Ch 3 Finances of Crown & Attempts @ Reform Flashcards Preview

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Flashcards in Ch 3 Finances of Crown & Attempts @ Reform Deck (43)
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1
Q

How did James attempt to strengthen Crown finances?

A
  • the Treaty of London (1604)
  • the Book of Rates (1608)
  • the Book of Bounty (1608)
  • the Great Contract (1610)
  • the creation of knights (1603)
  • Lionel Cranfield (1618)
2
Q

What was the key issue w/ raising Prerogative Income?

A

-worried the Political Nation, since the money came predominantly from them, & the more funds the Crown raised, the greater possibility of monarch becoming absolutist

3
Q

Who were monarchs dependent on for funds?

A

-monarch dependent on Parliament, & thereby also the Political Nation; especially during times of war

4
Q

Why was the Crown’s expenditure rising?

A
  • due to inflation caused by rising prices (1502-1622)

- food prices increased significantly above rest

5
Q

Why was the Crown’s income falling when James I started his reign?

A

-due to Elizabeth’s failure to reform the Crown’s major sources of income before him

6
Q

What failures of Crown income was Elizabeth responsible for (1558-1603)?

A
  • she did not update the Crown’s sources of income, & due to period of inflation, this was a big problem
  • major reform needed, but was safer for monarch’s to organise their finances in short term, than undertake financial reforms that would mean dealing w/ vested interests of Political Nation represented in Parliament
7
Q

Who recognised major reform was need during James I reign?

A

-1st chief minister Robert Cecil (had also been chief minister under Elizabeth I

8
Q

What was the Great Contract of 1610?

A
  • Cecil negotiated w/ Parliament a major reform of Crown finances
  • in return for annual grant from Parliament of £200,000 & the removal of debts (approx. £600,000), the Crown would give up SOME prerogative income
9
Q

Why did the Great Contract of 1610 fall through?

A

-both Crown & Parliament felt they had too much to lose in such agreement (reform never attempted again under James)

10
Q

What were the greatest sources of expenditure in 1603; more specifically by James himself?

A
  • foreign policy & war (military struggle w/ Spain)

- financial extravagance (spent lots & was generous to courtiers)

11
Q

What happened to the 3 subsidies Parliament gave James I in 1606?

A
  • 3 subsidies supposed to help w/ James’ debt
  • instead he gave £44,000 of money to 3 of his Scottish friends
  • such generosity made MPs reluctant to consider reform that was needed; as they worried James would simply give money away, in particular to favoured Scots
12
Q

What was the Ante-Supper?

A
  • most notorious example of court extravagance

- involved preparation 2 feasts; first was displayed to courtiers & then thrown away; while 2nd was consumed

13
Q

What did one Ante-Supper in 1621 cost?

A

-around £3,300

14
Q

What year did James I dissolve Parliament?

A

-1611

15
Q

What was the Cockayne Project (1614)?

A
  • plan to reorganise cloth trade
  • rather than helping Crown finances, it actually hindered them
  • a monopoly of the production & sale of finished cloth was granted to businessman William Cockayne, but his scheme failed
  • the Dutch refused to purchase finished cloth from England, resulting in slump in English cloth trade
16
Q

What amount was royal debt by 1617?

A

-£726,000

17
Q

What amount was royal debt by 1620?

A

-£900,000

18
Q

What was the Thirty Years War (1618-48)?

A
  • since the Reformation & emergence of Protestantism, religion was divided in Europe
  • 1618, series of wars broke out between Catholics & Protestants
19
Q

What year did James bring Parliament back after dissolving it in 1611?

A

-1614

20
Q

When was James I’s third Parliament?

A

-1621-22

21
Q

When was James I’s fourth Parliament?

A

-1624

22
Q

How much money did Parliament grant James in 1621 & why?

A
  • only approx. £140,000
  • they wanted their grievances addressed before allowing James more money (fearing he would dissolve Parliament again after obtaining sufficient funds)
23
Q

What was the problem with the sale of monopolies by 1621?

A
  • there were over 100 monopolies; as James finances deteriorated, he had granted more to try & increase his own fund
  • MPs discovered people (e.g. Mopesson, relative of Buckingham) had abused their monopolies
  • dispute by Lionel Cranfield & Edward Coke to remove their mutual rival Francis Bacon where they revived the feudal device of impeachment (whereby Commons could remove a Crown minister)
  • James sacrificed Bacon to appease the Commons; mostly to prevent attack on Buckingham (who had several relatives who had exploited monopolies)
24
Q

What further weakened Crown finances in 1623/24?

A

-bad harvests

25
Q

What was the Subsidy Act (1624)?

A

-granted a subsidy of £300,000 to the Crown for warfare; in order to gain it, the Crown (prince Charles & Buckingham as James I was old/ill) agreed that money would be used for specified areas of foreign policy only, as supervised by Parliamentary officials

26
Q

What was the Statute of Monopolies (1624)?

A

-act that limited Crown’s right to grant monopolies to individuals

27
Q

What was James I vs Charles I view on the Thirty Years War?

