To what extent did foreign policy sour relations between the monarch and Parliament between 1603-1629?

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Sarah Ritchie

To what extent did foreign policy sour relations between the monarch and Parliament between 1603-1629?

The period 1603-1629 is perhaps better divided into two distinct sections – 1603-1625 (reign of James I) and 1625-1629 (reign of Charles I) – since these two monarchs had fairly different approaches to foreign policy, which in turn determined how Parliament responded to them.

James I brought a peaceable approach to foreign policy, hoping to establish a reputation for himself as a mediator within Europe. One of his first actions as monarch was to negotiate peace with Spain in the Treaty of London in 1604. This was unpopular with Parliament for several reasons, the main one being that as Protestants many members of parliament were opposed to peace with Catholic Spain for religious reasons. However, with regards parliament, peace did have the benefit of saving a great deal of money which would have had to be raised by Parliament, and relations between parliament and James remained fairly constant over the next few years. James’ next major action with regards foreign policy was to support a Protestant successor to the Duke of Cleves-Julich in 1609, even to the extent of committing several thousand troops to the cause. This action undoubtedly gained Parliament’s support, as did the marriage in 1613 of James’ daughter Elizabeth to the Protestant Frederick V of the Palatinate. Throughout these early years of James’ reign, his foreign policy did not seem to have a detrimental effect on his relations with Parliament – indeed, his later actions in this period even served to improve his relations with Parliament. And although there were some disagreements between James and Parliament during this time, they were due to finance issues and not foreign policy.

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After this time, however, relations between monarch and Parliament began to sour, and one of the key factors in this breakdown of relations was the foreign policy pursued by James from 1614 onwards. From this time, James attempted to negotiate marriage - first for his eldest son and then, after his death, for his heir and second son Charles – with the Catholic Spanish infanta. This was deeply unpopular with most MPs, as they feared the influence a Catholic Queen of England would have on the continuing reformation of the Protestant church, and desired a foreign policy more hostile ...

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