Stuarts Timeline – Part 1
1598: James I publishes ‘The Trew Law of Free Monarchies’
Demonstrates his fundamental belief in Divine Right of Kings:
a) “Kings are justly called Gods”
b) “divine power on Earth”
24 March 1603: James becomes James I of England James VI of Scotland
Inherited a multitude of financial issues / unresolved weaknesses:
a) £100,000 worth of debt
b) Elizabeth had sold off over £800,000 worth of Crown Lands so ordinary revenue was greatly reduced
c) Tax assessments not updated alongside inflation
1604: Treaty of London
Ends war with Spain upon his ascension to the throne
Characterises his general (until 1618) policy of maintaining peace and acting as ‘Rex Pacificus
March – 7th July 1604: 1st Parliament, 1st Session
Disputes over privilege
a) Buckinghamshire election
i) King had interfered in a local election to get Goodwin elected over Fortescue
ii) Both were dismissed and a new election was undertaken = compromised
b) Shirley’s Case
i) Shirley (MP) was arrested for debt while in Parliament
ii) Parliament wanted to establish the privilege of freedom from arrest so sent the Governor of his
prison to the Tower of London until Shirley was released
c) Both of these raised the wider constitutional issues regarding privilege vs prerogative
d) Commons saw James’ desires at establishing a union to be power hungry and felt it threatened their
privileges:
i) ‘Form of Apology and Satisfaction’: “The Prerogatives of princes do daily grow, the privileges of
the subject are at an everlasting stand”
Disputes over Religion
a) Initial tolerance revoked to gain favour with Parliament
Disputes over Foreign Affairs
a) As King of both England and Scotland, James wanted to unify them into one nation
i) But, England and Scotland didn’t like each other
ii) England wouldn’t benefit financially
iii) So they refused a name change to Great Britain
April 1603: Millenary Petition
1000 signatures from Puritan ministers expressing desires for moderate protestant reform
a) Ministry staffed by able men
b) End to pluralism
c) Proper maintenance of ministries
Led to the Hampton Court Conference
1603: Recusancy fines reduced by 75%
Period of initial tolerance by James towards Catholics
January 1604: Hampton Court Conference
Outlet for Puritans to express their desires and encouraged open communication between King and
subjects
Lots of debated and agreements but most demands weren’t met, despite some concessions:
a) Fewer pluralists
b) New Bible Translation = 1611 James I Bible
Demands weren’t met because James felt they were trivial and unimportant and he didn’t like the
pressuring nature of the Millenary Petition
, a) Puritans had known their real desires wouldn’t be accepted so instead argued for moderate
concessions - backfired
April 1604: 141 Canons regulating Church life
Designed to identify non-conforming extremists
a) Divides reformers to weaken any resistance
b) Encourages surface-level obedience
c) 90 ministers disagreed and refused a particular oath so were deprived of any benefits as ministers
1604: Subsidy Act
Grants James £300,000 subsidy to celebrate his coronation
Still insufficient income regardless of his extravagance
1604: The Great Farm of the Customs
Merchants pay James I £112,000 per year to collect the customs and keep the revenue they make from
them. This is because income from customs duties was being lost due to poor collection
Reasonably successful and granted a predictable income but Parliament didn’t like it as a result
1604: Parliament calling for: “due execution of the statutes” against “any manner of recusants”
James adhered to this in an effort to promote a union with Scotland – in implementing these measures
he was hoping to gain favour which he could exert elsewhere
1604: Archbishop Bancroft appointed
Authoritarian who strictly enforced the rules of the Anglican Prayer Book especially regarding the more
catholic elements
a) Puritans were unhappy as it required conformity from them
b) Some puritans were removed due to their failures to conform
November 1604: All Catholic Priests and Jesuits ordered to leave and recusancy fines collected in full
James did this to gain favour from his Puritan and Protestant subjects in pursuit of an agreement for a
union
5 November 1605: Gunpowder Plot
Catholic plot led by Robert Catesby to take out King and Parliament all at once
Terrified James and led to the introduction of new Penal Laws against Catholics
