WEBVTT 1 00:00:20.399 --> 00:00:24.399 Hello and Welcome to Western sev Episode four hundred and 2 00:00:24.440 --> 00:00:28.879 sixty one, The Fall of the Earl. In July of 3 00:00:28.879 --> 00:00:33.439 sixteen forty, the Lord General of the Scottish Forces, Alexander Leslie, 4 00:00:33.759 --> 00:00:36.439 began to create the nucleus of the army that would 5 00:00:36.439 --> 00:00:40.880 once again take the fight into England. His intention was 6 00:00:40.920 --> 00:00:45.159 to seize Newcastle. By seizing the coal at Newcastle, he 7 00:00:45.159 --> 00:00:48.479 could put pressure on Charles down in London to hopefully 8 00:00:48.520 --> 00:00:52.079 resolve the matters in the favor of the Scottish covenanters. 9 00:00:53.359 --> 00:00:56.399 Leslie's contacts in England had in fact assured him that 10 00:00:56.439 --> 00:01:00.200 the next Parliament, when summoned, would demand that the King 11 00:01:00.359 --> 00:01:05.239 sign a peace treaty. If Charles didn't, Leslie would assured 12 00:01:05.480 --> 00:01:09.719 that the Parliament would give him no financial assistance. Now, 13 00:01:09.719 --> 00:01:12.760 on the morning of the twentieth of August, the King 14 00:01:12.840 --> 00:01:15.799 set out from London to meet his own forces in 15 00:01:15.879 --> 00:01:19.719 the North. On that exact same night, a Scottish army 16 00:01:19.760 --> 00:01:23.640 of twenty thousand men crossed the Tweed River into England. 17 00:01:25.959 --> 00:01:29.359 The head of the Royalist forces was Thomas Wentworth, the 18 00:01:29.400 --> 00:01:32.840 Earl of Stratford. He hoped that the site of an 19 00:01:32.840 --> 00:01:36.760 invading army would enrage all good Englishmen and turn the 20 00:01:36.799 --> 00:01:40.439 tide in Charles's favor, but that proved not to be 21 00:01:40.519 --> 00:01:43.959 the case. It helped that the Scottish army was extremely 22 00:01:44.079 --> 00:01:49.760 well disciplined and well behaved. Now meanwhile, by Count Conway, 23 00:01:50.079 --> 00:01:53.519 he was in charge of Newcastle, had been ordered to 24 00:01:53.560 --> 00:01:57.120 fortify the banks of the Tyne River. He left two 25 00:01:57.239 --> 00:02:00.239 thirds of his troops to protect the city and took 26 00:02:00.239 --> 00:02:04.680 the remainder, about four miles above Newcastle, to a ford 27 00:02:04.719 --> 00:02:07.840 in the river. In Newbern, the Scots took up a 28 00:02:07.879 --> 00:02:11.479 position opposite him on the north bank, where they fired 29 00:02:11.520 --> 00:02:16.680 into the enemy. The English soldiers, unaccustomed to gunshop, fled 30 00:02:16.719 --> 00:02:20.319 after some of their numbers were killed. The cavalry also 31 00:02:20.520 --> 00:02:25.159 retired in disarray. It was the first major victory of 32 00:02:25.199 --> 00:02:31.719 a Scottish army over the English for about three hundred years. Charles, 33 00:02:31.759 --> 00:02:36.039 the first, through his proxies, had now effectively failed in battle, 34 00:02:36.599 --> 00:02:40.360 the single most important disgrace that could stain the honor 35 00:02:40.560 --> 00:02:44.800 of a king. The Battle of Newbern can also, if 36 00:02:44.840 --> 00:02:48.560 you want, be considered the first of the English Civil War, 37 00:02:49.199 --> 00:02:52.039 since two rival parties had now for the first time 38 00:02:52.159 --> 00:02:57.520 fought on English soil. After their defeat, the English army 39 00:02:57.560 --> 00:03:01.439 retired to the borders of Yorkshire, leaving Durham and Northumberland 40 00:03:01.479 --> 00:03:04.439 in the hands of the enemy. The vital city of 41 00:03:04.560 --> 00:03:09.840 Newcastle quickly surrendered. The news of the royal defeat at 42 00:03:09.879 --> 00:03:15.120 Newbern was greeted with celebrations in London. Twelve peers of 43 00:03:15.159 --> 00:03:19.840 the realm nobility of Puritan persuasion now issued in the 44 00:03:19.879 --> 00:03:23.520 traditional manner, a petition to the monarch in which they 45 00:03:23.560 --> 00:03:28.919 demanded a parliament. The King reacted to this somewhat medieval 46 00:03:28.960 --> 00:03:33.319 request in a thoroughly medieval way. He received the petition 47 00:03:33.360 --> 00:03:36.439 at York and summoned a Great Council of the Peers. 48 00:03:37.159 --> 00:03:39.800 He may have hoped that they would raise large sums 49 00:03:39.840 --> 00:03:43.080 of money for him without the assistance of Parliament, but 50 00:03:43.680 --> 00:03:48.199 in this hope he was disappointed. Archbishop Laud, who had 51 00:03:48.199 --> 00:03:50.599 a much cooler head through all all this, was much 52 00:03:50.639 --> 00:03:53.919 more realistic and believed that the Great Council would lead 53 00:03:54.199 --> 00:03:57.719 inevitably to the calling of another Parliament, which would, not, 54 00:03:58.000 --> 00:04:02.479 in his estimation, go well. And so the Peers of 55 00:04:02.520 --> 00:04:06.319 England met at York on the twenty fourth in September. 