Charles of the Three Kingdoms
- Thread starter drakensis
- Start date
Still following and enjoying this, but I still have a niggling feeling that such actions would provoke suspicion from Charles' governments. When the English Parliament reports back on the guarantees it wants Charles to give I'd be surprised not to see one demanding the supremacy of Protestantism in England and the banning of Catholics from taking government places. I'd also expect them to demand that Charles' Irish Guard be prevented from entering England, too...
The positive nature of Charles' announcement, that there was prospect of a closer heir to the Thrones than the rather distant cousins who currently stood in succession, was enough to convince the English Parliament to be relatively compliant. Rather than reopen the question of the balance of power power King and Parliament, Charles advised them that he intended to withdraw to Hampton Court as soon as the roads were clear enough to travel, so that Henrietta Maria would be in healthier surroundings than Westminster during the later stages of her pregnancy. While in Chester he would review the proposed measures in more depth than he had had time for while governing without a Parliament (a statement which he intended to imply dependence upon Parliament). In fact, Charles had barely looked at them, instead having them catalogued and then summarised by his advisors so that he could eliminate some of the more radical suggestions without reading through them himself.
What Charles wanted was to cede as little as possible to Parliament while obtaining their aquiesence to his government. However, because they controlled the bulk of his income he could not see any way to avoid having to make a concession of some substance. The relatively stable situation of the Three Kingdoms was increasing trade, but because he was not collecting any revenue from trade between them, his actual income from this was still less than that of his father (it would be only reach the previous levels in the second half of his reign). Charles believed that a steady, predictable income that he did not have to argue with Parliament for, would allow a much more stable government that that he had inherited from his father, and one less dependent upon running up ruinous debts when faced with war.
Although several intriguing suggestions were made in the proposals (which were all preserved among Charles' personal papers), Charles ultimately decided that the most acceptable course to himself and hopefully to Parliament would be to build on previous developments. The committee established to oversee his finances had been fairly useful and relatively unobtrusive, despite the best efforts of John Pym. By reorganising the Great Officers of State and attaching a commission of five Members of Parliament to each office with authority to advise the office holder and report to both the King and Parliament, Charles would give Parliament oversight of and a voice in affairs of state. They would also be a restraint upon his officers, hopefully reducing the level of corruption - his absences had significantly impeded Charles in trying to quash this.
In return he wanted Parliament to permanently grant both himself and his heirs Pounds and Tunnage, and to replace Ship Money (a wartime payment by ports in lieu of providing ships) with a constant flow of money to fund the Navy Royal, since warships had been developing into something very distinct from merchant vessels and if he wanted a credible fleet then it would have to be built in advance of any war. While this would not allow for his other day to day expenses, such as the maintenance of the Royal Palaces and payment of government wages, Charles realised that Parliament would not relinquish the ability to restrain him by controlling the money flow for these purposes so he would settle for having the largest single expense in his budget largely guarenteed.
In late May of 1630, Charles sent this proposal to the English Parliament, accompanied by the news that Henrietta Maria had been delivered of a son, Charles Stuart, who had immediately been declared Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothsey, the titles associated with the firstborn son of the Kings of England and Scotland respectively. Word was also sent to the Irish and Scottish Embassies, who immediately despatched messengers to their respective capitals. Celebrations spread through the British Isles at the birth of the young Charles. If Charles was hoping that this news would render Parliament more receptive to his proposal however, he misjudged them: they adjourned for almost a week to celebrate and any euphoria had worn off when they reconvened to debate the measures.
By this time word was beginning to arrive of the Swedish King Gustavus II Adolphus's march into northern Germany in support of the protestants there. This once again produced pressure for Charles to declare war in support of the protestant states. Charles pre-emptively declared that he would not assent to any such measure, but that he would permit anyone wishing to raise troops for service under Gustavus to do so and encouraged soldiers from his Kingdosm who were already in Germany to enter Gustavus' service although it is highly questionable how much impact this had.
In August, a sizeable delegation of Members of Parliament walked from the Palace of Westminister to the Palace of Whitehall and met with Charles there for a frank discussion of his proposals. While there was some enthusiasm for Charles' reforms, there was also resistance and any vote would be too close for anyone to predict the outcome. The delegation was represented those within Parliament who wanted further concessions from Charles: specifically that the Great Officers of State would have to be selected from Parliament and that Charles would guarentee to call Parliament every year and agree not to raise troops beyond his current Household Guards without the permission of Parliament.