a) Increased recusancy fines, no Catholics allowed to live in or around London or hold office
i) Only enforced when Parliament was in session so they would favour James’ attempt at union
without jeopardising his more tolerant approach
January – May 1606: 1st Parliament, 2nd Session
Disputes over Privilege
a) Parliament refuses name change to ‘Great Britain’ but James declared himself as ‘King of Great
Britain’ regardless
i) Parliament fear absolutism and loss of powers since James had no issues ignoring their wishes
Disputes over Finance
a) £400,000 subsidy granted to James due to relief over the failure of the Gunpowder Plots
b) Parliament are unhappy about the freedom which impositions and purveyance grant the King
Disputes over Foreign Affairs
a) James trying to establish a union – still failing
1606: Oath of Allegiance
Denied the authority of the Pope to dispose of any King
Demonstration of political loyalty so many took it which was important to James
1606: James I meets Robert Carr, his first favourite
1606: Bate’s Case
John Bate = merchant who was taken to court for refusing to pay an imposition on currants since
Parliament hadn’t sanctioned it
Judges ruled in favour of the King – allowed to levy new impositions without parliamentary approval
1606: £400,000 subsidy granted
Following the foiled Gunpowder plot – unusually large sum, most likely due to relief
James though this was establishing a precedent of good financial relations with Parliament (very wrong)
, From 1606-1621, less than £1000 worth of subsidies would be granted due to parliamentary
disillusionment over James’ extravagance
Only passed by a 1 vote majority – demonstrates difficulties in getting adequate income
18 November 1606 – 4 July 1607: 1st Parliament, 3rd Session
Disputes over Privilege
a) James wrote an angry letter to Parliament following the collapse of any hope of an Anglo-Scottish
union:
i) “Lower House has endangered our Health, wounded our reputation, encroached upon many of
our rights and plagued our finances with our delays”
ii) He was very angry that Parliament wasn’t cooperating with him and just folding to his wishes
Disputes over Foreign Affairs
a) James’ final attempt at establishing a union failed
i) Repeated attempts alienated him from Parliament who were very anti-Scottish
b) Despite the failed union, James was able to collaborate with the English Parliament to repeal
legislation which was mutually harmful for both England and Scotland
1608: New Impositions levied
Following the ruling of Bate’s Case, James levied new impositions on over 1400 items
Brough in more than £70,000 for the exchequer
Very unpopular – Parliament did NOT like impositions
1608: Robert Cecil’s ‘Book of Bounty’
Prohibited the Crown from giving away major items which were costing the Crown
James found a work around by instead giving gifts of cash instead: Sep-Dec 1610 = £36,000 given out
System of patronage was so fundamental that it failed: even Cecil broke it by giving a manor to Carr
1608: Book of Rates
Detailed impositions and gained the crown an extra £70,000 per year
Parliament resented this since it involved levying new impositions but Bates’ Case proved they could so
it was successful
1609: Earl of Salisbury gained £1400 from a wardship which only earnt the crown £370
21 March 1610: Quote from James I
“Though a King is like unto a God, yet still he is bound to rule according to law”
a) This demonstrates a degree of adherence to the Ancient Constitution which stated that the highest
authority was a King ruling alongside parliament
9 February – 23 July 1610: 1st Parliament, 4th Session
Disputes over Privilege
a) Negotiations failed for the Great Contract since nobody felt they could trust each other
i) Had devolved into a battle of wills where both sides insisted they were in the right
ii) Parliament claimed James’ attempts at unionising had meant their privileges had been “more
universally and dangerously impugned than ever”
iii) James made a 2 hour-long speech to Parliament: “Kings are justly called Gods” who are
“accountable to none but God only”
b) Dissolved over these disputes and the battle between prerogative and privilege due to the lack of a
written constitution
Disputes over Finance
a) Failure of the Great Contract = no widespread financial reform
1610: The Great Contract
For an annual grant of £200,000 and a one-off subsidy of £600,000 to settle debts, James would abolish
wardship, purveyance and feudal tenures. Then amended to only £100,000.
