Reign of James I

1603 - Inital tolerance, recusancy fines lowered to 1/4 of level before 1603, right to worship in peace

1604 - Recusancy fines to be collected in full, priests and Jesuits ordered out of kingdom (response to adverse reactions from parliament towards tolerance)

1605 - Gunpowder Plot, recusancy fines increased, Catholics forbidden from living in/near London, or holding public office

No further trouble, though seen as a political issue following outbreak of Thirty Years War (lowered recusancy fines during negotiations from Spain, Spanish Match, and failure to support Protestant cause on the continent.

1603 - Millenary Petiton, signed by 1000 clergy, asking for moderate Puritan reforms, initially met with suspicion

1604 - Hampton Court Conference, generally harmonious, agreement on King James Bible, little/no success for Puritans as numbers were seen to be too pressuring, and demands were trivialised to avoid seeming extremist

1610 - Puritan George Abbot appointed as Archbishop of Canterbury

No further trouble within James' reign.

Initially opposed by James, but he became more sympathetic towards the end of his reign

1620s - mounting protests against Catholicism and his negotiations with Spain saw James becoming more sympathetic towards Arminians due to the practical support they gave, as Arminians upheld royal authority and didn't share the irrational hatred of popery

Commons suspicious of James' promotion of Arminians as they considered them little better than papists

Arminians never had severe tensions with James.

Crown Lands - Most important source of revenue at beginning of reign, Elizabeth had sold over £800,000 worth of estates, difficult to maximise profits as extracting economic rents was unpopular and crown lands were a convenient form of patronage. Became a less important source of income as financial crises led to lands being sold to raise money.

Customs Revenue - brought in nearly 3x as much as crown lands in 1621, collection farmed out to customs farmers in 1604, who could collect and keep customs in return for an annual rent. The farmers had an interest in collecting the max from customs which indirectly created a new tax. This caused unease in Parliament, which saw its control of taxation being undermined. Bates Case.

Wardship - made up of feudal tenures dated from Middle Ages. Largely lost justification by 17C, but not financial usefulness to the Crown. Wardship = system where an estate was managed after the death of its owner until the heir came of age or married (in the case of women). Useful tool for rewarding courtiers, could ruin a family should it see two consecutive wardships. Brought about £65,000 to the Crown in 1610.

Purveyance -  Right of the court to buy provisions at fixed prices below market rates. Established at a time where Court moved frequently, thus avoiding burdening one area only, but the relic remained when the Court stopped moving, with the burden falling heavily on a small section of the people. It was worth about £40,000 and Parl. were anxious to end it, but MPs couldn't decide how to compensate the king.

1603 - Crown's revenue was ceasing to meet the cost of running the country

James spent £400,000 at the beginning of his reign, and this peaked at £522,000 in 1614 compared to Elizabeth's <£300,000 a year in peacetime.

Much of this spending went to Scottish nobles who were disliked by Parliament

Significant spending on jewels, banquets, and patronage.

Elizabeth largely neglected patronage through her reign, leading to higher demands from James.

Significant military expenditure despite peace with Spain in 1604. Between 1603-8, £600,000 spent on army in Ireland.

Falling rates of subsidy

High levels of inflation

Official Self Interest - many people had a vested interest in the system remaining unreformed so they could see greater profits.

Taxation - many who were liable to pay subsidies underestimated their earnings to owe a smaller amount

The Book Of Bounty 1608 - Earl of Salisbury, prohibited Crown giving away major items such as lands, customs, or impositions. Failed because James simply gave away cash instead and no one could afford to oppose the king's wishes for long if he valued his position

The Great Contract 1610 - Salisbury, abolition of wardships, purveyance, and feudal tenures in return for an annual grant of £200,000 and a one off payment of £600,000 from parliament. Failed because parliament disliked the idea of funding the king's extravagance, and couldn't be sure James would actually remove the feudal tenures

Cockayne's Scheme 1614 - prohibited the export of unfinished cloth to the Netherlands to increase customs revenue by increasing the value of the product. Failed because the Dutch found new sources of unfinished cloth, and England didn't have the resources to purchase all the cloth produced. Unemployment increased in clothing districts.

Cranfield 1618-24 - it was agreed that if costs fell from the existing £42,000 to £20,000, Cranfield could keep any additional savings. Targeted waste and lowered weapons and navy costs from £34,000 to £14,000 and £53,000 to £30,000 respectively. Impeached for corruption following his vocal opposition to war with Spain and an ill-judged attempt to promote his nephew as a favourite in Buckingham's place.

Peace with Spain in Treaty of London, 1604

Wanted to use marriages of his children to further his role as Europe's peacemaker. Married Elizabeth to Frederick of the Palatinate, whos family was connected to leading Protestant figures, so sought to promote a Catholic marriage for CHarles, regardless of unpopularity in England.

The Spanish Match - Offered as a result of Philip III's fear that England may take up leadership of a Protestant coalition, Spain was strongest European power, and James turned to the prospect of a rich Spanish dowry for funding.

Thirty Years War - War against Frederick and Elizabeth following Frederick's acceptance of the throne in Bohemia. Pressure on England to act on their behalf, but James refused to help them regain the Bohemian crown, only the Palatinate. 

Buckingham and Charles' trip to Madrid 1623, intended to demonstrate depth of commitment to the Infanta. Charles and Buckingham wanted war in revenge for their humiliation after essentially being treated as prisoners.

French Marriage Alliance 1624 - B'ham wanted an anti-Habsburg alliance, which required the support of the French who could also provide a wife for Charles. The marriage treaty agreed that Henrietta Maria and her children would be free to practice their religion and Catholics would be granted tolerance, but didn't mention a military alliance. B'ham was forced to accept a treaty that would cause outrage in England.

Mansfeld's Expedition 1625 - Met with disaster, Louis last minute refused to let expedition cross French territory or senf any French troops, troops were poorly equipped, many died of disease, and many desterted. Wasted £60,000 of Commons subsidy in direct defiance of their instructions.

Protestant Allies - B'ham wanted Protestant allies in northern Europe. 1624 James agreed to finance 6000 English troops for 2 years to fight in the Netherlands' war of independence. FEb 1625, England committed to paying for 7000 troops, at a cost of £30,000/month in return for a Danish campaign in Germany, as a way of helping the Protestant cause while avoiding war. Expensive and controversial.

Parliament of 1604 - started badly, dispute over Buckinghamshire election. Little improvement, Parliament disliked plans to unite England and Scotland. Failure of union was a bitter disappointment for James, Commons concerned about absolutism.

1614 Addled Parliament - no agenda, absence of clear leadership, seemed no prospect of agreement on taxation, dissolved by James, no legislation passed.

Parliament of 1621 - James worried about news from the Palatinate and wanted a parliamentary grant. 1st session, Commons only felt able to grant two subsidies (~£140,000) as a result of significant depression. Agreement of monopolies being harmful. A bill restricting them failed because of rejection by Lords. 2nd session saw harsh disagreements over parliaments' privileges. Abruptly dissolved.

Parliament of 1624 - Subsidy Act, restrictions on use of a parliamentary grant (could only be spent on war with Spain, and would be spent under supervision); Statute of Monopolies, King's right to make grants to individuals was severely limited; Impeachment of Cranfield, found guilty of corruption, fined and sent to Tower of London. Largely undermined royal authority and attacked James' prerogative.