56 00:04:07.000 --> 00:04:09.599 In his opening speech to them, the King announced that 57 00:04:09.639 --> 00:04:12.120 he would indeed some in Parliament to meet at the 58 00:04:12.159 --> 00:04:15.520 beginning of November. It was hoped that on the basis 59 00:04:15.560 --> 00:04:19.480 of this, those assembled would lend him money. In the 60 00:04:19.519 --> 00:04:23.160 debate that followed, it was eventually decided, though, that there 61 00:04:23.199 --> 00:04:27.480 would be no money forthcoming. Instead, what the peers decided 62 00:04:27.480 --> 00:04:30.720 to do was to send a group to negotiate with 63 00:04:30.800 --> 00:04:36.079 the Scottish Commissioners. The high Nobility of the Realm also 64 00:04:36.199 --> 00:04:40.560 repeated their previous demand that Charles call a parliament where 65 00:04:40.600 --> 00:04:44.839 a permanent peace treaty could be agreed to. In other words, 66 00:04:45.160 --> 00:04:47.639 what we see here is the nobility of the Realm 67 00:04:47.720 --> 00:04:55.279 effectively turning its back on Charles. They trust Parliament, not him, 68 00:04:55.319 --> 00:04:59.000 and so if Charles had hoped to ferment a Royalist 69 00:04:59.079 --> 00:05:04.759 party at this point, he was badly disappointed. So ultimately, 70 00:05:05.079 --> 00:05:08.680 negotiators from the Scots and the English met at the 71 00:05:08.720 --> 00:05:11.240 town of Rippon, where it was concluded that the King 72 00:05:11.279 --> 00:05:14.639 would pay the Scots twenty five thousand pounds a month 73 00:05:15.120 --> 00:05:19.120 until a peace treaty had been reached. This was essentially 74 00:05:19.439 --> 00:05:23.399 to prevent them from invading England. Further, now, it seemed 75 00:05:23.519 --> 00:05:26.480 likely that only Parliament would be able to supply the 76 00:05:26.560 --> 00:05:29.639 king with such a sum the peers at York were 77 00:05:29.680 --> 00:05:32.759 asked to advise the acceptance or rejecting of the agreement. 78 00:05:33.680 --> 00:05:37.279 It was, of course not a debate at all. Everyone 79 00:05:37.319 --> 00:05:40.000 agreed immediately. The King had no choice. He was going 80 00:05:40.079 --> 00:05:43.600 to have to accept this agreement. He had no choice. 81 00:05:43.600 --> 00:05:46.040 He had to submit to the claims of these invaders, 82 00:05:46.040 --> 00:05:49.160 and he also had to call a parliament. There just 83 00:05:49.439 --> 00:05:52.439 wasn't a way around it. Remember back a couple episodes ago, 84 00:05:52.519 --> 00:05:54.839 I discussed how during the period of personal rule, the 85 00:05:54.839 --> 00:05:57.879 only way that this would work would be if there 86 00:05:57.959 --> 00:06:00.399 was peace. The moment there was war, it was a 87 00:06:00.399 --> 00:06:03.839 foregone conclusion. Charles was going to have to call parliament again, 88 00:06:04.399 --> 00:06:08.600 and so this experiment of absolute monarchy in England had 89 00:06:08.600 --> 00:06:14.519 come to an abrupt end after about ten years. Now. Meanwhile, 90 00:06:14.800 --> 00:06:21.399 down in London, parliamentarians were already getting prepared. They understood 91 00:06:21.680 --> 00:06:25.959 what the Scots wanted, and in turn, the Covenanters relied 92 00:06:26.040 --> 00:06:29.120 upon the help of their English friends in Parliament to 93 00:06:29.279 --> 00:06:34.160 engineer the necessary change. As in religion, this was it's 94 00:06:34.199 --> 00:06:37.319 going to develop into the so called quote unquote Protestant 95 00:06:37.519 --> 00:06:42.680 cause of the English Civil War. Now, unlike the previous 96 00:06:43.000 --> 00:06:49.920 short parliament. The voting in these parliamentary elections was unusually combative, 97 00:06:50.319 --> 00:06:54.639 with eighty six contests. That's an increase of about twenty 98 00:06:54.680 --> 00:06:58.959 five percent compared to the last parliamentary elections, which just 99 00:06:59.040 --> 00:07:03.720 goes to show you. Everybody recognized how important the parliament 100 00:07:03.759 --> 00:07:07.360 that was about to be called truly was. And so 101 00:07:07.800 --> 00:07:11.519 on November third, the King finally traveled south to meet 102 00:07:11.560 --> 00:07:16.360 this new parliament. As soon as they were assembled, in debate, 103 00:07:16.800 --> 00:07:20.360 the