James agreed on a bill to legalise current impositions but prevent new ones but Parliament didn’t trust
him to adhere to this and they couldn’t raise necessary funds
Wouldn’t give James manoeuvrability or room for revenue expansion so he didn’t love it either
Ultimately, the contract failed as they couldn’t agree and there wasn’t sufficient trust
1611: Robert Carr made Viscount Rochester
, 1611: Appointment of Archbishop Abbot
Anti-Catholic so persecution of Catholics increased but he was more sympathetic to Puritan ideals
a) Allowed puritan ministers to only occasionally use the disliked ceremonies
b) Appointed more Puritan ministers
April 1612: Robert Carr made a Privy Councillor
May 1612: Robert Carr begins to serve as James I’s secretary
1612-1614: More titles being sold
Baronet sold for £1095 which raised £90,000 and undermined the title completely – oversaturated
1613: The Spanish Match
James wanted Charles to marry a Spanish princess to aid relations with Spain
This would require increased toleration of Catholicism in England
a) Slow increase during negotiations
b) Continued to grow even after the failure of the Match with the help of the pro-Spanish faction at
Parliament
1613: George Villiers introduced to James I as a rival to Carr
December 1613: Robert Carr made Earl of Somerset
1614: Second ‘Addled’ Parliament
Disputes over Privilege
a) James had made plans to ensure that Parliament supported Royal Policies and these were leaked
i) Revealed James as a major manipulator
ii) Massively increased fears of absolutism and an arbitrary parliament
Disputes over Finance
a) Parliament discussing how to remove the right to grant new impositions from James despite Bates’
case arguing in his favour
i) Power of the Purse – withheld subsidies until impositions were abolished
ii) This was a huge attack on prerogative so James dissolved Parliament
Disputes over Foreign Affairs
a) Anti-Scottish sentiment from Parliament led to James dissolving Parliament when an MP demanded
the Scottish members of the bedchamber be sent home
1614: Cockayne’s Scheme
Cockayne persuaded the King to prohibit the export of unfinished cloth to increase employment in
finishing the cloth and also increase its value and therefore increase revenue
Dutch felt this was an attack on their finished cloth industry so they bought their raw cloth from
elsewhere
In two years customs revenue fell by 1/3 when it was allowed to return in 1616 but rates never reached
the levels from before the scheme
1614: Crown debts had reached £500,000
1614: George Villiers appoints as cup-bearer
1614: £522,000 annual outgoings for James I
Compared to Elizabeth’s average of £300,000 per year
1614: Earl of Suffolk made Lord Treasurer
Built an £80,000 manor and later convicted of embezzlement
Excellent example of corruption at the heart of the financial system
1615: The fall of Robert Carr
Imprisoned for 6 years for the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury
Despite his rapid rise to power, mutterings about the potential implication of James I in the murder
forced him to properly investigate and imprison Carr
He was fully pardoned in 1624 by James I, thus demonstrating how intense his influence was over Court
proceedings
1615: George Villiers knighted and made a gentleman of the bed chamber
1616: George Villiers becomes a Viscount
1617: George Villiers made Earl of Buckingham
1598: James I publishes ‘The Trew Law of Free Monarchies’
Demonstrates his fundamental belief in Divine Right of Kings:
a) “Kings are justly called Gods”
b) “divine power on Earth”
24 March 1603: James becomes James I of England James VI of Scotland
Inherited a multitude of financial issues / unresolved weaknesses:
a) £100,000 worth of debt
b) Elizabeth had sold off over £800,000 worth of Crown Lands so ordinary revenue was greatly reduced
c) Tax assessments not updated alongside inflation
1604: Treaty of London
Ends war with Spain upon his ascension to the throne
Characterises his general (until 1618) policy of maintaining peace and acting as ‘Rex Pacificus
March – 7th July 1604: 1st Parliament, 1st Session
Disputes over privilege
a) Buckinghamshire election
i) King had interfered in a local election to get Goodwin elected over Fortescue
ii) Both were dismissed and a new election was undertaken = compromised
b) Shirley’s Case
i) Shirley (MP) was arrested for debt while in Parliament
ii) Parliament wanted to establish the privilege of freedom from arrest so sent the Governor of his
prison to the Tower of London until Shirley was released
c) Both of these raised the wider constitutional issues regarding privilege vs prerogative
d) Commons saw James’ desires at establishing a union to be power hungry and felt it threatened their
privileges:
i) ‘Form of Apology and Satisfaction’: “The Prerogatives of princes do daily grow, the privileges of
the subject are at an everlasting stand”
Disputes over Religion
a) Initial tolerance revoked to gain favour with Parliament
Disputes over Foreign Affairs
a) As King of both England and Scotland, James wanted to unify them into one nation
i) But, England and Scotland didn’t like each other
ii) England wouldn’t benefit financially
iii) So they refused a name change to Great Britain
April 1603: Millenary Petition
1000 signatures from Puritan ministers expressing desires for moderate protestant reform
a) Ministry staffed by able men
b) End to pluralism
c) Proper maintenance of ministries
Led to the Hampton Court Conference
1603: Recusancy fines reduced by 75%
Period of initial tolerance by James towards Catholics
January 1604: Hampton Court Conference
Outlet for Puritans to express their desires and encouraged open communication between King and
subjects
Lots of debated and agreements but most demands weren’t met, despite some concessions:
a) Fewer pluralists
b) New Bible Translation = 1611 James I Bible
Demands weren’t met because James felt they were trivial and unimportant and he didn’t like the
pressuring nature of the Millenary Petition
, a) Puritans had known their real desires wouldn’t be accepted so instead argued for moderate
concessions - backfired
April 1604: 141 Canons regulating Church life
