise with the rebels. Having said this, the parliament had their own internal divisions which had a direct effect on that of a settlement. The division of parliament into Presbyterians and Independents made it much more difficult to reach a settlement after 1646. Parliament couldn’t agree on anything such as taxes.
The origins of rebellion arose when people in England opposed Mary’s catholic standing and were worrying over the possible return of papal authority over England, since mary’s coronation was in 1553 she quickly placed people of catholic standing in positions within the kingdom, including many positions in the privy council the most influential body within the government. This quick changeover within England is arguably what caused the Wyatt rebellion as it made the people feel anxious of the possible threat of going back to a papal authority, this can be reinforced by the following source ‘and yet thhe it be said in counsel as to my friend, we mind only the restitution of God’s word, but no words!’qhich was written by wyatts son showing us that Wyatt was rebelling to the threat Mary posed to religion, but it can also be inferred that although this was his motive he felt that this reason wasn’t acceptable to cause a greater enough rebellion to remove Mary from the throne so he says that they should use a different reason, as generally it can be argued that Mary’s catholic influence across England were relatively popular, possibly why the rebellion was shown little support. There
Before John was King of England, for many years, the kings defended English territory within France by using English men and money. King John acted in this similar way but his military campaigns were unsuccessful. England and France were constantly at war. By 1204, he had lost his lands in northern France; this included his family’s ancestral land in Normandy and Anjou to Philip II. In order to continue battling France, the King forced from his barons greater taxes and additional military services, this angered the barons because he did not consult them before raising taxes; this was a violation of feudal law and custom.
That wasn’t enough, so Charles asked for more against precedent. The Commons refused. They granted tonnage and poundage (traditionally given to a new monarch for life) for only a year, pending legislation to stop the introduction of any new impositions. Charles dissolved them when they began to criticise Buckingham’s handling of affairs. 1626- Charles made the leaders of the opposition (e.g.
Was Cromwell A Harsh Dictator Or A Fair Ruler? Oliver Cromwell ruled England at this time and it wasn’t easy, he upset Ireland and made his soldiers get rid of parliament by saying you have sat here too long for the good you do in the name of God go. Oliver Cromwell led the group the republicans and they believed that parliament should rule and the king should at least share the power with parliament and if not he should go but he and the republicans thought that the people in parliament were not fit to rule in parliament. The king had died at this point and people thought it was time for an election, people thought Charles 1’s son should rule but other people had different ideas. Mp’s started quarrelling about religious questions such as should baptism happen to children or adults these things started to really annoy Cromwell with these quarrels.
These were people who protested against the Catholic church. They felt the Pope had too much power and control over England. They also complained that the Catholic church was corrupt - shown by the wealthy monasteries. Henry did not really agree with all the complaints against the Catholic church, but was determined to have a male heir. Henry used Parliament to push through his changes.