Charles made a counter proposal: he would guarentee to call an election for Parliament at least every four years; select Great Officers of State only from Parliament; and place Parliament in control of all English arsenals that produced cannon and of any siege or field artillery companies that might need to be raised, on condition that they financed those arsenals, supplied cannon for the Navy Royal, and would place such companies under the control of his officers during times of war. Only with great reluctance in the face of their obstinance, did he finally consent that he would go no more than a year without assembling Parliament. The resultant agreement, formalised in a Bill placed before Parliament, was voted through with a sizeable majority on the eleventh of September and given the royal assent that evening.
Although selecting members for the new commissions was not particularly time consuming, with Charles again making sure to include a broad range of opinions amongst them, the administrative challenges of reorganising Whitehall around them would last for months. Fortunately, towards the end of the year, the Admiralty Board's new building was completed north of the Irish and Scottish Embassies (more or less on the OTL site of the Admiralty) which allowed all functions relating to the Navy Royal to be removed from Whitehall Palace. Charles requested that Parliament raise the money to build two additional buildings north of the Admiralty Board building (occupying the land up to Charing Cross which he already owned) to house the offices of the Lord Privy Seal (whose responsibilities now related to correspondence with foreign courts, diplomacy in other words) and of the Lord High Chancellor (whose judicial responsibilities were now predominant). On the advice of the commissioners for these two officers, the funds were raised and it was suggested that more space might be required for the Lord High Treasurer and the Earl Marshal in the future, although this was not forthcoming at the time.
Charles scheduled discussion of his finances for the summer and in the spring of 1631 he and the Royal Household rode on to Chester and then Caernarfon where Charles proclaimed his son to be Earl of Chester and Prince of Wales respectively. When he rode south again towards London, he did so without Henrietta Maria or the young Charles however, for his Queen was once again pregnant.
What Charles wanted was to cede as little as possible to Parliament while obtaining their aquiesence to his government. However, because they controlled the bulk of his income he could not see any way to avoid having to make a concession of some substance. The relatively stable situation of the Three Kingdoms was increasing trade, but because he was not collecting any revenue from trade between them, his actual income from this was still less than that of his father (it would be only reach the previous levels in the second half of his reign). Charles believed that a steady, predictable income that he did not have to argue with Parliament for, would allow a much more stable government that that he had inherited from his father, and one less dependent upon running up ruinous debts when faced with war.
Although several intriguing suggestions were made in the proposals (which were all preserved among Charles' personal papers), Charles ultimately decided that the most acceptable course to himself and hopefully to Parliament would be to build on previous developments. The committee established to oversee his finances had been fairly useful and relatively unobtrusive, despite the best efforts of John Pym. By reorganising the Great Officers of State and attaching a commission of five Members of Parliament to each office with authority to advise the office holder and report to both the King and Parliament, Charles would give Parliament oversight of and a voice in affairs of state. They would also be a restraint upon his officers, hopefully reducing the level of corruption - his absences had significantly impeded Charles in trying to quash this.
In return he wanted Parliament to permanently grant both himself and his heirs Pounds and Tunnage, and to replace Ship Money (a wartime payment by ports in lieu of providing ships) with a constant flow of money to fund the Navy Royal, since warships had been developing into something very distinct from merchant vessels and if he wanted a credible fleet then it would have to be built in advance of any war. While this would not allow for his other day to day expenses, such as the maintenance of the Royal Palaces and payment of government wages, Charles realised that Parliament would not relinquish the ability to restrain him by controlling the money flow for these purposes so he would settle for having the largest single expense in his budget largely guarenteed.
In late May of 1630, Charles sent this proposal to the English Parliament, accompanied by the news that Henrietta Maria had been delivered of a son, Charles Stuart, who had immediately been declared Duke of Cornwall and Duke of Rothsey, the titles associated with the firstborn son of the Kings of England and Scotland respectively. Word was also sent to the Irish and Scottish Embassies, who immediately despatched messengers to their respective capitals. Celebrations spread through the British Isles at the birth of the young Charles. If Charles was hoping that this news would render Parliament more receptive to his proposal however, he misjudged them: they adjourned for almost a week to celebrate and any euphoria had worn off when they reconvened to debate the measures.
By this time word was beginning to arrive of the Swedish King Gustavus II Adolphus's march into northern Germany in support of the protestants there. This once again produced pressure for Charles to declare war in support of the protestant states. Charles pre-emptively declared that he would not assent to any such measure, but that he would permit anyone wishing to raise troops for service under Gustavus to do so and encouraged soldiers from his Kingdosm who were already in Germany to enter Gustavus' service although it is highly questionable how much impact this had.
