Editing Charles I of England (section)

===Bishops' Wars===
{{Main|Bishops' Wars}}
Charles perceived the unrest in Scotland as a rebellion against his authority, precipitating the [[First Bishops' War]] in 1639.<ref>{{harvnb|Carlton|1995|pp=197–199}}; {{harvnb|Cust|2005|pp=230–231}}; {{harvnb|Sharpe|1992|pp=792–794}}.</ref> He did not seek subsidies from the English Parliament to wage war, instead raising an army without parliamentary aid and marching to [[Berwick-upon-Tweed]], on the Scottish border.<ref>{{harvnb|Adamson|2007|p=9}}; {{harvnb|Gregg|1981|pp=290–292}}; {{harvnb|Sharpe|1992|pp=797–802}}.</ref> The army did not engage the [[Covenanter]]s, as the King feared the defeat of his forces, whom he believed to be significantly outnumbered by the Scots.<ref>{{harvnb|Adamson|2007|p=9}}; {{harvnb|Cust|2005|pp=246–247}}; {{harvnb|Sharpe|1992|pp=805–806}}.</ref> In the [[Treaty of Berwick (1639)|Treaty of Berwick]], Charles regained custody of his Scottish fortresses and secured the dissolution of the Covenanters' interim government, albeit at the decisive concession that both the Scottish Parliament and General Assembly of the Scottish Church were called.<ref>{{harvnb|Adamson|2007|pp=9–10}}; {{harvnb|Cust|2005|p=248}}.</ref>

The military failure in the First Bishops' War caused a financial and diplomatic crisis for Charles that deepened when his efforts to raise funds from Spain while simultaneously continuing his support for his Palatine relatives led to the public humiliation of the [[Battle of the Downs]], where the [[Dutch Republic|Dutch]] destroyed a Spanish bullion fleet off the coast of Kent in sight of the impotent [[Royal Navy|English navy]].<ref>{{harvnb|Howat|1974|pp=44, 66}}; {{harvnb|Sharpe|1992|pp=809–813, 825–834, 895}}.</ref>

Charles continued peace negotiations with the Scots in a bid to gain time before launching a new military campaign. Because of his financial weakness, he was forced to call Parliament into session in an attempt to raise funds for such a venture.<ref>{{harvnb|Cust|2005|p=251}}; {{harvnb|Gregg|1981|p=294}}.</ref> Both the English and [[Parliament of Ireland|Irish parliaments]] were summoned in the early months of 1640.{{sfn|Adamson|2007|p=11}} In March 1640, the Irish Parliament duly voted in a subsidy of £180,000 with the promise to raise an army 9,000 strong by the end of May.{{sfn|Adamson|2007|p=11}} But in the English general election in March, court candidates fared badly,{{sfn|Loades|1974|p=401}} and Charles's dealings with the English Parliament in April quickly reached stalemate.{{sfn|Loades|1974|p=402}} The earls of [[Algernon Percy, 10th Earl of Northumberland|Northumberland]] and [[Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford|Strafford]] attempted to broker a compromise whereby the King would agree to forfeit ship money in exchange for £650,000 (although the cost of the coming war was estimated at £1&nbsp;million).{{sfn|Adamson|2007|p=14}} Nevertheless, this alone was insufficient to produce consensus in the Commons.{{sfn|Adamson|2007|p=15}} The Parliamentarians' calls for further reforms were ignored by Charles, who still retained the support of the House of Lords. Despite the protests of the Earl of Northumberland,{{sfn|Adamson|2007|p=17}} the [[Short Parliament]] (as it came to be known) was dissolved in May 1640, less than a month after it assembled.<ref>{{harvnb|Carlton|1995|pp=211–212}}; {{harvnb|Cust|2005|pp=253–259}}; {{harvnb|Gregg|1981|pp=305–307}}; {{harvnb|Loades|1974|p=402}}.</ref>
{{multiple image
| align = left
| image1 = Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford.jpg
| width1 = 150
| alt1 = Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford
| image2 = William Laud.jpg
| width2 = 145
| alt2 = William Laud, Archbishop of Canterbury
| footer = The [[Thomas Wentworth, 1st Earl of Strafford|Earl of Strafford]] (left) and [[William Laud]] (right): two of Charles's most influential advisors during the [[Personal Rule]]{{sfn|Kishlansky|Morrill|2008}}
}}
By this stage the Earl of Strafford, [[Lord Deputy of Ireland]] since 1632,{{sfn|Gregg|1981|p=243}} had emerged as Charles's right-hand man and, together with Archbishop Laud, pursued a policy that he termed "[[Thorough]]", which aimed to make central royal authority more efficient and effective at the expense of local or anti-government interests.<ref>{{harvnb|Cust|2005|pp=185–186}}; {{harvnb|Quintrell|1993|p=114}}.</ref> Although originally a critic of the King, Strafford defected to royal service in 1628, in part due to the Duke of Buckingham's persuasion,{{sfn|Quintrell|1993|p=46}} and had since emerged, alongside Laud, as the most influential of Charles's ministers.{{sfn|Sharpe|1992|p=132}}

