3:The Finances of the Crown and attempts at reform Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in 3:The Finances of the Crown and attempts at reform Deck (36)
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1
Q

Why were the Political Nation worried about the Crown raising it’s income?

A

Since money came predominately from them, the more the monarch because financially independent the closer the monarch could move to absolutism.

2
Q

What happened in the 16th Century?

A

A century of rising inflation between 1502 and 1623.

3
Q

Why was the Crowns income falling?

A

Elizabeth failed to reform the Crowns major sources of income.

4
Q

Name two consequences of the Crowns financial weaknesses.

A

It was difficult for the Crown to govern efficiently such as conducting aggressive foreign policy.

The Crowns weakness was becoming a serious political problem.

5
Q

When was the Treaty of London?

A

1604-James made peace with Spain

6
Q

What was James’ expenditure between 1603-25?

A

Court spending doubled what it had been under Elizabeth.

7
Q

What did James do in 1606?

A

Parliament granted 3 subsidies to help James with his debts, but straight away he gave £44,000 to his three Scottish friends.

8
Q

What positive effects did James’ expenditure have?

A

Patronage was crucial to the political system, and James bought goodwill for himself with this supporters.

9
Q

What was the ante-supper?

A

An extravagant preparation of two huge feasts, the first was simply displayed then thrown away.

10
Q

What was the Cockayne project?

A
  • 1614
  • A plan to reorganise the cloth trade by granting a monopoly to a London businessman caked William Cockayne
  • The Dutch refused to purchase finished cloth resulting in a slump
11
Q

What was the royal debt in 1617 and 1620?

A

1617- £726,000

1620- £900,000

12
Q

What did Parliament grant James in 1621?

A

Two subsidies, totalling about £140,000

13
Q

How many monopolies were there by 1621?

A

By 1621, there were more than 100 monopolies, granted by James to raise money.

14
Q

Who was Giles Mompesson?

A

A relative of the Duke of Buckingham who abused his monopoly for the licensing of inns and had to flee abroad.

15
Q

What happened in 1623 and 1624?

A

Bad harvests

16
Q

What happened at the 1624 Parliament?

A

Parliament passed the Subsidy Act (granting a subsidy of £300,000 to the Crown for warfare which would be supervised by parliamentary officials) and the Statute of Monopolies (this limited the Crown’s right to grant monopolies)

17
Q

What did Charles’ foreign policy need expenditure for? (4 points)

A
  • Financial backing for his uncle, the King of Denmark to attack Catholics
  • Financial backing for the Protestant Dutch
  • A naval attack on Spain
  • An army of Englishmen to be led by the German mercenary Count Mansfield
18
Q

How much money did Charles need for his foreign policy?

A

£1 million.

19
Q

Why was Charles not granted the money?

A

He failed to explain his position or ask for a specific amount, so was only granted two subsidies totalling £140,000.

20
Q

What happened with Charles and tonnage and poundage?

A

A monarch is usually granted the right to collect tonnage and poundage, but Charles was only given this for one year.

21
Q

Why was Charles only granted tonnage/poundage for 1 year?

A

Tonnage/Poundage normally contributed to naval protection, so it wasn’t granted to Charles for life as a move against Buckingham who was Lord High Admiral.

22
Q

What was the impact of the limited tonnage/poundage grant?

A

Charles viewed the limited grant as an attack on his prerogative and this furthered strain between Crown/Parliament.

23
Q

When was the Treaty of London and what was it’s impact on finance?

A

The Treaty of London made peace between England and Spain and significantly reduced Crown expenditure.

24
Q

What happened to the Crowns debt by 1608?

A

It had increased to £600,000 due to James’ lavish spending at court.

25
Q

What two promises did James make you his Secretary of State Robert Cecil?

A

In November 1608 he promised to stop giving gifts of land. In 1609 he promised not to grant any gifts/pensions without Cecil’s agreement. He failed to keep both.

26
Q

What was the ‘Book of Bounty’?

A

Cecil surveyed Crown lands in 1608, and aimed to make money by revising the leasing policy.

27
Q

Did the ‘Book of Bounty’ solve the Crowns financial crisis?

A

No- due to James’ continuous granting of Crown lands.

28
Q

What did a 1606 judgement rule?

A

That James had an absolute prerogative on impositions.

29
Q

What are impositions?

A

An additional custom imposed on all trade that was paid to the monarch.

30
Q

What was the Book of Rates?

A

A revision of custom duties, released in July 1608, which meant impositions became worth £70,000 a year to the Crown.

31
Q

What was the Great Contract?

A

An agreement arranged by Cecil that hoped to get MPs to grant a subsidy of £600,000 and an annual subsidy of £200,000 in exchange for James giving up some feudal rights.

32
Q

What feudal rights were the Great Contract going to give up?

A

Wardship- the Monarch’s right to take any minors inherited lands until they came of age.

33
Q

What happened with the Great Contract?

A

Negotiations fell apart by 1610 as both Crown and Parliament distrusted each other and in Feb 1611 James dissolved Parliament.

34
Q

What happened to the title system?

A

James created the title of baronet in 1611, which brought in a revenue of £90,885 by 1614. But this devalued the title. Similar thing happened to the earldom title.

35
Q

How long did Charles collect tonnage and poundage for?

A

Past the one year grant Parliament gave him.

36
Q

What was the Forced Loan of 1626?

A

Charles called for a loan equivalent to five subsidies. 76 people were imprisoned for refusal to pay, and only about 70% of the expected amount was collected.