In August, a sizeable delegation of Members of Parliament walked from the Palace of Westminister to the Palace of Whitehall and met with Charles there for a frank discussion of his proposals. While there was some enthusiasm for Charles' reforms, there was also resistance and any vote would be too close for anyone to predict the outcome. The delegation was represented those within Parliament who wanted further concessions from Charles: specifically that the Great Officers of State would have to be selected from Parliament and that Charles would guarentee to call Parliament every year and agree not to raise troops beyond his current Household Guards without the permission of Parliament.
Charles made a counter proposal: he would guarentee to call an election for Parliament at least every four years; select Great Officers of State only from Parliament; and place Parliament in control of all English arsenals that produced cannon and of any siege or field artillery companies that might need to be raised, on condition that they financed those arsenals, supplied cannon for the Navy Royal, and would place such companies under the control of his officers during times of war. Only with great reluctance in the face of their obstinance, did he finally consent that he would go no more than a year without assembling Parliament. The resultant agreement, formalised in a Bill placed before Parliament, was voted through with a sizeable majority on the eleventh of September and given the royal assent that evening.
Although selecting members for the new commissions was not particularly time consuming, with Charles again making sure to include a broad range of opinions amongst them, the administrative challenges of reorganising Whitehall around them would last for months. Fortunately, towards the end of the year, the Admiralty Board's new building was completed north of the Irish and Scottish Embassies (more or less on the OTL site of the Admiralty) which allowed all functions relating to the Navy Royal to be removed from Whitehall Palace. Charles requested that Parliament raise the money to build two additional buildings north of the Admiralty Board building (occupying the land up to Charing Cross which he already owned) to house the offices of the Lord Privy Seal (whose responsibilities now related to correspondence with foreign courts, diplomacy in other words) and of the Lord High Chancellor (whose judicial responsibilities were now predominant). On the advice of the commissioners for these two officers, the funds were raised and it was suggested that more space might be required for the Lord High Treasurer and the Earl Marshal in the future, although this was not forthcoming at the time.
Charles scheduled discussion of his finances for the summer and in the spring of 1631 he and the Royal Household rode on to Chester and then Caernarfon where Charles proclaimed his son to be Earl of Chester and Prince of Wales respectively. When he rode south again towards London, he did so without Henrietta Maria or the young Charles however, for his Queen was once again pregnant.
WOW! 
Really god story and timelines. I like this. Converting Charles into a reformer instead of a revolutionary (ruling w/o parliament).
I guess it's good to share power like this. The King has executive powers and the Parliament has supervisory roles, as well as the power to approve Bills.
I'd like to see more of this please
Really god story and timelines. I like this. Converting Charles into a reformer instead of a revolutionary (ruling w/o parliament).
I guess it's good to share power like this. The King has executive powers and the Parliament has supervisory roles, as well as the power to approve Bills.
I'd like to see more of this please
The reason for Charles to ride back in such a hurry that Henrietta Maria could not accompany him, even had she wanted to (she didn't: Charles' wife cordially detested London and most Londoners returned the sentiment) was that news was arriving from Germany that was dire enough. The wars there had always been bloody by the standards of England and to a lesser degree her sister kingdoms, which had seen little war in the last century, and that largely on a small scale in Ireland or Scotlands. Now, the Holy Roman Empire's soldiers had given rise to a new and tortured verb: to Magdeburgize.
After a six month siege, an Imperial Army had sacked the protestant city of Magdeburg, a fit of violence that had killed more than nine in ten of its population and then burnt the city itself nearly to the ground. Even by the standards of day, the savagery was shocking. Even catholic cities were horrified, correctly anticipating retaliation against them.
Speeches were being made in Parliament proposing that England should enter the war alongside the Swedes and Scotland was very nearly as enthused. Charles was horrified, less by what had happened to Magdeburg than by the notion of risking the same war exploding into his Kingdoms. Unlike the majority of those calling for war, he had a very real notion of how ineffectual the militias that would make up the bulk of any army he raised would be against a Spanish tercio or of how little the small ships of his new fleet would be able to do to heavier Spanish galleons.
