The Personal Rule of Charles I Book

In 1625 Charles I succeeded to the throne of a nation heavily involved in a European war and deeply divided by religious controversy. Within four years he had transformed the political landscape of Britain, dissolved parliament and begun a period of 11 years of personal rule. The nature of the king's government and the circumstances of its eventual collapse are central to an understanding of the origins of the English Civil War that followed. Kevin Sharpe's analysis is based on a decade of research across a wide range of manuscript and printed sources. He presents a picture of Charles I and his annexation of power. Sharpe analyzes the personality, principles and policies of a monarch who, after summoning more parliaments in his first year of rule than his predecessors had for a century, determined to govern without them. He assesses Charles' program of reform in central and local government and in church and state, and he discusses the years of peace and prosperity it engendered. Sharpe also examines priorities in foreign affairs and their impact on domestic policy. He evaluates the degree of co-operation and opposition elicited and provoked by personal rule, and he analyzes the Scottish rebellion of 1637 that occasioned its undoing. The book provides insights into the history of the reign, politics and religion, foreign policy and finance, the court and the counties and attitudes and ideas. It reevaluates the character of the king, the importance of parliaments and the process of government without them.Read More