Charles was shrewd and intelligent and managed to identify a number of different areas which could be exploited legally to generate more income for him such as the introduction of ship money tax; this was a peacetime tax which required all port towns to build or turn over a set amount of ships to the King’s navy whenever the King need them, Charles however manipulated this law and instead of ordering port towns to produce ships for the navy, he ordered port towns to pay up the sum of the ships he was owed. Charles extended the responsibility of ship towns at first to all coastal areas, even those that were not port towns and then to the whole country, effectively creating the first national tax.
Charles was so successful in finance that he managed to balance the budget deficit by 1635 and then by 1637 he was making a profit of £1,000,000 per year.
Charles had to deal with the problem of religion too during his personal rule. Charles was a devout Protestant; he did not sit on the fence like his father before him when it came to religion. Charles employed the help of William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury in reforming religion in England, Scotland, Wales and Ireland. Laud was a strict Protestant that detested Puritan and Catholic ideologies within the kingdom and especially within the Anglican Church; he implemented a policy of religious reform that intended to cement the Church of England as the official and only church of the Kingdom:
- All vacant positions for Bishop were to be replaced by a Bishop of Arminian denomination.
- All parish churches and clergy were to follow newly introduced Canons which effected the interior of the church:
- Church was to be decorated; reintroduction of stained glass windows and ornaments.
- All parish clergy were to wear Catholic garb.
- Follow a reformed Arminian sermon.
- All university education was to be Arminian centred.
Charles also had to manage the problem of how he is going to rule his 3 Kingdoms and Principality, especially how he was going to implement his policies in the largely Gaelic speaking and Catholic Ireland. To aid him in this Charles placed Thomas Wentworth as Lord Deputy of Ireland, the ruling figure in Ireland under the King. Wentworth first started by training a highly skilled, organised, disciplined, well equipped and dedicated team of English soldiers totalling 5000 to police Ireland, a population of 3.5 million. Wentworth then divides this 5000 strong Brigade into smaller Regiments and scatters them throughout Ireland in garrisons with a larger garrison in larger towns and cities.
Law and Order was thoroughly established through this means and a policy of uniforminity and consistency was applied for punishments throughout the country.
Policing Ireland isn’t enough however; Ireland needs to be financed from its own monies and can’t rely on England especially without Parliament. Wentworth devises a new scheme to increase tax collection, cut corruption and create a healthy profit margin for Ireland:
- Wentworth redistributes land and creates a system of proof of ownership. Anyone without proof of ownership must lease the house or buy it for proof of ownership direct from Wentworth.
- Garrison commanders were given powers to overrule the gentry of the region. It was the Garrison commander’s job now to collect taxes from the landlord. This system was devised to cut down on the corruption of the Irish landlords. A new system of documentation shows who has paid taxes and who hasn’t.
- Fines are handed out by the garrison soldiers to anyone breaking the law or curfew.
Wentworth is extremely successful in Ireland, so much so that by 1635 the taxation deficit was reversed from -20% to a surplus of requirements of 70% within the space of 3 years.
By 1637 Charles truly looked as if he had everything under control and could do without Parliament for the duration of his rule. Charles’ kingdom was truly stable, prosperous and wealthy. Religion, finance and uniform rule were all reaching a positive equilibrium coming up to 1637 and it is indeed possible this could’ve continued if it wasn’t for one important mistake. This was the forced introduction by Charles of the English Prayer Book in Scotland which although supported by Scottish Bishops, sparked off unrest, riot and violence in Scotland which led to the need for recalling of Parliament and to the beginnings of the English civil war.
One could truly say that 1637 was the zenith of Charles’ personal rule, even his rule as a whole. The necessity for Parliament after the riots in Scotland to finance the First Bishop’s war meant that Parliament could pressure Charles into giving into their demands. On top of that, the First Bishop war was contagious and uncontrolled rage that shortly spread throughout the whole of the Kingdom and through Ireland and also parts of England.
After 1637, Charles was now on a downhill struggle. The argument for the view that Charles I was at his zenith in 1637 cannot be denied easily.