This was fear, not cowardice. Charles might lack military experience (the number of European monarchs who would reach the age of thirty before waging war was few indeed) but he had proven his personal courage at Lisburn and would have led the charge had he not been all but forced by his own guards to remain in the second rank. And despite the - in continental eyes - ludicrous manner in which he compromised and hedged with Parliament, it would not be just to state that Charles was incapable of imposing his will upon his government. He was however, deeply aware of the damage that would be done to the Kingdoms - by wartime taxes even if no armies reached his shores - and of the polarisation that would tear through his Churches. He wanted no part of it.
And for the first time, he confronted his English Parliament and the representatives of Scotland's Lords with absolute intransigiance. He had not and would never cede to anyone the right to declare war on behalf of the Three Kingdoms. The wars in Germany were no more about religion than Rome's conquests had been, it was an excuse for the ongoing power-struggles between the princes of central europe and their notional empire to be settled with arms. If it were really Catholic versus Protestant then why would France be paying for half of Gustavus II Adolphus' mercenaries? Did the Bishops of England really think that parishoners across Germany really made soul-deep conversions when their lords did?
After almost a week in which Charles made speeches at least twice a day to almost anyone who would listen, a majority of Parliament accepted Charles' decision as, if not correct in their eyes, his decision to make. They also accepted two gestures, almost challenges, that he placed in front of them. Lutheran Germans seeking refuge in England would be allowed to practise their religion outside of the Church of England although not to hold public office unless they converted (Calvinists were seen as fitting into the Anglican mainstream). And a delegation of the English Parliament, led by an outspoken squire by the name of Oliver Cromwell, would travel to Germany - to Magdeburg if they could manage it - to see for themselves if they wanted to pay the taxes for their sons to wage war there. There was one more concession, this one by Charles. The coffers of the Churches of all three kingdoms would be used to finance ships to bring refugees from the protestant north of Germany to England.
The confrontation, including several explosions of royal temper, put a pall over discussions of royal finances over the summer. Quite a lot of the decisions had been made the previous year, but Charles had agreed to open his finances and he and John Pym managed to spend most of August arguing over exactly how much money he needed over and above the Navy Royal's expenses (which he defended equally ardently). Of particular criticism was the sheer scale of Charles' land investments in the City of Westminster, although it was proven at great length that as the Duke of Lancaster he had done so without touching tax money. Charles' final and telling remark was that if he could make his own personal wealth grow then that spoke well for his responsibilty in using tax money.
With summer coming to an end, Charles settled as many matters as he could and then made his final journey of the year, to Chester where he would see out the winter with his wife, son and (from November onwards) new daughter Princess Mary. It was while Charles was in Chester that winter that the catholic elements of the Irish Parliament sent a petition to him, asking that since protestant refugees from Germany were being allowed to settle in England, catholics be allowed to find refuge in Ireland. This was obviously a difficult decision - Charles' reluctance to aid his co-religionists on the continent was unpopular enough without becoming effectively protector to a wave of Catholic immigrants. In the end he wrote back stating that since this would have the potential to follow the course of the hated Settlements of the previous hundred years, he would only give his assent if the Irish Commons voted in favour by a supermajority.
When the motion failed to achieve even a majority, early in 1632, Charles presumed that the matter was dead. A second petition, this one signed by catholics on both sides of the Irish Sea proved him wrong. Charles concluded that he would have to do something or a broad base of organised catholicism might emerge, undermining both England and Ireland. His solution was to grant a charter to Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore, to found a new colony in North America, between Virgina and the Dutch New Netherlands. Calvert, like his father who had previously attempted to colonise Newfoundland, was a staunch Catholic and envisaged the colony as a refuge for English Catholics. The new colony, named for Henrietta Maria, was opened to colonists not only from all three of Charles' kingdoms but also the war-ravaged Germanies. Unlike previous colonial grants, Charles limited the western boundary of Maryland, placing it at the water divide, so that he or his successors could seek concessions in the future for new colony grants west of the Appalachians. Late in the summer, Charles approves a second colony grant, this one south of Virgina, to Robert Heath. Although named Carolina in Charles' honor, there is no settlement there during Charles' lifetime.
Before this however, Charles had to take a ship north across the Irish Sea to Glasgow where James Law, the Archbishop of the diocese that took its name from the city, had died. Charles sent instructions for the General Assembly of Scotland to meet early in Glasgow so that he could attend and in keeping with his promise four years before to reduce the power of the episcopate, he downgraded the diocese to a Bishopric and with the approval of the Assembly transferred Andrew Bellenden, Bishop of Dunblane to take over in Glasgow, amalgamating the two dioceses. Due to the rising population and importance of the port Glasgow remained the most senior of the bishopric and it's Bishop still held the title Primate of Scotland, second only to the Archbishop of St Andrews as Primate of All Scotland.
