Parliament weren’t only angry with the money issues, but the religion problems too. The country majority were Protestant, but Charles had married a French Catholic. Charles also started making a few changes to the church. He added more decorations to the church, and discouraged the clergy from preaching the sermon. Many extreme Protestants (Puritans) were angry about these changes and thought he was trying to make the church more Catholic. Some Puritans wrote offensive pamphlets towards the Church and the monarchy. Archbishop had some of the pamphlet authors put on trial. They were found guilty and severely punished. Their ears were cut off, and their cheeks were seared with hot iron brands. Many people were very angry about these punishments.
The last situation was power. This was probably the issue that Charles and Parliament had the most arguments about. Charles did not like Parliament, as he believed that as the King, he shouldn’t be told what to do as he was ‘appointed by God’. But Parliament also believed they should not be told what to do, as they believed they represented the people of England. Charles demanded power first. When he sent away Parliament, he ruled by himself for 11 years. He tried to extend his laws without consulting Parliament to Scotland. When this did not work out he was under the mercy of Parliament. Parliament took the chance and started making their demands which would make them much more powerful and have more control. These were a few of their demands:
- Hold regular meetings of Parliament
- Punish ministers (especially Stafford) for their behaviour.
- Take advice from sensible ministers, some who should be from Parliament.
- Reverse the changes of the Church the King and Archbishop Laud have made.
- Raise no more taxes without Parliament’s permission.
- Put an end to special courts, such as the Court of Star Chamber, where people are put up without a trial.
Charles gave in to part of the demands:
- Parliament was to meet every three years, and was not to end without the MP’s agreement.
- Ship Money was illegalised.
- The Court of Star Chamber was abolished.
- Although the church changes WEREN’T changed, Archbishop Laud was imprisoned.
- Stafford, the most hated minister, was executed.
The King helped trigger the war when he tried to arrest the five MPs. He confirmed Parliaments suspicions that he was again trying to get rid of them, to be able to rule without Parliament. Parliament was tired of being snubbed out of the choices, and decided to take action. That’s how Parliament helped trigger the war too. First, they demanded more power in the Great Remonstrance. An example of a demand is that: ‘Parliament will choose the King’s ministers.’ This would give them more power over how England was run. This enraged Charles, but Parliament still made trouble. Then they took control of the King’s army without Charles authorization, as they had no armies of their own. They did not trust Charles enough to leave him with an army that he could use against them. Then finally, the load that tipped the scales: The Nineteen Propositions. A few cases are:
- All ministers must be approved by Parliament
- Parliament must control the education of the King’s children. His children cannot marry without Parliament’s permission.
- Laws against Catholics must be enforced.
- The church must be reformed as Parliament see fit.
These rules would give Parliament almost total power over Britain, with Charles as a mere figurehead. Then Charles snapped, and declared war.
By reading these reports, I believe that Parliament were mostly to blame for the war. They wanted too much power, not allowing Charles to be a proper King. They saw Britain as a Parliamentarian state, with a ‘mere phantom of a King’. And finally, they got what they wanted.