members of Commons issued just a laundry list of 104 00:07:20.399 --> 00:07:25.120 grievances against the conduct of the King's counselors, mostly against 105 00:07:25.120 --> 00:07:30.079 the Earl of Stratford and Archbishop Laud. The disillusion of 106 00:07:30.120 --> 00:07:33.439 the short parliament before any measures of reform could be 107 00:07:33.480 --> 00:07:38.160 agreed had not improved the temper of the Commons. Sixty 108 00:07:38.199 --> 00:07:41.360 percent of them had sat in the previous assembly, and 109 00:07:41.399 --> 00:07:46.040 they were now more angry than ever. Yet the largest 110 00:07:46.040 --> 00:07:49.120 group in the Commons was still that of the landed gentry, 111 00:07:49.560 --> 00:07:54.680 who were in essence conservative and much less inclined to innovation. 112 00:07:55.560 --> 00:07:59.759 They didn't want to destroy the King or the Orthodox constitution. 113 00:08:00.560 --> 00:08:03.480 They wanted government to be restored upon the old model. 114 00:08:04.519 --> 00:08:09.480 Yet even this group had been disappointed by the king's conduct. 115 00:08:09.600 --> 00:08:13.079 To say the least, They had watched as their king 116 00:08:13.319 --> 00:08:17.360 lost a war. They had watched as he alienated all 117 00:08:17.399 --> 00:08:21.360 of his natural supporters. They had observed him in the 118 00:08:21.360 --> 00:08:27.519 company of Roman Popish courtiers around his wife, and most importantly, 119 00:08:28.040 --> 00:08:30.720 they had witnessed the disruption of the rule of law 120 00:08:31.519 --> 00:08:35.519 and the disruption of the English economy, and they didn't 121 00:08:35.600 --> 00:08:41.559 like it. All. The parliamentarians, this group included, now understood 122 00:08:41.799 --> 00:08:45.360 that they had the cards. They knew that the King 123 00:08:45.600 --> 00:08:48.679 had relied upon them to salvage him from the disaster 124 00:08:49.000 --> 00:08:53.799 that Charles had somehow got himself into. If Parliament did 125 00:08:53.840 --> 00:08:57.080 not supply the King with the funds, he would not 126 00:08:57.200 --> 00:08:59.480 be able to pay the Scottish Army as he had 127 00:08:59.519 --> 00:09:05.320 agreed to, and the inevitable invasion of England would recommence. 128 00:09:07.840 --> 00:09:11.360 It didn't take long for the parliamentarians to focus their 129 00:09:11.440 --> 00:09:15.600 ire on the Earl of Stratford back north. The Scots 130 00:09:15.639 --> 00:09:18.399 believed that Stratford was the cause of the war between 131 00:09:18.440 --> 00:09:23.960 the two nations. Puritans hated him. The city of London, 132 00:09:24.000 --> 00:09:27.480 that is now more powerful than ever, remembered how he 133 00:09:27.519 --> 00:09:30.960 had threatened its aldermen with hanging if they didn't produce 134 00:09:31.120 --> 00:09:35.559 enough money. It was agreed by the King to take 135 00:09:35.639 --> 00:09:39.720 some natural steps, and his councilors urged him to increase 136 00:09:39.759 --> 00:09:43.440 the defenses of the Tower of London. This fortification was 137 00:09:43.480 --> 00:09:45.919 meant as a warning to the city. The tower was 138 00:09:46.000 --> 00:09:49.200 also the likely destination for those about to be arrested. 139 00:09:50.200 --> 00:09:53.600 Stratford at the time was quoted as saying that quote 140 00:09:53.679 --> 00:09:56.600 he hoped the city would be subdued in a short 141 00:09:56.639 --> 00:10:01.360 time end quote. On November the eleventh, Charles was expected 142 00:10:01.360 --> 00:10:05.320 to the tower and inspect its garrison. None of this, however, 143 00:10:05.639 --> 00:10:07.799 was going to go the way that Charles and the 144 00:10:07.799 --> 00:10:13.480 Earl of Stratford expected it too. Instead, him, the member 145 00:10:13.519 --> 00:10:16.679 of Parliament I mentioned last time, decided that they would 146 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:19.720 act first. He went to the House of Lords with 147 00:10:19.879 --> 00:10:23.000 orders to accuse the Earl of Stratford of high treason 148 00:10:23.519 --> 00:10:27.039 and to recommend that he be immediately sequestered from Parliament. 149 00:10:28.120 --> 00:10:31.799 Stratford had been told of the events then unfolding, and 150 00:10:31.840 --> 00:10:35.039 he said, quote, I will go and look my accusers 151 00:10:35.039 --> 00:10:39.279 in the face end quote. It should be noted that 152 00:10:39.320 --> 00:10:43.039 the lords themselves had a lot of grievances against Stratford, 153 00:10:43.080 --> 00:10:47.159 who was definitely the King's most arrogant and most difficult advisor, 154 00:10:48.120 --> 00:10:51.320 and on his entry he was commanded by them to withdraw. 