After a six month siege, an Imperial Army had sacked the protestant city of Magdeburg, a fit of violence that had killed more than nine in ten of its population and then burnt the city itself nearly to the ground. Even by the standards of day, the savagery was shocking. Even catholic cities were horrified, correctly anticipating retaliation against them.
Speeches were being made in Parliament proposing that England should enter the war alongside the Swedes and Scotland was very nearly as enthused. Charles was horrified, less by what had happened to Magdeburg than by the notion of risking the same war exploding into his Kingdoms. Unlike the majority of those calling for war, he had a very real notion of how ineffectual the militias that would make up the bulk of any army he raised would be against a Spanish tercio or of how little the small ships of his new fleet would be able to do to heavier Spanish galleons.
This was fear, not cowardice. Charles might lack military experience (the number of European monarchs who would reach the age of thirty before waging war was few indeed) but he had proven his personal courage at Lisburn and would have led the charge had he not been all but forced by his own guards to remain in the second rank. And despite the - in continental eyes - ludicrous manner in which he compromised and hedged with Parliament, it would not be just to state that Charles was incapable of imposing his will upon his government. He was however, deeply aware of the damage that would be done to the Kingdoms - by wartime taxes even if no armies reached his shores - and of the polarisation that would tear through his Churches. He wanted no part of it.
And for the first time, he confronted his English Parliament and the representatives of Scotland's Lords with absolute intransigiance. He had not and would never cede to anyone the right to declare war on behalf of the Three Kingdoms. The wars in Germany were no more about religion than Rome's conquests had been, it was an excuse for the ongoing power-struggles between the princes of central europe and their notional empire to be settled with arms. If it were really Catholic versus Protestant then why would France be paying for half of Gustavus II Adolphus' mercenaries? Did the Bishops of England really think that parishoners across Germany really made soul-deep conversions when their lords did?
After almost a week in which Charles made speeches at least twice a day to almost anyone who would listen, a majority of Parliament accepted Charles' decision as, if not correct in their eyes, his decision to make. They also accepted two gestures, almost challenges, that he placed in front of them. Lutheran Germans seeking refuge in England would be allowed to practise their religion outside of the Church of England although not to hold public office unless they converted (Calvinists were seen as fitting into the Anglican mainstream). And a delegation of the English Parliament, led by an outspoken squire by the name of Oliver Cromwell, would travel to Germany - to Magdeburg if they could manage it - to see for themselves if they wanted to pay the taxes for their sons to wage war there. There was one more concession, this one by Charles. The coffers of the Churches of all three kingdoms would be used to finance ships to bring refugees from the protestant north of Germany to England.
The confrontation, including several explosions of royal temper, put a pall over discussions of royal finances over the summer. Quite a lot of the decisions had been made the previous year, but Charles had agreed to open his finances and he and John Pym managed to spend most of August arguing over exactly how much money he needed over and above the Navy Royal's expenses (which he defended equally ardently). Of particular criticism was the sheer scale of Charles' land investments in the City of Westminster, although it was proven at great length that as the Duke of Lancaster he had done so without touching tax money. Charles' final and telling remark was that if he could make his own personal wealth grow then that spoke well for his responsibilty in using tax money.
With summer coming to an end, Charles settled as many matters as he could and then made his final journey of the year, to Chester where he would see out the winter with his wife, son and (from November onwards) new daughter Princess Mary. It was while Charles was in Chester that winter that the catholic elements of the Irish Parliament sent a petition to him, asking that since protestant refugees from Germany were being allowed to settle in England, catholics be allowed to find refuge in Ireland. This was obviously a difficult decision - Charles' reluctance to aid his co-religionists on the continent was unpopular enough without becoming effectively protector to a wave of Catholic immigrants. In the end he wrote back stating that since this would have the potential to follow the course of the hated Settlements of the previous hundred years, he would only give his assent if the Irish Commons voted in favour by a supermajority.
