Charles I (Penguin Monarchs) by Mark Kishlansky

Author:Mark Kishlansky
Language: eng
Format: epub, azw3
ISBN: 9780141979847
Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
Published: 2014-10-14T16:00:00+00:00

5

Reform and Rebellion

The implications of the Scottish invasion sunk in slowly. Initially Charles believed that he could reinvigorate his forces and revive his cause. All he needed was money. The king summoned the nobility to a great council of peers at York. Surely they would not abandon a sovereign in distress? But such optimism quickly faded. Even his most aggressive councillors realized there was little hope of preventing further Scottish incursions and no hope of military resurgence. The Scots were ensconced in well-fortified positions and living off the fatted farms of Durham and Northumberland. They would not be easily dislodged.

By the time the peers arrived in the north, Charles had already decided that his only option was to summon another parliament and attempt to negotiate a ceasefire until it could meet. Because the Scots refused to treat with the king, he sent the Earl of Bristol to propose the mutual disbandment of the armies. The Scots replied that they would only present their terms to the English parliament. In the meantime, Charles could either pay for the maintenance of their forces or accept the spoliation of the counties they controlled. Incapable of funding one army, the king was now burdened with supporting two.

Charles I’s confidence had been shaken by the events of mid 1640. First his English subjects had refused his pleas for military support, then the Scottish rebels had won a rapid and unexpected victory over his armies. His advisers no longer presented alternatives. He would have to face a parliament that would be intent on stripping him of his prerogatives and restricting his powers. Even those who, like Strafford, understood that they were likely to be targets of parliamentary investigation and punishment, advised Charles to swallow whatever pride remained and acquiesce to their terms.

The Long Parliament, which sat for thirteen years, assembled on 4 November 1640 amid a mood of jubilation in London. The accumulated grievances of the past decade now counterbalanced the peace and prosperity that the king had achieved. They ran in familiar parliamentary channels: attacks on the king’s ministers; complaints of extra-parliamentary taxation, such as ship money and impositions; and, most passionately, repudiation of real and perceived religious innovations. The leadership of the Long Parliament was in a very strong position. They had the leverage of the Scottish army to create urgency for reform, they could draw on a palpable anger shared by most members against an array of royal policies, and they had the zeal of the numerous Puritans among them. They also enjoyed widespread support out of doors. At Westminster, crowds assembled in the Palace Yard while petitions for reform flooded in from the counties, many of them carefully co-ordinated by zealous ministers. Nevertheless, their position of strength had one glaring weakness. A number of MPs had actively committed treason by conspiring with the Scots. They could not come to any settlement with Charles that did not somehow include amnesty for their treachery. Since their encouragement of the Scots was based on the

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