{{unsourced, date=April 2022 John Finch, 1st Baron Finch by Sir Anthony Van Dyck lowres color

The 3rd Parliament of King Charles I was summoned by

King Charles I of England Charles I (19 November 1600 – 30 January 1649) was King of England, Scotland, and Ireland from 27 March 1625 until Execution of Charles I, his execution in 1649. He was born into the House of Stuart as the second son of King James VI of ...

on 31 January 1628 and first assembled on 17 March 1628. The elected Speaker of the House of Commons was

Sir John Finch John Finch, 1st Baron Finch (17 September 1584 – 27 November 1660) was an English judge, and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1621 and 1629. He was Speaker of the House of Commons. Early life Finch was t ...

, the Member of Parliament for

Canterbury Canterbury (, ) is a cathedral city and UNESCO World Heritage Site, situated in the heart of the City of Canterbury local government district of Kent, England. It lies on the River Stour. The Archbishop of Canterbury is the primate of t ...

. Following the debacle of the previous Parliament, when Parliament had refused the grant the King funds until their concerns about his favourite, George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, had been addressed, it had proved difficult to prosecute the war with Spain. When Charles's uncle,

Christian IV of Denmark Christian IV (12 April 1577 – 28 February 1648) was King of Denmark and Norway and Duke of Holstein and Schleswig from 1588 until his death in 1648. His reign of 59 years, 330 days is the longest of Danish monarchs and Scandinavian mona ...

, was soundly defeated by Imperial forces at Lutter in August 1626 Charles needed funds urgently to go to Christian's aid. He therefore decided to bypass Parliament by levying a Forced Loan, which actually raised more money, some £243,000, than Parliament had been prepared to give him in exchange for Buckingham's impeachment. In the event the money raised by the levy, the raising of which so alienated Parliament and its supporters, was spent on preparing to wage war on France after relations with that hitherto friendly country had deteriorated. When the Duke of Buckingham wanted to take a fleet to raise the siege at La Rochelle and was prevented by financial restraints, Charles reluctantly accepted the need to call this 3rd Parliament. Once assembled, the Commons indicated that it would vote the King five subsidies in return for his acceptance of a

Petition of Right The Petition of Right, passed on 7 June 1628, is an English constitutional document setting out specific individual protections against the state, reportedly of equal value to Magna Carta and the Bill of Rights 1689. It was part of a wider ...

, confirming the rights of the individual as against the divine right of the King. After much debate, prevarication and delay, the King finally backed down and gave his assent to the petition in such a way it could be considered law. The Subsidy Bill passed through its final stage in the House of Lords by 17 June 1628. Parliament then turned its attention to

tonnage and poundage Tonnage and poundage were duties and taxes first levied in Edward II's reign on every tun (cask) of imported wine, which came mostly from Spain and Portugal, and on every pound weight of merchandise exported or imported. Traditionally tonnage an ...

, two onerous taxes on which the King was dependent and which Parliament considered illegal. The King brought the session to a rapid close. Over the summer the fleet to relieve La Rochelle was assembled, but the commander Buckingham was murdered by a disgruntled army officer. The fleet nevertheless sailed under a new commander but achieved little success. When Parliament reconvened in January 1629 it returned to the issue of tonnage and poundage, claiming that its continued imposition contradicted the Petition of Right. Matters got so heated that Charles dissolved Parliament by proclamation on 2 March 1629 and had nine of the leading protagonists arrested, one of whom,

Sir John Eliot Sir John Eliot (11 April 1592 – 27 November 1632) was an English statesman who was serially imprisoned in the Tower of London, where he eventually died, by King Charles I for advocating the rights and privileges of Parliament. Early life T ...

, would die in the Tower of London three years later. Charles then dissolved Parliament in person on the 10 March and was so disillusioned that he did not recall it again until 1640.

Notable Acts passed by the Parliament

Sunday Observance Act 1627 The Sunday Observance Act 1627These words are printed against this Act in column 2 of Part III of Schedule 7 to the Justices of the Peace Act 1949, which is headed "Title or Short Title". (3 Car 1 c 2) was an Act of the Parliament of England. T ...

References

Parliaments of Charles I of England 1628 in England 1628 in politics

Notable Acts passed by the Parliament

See also

References