When the motion failed to achieve even a majority, early in 1632, Charles presumed that the matter was dead. A second petition, this one signed by catholics on both sides of the Irish Sea proved him wrong. Charles concluded that he would have to do something or a broad base of organised catholicism might emerge, undermining both England and Ireland. His solution was to grant a charter to Cecilius Calvert, 2nd Lord Baltimore, to found a new colony in North America, between Virgina and the Dutch New Netherlands. Calvert, like his father who had previously attempted to colonise Newfoundland, was a staunch Catholic and envisaged the colony as a refuge for English Catholics. The new colony, named for Henrietta Maria, was opened to colonists not only from all three of Charles' kingdoms but also the war-ravaged Germanies. Unlike previous colonial grants, Charles limited the western boundary of Maryland, placing it at the water divide, so that he or his successors could seek concessions in the future for new colony grants west of the Appalachians. Late in the summer, Charles approves a second colony grant, this one south of Virgina, to Robert Heath. Although named Carolina in Charles' honor, there is no settlement there during Charles' lifetime.
Before this however, Charles had to take a ship north across the Irish Sea to Glasgow where James Law, the Archbishop of the diocese that took its name from the city, had died. Charles sent instructions for the General Assembly of Scotland to meet early in Glasgow so that he could attend and in keeping with his promise four years before to reduce the power of the episcopate, he downgraded the diocese to a Bishopric and with the approval of the Assembly transferred Andrew Bellenden, Bishop of Dunblane to take over in Glasgow, amalgamating the two dioceses. Due to the rising population and importance of the port Glasgow remained the most senior of the bishopric and it's Bishop still held the title Primate of Scotland, second only to the Archbishop of St Andrews as Primate of All Scotland.
Because Charles was busy in Scotland early in 1632, he did not arrive back in London (this time with his family with him) until after the Fire of Southwark. However, no sooner had he reached Whitehall than he was able to look across the Thames and see the blackened ground where several wards of the City of London had clustered around the southern end of London Bridge. The fire had started on the bridge and although swift action had created a firebreak before the fire reached the northern shore, a strong northerly wind had carried it across the existing break in the houses to the usually ill-regulated manors, where the fires had been essentially uncontested.
It was a sobering sight (Oliver Cromwell, returning from the continent, likened it to the devestation of Magdebrug) and Charles was well aware that had the fire spread north, much of the core of London could have been obliterated (OTL as in the 1666 Great Fire of London). Concerned, Charles invited Nicolas Rainton, Lord Mayor of London to Whitehall to discuss introducing measures to reduce fire hazards (or at least enforcing the generally ignored ones that already existed) but found him generally unreceptive: the city was undergoing explosive growth and to Rainton's mind, standing in the way of this trend was likely to get him (and possibly Charles) run down.
Charles countered by abolishing the borough of Westminster (which included London) and creating four new boroughs: Greater London, which occupied most of the former borough's countryside, and Southwark, Westminster and City of London, which were more or less the urban areas that made up the sprawl of London. On the face of sheer population, this was actually fairer than the previous representation, but Charles was then able to use it as precendent to pull Westminster and Southwark out from London's control (in the latter case reversing a previous Act that had incorporated Southwark into London) since they had equal representation despite being conspicuously lower in population and made sure that the new Mayor of Southwark was Thomas Wentworth who had had little choice but to align himself with Charles after 1627.
Wentworth proved highly effiicent in ensuring that the rebuilding of Southwark was to a higher standard than previous construction by the means of draconian regulation. He also arranged to drain Lambeth Marsh, which Charles had bought up as wasteland, preparing the ground for new construction (Wentworth made his fortune out of this, since Charles awarded him a Barony and roughly an eighth of the reclaimed land, the rest assigned to the Duchy of Cornwall as an independent source of income for the heir to the throne). In order to lure in hew residents (and curb further expansion on the north bank of the Thames) the newly minted Baron persuaded Charles to grant ten year tax exemptions to several trades if they located themselves inside Southwark, specifically those he considered to pose little risk of fire.
All of this took months and years however. In the meantime Charles did manage to browbeat Rainton into accepting the removal of all buildings for London Bridge, at least ensuring that a fire on one side of the river would be unlikely to cross it in the future. He was not successful in his other proposal, to widen the River Fleet (which flowed south into the Thames to the west of the city walls but still inside the Civil Liberty) to act as a firebreak and had to settle for imposing regulations on Westminster almost as firm as those Wentworth was introducing to Southwark. The very different nature of the city west of Lincoln's Inn Fields made this practical and the perceived safety actually led to more development southwest of St James Park.
