Charles I (1625 - 1649)

Charles I on his visit to Edinburgh in 1633

Charles was the second son of James VI and was born at Dunfermline on 19 November 1600. He became the heir apparent in 1612 when his brother Henry died. He succeeded his father on 27 March 1625 and in 1626 he was married to Henrietta Maria, daughter of Henry IV of France. Although Charles was largely divorced from Scottish affairs, having been living at the English court since 1604, he still thought well of the country of his birth. One contemporary wrote 'he was always an immoderate lover of the Scottish nation, having not only bene born ther, but educated by that people and besiedged by them always'. The Privy Council in Edinburgh did not sympathise with, or understand, Charles' motives, however. During the first six years of his reign he was wholly concerned with English affairs and had no time for the problems of Scotland. The early years of Charles' reign were deceptively calm, and this was destroyed by his religious policies. One of his first measures was an Act of Revocation, this annulled all gifts made since 1540 of properties which the crown could claim. This included the vast ecclesiastical revenues which had fallen into lay hands before and after the Reformation. The main reason for this Act was to reduce the power of the nobility and provide adequate stipends for the clergy but it also caused a more widespread fear about the security of property.

Episcopal government had been revived by James, but with Charles episcopacy was an article of faith, and he treated the bishops with a veneration which few of his subjects would have agreed with. The prelates achieved high office and they had a lot of influence in the Council of Parliament which caused much resentment. Charles was responsible for the restoration of many cathedrals and of the abbey church at Holyrood, where he was crowned in 1633. In 1637 he insisted on the acceptance of the new Prayer Book which had received praise from liturgical experts but was considered popish by many Scots and even John Spotiswoode thought it best to 'lay aside that book'. Others, like Alexander Henderson, actively opposed the Prayer Book and this led directly to the National Covenant. He was also losing popularity through very high taxation levels and in Edinburgh he had insisted on the building of an expensive new Parliament House and the reconstruction of St Giles as a cathedral for a new bishopric. The introduction of the Prayer Book caused a riot at St Giles on 23 July 1637 which soon led to widespread and organised agitation. The various grievances against Charles coalesced into the National Covenant of 1638. This Covenant professed loyalty to the crown but asked for a return to ecclesiastical and constitutional practice as it was before Charles' reforms. Charles was an obstinate man and the Covenanters soon went further than their original aims, a clash now became inevitable. Not everybody supported the National Covenant by any means, however, and John Forbes, Professor of Divinity at King's College, Aberdeen, wrote a tract opposing it.

A General Assembly met in November 1638, with Alexander Henderson as Moderator, in Glasgow and it was decided to abolish Episcopal government. This led to a military confrontation but the kings forces were no match for experienced Scottish veterans and the government army refused to fight. A temporary peace was arranged at Berwick in June 1639 but by now Charles had alienated his English subjects as much as his Scottish.

Inevitably the peace did not last and a second bishops war started in 1640 in which the king all but capitulated. The Covenanters under Alexander Leslie invaded England and occupied Newcastle. At Ripon they agreed to go no further on the proviso that they were were given £850 a day in maintenance payments. Charles journeyed to Scotland in 1641 and gave way to all the Scottish demands, including a Triennial Act which ensured that a parliament would meet every three years, whether called by the king or not. The clerical estate was abolished and all royal officers were to be appointed in consultation with parliament. The Committee of the Three Estates held real power and under Presbyterian rule church attendance became compulsory and dissenters were persecuted.

In 1642 the English Civil War broke out and the Scots were split as to which side to support with the Privy Council urging support for the king and Committee of the Assembly (calling themselves Conservators of the Peace) favouring the Roundheads. It was the Solemn League and Covenant which called for a single Presbyterian church from the Orkneys to the Isle of Wight that decided the issue, the Scots abandoned the king. However, the Earl of Montrose had left the Covenanters and was now fighting well for the Royalists. His run of victories came to an end at the battle of Philiphaugh in 1645 where the Covenanters took their revenge, they slaughtered the women and children who followed the Montrose army and hung many others involved in the battle.

The National Covenant of 1638

By late 1645 the New Model Army had won in the south and Charles decided to flee, he gave himself up at Leslie's camp outside Newark. The Scots were in an impossible situation for they wanted both king and Covenant, and could not have both. In the end they took the king to Newcastle and left him with the English. While in English hands Charles was captured by the Levellers whom he quickly escaped from and fled to the Isle of Wight. There he signed the Engagement whereby England was to try Presbyterianism for three years, the army was to be disbanded and extremist sects were to be put down. The Scots were to provide military aid and Royalist risings were planned for several English areas. This proved to be a disaster as the English uprisings were quickly put down and the Scottish army was heavily defeated near Preston. In Scotland the Engagers had been scattered in south west Scotland by the 'Whiggamore Raid' and this left the Presbyterians in control again.

Charles was tried by Cromwell on 30 January 1649 and sentenced to death. Although Charles declared the court illegal he was still executed and this annoyed the Scots greatly. Although Charles had been the king of England, he was king of Scotland as well and he had been tried and executed without any consultation with the Scots. It was a sign of things to come.

History Books on this time period:

Author	Title	Published	Price	Order Now From: From:
Donaldson, G.	Scotland: James V - VII	1965	£16.99 or $27.00	Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
The four-volume Edinburgh History of Scotland is the most important project in Scottish historical writing for more than half a century; each volume is written by an expert on the period who brings to his work the direct acquaintance with original sources on which authoritative historical writing can alone be based. This, the third volume, deals with the time when many of the most significant and familiar episodes in Scottish history took place. The period was one in which Scotland was transformed, partly as a result of conspicuous events but largely because of more subtle and less perceptible changes in the constitutional, ecclesiastical and economic structure, the end result of which was an emergence of life more akin to that we know today. Since the early years of the 20th century much research has been done into this period. Its results form the foundation of this major work, which makes available information hitherto only found scattered throughout numerous books and periodicals.
Mitchison, R.	Lordship to Patronage: Scotland 1603-1745	1990	£9.95 or $20.00	Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com
Drawing on political, constitutional, religious, economic and social studies, Professor Mitchison outlines the growing bonds between England and Scotland, beginning with James VI's succession and culminating in the Act of Union in 1707. She argues that the union of the two states has had a distorting effect on Scottish history, constantly prompting comparisons of the constitutions and achievements of the two countries, rather than placing Scotland in a European context. This book attempts to redress the balance. First published as part of the New History of Scotland series this is a highly readable and straightforward introduction to early modern Scotland.