155 00:10:53.639 --> 00:10:57.120 An order was then passed committing Stratford to the custody 156 00:10:57.360 --> 00:11:00.320 of the Gentleman Usher. He was directed to to the 157 00:11:00.399 --> 00:11:03.840 chamber and to kneel while the order was read to him. 158 00:11:04.080 --> 00:11:07.720 Stratford then asked permission to speak, but this was denied. 159 00:11:08.399 --> 00:11:11.200 His sword was taken from him and the Earl was 160 00:11:11.279 --> 00:11:16.720 led away. At this point Stratford was effectively removed from 161 00:11:16.720 --> 00:11:21.279 public life, and Charles had lost his principal counselor. It 162 00:11:21.559 --> 00:11:24.879 was a brilliant stroke by Pim, who was able to 163 00:11:24.960 --> 00:11:30.039 mastermine this sort of advanced attack. Now was widely assumed 164 00:11:30.279 --> 00:11:33.720 by everyone that this had been a huge accomplishment very 165 00:11:33.799 --> 00:11:37.960 very quickly for Parliament. The King was now required to 166 00:11:38.000 --> 00:11:41.159 disburse the garrison he had established within the tower and 167 00:11:41.240 --> 00:11:45.279 to dismantle any guns that had been recently mounted. His 168 00:11:45.480 --> 00:11:49.799 attempt again to simply overawe his opponents, this time the 169 00:11:49.840 --> 00:11:54.039 people of London in Parliament had failed again. This is 170 00:11:54.120 --> 00:11:57.159 yet another one of those humiliating reversals that had become 171 00:11:57.200 --> 00:12:00.919 sort of the hallmark of Charles's rule. With the threat 172 00:12:00.960 --> 00:12:05.480 of disillusion or a coup now removed, Parliament could believe 173 00:12:05.639 --> 00:12:11.360 its work in earnest and this was important because most 174 00:12:11.480 --> 00:12:14.759 members of Parliament believed it was time for a whole 175 00:12:14.879 --> 00:12:20.320 scale renovation of government. A Committee for Petitions was quickly 176 00:12:20.399 --> 00:12:24.080 established to deal with the various complaints that had cropped 177 00:12:24.159 --> 00:12:27.840 up throughout the Kingdom. While all this was going on, 178 00:12:28.320 --> 00:12:31.519 evidence was brought forward against Stratford on the twenty fourth 179 00:12:31.559 --> 00:12:35.639 of November sixteen forty and was formulated in the first 180 00:12:35.720 --> 00:12:39.440 article of indictment against him. The Commons was asked to 181 00:12:39.480 --> 00:12:44.799 declare that quote Thomas, Earl of Stratford, hath traitorously endeavored 182 00:12:45.000 --> 00:12:48.519 to subvert the fundamental laws and government of the realms 183 00:12:48.559 --> 00:12:52.759 of England and Ireland, and instead therefore to introduce an 184 00:12:52.879 --> 00:12:58.480 arbitrary and tyrannical government against the law end quote. If 185 00:12:58.480 --> 00:13:03.159 you could tell the key were there was traitorously. It 186 00:13:03.200 --> 00:13:07.480 had become clear to everyone playing this game that Stratford 187 00:13:07.879 --> 00:13:11.399 could not be allowed to live. If he evaded the 188 00:13:11.480 --> 00:13:14.919 charge of treason, he would become the focused of Royalist 189 00:13:14.919 --> 00:13:21.759 hopes and might even bring back non parliamentary government. Now, 190 00:13:21.759 --> 00:13:24.519 while all this was going on. Of course, there were 191 00:13:24.720 --> 00:13:30.039 arguments over religion. In fact, arguments over religion were the 192 00:13:30.080 --> 00:13:32.799 heart and soul of this first session of what, by 193 00:13:32.840 --> 00:13:34.799 the way, is going to become known now as the 194 00:13:35.200 --> 00:13:40.320 Long Parliament. This was all outweighing any concerns whatsoever over 195 00:13:40.440 --> 00:13:45.080 secular misgovernment, of which there were plenty. Already, the Puritans 196 00:13:45.240 --> 00:13:49.120 were in full pursuit of the Armenians. A London crowd 197 00:13:49.159 --> 00:13:52.080 had burst into Saint Paul's Cathedral, where it destroyed the 198 00:13:52.120 --> 00:13:57.480 altar and tore up Laud's new book of Liturgy. And 199 00:13:57.559 --> 00:14:01.000 so on December the eleventh, the citizens of London presented 200 00:14:01.039 --> 00:14:04.879 a petition to Parliament calling for reformation in church government. 201 00:14:05.679 --> 00:14:08.799 It declared that the government of archbishops and local lords, 202 00:14:08.799 --> 00:14:13.919 deacons and archdeacons, etc. Has provided prejudicial and very dangerous 203 00:14:13.919 --> 00:14:18.120 both to the Church and commonwealth, and therefore it urged 204 00:14:18.159 --> 00:14:23.080 that ecclesiastical governments should be destroyed, all dependencies, roots and branches. 