Designed to identify non-conforming extremists
a) Divides reformers to weaken any resistance
b) Encourages surface-level obedience
c) 90 ministers disagreed and refused a particular oath so were deprived of any benefits as ministers
1604: Subsidy Act
Grants James £300,000 subsidy to celebrate his coronation
Still insufficient income regardless of his extravagance
1604: The Great Farm of the Customs
Merchants pay James I £112,000 per year to collect the customs and keep the revenue they make from
them. This is because income from customs duties was being lost due to poor collection
Reasonably successful and granted a predictable income but Parliament didn’t like it as a result
1604: Parliament calling for: “due execution of the statutes” against “any manner of recusants”
James adhered to this in an effort to promote a union with Scotland – in implementing these measures
he was hoping to gain favour which he could exert elsewhere
1604: Archbishop Bancroft appointed
Authoritarian who strictly enforced the rules of the Anglican Prayer Book especially regarding the more
catholic elements
a) Puritans were unhappy as it required conformity from them
b) Some puritans were removed due to their failures to conform
November 1604: All Catholic Priests and Jesuits ordered to leave and recusancy fines collected in full
James did this to gain favour from his Puritan and Protestant subjects in pursuit of an agreement for a
union
5 November 1605: Gunpowder Plot
Catholic plot led by Robert Catesby to take out King and Parliament all at once
Terrified James and led to the introduction of new Penal Laws against Catholics
a) Increased recusancy fines, no Catholics allowed to live in or around London or hold office
i) Only enforced when Parliament was in session so they would favour James’ attempt at union
without jeopardising his more tolerant approach
January – May 1606: 1st Parliament, 2nd Session
Disputes over Privilege
a) Parliament refuses name change to ‘Great Britain’ but James declared himself as ‘King of Great
Britain’ regardless
i) Parliament fear absolutism and loss of powers since James had no issues ignoring their wishes
Disputes over Finance
a) £400,000 subsidy granted to James due to relief over the failure of the Gunpowder Plots
b) Parliament are unhappy about the freedom which impositions and purveyance grant the King
Disputes over Foreign Affairs
a) James trying to establish a union – still failing
1606: Oath of Allegiance
Denied the authority of the Pope to dispose of any King
Demonstration of political loyalty so many took it which was important to James
1606: James I meets Robert Carr, his first favourite
1606: Bate’s Case
John Bate = merchant who was taken to court for refusing to pay an imposition on currants since
Parliament hadn’t sanctioned it
Judges ruled in favour of the King – allowed to levy new impositions without parliamentary approval
1606: £400,000 subsidy granted
Following the foiled Gunpowder plot – unusually large sum, most likely due to relief
James though this was establishing a precedent of good financial relations with Parliament (very wrong)
, From 1606-1621, less than £1000 worth of subsidies would be granted due to parliamentary
disillusionment over James’ extravagance
Only passed by a 1 vote majority – demonstrates difficulties in getting adequate income
18 November 1606 – 4 July 1607: 1st Parliament, 3rd Session
Disputes over Privilege
a) James wrote an angry letter to Parliament following the collapse of any hope of an Anglo-Scottish
union:
i) “Lower House has endangered our Health, wounded our reputation, encroached upon many of
our rights and plagued our finances with our delays”
ii) He was very angry that Parliament wasn’t cooperating with him and just folding to his wishes
Disputes over Foreign Affairs
a) James’ final attempt at establishing a union failed
i) Repeated attempts alienated him from Parliament who were very anti-Scottish
b) Despite the failed union, James was able to collaborate with the English Parliament to repeal
legislation which was mutually harmful for both England and Scotland
1608: New Impositions levied
Following the ruling of Bate’s Case, James levied new impositions on over 1400 items
Brough in more than £70,000 for the exchequer
Very unpopular – Parliament did NOT like impositions
1608: Robert Cecil’s ‘Book of Bounty’
Prohibited the Crown from giving away major items which were costing the Crown
James found a work around by instead giving gifts of cash instead: Sep-Dec 1610 = £36,000 given out
System of patronage was so fundamental that it failed: even Cecil broke it by giving a manor to Carr
1608: Book of Rates
Detailed impositions and gained the crown an extra £70,000 per year
Parliament resented this since it involved levying new impositions but Bates’ Case proved they could so
it was successful
1609: Earl of Salisbury gained £1400 from a wardship which only earnt the crown £370
21 March 1610: Quote from James I
“Though a King is like unto a God, yet still he is bound to rule according to law”
a) This demonstrates a degree of adherence to the Ancient Constitution which stated that the highest
authority was a King ruling alongside parliament
9 February – 23 July 1610: 1st Parliament, 4th Session
Disputes over Privilege
a) Negotiations failed for the Great Contract since nobody felt they could trust each other
i) Had devolved into a battle of wills where both sides insisted they were in the right
ii) Parliament claimed James’ attempts at unionising had meant their privileges had been “more
universally and dangerously impugned than ever”
iii) James made a 2 hour-long speech to Parliament: “Kings are justly called Gods” who are
“accountable to none but God only”
b) Dissolved over these disputes and the battle between prerogative and privilege due to the lack of a
written constitution
Disputes over Finance
a) Failure of the Great Contract = no widespread financial reform
1610: The Great Contract
For an annual grant of £200,000 and a one-off subsidy of £600,000 to settle debts, James would abolish
wardship, purveyance and feudal tenures. Then amended to only £100,000.