Bolstered by the failure of the English Short Parliament, the Scottish Parliament declared itself capable of governing without the King's consent, and in August 1640 the Covenanter army moved into the English county of [[Northumberland]].{{sfn|Stevenson|1973|pp=183–208}} Following the illness of Lord Northumberland, who was the King's commander-in-chief, Charles and Strafford went north to command the English forces, despite Strafford being ill himself with a combination of gout and dysentery.<ref>{{harvnb|Gregg|1981|pp=313–314}}; {{harvnb|Hibbert|1968|pp=147, 150}}.</ref> The Scottish soldiery, many of whom were veterans of the Thirty Years' War,{{sfn|Stevenson|1973|p=101}} had far greater morale and training than their English counterparts. They met virtually no resistance until reaching [[Newcastle upon Tyne]], where they defeated the English forces at the [[Battle of Newburn]] and occupied the city, as well as the neighbouring [[County Palatine of Durham]].<ref>{{harvnb|Cust|2005|pp=262–263}}; {{harvnb|Gregg|1981|pp=313–315}}.</ref>

As demands for a parliament grew,<ref>{{harvnb|Cust|2005|pp=264–265}}; {{harvnb|Sharpe|1992|pp=914–916}}.</ref> Charles took the unusual step of summoning a [[great council of peers]]. By the time it met, on 24 September at [[York]], Charles had resolved to follow the almost universal advice to call a parliament. After informing the peers that a parliament would convene in November, he asked them to consider how he could acquire funds to maintain his army against the Scots in the meantime. They recommended making peace.<ref>{{harvnb|Carlton|1995|p=214}}; {{harvnb|Cust|2005|pp=265–266}}; {{harvnb|Sharpe|1992|pp=916–918}}.</ref> A cessation of arms was negotiated in the humiliating<!--{{harvnb|Gregg|1981|p=315}}; {{harvnb|Hibbert|1968|p=150}}; {{harvnb|Stevenson|1973|p=213}}--> [[Treaty of Ripon]], signed in October 1640.<ref>{{harvnb|Gregg|1981|p=315}}; {{harvnb|Stevenson|1973|pp=212–213}}.</ref> This stated that the Scots would continue to occupy Northumberland and Durham and be paid £850 per day indefinitely until a final settlement was negotiated and the English Parliament recalled, which would be required to raise sufficient funds to pay the Scottish forces.<ref>{{harvnb|Loades|1974|p=404}}; {{harvnb|Stevenson|1973|pp=212–213}}.</ref> Consequently, Charles summoned what later became known as the [[Long Parliament]]. Once again, his supporters fared badly at the polls. Of the 493 members of the Commons returned in November, more than 350 opposed the King.<ref>{{harvnb|Carlton|1995|p=216}}; {{harvnb|Gregg|1981|pp=317–319}}.</ref>