In what was widely considered to be another stab at the City of London, but was more to do with arranging a more convenient between Westminster and Southwark, Charles also requested submission of designs for a new bridge across the Thames, not far from Westminster Palace. This arouses considerable opposition from the watermen who make a living ferrying passengers along and across the Thames. In order to provide some measure of compensation for them, Charles adds Inns to the list of establishments with tax exemptions in Southwark, calculated to increase traffic across the river since visitors are therefore more likely to be on the far side of the river from where they will do business.
This was not Charles' only effort to improve the infrastructure of England. Since the time of Henry VIII concerns had been raised about the long term effect of clearing large areas of forest by the insatiable demands of wood, not least that required for ship building. Charles therefore had several recently cleared sections of woodland replanted with young oaks as a reservation, with a goal of having the trees available when they were fully mature (which could not expected to be for at least a century). More cleared woodland would be reserved this way every year for the rest of his life. A similar project was begun in Scotland, planting spruce and pine, in order to reduce dependence upon Baltic sources for shipbuilding timber.
This endeavour kept Charles in and around London for the next several years so it was at Hampton Court that his son James, Duke of York and Albany, and daughter Elizabeth were born in October 1633 and December 1635 respectively. The latter was named in honor of his sister Elizabeth, from who Charles had become significantly estranged due to his reluctance to aid her exiled sons in reclaiming the Rhenish Palatinate, conquered after her husband was expelled from Bavaria in 1618 and formally deprived of the Palatinate by Ferdinand II. Two of these sons, Charles-Louis and Rupert, visited England in the early 1630s as his guests. Although Rupert cut a dashing figure in the court and became a great favorite of the Queen, the more reserved Charles-Louis was closer to his namesake and later returned to England where he carried out various commissions on behalf of his uncle until the Palatinate was restored to him in 1648.
In the meantime, London was coming into its own as one of the great cities of Europe and it was undoubtedly an exciting time for young men to visit the court - the first catholic settlers destined for Maryland departed with great fanfare shortly after the arrival of Charles-Louis, the Queen blessing their voyage. The following year a glittering assembly of church notables from Ireland and Scotland arrived for a grand assembly with their English counterparts, as well as visitors from protestant Europe. The 1635 Conference of London accomplished very little but did so with great pomp and circumstance. Taking advantage of the presence of most of the Church of Scotland General Assembly, Charles took the opportunity to appoint Patrick Lindsay to the diocese of Aberdeen, vacated by the death of Patrick Forbes earlier in the year. Lindsay's previous diocese, Ross, was amalgamated with Moray, further reducing the number of Scottish prelates.
One of the principal causes of controversy at the conference was the presence for the first time of a relatively large and cohesive number of Lutherans in England, who were adding an entirely new level of conflict to the existing Arminian-Presbyterian feuds within the Church of England and the rising Independents. Charles tried to remain above the partisanship and attended as little as he could until the Bishop of London, William Laud, proposed that all three national churches adopt a common liturgy and prayerbook. While Laud was almost certainly not proposing that they all accept his own Arminian creed (at the time), the Irish and Scots saw this as the foot in the door of English domination and a near riot ensued in which Laud was stabbed to death. Charles had his personal guards seperate the feuding churchmen and sent them all home. Charles-Louis recorded in his diary Charles' personal dismay: 'Churchmen! They would quarrel until judgement day if they could only agree when the Lord would decree it to fall."
It was a sobering sight (Oliver Cromwell, returning from the continent, likened it to the devestation of Magdebrug) and Charles was well aware that had the fire spread north, much of the core of London could have been obliterated (OTL as in the 1666 Great Fire of London). Concerned, Charles invited Nicolas Rainton, Lord Mayor of London to Whitehall to discuss introducing measures to reduce fire hazards (or at least enforcing the generally ignored ones that already existed) but found him generally unreceptive: the city was undergoing explosive growth and to Rainton's mind, standing in the way of this trend was likely to get him (and possibly Charles) run down.
Charles countered by abolishing the borough of Westminster (which included London) and creating four new boroughs: Greater London, which occupied most of the former borough's countryside, and Southwark, Westminster and City of London, which were more or less the urban areas that made up the sprawl of London. On the face of sheer population, this was actually fairer than the previous representation, but Charles was then able to use it as precendent to pull Westminster and Southwark out from London's control (in the latter case reversing a previous Act that had incorporated Southwark into London) since they had equal representation despite being conspicuously lower in population and made sure that the new Mayor of Southwark was Thomas Wentworth who had had little choice but to align himself with Charles after 1627.