205 00:14:23.360 --> 00:14:26.519 The idea here was to eliminate the episcopal structure and 206 00:14:26.600 --> 00:14:29.600 replace it with something much more puritan, much more small, 207 00:14:29.759 --> 00:14:33.960 much more local, much more focused on scripture. Fifteen hundred 208 00:14:33.960 --> 00:14:38.960 supporters gathered in favor of this petition at Westminster. Having 209 00:14:39.039 --> 00:14:41.559 laid the groundwork, it was now time for Parliament to 210 00:14:41.600 --> 00:14:46.000 attack the archbishop himself. On the eighteenth of December, Laud 211 00:14:46.120 --> 00:14:49.679 was impeached and taken into custody. He was accused of 212 00:14:49.720 --> 00:14:53.399 fostering doctrines that lent support to the King's arbitrary measures, 213 00:14:53.440 --> 00:14:56.000 and of using the courts both to impose innovations in 214 00:14:56.039 --> 00:15:00.320 worship and to silence the true professors of England. The 215 00:15:00.360 --> 00:15:03.960 members of Parliament now determined to consolidate the strength that 216 00:15:04.000 --> 00:15:07.320 they had. On the twenty fourth of December, it was 217 00:15:07.519 --> 00:15:10.879 recommended that the English Lord Commissioners, which in effect meant 218 00:15:10.919 --> 00:15:13.600 the Puritan lords who had launched the petition for Parliament 219 00:15:13.639 --> 00:15:16.919 in the summer, should be responsible for the disbursement of 220 00:15:16.960 --> 00:15:21.559 money to the Scots. This was clear as a message. 221 00:15:21.639 --> 00:15:24.440 They wanted to say two things. Number one, the King 222 00:15:24.840 --> 00:15:26.960 lacked the resources to pay the Scots. In fact, he 223 00:15:26.960 --> 00:15:29.240 didn't have the resources to pay his own household expenses. 224 00:15:29.639 --> 00:15:33.919 And two, the message to the Scots was clear. Parliament 225 00:15:34.000 --> 00:15:38.480 was now in charge of England, not the King. The 226 00:15:38.600 --> 00:15:40.240 King was not the one who was going to bring 227 00:15:40.279 --> 00:15:43.240 you the money. It was going to be the parliamentarians. 228 00:15:44.639 --> 00:15:48.320 It was further agreed that Parliament should meet at fixed times, 229 00:15:48.720 --> 00:15:53.840 with or without the cooperation of the King. At this time, 230 00:15:54.279 --> 00:15:59.399 the Venetian ambassador reported that quote, if this innovation is introduced, 231 00:16:00.080 --> 00:16:03.960 it will hand over the reigns of government completely to Parliament, 232 00:16:04.639 --> 00:16:08.159 and nothing will be left to the King, but mayor 233 00:16:08.240 --> 00:16:13.080 show he'll be stripped of credit and destitute of all 234 00:16:13.120 --> 00:16:18.399 authorities end quote. What remained to be seen was whether 235 00:16:18.519 --> 00:16:42.720 Charles would willingly relinquish his powers. By the year of 236 00:16:42.759 --> 00:16:45.279 sixteen forty one, the king was truly in desperate streets. 237 00:16:45.799 --> 00:16:48.679 His authority and his revenue were both on the brink, 238 00:16:49.320 --> 00:16:52.600 and his principal counselors were now languishing in the tower. 239 00:16:53.559 --> 00:16:56.600 Charles himself tried to keep his spirits and his health up. 240 00:16:57.279 --> 00:17:00.639 He believed implicitly that the enemies of the Lord's anointed, 241 00:17:00.840 --> 00:17:05.759 that is, his enemies, would be of necessity fail, that 242 00:17:05.880 --> 00:17:09.400 all the traders would eventually be brought to justice. That, 243 00:17:09.440 --> 00:17:13.079 of course, had to be God's will. So on January 244 00:17:13.079 --> 00:17:16.160 the twenty third, Charles summoned both houses of Parliament to 245 00:17:16.200 --> 00:17:19.720 the Banqueting House at Whitehall and delivered a speech in 246 00:17:19.759 --> 00:17:22.799 which he complained about the obstructions placed in his path 247 00:17:23.519 --> 00:17:27.720 by men quote who put no difference betwixt reformation and 248 00:17:27.799 --> 00:17:31.640 alteration of government end quote. Yet for the first time 249 00:17:31.960 --> 00:17:35.799 he did seem a little conciliatory. He seemed willing to compromise. 250 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:40.160 He promised to return to the laws of religious policy, 251 00:17:40.440 --> 00:17:44.480 to the quote purest time of Queen Elizabeth's days end quote. 