James agreed on a bill to legalise current impositions but prevent new ones but Parliament didn’t trust
him to adhere to this and they couldn’t raise necessary funds
Wouldn’t give James manoeuvrability or room for revenue expansion so he didn’t love it either
Ultimately, the contract failed as they couldn’t agree and there wasn’t sufficient trust
1611: Robert Carr made Viscount Rochester
, 1611: Appointment of Archbishop Abbot
Anti-Catholic so persecution of Catholics increased but he was more sympathetic to Puritan ideals
a) Allowed puritan ministers to only occasionally use the disliked ceremonies
b) Appointed more Puritan ministers
April 1612: Robert Carr made a Privy Councillor
May 1612: Robert Carr begins to serve as James I’s secretary
1612-1614: More titles being sold
Baronet sold for £1095 which raised £90,000 and undermined the title completely – oversaturated
1613: The Spanish Match
James wanted Charles to marry a Spanish princess to aid relations with Spain
This would require increased toleration of Catholicism in England
a) Slow increase during negotiations
b) Continued to grow even after the failure of the Match with the help of the pro-Spanish faction at
Parliament
1613: George Villiers introduced to James I as a rival to Carr
December 1613: Robert Carr made Earl of Somerset
1614: Second ‘Addled’ Parliament
Disputes over Privilege
a) James had made plans to ensure that Parliament supported Royal Policies and these were leaked
i) Revealed James as a major manipulator
ii) Massively increased fears of absolutism and an arbitrary parliament
Disputes over Finance
a) Parliament discussing how to remove the right to grant new impositions from James despite Bates’
case arguing in his favour
i) Power of the Purse – withheld subsidies until impositions were abolished
ii) This was a huge attack on prerogative so James dissolved Parliament
Disputes over Foreign Affairs
a) Anti-Scottish sentiment from Parliament led to James dissolving Parliament when an MP demanded
the Scottish members of the bedchamber be sent home
1614: Cockayne’s Scheme
Cockayne persuaded the King to prohibit the export of unfinished cloth to increase employment in
finishing the cloth and also increase its value and therefore increase revenue
Dutch felt this was an attack on their finished cloth industry so they bought their raw cloth from
elsewhere
In two years customs revenue fell by 1/3 when it was allowed to return in 1616 but rates never reached
the levels from before the scheme
1614: Crown debts had reached £500,000
1614: George Villiers appoints as cup-bearer
1614: £522,000 annual outgoings for James I
Compared to Elizabeth’s average of £300,000 per year
1614: Earl of Suffolk made Lord Treasurer
Built an £80,000 manor and later convicted of embezzlement
Excellent example of corruption at the heart of the financial system
1615: The fall of Robert Carr
Imprisoned for 6 years for the murder of Sir Thomas Overbury
Despite his rapid rise to power, mutterings about the potential implication of James I in the murder
forced him to properly investigate and imprison Carr
He was fully pardoned in 1624 by James I, thus demonstrating how intense his influence was over Court
proceedings
1615: George Villiers knighted and made a gentleman of the bed chamber
1616: George Villiers becomes a Viscount
1617: George Villiers made Earl of Buckingham
