Unit 25 Charles I. England before the Civil War

Charles I was the king of Great Britain and Ireland (1625-1649), whose authoritarian rule and quarrels with Parliament provoked a civil war that led to his execution. Charles was the second son of James VI of Scotland and Anne of Denmark. He was a sickly child, devoted to his elder brother, Henry, and to his sister, Elizabeth. He became lonely when Henry died (1612) and his sister got married in 1613. All his life Charles had a Scots accent and a slight stammer, he was always shy and struck observers as being silent and reserved. He was a patron of the arts and brought both Van Dyck and Peter Paul Rubens to England. From his father he acquired a stubborn belief that kings are intended by God to rule and he was incapable of compromising with Parliament. When his first Parliament met, trouble immediately arose because of the general distrust of Buckingham, who was also the new king`s friend. The Spanish war was a failure but Charles did not want to explain to Parliament his foreign policy or its costs. He had problems with the Puritans, who predominated in the House of Commons. Parliament refused to vote him the right to impose new taxes. The second Parliament of the reign, meeting in February, 1626, proved even more critical of the King's government. Buckingham was blamed for the failure of a naval expedition against the Spanish and the Commons tried to impeach him for treason. To prevent this, Charles dissolved Parliament. Largely through the incompetence of Buckingham, the country now became involved in a war with France as well as with Spain and, in desperate need of funds, the King imposed a forced loan, which his judges declared illegal. He dismissed the chief justice and ordered the arrest of more than 70 knights and gentlemen who refused to pay money. This disagreement continued for several years and finally Parliament passed three resolutions condemning the King's conduct. Charles dissolved Parliament again and ruled his kingdom without calling a Parliament. In order that he might no longer be dependent upon parliamentary grants, he now made peace with both France and Spain. He ordered administrative reforms. On the whole, the kingdom prospered until 1639, when Charles became involved in a war against the Scots. His decision in 1637 to impose upon his northern kingdom a new liturgy, based on the English Book of Common Prayer, although approved by the Scottish bishops, met with concerted resistance. When many Scots signed a national covenant to defend their Presbyterian religion, the King decided to enforce his ecclesiastical policy with the sword. He was outmanoeuvred by a well-organized Scottish army and lost the war. Charles had to summon Parliament that met in April, 1640 - later known as the Short Parliament-in order to raise money for the war against Scotland. The House showed itself opposed to a renewal of the war; so the King dissolved Parliament again. A Scottish army crossed the border in August and the King's troops were defeated. Charles summoned another Parliament, the Long Parliament, which met at Westminster in November 1640.The new House of Commons condemned Charles's recent actions and made preparations to impeach his ministers for treason. Charles was forced to agree that the existing Parliament could not be dissolved without its own consent. But while making these concessions, he visited Scotland in August to try to enlist anti-parliamentary support there. He agreed to the full establishment of Presbyterianism in Scotland and allowed the Scottish estates to nominate royal officials. At the same time news of a rebellion in Ireland had reached Westminster. Leaders of the Commons planned to gain control of the army. The king ordered the arrest of one member of the House of Lords and five of the Commons for treason and went with about 400 men to enforce the order himself. After it he left London for the north of England. Both Royalists and Parliamentarians enlisted troops and collected arms, although Charles had not completely given up hopes of peace. The King settled in York, where royalist members of both houses gradually joined him. In June the majority of the members remaining in London sent the King the Nineteen Propositions, which included demands that no ministers should be appointed without parliamentary approval, that the army should be put under parliamentary control, and that Parliament should decide about the future of the church. But in July both sides were making ready for war. The King formally raised the royal standard at Nottingham in August and fighting soon broke out all over the kingdom.

Read the text, translate it into Russian.

Memorize the words, answer the questions:

authoritarian - авторитарный	What painters were brought to England by Charles I?
stammer - заикаться	What problems did Charles have with Parliament?
impose – налагать, навязывать	What was the cause of disagreement between the king and Parliament?
consent - согласие	Where did the king raise his royal standard?
concession - уступка	Was the king right in opposing Parliament? What is your own opinion?
dissolve - распускать
enlist –вербовать, включать в списки