Were the difficulties faced by Charles II due more to financial concerns than foreign policy in the years 1667-1678?
Charles II faced a vast amount of difficulties during his reign, but particularly during the period of 1667-1678. He suffered financial difficulties, foreign policy issues and religious problems. Finance became an obvious problem due to his lack of funds, however his foreign policy was constantly needing money, and a combination of both left Charles with many difficulties.
A substantial difficulty that Charles II faced was that of finance. Finance was a major issue between crown and parliament, especially in-between the years 1665 to 1667. The Crown’s income had dropped by £200,000, and MPs believed that the problems
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Almost echoing the problems faced with finance was Charles Foreign policy. Charles planned an attack on the Dutch in 1672 with help from the French. This required finance and with the payment of loans, Crown only had an income of £400,000. So, Charles declared the crown bankrupt, making it harder to secure future loans but making parliament give him £1.2 million to fund the attack on the Dutch. This shows the foreign policy being the reason for the difficulties faced by Charles, as a lot of the financial concerns were due to the need to fund wars.
From 1670 Charles had a new alliance with France and he wanted a third war against the Dutch to avenge the humiliation from the second one. Between the years 1673 – 1674 saw the Dutch war go badly and it proved costly. This again showed Charles as facing difficulties from the foreign policy as he was too proud to let the war lie, and therefore again need more funding, relying on finance. Charles was forced to sign the treaty of Westminster in 1674, which was to end the conflict and England kept New York, whilst the Dutch kept Surinam. In 1675 Parliament only voted £300,000 for the Navy, but due to continuing French success against the Dutch, parliament then voted £600,000. This again shows how the foreign policy was affecting the financial situation, which then continues to drive Charles and Parliament away.
The secret treaty also
King Charles was very stubborn, because even after he lost the battles of Naseby and Marston Moor, he did not accept his lost and continued fighting,
An argument for Charles could state that none of this was Charles’s fault because the civilians were simply outrageous. However, it is commonly known that the predecessor of Charles I, Elizabeth I, was beloved by all her subjects because she treated them fairly and gave Parliament power. Charles, however, thought it was him and only him who should rule England. This is what caused his downfall: his inability to listen to other members of the government. His plans to create an absolute monarchy ultimately backfired because of his unfair treatment of his subjects and inability to manage financial
At the start of her reign in 1558, Elizabeth faced many problems it was a very tumultuous time for her. These problems included Gender, Religion, Finance and Foreign policy.
The relationship and status of the monarchy in parliament’s eyes had already been in a state of decline even before Charles’ reign. His predecessor had been known as the ‘wisest fool in Christendom’ and there was a lot of resentment
The Civil war between King and the parliament caused many factors to arise. Religion, money and power played a part. As for religion King Charles I married queen of France who was Catholic. This feared people in England because the thought of the king changing the country from protestant to catholic. Not only, King Charles I used tax money on his family and military weapons rather than the country. He believed the rights of kings and the power they held. As a ruler for eleven years, he always had way to make money either by taxation or loans. In the sixteenth century, these conflicts lead to a new turning point in Europe. In response, new transformation in working class, modern revolution, and expanding the government while improving the
He then failed to re-marry and achieve stronger diplomatic relations outside of England following the death of Elizabeth creating a weak government in England. Also the death of Isabella of Castile was another problem for Henry as he would have Ferdinand as his rival instead of an ally over territorial gains in Europe and in the New World. The later years of Henrys foreign policy were definitely his most challenging and difficult period of foreign affairs allowing the government to be weak and therefore vulnerable to a crisis.
Rulers of European countries during the 17th century had almost unlimited autonomy over their respective countries. They were the head of government in all respects, and all decisions were eventually made by them. However, along with this autonomy came responsibility in the form of the people. If the decisions of these rulers did not improve the country, the possibility existed that their power would be either curbed or taken away by the people. As ruler of England in the early 17th century, Charles Stuart believed strongly in absolute power and a king’s divine right to rule. He believed that a king was given his power by God and therefore had no reason to answer to the people. The Parliament in England at the time
“…the revenue arising is very small and inconsiderable… and is not sufficient” (Doc F). The hard-won victory in the French and Indian War cost the British millions of pounds and created an enormous war debt. England’s burden of debt nearly doubled since 1754, from 73 million pounds to 137 million pounds. After considering their hardships, England felt it only right
At that time, Charles I was married to a Catholic woman, and thus his people did not trust him and suspected him of trying to bring them to civil war, a fight between Protestants and Catholics. Charles’ relationship with religion was a strained partnership that caused many issues and problems, and was somewhat unwieldy. In the case
"The reign of Charles II and the revolution against his brother James show that England in the later seventeenth century was ready to be Tory and Anglican but not Roman Catholic and Francophile." Discuss.
King Charles I’s reign was unsuccessful, because he was unprepared to take on Scotland, England, and Ireland, each with its own political and legal structures. He was under the influence of bishops, priests, and friends who pulled him different directions in regards to war, religion, and economy. King Charles I’s was foolish and failed to rule England with an absolute monarchy, because he formed poor relations with the Protestant majority of Parliament, he raised and created new taxes, and he lost support of Scottish nobility.
There has been a considerable debate on whether King Charles I brought about his own downfall. Many people have argued that Charles wasn’t to blame, but rather religion or that it was the growth of parliament, however some people believe that there were a number of problems before he began his reign over England, all of which led to the Civil War and Charles’s execution on the 30th January 1649.
One way that shows Charles I as responsible for the breakdown in relations is through finance. When Charles came to power in 1625, he
Charles's reign started off badly, in 1625 Charles married a French Catholic princess, Henrietta Maria. This was very unpopular since Parliament questioned the religion of Charles's children especially if they were brought up by a Catholic mother. In 1629, Charles tried to dissolve Parliament. He then ruled without them for eleven years, until 1640. Some historians say that his policies during this time were very unpopular. One method he used was the 'Ship Money Tax'. Coastal counties had to pay tax to help improve the Navy during times of warfare. In 1634, Charles demanded Ship Money Tax although England weren't
War, which occurred from 1756 to 1763, were extremely expensive for Britain. To pay off debt