Not calling Parliament was not an unusual thing; it was part of the Monarchs Royal Prerogative, to be able to call and dismiss Parliament whenever it suited them. However during this period Parliament became more powerful and more confident in themselves, their biggest asset being the fact that they controlled the countries finances.
When Charles came to power he had four main sources of income, however these had not been updated since Elizabethan times. At the time there was a price revolution due to a population boom in Britain and a drop in trade due to overseas wars. As a consequence prices increased, however the King’s allowance did not.
The first source of income came from Crown Lands, where tenants paid to live or farm there. However these lands had been hugely reduced by 1625 because of previous Monarchs predilection for selling it off for quick injections of capital. The King was also given trade or custom duties nevertheless custom farming (the selling of custom duties for a fixed rate) for short-term gain had seen monies collected in this fashion drop considerably. To add to this the wars in Europe affected trade and “the king’s purse strings”. The kings other monies came from Feudal dues or wardships and Parliamentary subsidies. The problem with subsidies is that they were only supposed to be given in an emergency, plus parliament could then ask for things in return.
After these four sources of income had been taken the King must then “live of his own.” With little money this left the crown vulnerable in it’s foreign policy and also did not permit the country to be governed properly.
The one person that annoyed Parliament more than any other was Charles’ favourite, Buckingham to whom he gave large sums of money and lavished with expensive presents. He was a member of the kings Privy Council and his advice was of utmost importance to Charles unfortunately almost everything Buckingham touched fell apart. His advice was terrible and he became one of the most hated men in England, however Charles was blind to this fact and carried on regardless much to the exasperation of Parliament.
During Charles’ first Parliament in 1625 England were still at war with Spain, continuing what James had started. Charles wanted subsidies to support the war effort, however he failed to specify what in particular he wanted the subsidies for. Money had already been given to James and Parliament wanted to know where it had gone. Finally the Duke of Buckingham was mismanaging the war, an army had been sent to the continent at great expense. Its dramatic and humiliating failure was very damaging to relations between Crown and Parliament and Parliament wanted Buckingham impeached.
Normally when a new King or Queen is crowned they are granted tonnage and poundage for life, however when Charles came to power he was only granted it on a yearly basis to be reviewed annually by Parliament. Their aim was to force Charles into calling Parliament at least once a year and they believed they would be able to force him into agreeing to some of their demands. Charles was furious, tonnage and poundage was Charles’ biggest single item of revenue, he believed it to be part of his Royal prerogative and thought himself to be God’s representative on earth therefore answerable only to God. Charles decided to collect tonnage and poundage without Parliamentary approval, technically this was illegal. This infuriated Parliament immensely.
Charles’ wife was also a delicate matter; she was a French Roman Catholic Princess living in a Protestant country. Her marriage contract entitled her to have her own priests at court and to attend mass much to Parliament’s and the Protestant constituency’s dislike. Many were convinced that Charles was a secret Catholic or sympathetic to the Arminian or Popish ways. He seemed to love the beauty and splendour of the mass and the way they stressed ceremony, meaning he was making enemies within his own Church.
Two subsidies were granted to Charles by the first Parliament of quid 140,000, this was generous by Elizabethan standards but still inadequate by 1625. By the time the second Parliament was called in 1626 Charles and Buckingham’s naval attack on Cadiz had failed miserably. Parliaments blamed the Lord High Admiral Buckingham for the failure and were also annoyed with the continued illegal collection of tonnage and poundage. On Buckingham’s advice Charles made several critical MPs sheriffs meaning they could not become members of the House of Commons.
Sir John Eliot went on to make charges of ‘popery’ at court and spoke of “the enemy within” referring to Buckingham and his countless blunders. He attacked Buckingham outright, suggesting that he should be dismissed and charged with breaching the fundamental laws of England and wasting the king’s estate. Charles couldn’t stand this, he couldn’t abandon his much-loved Buckingham so he dissolved Parliament losing hope of any more subsidies and ordered Eliot’s arrest.
Between his second and third Parliament Charles struggled for money. He continued to collect tonnage and poundage as if it had been granted to him and tried to obtain forced loans from the wealthy landowners, those of whom he might need the support of at a later date. Charles needed the equivalent of five subsidies, and imprisoned those who refused to pay; he even had the local clergy preaching in favour of them. These loans and many others like them left many landed gentry bankrupt and Charles told them that “we have no apparent means to give satisfaction” in other words he could not repay them. “ A king in debt is a king in crisis”.
Meanwhile Charles wanted Buckingham to have one good campaign that would silence his critics. However he continued to waste money on failed expeditions and quarrelled with France about the rights of neutral ships. Fortunately for England who was already fighting a war, France was too preoccupied to take the hostility seriously. In four years Charles has manage d to upset every level of society due to Buckingham’s advice.
By March 1628 Charles, desperate for money, called his third Parliament, however they were suspicious and believed he would leave again as soon as they granted him subsidies. Three important MPs John Pym, John Eliot and Thomas Wentworth decide to inform Charles that he must give them “Redress of grievances before supply. They presented him with their Petition of Rights, which involved no forced loans, no billeting and no tonnage and poundage without consultation. In return for this they would grant him five subsidies.
Charles was not happy but because of his Divine Right signed the document regardless; he saw it as an earthly matter and therefore didn’t have to obey it. Parliament was adjourned on the 26th of June. Two months later on the 23rd August Buckingham was assassinated, the relationship between King and Parliament changed from bad to worse as he blamed them for the murder.
In early January 1629 Parliament’s second session began, Charles was criticised over religion and his Arminion tendencies along with continued collection of tonnage and poundage despite the signing of the petition of rights. They refused the King any more subsidies and attacked Charles’ advisor archbishop Laud. Charles exhausted by their mood called for an adjournment, however as the speaker tried to adjourn the house he was held down in his seat. Despite Charles’ best efforts to summon his personal bodyguard it was still illegal for any Member of Parliament to be arrested whilst court was still in session. Much to Charles’ outrage Parliament passed Eliot’s three resolutions condemning religious innovation, the levying of tonnage and poundage and anyone who paid it. Parliament then dissolved itself.
This was the final straw for Charles he had Eliot imprisoned and decided not to call Parliament again as he was entitled to do. They were supposed to be his advisors, answerable to him not the other way round. The widening gap between Crown and country was noticeable from the beginning of Charles’ reign. This can be seen in Parliaments persistence in depriving Charles of revenue in order for him to govern efficiently; Buckingham’s constant failures overseas; the irrational fear of Catholicism and Charles’ arrogant aloofness when questioned in Parliament and his failure to listen to the advice of others. Despite this Charles would “live of his own” for the next eleven years during his time of personal rule.