252 00:17:46.039 --> 00:17:49.519 Yet the status of his most faithful servant, the Earl 253 00:17:49.559 --> 00:17:52.880 of Stratford, was still very much in doubt. It was 254 00:17:52.960 --> 00:17:56.440 already whispered at court that Stratford must rely upon his 255 00:17:56.480 --> 00:17:59.799 own protestations of innocence, and if they should fail, upon 256 00:18:00.119 --> 00:18:05.960 the mercy of Parliament Charles was unwilling to fight for him. 257 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:08.920 Charles seems to have realized now that only Stratford's death 258 00:18:09.400 --> 00:18:12.519 could bring about the reconciliation that he desired with his people. 259 00:18:13.400 --> 00:18:15.359 At the end of the month, the charges that were 260 00:18:15.400 --> 00:18:18.440 drawn up against the Earl included twenty eight separate articles 261 00:18:18.839 --> 00:18:22.119 covering the last fourteen years of his career, and outlined 262 00:18:22.319 --> 00:18:26.599 on over two hundred sheets of paper. Now at the 263 00:18:26.640 --> 00:18:29.680 beginning of February, the Commons, having to deal with foreign 264 00:18:29.720 --> 00:18:32.960 affairs now voted three hundred thousand pounds to the Scots 265 00:18:33.279 --> 00:18:37.039 under the name of quote unquote brotherly assistance the two 266 00:18:37.119 --> 00:18:41.319 nations they determined were not to be divided. They also 267 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:45.119 passed the Triennial Bill, a bill which would guarantee the 268 00:18:45.160 --> 00:18:49.039 meeting of Parliament on a regular basis. The bill was 269 00:18:49.119 --> 00:18:54.240 a major blow to royal prerogative, and Charles had been 270 00:18:54.279 --> 00:18:57.559 most reluctant to give his assent. His power was of 271 00:18:57.559 --> 00:19:01.119 course extremely limited if he couldn't dismiss and call Parliament 272 00:19:01.200 --> 00:19:05.400 as he wished, and his authority compromised. Yet on the 273 00:19:05.440 --> 00:19:08.799 sixteenth of February, he was persuaded to concede the issue, 274 00:19:09.359 --> 00:19:12.480 partially from the advice that he would receive no money 275 00:19:12.640 --> 00:19:17.119 whatsoever after any refusal. So he declared, in the old 276 00:19:17.200 --> 00:19:22.000 Norman fashion, Leroy, the King wishes it now in private. 277 00:19:22.039 --> 00:19:26.079 Of course, Charles was furious about this. In fact, the 278 00:19:26.119 --> 00:19:29.319 act made him reliant upon Parliament and gave the Assembly 279 00:19:29.359 --> 00:19:33.759 that permanent existence that had never known before in English history. 280 00:19:35.319 --> 00:19:37.119 In fact, it was already rumored that there was going 281 00:19:37.200 --> 00:19:40.319 to be a new Privy Council created, and it would 282 00:19:40.359 --> 00:19:43.799 reflect the wishes this time of the Commons. In addition 283 00:19:43.880 --> 00:19:48.240 to the King, the King doing his best to try 284 00:19:48.240 --> 00:19:52.079 to avoid all these exigencies, had declared himself to be 285 00:19:52.200 --> 00:19:55.960 a moderate, equally ready to forgive his enemies and to 286 00:19:56.000 --> 00:19:59.759 turn his policies in light of complaints directed against them. 287 00:20:00.240 --> 00:20:03.559 At the same time, he was still desperately trying to 288 00:20:03.599 --> 00:20:08.519 pursue a divide and conquer strategy. Many in Parliament did 289 00:20:08.559 --> 00:20:13.079 not share the religious enthusiasm of the Scottish Covenanters, and 290 00:20:13.160 --> 00:20:16.559 had no wish to see the English Church remodeled to 291 00:20:16.599 --> 00:20:21.599 satisfy their demands. Others were already beginning to resent the 292 00:20:21.599 --> 00:20:24.319 amount of money being spent for the maintenance of the 293 00:20:24.359 --> 00:20:29.559 Scottish army in the North. Charles could pull these groups 294 00:20:29.880 --> 00:20:34.559 onto his side, maybe, just maybe he could hold on 295 00:20:34.599 --> 00:20:39.599 to power. The compromise with the Puritans of Parliament did not, 296 00:20:39.839 --> 00:20:43.680 in the end succeed. The King had insisted that in 297 00:20:43.759 --> 00:20:46.039 order to take up the offices of state that he 298 00:20:46.119 --> 00:20:50.640 promised to various men, they must agree to retain the 299 00:20:50.680 --> 00:20:54.160 bishops and the House of Lords, and to spare the 300 00:20:54.200 --> 00:20:58.359 Earl of Stratford's life. They in turn turned around and 301 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:01.279 demanded that they would be granted at any offices that 302 00:21:01.319 --> 00:21:05.480 they wanted, particularly in the Privy