A
  • James did not want to join war (due to weaknesses in Crown finances)
  • Charles planned to participate, joining fight against Spain, due to failure of Spanish Match & his marriage alliance w/ French Princess Henrietta Maria (France main opponent of Spain)
28
Q

What did Charles’ anti-Spanish policy consist of?

A
  • financial backing for his uncle Christian IV of Denmark to attack the Catholics through northern Germany
  • financial support for Protestant Dutch
  • construction of a force of about 600 Englishmen to be led by a German mercenary, Count Mansfield
  • a naval attack on Spain aimed at capturing shipments of gold from South America
  • for this he needed £1million, though the Commons exhibited their distrust by granting only 2 subsidies of £140,000
29
Q

What was the issue over Tonnage & Poundage for Charles I?

A
  • rather than granting Charles the right to collect tonnage & poundage for life (a customs tax on goods paid to the king), as would be the usual for monarchs, the Commons granted this right for only 1 year
  • Parliament saw the limited grant as way to gain time to discuss reform of customs duties
  • this was a direct attack at Buckingham, who was serving as Lord High Admiral, as this usually contributed to naval protection, & some MPs wanted to make point that Buckingham was failing his responsibility due to lack of success in foreign policy
30
Q

How did Charles view the limited grant of tonnage & poundage?

A
  • saw it as a direct attack on his prerogative
  • felt Parliament was too influenced by radicals like Edward Coke (responsible for persuading Commons to vote for limited grant)
31
Q

How much was Charles I in debt by 1629?

A

-£2million

32
Q

What was the 1604 Treaty of London?

A

-James I made peace w/ Spain & thereby reduced Crown expenditure significantly

33
Q

How much was crown debt by 1608?

A

-£600,000

34
Q

What promises did James I make to Robert Cecil & what were the problem for attempting to strengthen royal finances?

A
  • 1608 James promised Cecil that he would stop giving gifts of land
  • 1609 James promised to not to grant any gifts or pensions without Cecil’s agreement
  • problem that James failed to keep both promises
35
Q

What was the 1608 ‘Book of Bounty’?

A
  • survey of Crown lands in attempt to strengthen royal finances
  • aimed to make more money from the lands by revising the leasing policy
  • however, the limited nature of Crown bureaucracy & James’ continuing granting of Crown lands to favoured courtiers hampered Cecil’s efforts
  • Cecil resorted to short-term financial fixes instead, including the sale of Crown lands & deficit borrowing
36
Q

What was the 1608 ‘Book of Rates’?

A
  • 1st major revision of custom duties
  • book that listed official valuations of those items on which customs duties should be paid
  • for majority of items, the imposition was either a fixed sum or a percentage of the item’s value
  • because it included fixed valuations, this form of Crown income did not keep up w/ inflation
  • the last time valuations had been set were 1558
37
Q

What was the problem w/ knighthood in James I reign?

A
  • he created a significant number of knights when coming to power in 1603
  • also allowed some courtiers to offer knighthoods to others at a price; this devalued the title
  • as result, new hereditary title of ‘baronet’ introduced in 1611; sold to anyone who could pay £1095
  • established 200 baronets & brought in revenue of approx. £91,000 by March 1914
38
Q

What did Lionel Cranfield do regarding royal finances after 1618?

A
  • conducted investigations into expenses of the royal household, navy, wardrobe & court of wards to try & save money to strengthen royal finances
  • although they led to savings, the changes from the investigation were not permanent solution to the financial weaknesses of the Crown
39
Q

How did Charles try to make up for his financial short-falls in 1625?

A
  • continued to collect tonnage & poundage after the 1-year parliamentary grant had expired
  • also resorted to benevolence, method which monarch could demand money from his subjects through his prerogative in times of emergency (this was a voluntary payment & in 1626 very few offered Charles money)
  • the forced loan (1626)
40
Q

What was the Forced Loan of 1626?

A
  • without parliamentary finance & facing war against Spain & France, Charles called on the prerogative finance of a forced loan that would be equivalent to 5 parliamentary subsidies
  • ensured those who were most liable, paid up
  • summoned to public meetings where they were individually pressed to agree to pay; public manner of collection made any refusal to pay a very open act of opposition
  • Charles also personally identified himself w/ the forced loan, making it a ‘test of political loyalty’
41
Q

Signs of oppositon to the Forced Loan of 1626?

A
  • 76 people were imprisoned for refusal to pay the loan
  • number of open resistors was reflection of the wider unrest caused by the forced loan
  • only about £267,000 (70%) of the expected amount was collected
42
Q

What year did Charles I dissolve Parliament?

A

-1629 (tensions over finance, favourites & foreign policy had soured relationships)

43
Q

What were the main forms of Crown income for a monarch?

A
  • crown lands = sold land/rent on long leases @ fixed rate; income reduced as couldn’t keep up w/ inflation
  • customs duties = taxes from goods imported into country; could also temporarily sell right to collect such taxes
  • feudal dues = crown held right to control estates inherited by heir under 21yrs
  • parliamentary subsidies = funds approved by Parliament for emergencies e.g. war