The Useless Parliament was the first

Parliament of England The Parliament of England was the legislature of the Kingdom of England from the 13th century until 1707 when it was replaced by the Parliament of Great Britain. Parliament evolved from the great council of bishops and peers that advised ...

of the reign of King Charles I, sitting only from June until August 1625. It gained its name because it transacted no significant business, making it 'useless' from the king's point of view. Parliament adjourned to

Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...

on 1 August, and was dissolved on 12 August, having offended the king.

Events

Charles acceded to the Throne upon the death of his father,

James VI and I James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until ...

, on 27 March 1625. Parliament was summoned by the king on 2 April and convened at

Westminster Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster. The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, B ...

on 18 June, first meeting only a month after Charles's marriage to

Henrietta Maria Henrietta Maria (french: link=no, Henriette Marie; 25 November 1609 – 10 September 1669) was Queen of England, Scotland, and Ireland from her marriage to King Charles I on 13 June 1625 until Charles was executed on 30 January 1649. She was ...

, a daughter of King Henry IV of France.Hywel Williams, ''Cassell's Chronology of World History'' (London: Weidenfeld & Nicolson, 2005, ) pp. 248–253 Thomas Crewe was again elected as

Speaker Speaker may refer to: Society and politics * Speaker (politics), the presiding officer in a legislative assembly * Public speaker, one who gives a speech or lecture * A person producing speech: the producer of a given utterance, especially: ** I ...

of the

House of Commons The House of Commons is the name for the elected lower house of the bicameral parliaments of the United Kingdom and Canada. In both of these countries, the Commons holds much more legislative power than the nominally upper house of parliament. T ...

, having served in that office previously, but this led Sir John Eliot to refer to the position as "frequently filled by nullities, men selected for mere

Court A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in acco ...

convenience". Charles had asked the parliament to vote him the duties of

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 ...

for life, as had been customary at the beginning of each monarch's reign since 1414, but the House of Commons broke with tradition and voted to grant the king these important duties for one year only, Michael J. Braddick, ''The nerves of state: taxation and the financing of the English state, 1558-1714'
p. 52
online together with £140,000 for war with Spain, apparently intending to force him to come back to ask them to vote him money in every future year.'Tonnage and poundage' in ''

Encyclopædia Britannica The (Latin for "British Encyclopædia") is a general knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It is published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.; the company has existed since the 18th century, although it has changed ownership various t ...

'' (15th edition) The king was greatly troubled and provoked by this, as tonnage and poundage had long provided the Crown's main source of income. Some parliamentarians were anxious about the king's wish to send forces to take part in the

Thirty Years' War The Thirty Years' War was one of the longest and most destructive conflicts in European history, lasting from 1618 to 1648. Fought primarily in Central Europe, an estimated 4.5 to 8 million soldiers and civilians died as a result of battle ...

on the continent of Europe and also about his reputation for extravagance, but it is now argued that their collective intention was to review such duties generally, giving the king tonnage and poundage for a year pending negotiations on reform. At the end of July, a severe intensification of the bubonic plague in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

led to the king's court and Parliament being temporarily moved to

. Although the Commons had passed a bill to grant Charles the duties he wanted for one year, the

Duke of Buckingham Duke of Buckingham held with Duke of Chandos, referring to Buckingham, is a title that has been created several times in the peerages of England, Great Britain, and the United Kingdom. There have also been earls and marquesses of Buckingham. ...

and others succeeded in blocking this in the

House of Lords The House of Lords, also known as the House of Peers, is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Membership is by appointment, heredity or official function. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminste ...

, with the result that Parliament granted the new king no rights of tonnage and poundage at all. In conjunction with its attempts to

impeach Impeachment is the process by which a legislative body or other legally constituted tribunal initiates charges against a public official for misconduct. It may be understood as a unique process involving both political and legal elements. In ...

Buckingham, this led to the king peremptorily dissolving parliament on 12 August. It was later judged to have bungled an attempt to clip the king's wings.

Aftermath

After the parliament was dissolved, the king's favourites encouraged his belief in having a divine right to rule his kingdoms as he wished and urged him to do without the constitutional means of raising revenue, instead using arbitrary measures which in some cases were of uncertain lawfulness. This Charles did, which later led to remonstrances against his taking of tonnage and poundage without parliament's authority. The next parliament assembled in February 1626 and declared that the king had acted unlawfully, although it was prepared to indemnify him.William B. Bidwell, Maija Jansson, ''Proceedings in Parliament, 1626: House of Commons'' (1997), p. 203

Notable Acts passed by the Parliament

* Sunday Observance Act 1625

References

{{reflist 1625 in England Political history of England Parliaments of Charles I of England 1625 in politics

Events

Aftermath

Notable Acts passed by the Parliament

See also

References