Council before doing anything 303 00:21:05.519 --> 00:21:08.920 at all. In the end, there was no space between 304 00:21:08.920 --> 00:21:14.200 these two positions, and no grand reconciliation occurred, And so 305 00:21:14.359 --> 00:21:17.920 on the fourteenth of February, Stratford was brought from the 306 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:21.440 tower to the chamber of the House of Lords to 307 00:21:21.519 --> 00:21:26.240 answer all the charges that had been laid against him. Stratford, 308 00:21:26.279 --> 00:21:31.160 according to our sources, defended himself well with eloquence and wit, 309 00:21:32.000 --> 00:21:36.200 throwing into serious doubt the result of any trial. Within days, 310 00:21:36.240 --> 00:21:39.240 it was reported that the parliamentary leaders didn't know how 311 00:21:39.279 --> 00:21:42.720 to proceed with their case. Sure it was all well 312 00:21:42.720 --> 00:21:45.279 and good is simply declared that Stratford was a trader. 313 00:21:45.920 --> 00:21:49.279 But as many have found out through life, proving it 314 00:21:49.319 --> 00:21:53.519 in court is a lot more difficult. They went forward 315 00:21:53.519 --> 00:21:56.799 with the trial anyway, which opened on the twenty second 316 00:21:56.880 --> 00:22:00.480 of March. This, it turned out, was a spectac very 317 00:22:00.559 --> 00:22:04.000 much that might determine the fate of the nation, as 318 00:22:04.039 --> 00:22:07.279 the prisoner fought both for his life but also for 319 00:22:07.359 --> 00:22:12.400 the cause of the king. Now negotiations were continuing behind 320 00:22:12.440 --> 00:22:16.680 the scenes. The Puritans were ready to spare Stratford's life, 321 00:22:16.759 --> 00:22:19.759 for example, if the king agreed to grant them the 322 00:22:19.759 --> 00:22:23.720 Great Offices of State. When the twenty eight articles of 323 00:22:23.759 --> 00:22:27.000 impeachment were read to him, Stratford was seen to smile. 324 00:22:27.519 --> 00:22:30.599 He could already see the legal difficulties besetting his accusers. 325 00:22:31.480 --> 00:22:37.200 They were attempting to prove treason essentially by accumulation that 326 00:22:37.400 --> 00:22:40.319 no one thing was treasonus. But if you put him 327 00:22:40.440 --> 00:22:44.400 all together, they somehow got you there. That's a tricky 328 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:49.440 needle to thread right there. The days passed with witnesses 329 00:22:49.480 --> 00:22:53.039 and questions and arguments, in the course of which Stratford 330 00:22:53.079 --> 00:22:56.960 seemed to really enjoy himself. It was quite the amateur lawyer. 331 00:22:57.119 --> 00:22:59.559 It turned out, he could outwit the councils for the 332 00:22:59.599 --> 00:23:03.319 prosecut cution, while in turn they did a terrible job. 333 00:23:03.799 --> 00:23:06.039 All the reports that we have of the trial showed 334 00:23:06.079 --> 00:23:10.839 that the parliamentarians were seen as bombastic and antagonistic and 335 00:23:10.960 --> 00:23:12.720 didn't come off well to the Lords who had to 336 00:23:12.759 --> 00:23:16.160 decide the case. When on the tenth of April, the 337 00:23:16.200 --> 00:23:18.759 Lords allowed an enjurement for the prisoner to consult his 338 00:23:18.839 --> 00:23:23.720 notes before making a closing speech, the Commons protested in fury. 339 00:23:24.400 --> 00:23:27.559 Now it seemed what was really happening was the two houses, 340 00:23:27.759 --> 00:23:33.359 the Lords and the Commons, had moved into an antagonistic position. Now, 341 00:23:33.359 --> 00:23:35.680 the members of the Commons returned to their chamber in 342 00:23:35.720 --> 00:23:40.519 the afternoon, and at this opportune moment, certain notes taken 343 00:23:40.559 --> 00:23:43.319 at a previous meeting of the Privy Council happened to 344 00:23:43.319 --> 00:23:47.200 sort of conveniently show up. This was the council during 345 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:50.359 which Stratford had told the King that quote, you have 346 00:23:50.400 --> 00:23:52.680 an army in Ireland, you may employ it here to 347 00:23:52.720 --> 00:23:58.079 reduce this kingdom. In the quote, now, the accusers of 348 00:23:58.119 --> 00:24:04.079 Stratford interpreted this kingdom to be England. That remains arguable, remember, 349 00:24:04.079 --> 00:24:08.279 because this is at the beginning of the First Bishop's War. Now, this, 350 00:24:08.400 --> 00:24:12.039 of course would have been treason, and the Commons readily agreed, 351 00:24:12.599 --> 00:24:15.759 and so they decided to try a new tact. They 352 00:24:15.799 --> 00:24:19.160 drew up a bill of attainder. A bill of attainder 353 00:24:19.400 --> 00:24:24.200 is a medieval device whereby both houses of parliaments could 354 00:24:24.240 --> 00:24:28.559 simply condemn to death an enemy of the kingdom without 355 00:24:28.599 --> 00:24:32.720 the formality or requirement of any trial. It was also 356 00:24:32.759 --> 00:24:35.279 a way of persuading the House of Lords to vote 357 00:24:35.279 --> 00:24:38.400 for Stratford's death without the burden of any legal proof. 