The reign of Charles I, 1625-49

Aims

This course aims to:

• explore the nature of Charles’s political and religious beliefs and how he tried to implement them
• consider the extent of Charles’s responsibility for causing the English Civil War and Revolution

Course content

Charles I was the only monarch in English history to be put on trial and publicly executed. His reign saw an unparalleled breakdown of government that led to Civil War and Revolution. Small wonder, then, that he has been widely condemned as an inept ruler, wholly unsuited to kingship. Yet, to others, he was the victim of a military coup, a tragic figure of blameless personal life, creative ideas and high principles, who died rather than risk betraying the Crown’s powers or the Church of England.  This course will address these debates by focusing on Charles’s personality and style of government. It will examine the nature of his political and religious beliefs, and how he tried to implement them. The extent of his responsibility for the Civil War and Revolution will be a central theme: was early seventeenth-century England impossible to govern or just badly governed? Throughout the classes, there will be extensive reference to primary sources as well as to the complex historiography of the Stuart monarchy. Each class will be accompanied by a hand-out of primary source material.

What to expect on this course

The course will be taught through a series of interactive classes in which extensive reference will be made to extracts from primary sources.

Course sessions

1. Politics and the constitution, 1625-38
   This session will examine the political and constitutional developments of the first part of Charles I’s reign. It will look at his deteriorating relationship with Parliaments in the opening years of his reign, and then at his Personal Rule which began in 1629. 
    
2. Religion and the Church, 1625-38
   This session will look at the religious history of the first part of Charles’s reign, and thus forms the ecclesiastical counterpart to the first session. We will look in particular at the policies of Charles and his Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, and consider how far they destabilised the Church of England.
    
3. The coming of Civil War, 1638-1642
   This session will look at how England descended into civil war in the years immediately before 1642. We will explore the issues that divided people and led to the emergence of two sides. Charles’s handling of the situation will be a central theme.
    
4. Charles I and the Royalists, 1642-1646
   This session will examine Charles’s leadership of the Royalist cause during the first civil war. The course of the war and the reasons for the eventual Royalist defeat by 1646 will be explored, as will the strengths and weaknesses of the Royalist war effort.
    
5. The steps to the scaffold, 1646-1649
   The final session on Charles I will consider why the search for a settlement after the civil war proved unsuccessful, and how and why he was ultimately brought to public trial and execution in January 1649. It will end with an assessment of why he has remained such a controversial figure.

Learning outcomes

As a result of the course, you will gain a greater understanding of the subject and you should be able to:

• assess the nature of Charles’s personality and beliefs and how these influenced his policies as King
• assess the extent of Charles’s responsibility for causing the English Civil War and Revolution

Required reading

There is no required reading for this course. See Course materials for supplementary reading once registered.