arpentra
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Concetti Chiave

  • Charles I believed in the divine right of kings and sought to unite England, Scotland, and Ireland into a single kingdom, raising suspicions among English Parliamentarians.
  • His marriage to Catholic Henrietta Maria alarmed Protestant England due to fears of a Catholic heir, challenging the Church of England's leadership by the King.
  • Charles avoided summoning Parliament for eleven years, leading to financial struggles and a dependency on peace with France and Spain to manage the Crown's finances.
  • The imposition of High Anglican religious policies in Scotland met violent resistance, igniting tensions with the National Covenant opposing untested royal innovations.
  • Charles's conflicts with Scotland and financial desperation led to the English Civil War, with opposition from the Long Parliament eventually resulting in the king's downfall.

Charles I's early reign

  • Charles I was the son of James I* and like him believed in the divine right to be monarch. He succeeded his father in 1625 and the same year married with the catholic Henrietta Maria.

    Thanks to his father the two kingdoms of Scotland and England had both experienced relative peace, and Charles hoped to unite the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland into a new single kingdom, fulfilling the dream of his father. But many English Parliamentarians had suspicions regarding such a move, because they feared that setting up a new kingdom might destroy the old English traditions which had bound the English monarchy, and found a justification in Charle's position on the power of the crown (divine right).

    Many concerns were raised over Charles's marriage to Henrietta Maria because it raised the possibility that his children, including an heir to the throne, might grow up as Catholics. This was quite an alarming prospect for officially Protestant England, where the Church of England is led by the King.

    Religious tensions and personal rule

    Charles I avoided calling a Parliament for eleven years: during this period, Charles's lack of money determined policies. First and foremost, to avoid Parliament the King needed to avoid war. Charles made peace with France and Spain, but it wasn't enough to balance the Crown's finances. Charles asked the parliament for money in 1628 in which was written that taxes could only be imposed after the approval of the parliament and that no man could be sent to prison without regular trial.

    During the "Personal Rule" period Charles arose most antagonism through his religious measures: he believed in High Anglicanism, a sacramental version of the Church of England, but Puritans accused the Anglicans of reintroducing Catholicism, and gave rise to a social and political movement holding a considerable majority in the parliament.

    Conflict with Scotland and financial struggles

    The end of Charles's independent governance came when he attempted to apply the same religious policies in Scotland, which had independent traditions.Charles, however, wanted one uniform Church throughout Britain (and introduced the High Anglican version of the English Book of Common Prayer to Scotland). Scotland was violently resisted, and in 1638, the Scots formulated their objections to royal policy in the National Covenant. This document took the form of a "loyal protest," rejecting all innovations not first having been tested by free parliaments and General Assemblies of the Church.

    In 1639 started but the Scots army defeated Charles's forces. He had insufficient funds, however, and asked the parliament for money in 1640, but the parliament refused him the support.

    Without Parliament's support, Charles attacked Scotland again and was defeated. The Scots went on to invade England and Charles was forced to pay to keep the Scots from advancing. All this put Charles in a desperate financial position. As King of Scots, he had to find money to pay the Scottish army in England; as King of England, he had to find money to pay and equip an English army to defend England.

    So he summoned the parliament again, (Long Parliament) which sat from 1640 to 1653. Its opposition to the king led to the English Civil War between the Parliamentarians and the Royalists. Many of its members were dismissed in 1648 and it became known as the Rump Parliament. This was itself dismissed in 1653. At the Restoration in 1660 a new parliament was created.

    The parliament refused again to give him money and asked him to abandon any kind of power.

    Domande da interrogazione

    1. ¿Cuál fue la creencia fundamental de Carlos I sobre su derecho a gobernar?
    2. Carlos I creía en el derecho divino de ser monarca, al igual que su padre, lo que significaba que consideraba su autoridad como otorgada por Dios.

    3. ¿Por qué el matrimonio de Carlos I con Henrietta Maria generó preocupaciones en Inglaterra?
    4. El matrimonio con la católica Henrietta Maria generó preocupaciones porque sus hijos, incluyendo al heredero al trono, podrían ser criados como católicos, lo cual era alarmante para la Inglaterra protestante.

    5. ¿Qué medidas tomó Carlos I para evitar convocar al Parlamento y cómo afectaron sus políticas?
    6. Carlos I evitó convocar al Parlamento durante once años, lo que lo llevó a hacer la paz con Francia y España para evitar guerras costosas, pero no fue suficiente para equilibrar las finanzas de la Corona.

    7. ¿Qué provocó la resistencia violenta en Escocia contra las políticas religiosas de Carlos I?
    8. La resistencia violenta en Escocia fue provocada por el intento de Carlos I de imponer políticas religiosas uniformes, introduciendo la versión anglicana del Libro de Oración Común, lo que llevó a la formulación del Pacto Nacional en 1638.

    9. ¿Qué evento llevó al estallido de la Guerra Civil Inglesa?
    10. La oposición del Parlamento al rey, especialmente después de que Carlos I intentara obtener fondos sin su apoyo, llevó al estallido de la Guerra Civil Inglesa entre los Parlamentarios y los Realistas.

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