358 00:24:38.400 --> 00:24:41.480 As an aside, bill of tainders are going to be 359 00:24:41.559 --> 00:24:46.240 directly banned by the United States Constitution. On April nineteenth, 360 00:24:46.279 --> 00:24:49.480 the King ordered all military officers immediately to return to 361 00:24:49.480 --> 00:24:52.880 their regiments. When a negotiator from Scotland had an audience 362 00:24:52.920 --> 00:24:55.519 with the King two days later, he reported that quote 363 00:24:55.519 --> 00:24:58.440 his mind seems to be on some project here shortly 364 00:24:58.480 --> 00:25:01.960 to break out end quote. It was also rumored that 365 00:25:02.000 --> 00:25:05.920 the French, inspired by the Queen HENRIETI Maria, were about 366 00:25:05.920 --> 00:25:10.039 to invade. What the leaders of the parliamentary faction feared 367 00:25:10.079 --> 00:25:14.400 most was a disillusion of Parliament. If that happened, both 368 00:25:14.440 --> 00:25:16.759 the trial and the proposed bill of attainder would be 369 00:25:16.759 --> 00:25:20.440 immediately canceled. In other words, they would lose all their momentum, 370 00:25:21.720 --> 00:25:26.039 and so they moved fast. On that same day, April nineteenth, 371 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:29.240 the Commons hastily passed the bill of attainer against the 372 00:25:29.240 --> 00:25:32.799 Earl of Stratford. When the Commons passed the attainer, the 373 00:25:32.880 --> 00:25:36.039 King wrote to Stratford and assured him once again that 374 00:25:36.119 --> 00:25:39.079 he had his word he would be spared now. Two 375 00:25:39.160 --> 00:25:42.079 days later, the King addressed both houses of Parliament from 376 00:25:42.079 --> 00:25:46.680 his throne. In his speech, he emphasized again some conciliatory 377 00:25:46.720 --> 00:25:49.720 themes that he would never again act against his conscience. 378 00:25:50.279 --> 00:25:52.519 This was taken to mean that he would veto any 379 00:25:52.519 --> 00:25:56.519 attainer against his counselor, however, by many, let them find 380 00:25:56.559 --> 00:26:00.279 Stratford guilty of just a misdemeanor, and he would take 381 00:26:00.279 --> 00:26:04.720 it no problem. The king also, unfortunately refused to disband 382 00:26:04.720 --> 00:26:07.680 his Irish Army, which in turn continued to raise fears 383 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:11.759 of military action. Soon rumors of plots and counterplots were 384 00:26:11.799 --> 00:26:15.480 literally everywhere. For some weeks, a vessel chartered by Stratford's 385 00:26:15.480 --> 00:26:18.640 secretary had been moored in the Thames River. The boat 386 00:26:18.640 --> 00:26:21.960 could easily take an escape prisoner to France. Some of 387 00:26:22.000 --> 00:26:25.839 these reports were true. On Sunday, May the second Sir 388 00:26:25.960 --> 00:26:30.200 John Suckling, a courtier and army commander, poet and notable gambler, 389 00:26:30.759 --> 00:26:34.240 called sixty men to the White House tavern in Beard Street. 390 00:26:35.160 --> 00:26:38.680 There they wore battle dress and carried swords. They were 391 00:26:38.680 --> 00:26:41.000 supposed to gain entrance to the Tower of London in 392 00:26:41.039 --> 00:26:43.880 the guise of reinforcements, where they would at once overwhelm 393 00:26:43.880 --> 00:26:47.599 the guard and secure Stratford's liberty. It was an insane scheme, 394 00:26:48.640 --> 00:26:51.400 made all the more improbable by the sight of sixty 395 00:26:51.480 --> 00:26:55.079 armed men milling about in the middle of London. Their 396 00:26:55.119 --> 00:26:58.759 presence was quickly known and interpreted, and the news passed 397 00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:02.519 immediately to the leaders of Park Lament. A tumultuous crowd 398 00:27:02.559 --> 00:27:05.279 of Londoners quickly gathered and ringed around the Tower of 399 00:27:05.279 --> 00:27:11.359 London to prevent any effort. Nothing happened. It was now 400 00:27:11.359 --> 00:27:13.880 proposed by the Commons to try to regain a little 401 00:27:13.880 --> 00:27:18.319