When and why did King`s lose control?

When and why
did King’s lose
control?
Power in Early Modern
Britain 1500-1900
Year 8 – KCCIS History Department
Would you have signed Charles I’s
death warrant?
1
In 1649 King Charles I was put on trial. He was charged with treason against
the people of England. He was found guilty and he was executed. Yet many
people were deeply unhappy about this. You are going to investigate why
Charles was on trial and examine the evidence for and against him. You can
make your own decision about whether the outcome was the right one. Would
you have signed Charles I’s death warrant?
The Charges
John Bradshaw read out the charges
against the man he called simply Charles
Stuart:
Charles’ Response
Charles did not answer the charges.
Instead he argued that the court had no
right to try him:
“Trusted to govern England
“I wish to know by what power I am
according to the law, he has in fact
brought here – by what lawful
tried to rule according to his own
authority. Remember I am your king,
will.”
your lawful king. I have a trust
“He has wickedly made war on his
own subjects, and so is responsible
for all the murders, rapings,
burnings, damage and desolation
caused by the wars.”
“He called in help from France and
the Dutch against his own subjects.
He started the war after being
defeated.”
↓ Source 1 – For fear of being shot by one of
Charles’s supporters the judge John Bradshaw
wore this bullet proof hat.
committed to me by God, by old and
lawful descent.”
Charles argued so much that Bradshaw
ordered him to be taken away and the
witnesses gave their evidence without
him.
The Verdict
The sentence of the court was obvious
from the start:
“The said Charles Stuart, as a Tyrant,
Traitor, Murdered and a public enemy,
shall be put to death by the severing of
his head from his body.”
Although Charles had earned many
enemies only 80 of the 135 men appointed
to be judges actually turned up. Of these,
68 voted that he was guilty, but only 59
were prepared to sign the death warrant.
Three days later Charles was executed.
1. Look at Source 2.
Find:
 The benches for the
judges
 The raised bench of
John Bradshaw,
President of the Court
 The King, in the dock
with his back to us
 Spectators in the main
part of the hall
 Important spectators
in galleries at each
side at the back.
2. Why do you think
there were so many
soldiers in the court?
2
→ Source 2 – Contemporary
picture of Charles I’s trial
ACTIVITY 1
was not defended at this trial.
Y10Charles
Martin, Stephen
STAGE 1 → GATHER EVIDENCE
Y11 Birdie and Simone
Choose one of the charges and on your
He did not accept the authority of the
court. No one had ever put a king on trial
Y12before.
Sarah B and
ButChaney
if he had been defended,
there are many points that could be
own or with others use the next eight
pages to gather evidence using a table
made in his defence. Your task is to
like this:
weigh up the evidence and consider
Charge
whether you, if you had been there at
the time, would have been prepared to
sign the death warrant and why.
Evidence against
Charles
Charles’
Defence
CHARGE 1: ‘That he did ignore the will of Parliament and ruled
according to his own will’
King v. Parliament
Charles had very strong beliefs about the
role of the king. He believed in the Divine
Right of Kings. Kings were appointed by God
and ruled by the authority of God. So
Charles expected complete obedience from
his subjects. He did not think he had to
consult anyone, even his Parliament, over
important decisions.
In practice of course a king could not rule
the country by himself. He needed their
permission to raise taxes. Parliament
included all the most powerful people in the
country. In the House of Lords there were
nobles and bishops; in the House of
Commons there were elected MPs who
were mostly rich landowners but included
some merchants. A successful king had to
earn Parliament’s trust and keep all these
powerful people on his side. Members of
Parliament were prepared to obey their
king. But only if he earned their trust by
consulting them, listening to their advice
and ruling the country well.
But instead of listening to Parliament,
Charles preferred to take the advice of a
small group of people whom he trusted and
liked. Parliament particularly distrusted
Charles’ favourite the Duke of Buckingham.
Parliament and the King disagreed over
three key issues.
ACTIVITY 2
You are gathering evidence for and
against Charles. Use your table from
page 2 to record what you find.
Charge Evidence against
Charles
1
Charles’
Defence
3
MONEY
Parliament’s main task was to grant taxes to the king. It was usual for Parliament to meet at the
beginning of a new king’s reign to vote to grant the king customs duties (taxes on goods coming in
and out of the country) for life. Because they did not trust Charles or his advisors, Parliament
voted to give him these taxes for just one year! They hoped this would ensure that Charles would
call Parliament once a year.
ISSUES
RELIGION
PERSONAL RULE
In those times religion was a hot
So Charles decided to rule without Parliament. From
topic. England was a Protestant
1629 to 1640 he did not call Parliament at all. Instead he
country and most English people
found other ways to raise money. Many thought that he
thought that Catholics were their
was exceeding his power in most of the money-raising
enemies. Some could still remember
systems he used. For example, he demanded everyone
what happened 60 years before when
paid ‘ship money’, a tax usually only paid by coastal towns
the King of Spain had sent the
to pay for warships to defend traders against pirates.
Spanish Armada to try to force
England to have a Catholic ruler.
Even more people could remember
only 35 years before when the
Catholics, allegedly, attempted to
blow up the King and Parliament in
the Gunpowder Plot.
Charles was not the first king to do this. There were no
laws about how often the king had to call Parliament. But
12 years was a very long time to go without a Parliament.
And many landowners resented not being allowed to
meet to express their views on how England was being
ruled.
Do you remember Magna Carta, the Great Charter the
Yet one of the first things that
barons made King John agree to back in 1215? One of
Charles did was to marry a Roman
the things is said was that the king should not demand
Catholic French princess. Henrietta
taxes without first getting the agreement of barons and
Maria. She brought her own priests
bishops. Charles’ opponents quoted from Magna Carta to
with her to court and Roman Catholic
justify their opposition to him, saying he had broken this
service were held there. Charles also
agreement, already 400 years old by that time.
appointed William Laud as
Archbishop of Canterbury. Laud was
not a Catholic, but to many Puritans
it looked as if he was because he
wanted to increase the amount of
ceremony and decoration in
churches. There were many Puritans
in Parliament - It looked to them as
if Charles might turn England
Catholic again.
Charles should have known he would have to call
Parliament eventually. When Charles and Laud tried to
introduce their religious ideas to Scotland, the Scots
formed an army and invaded England. Charles had to buy
them off, paying them £850 a day. He could not afford
this, so was forced to call Parliament in 1640. Many MPs
rode to London furious with Charles and determined to
bring him under control.