Wentworth proved highly effiicent in ensuring that the rebuilding of Southwark was to a higher standard than previous construction by the means of draconian regulation. He also arranged to drain Lambeth Marsh, which Charles had bought up as wasteland, preparing the ground for new construction (Wentworth made his fortune out of this, since Charles awarded him a Barony and roughly an eighth of the reclaimed land, the rest assigned to the Duchy of Cornwall as an independent source of income for the heir to the throne). In order to lure in hew residents (and curb further expansion on the north bank of the Thames) the newly minted Baron persuaded Charles to grant ten year tax exemptions to several trades if they located themselves inside Southwark, specifically those he considered to pose little risk of fire.
All of this took months and years however. In the meantime Charles did manage to browbeat Rainton into accepting the removal of all buildings for London Bridge, at least ensuring that a fire on one side of the river would be unlikely to cross it in the future. He was not successful in his other proposal, to widen the River Fleet (which flowed south into the Thames to the west of the city walls but still inside the Civil Liberty) to act as a firebreak and had to settle for imposing regulations on Westminster almost as firm as those Wentworth was introducing to Southwark. The very different nature of the city west of Lincoln's Inn Fields made this practical and the perceived safety actually led to more development southwest of St James Park.
In what was widely considered to be another stab at the City of London, but was more to do with arranging a more convenient between Westminster and Southwark, Charles also requested submission of designs for a new bridge across the Thames, not far from Westminster Palace. This arouses considerable opposition from the watermen who make a living ferrying passengers along and across the Thames. In order to provide some measure of compensation for them, Charles adds Inns to the list of establishments with tax exemptions in Southwark, calculated to increase traffic across the river since visitors are therefore more likely to be on the far side of the river from where they will do business.
This was not Charles' only effort to improve the infrastructure of England. Since the time of Henry VIII concerns had been raised about the long term effect of clearing large areas of forest by the insatiable demands of wood, not least that required for ship building. Charles therefore had several recently cleared sections of woodland replanted with young oaks as a reservation, with a goal of having the trees available when they were fully mature (which could not expected to be for at least a century). More cleared woodland would be reserved this way every year for the rest of his life. A similar project was begun in Scotland, planting spruce and pine, in order to reduce dependence upon Baltic sources for shipbuilding timber.
This endeavour kept Charles in and around London for the next several years so it was at Hampton Court that his son James, Duke of York and Albany, and daughter Elizabeth were born in October 1633 and December 1635 respectively. The latter was named in honor of his sister Elizabeth, from who Charles had become significantly estranged due to his reluctance to aid her exiled sons in reclaiming the Rhenish Palatinate, conquered after her husband was expelled from Bavaria in 1618 and formally deprived of the Palatinate by Ferdinand II. Two of these sons, Charles-Louis and Rupert, visited England in the early 1630s as his guests. Although Rupert cut a dashing figure in the court and became a great favorite of the Queen, the more reserved Charles-Louis was closer to his namesake and later returned to England where he carried out various commissions on behalf of his uncle until the Palatinate was restored to him in 1648.
In the meantime, London was coming into its own as one of the great cities of Europe and it was undoubtedly an exciting time for young men to visit the court - the first catholic settlers destined for Maryland departed with great fanfare shortly after the arrival of Charles-Louis, the Queen blessing their voyage. The following year a glittering assembly of church notables from Ireland and Scotland arrived for a grand assembly with their English counterparts, as well as visitors from protestant Europe. The 1635 Conference of London accomplished very little but did so with great pomp and circumstance. Taking advantage of the presence of most of the Church of Scotland General Assembly, Charles took the opportunity to appoint Patrick Lindsay to the diocese of Aberdeen, vacated by the death of Patrick Forbes earlier in the year. Lindsay's previous diocese, Ross, was amalgamated with Moray, further reducing the number of Scottish prelates.
One of the principal causes of controversy at the conference was the presence for the first time of a relatively large and cohesive number of Lutherans in England, who were adding an entirely new level of conflict to the existing Arminian-Presbyterian feuds within the Church of England and the rising Independents. Charles tried to remain above the partisanship and attended as little as he could until the Bishop of London, William Laud, proposed that all three national churches adopt a common liturgy and prayerbook. While Laud was almost certainly not proposing that they all accept his own Arminian creed (at the time), the Irish and Scots saw this as the foot in the door of English domination and a near riot ensued in which Laud was stabbed to death. Charles had his personal guards seperate the feuding churchmen and sent them all home. Charles-Louis recorded in his diary Charles' personal dismay: 'Churchmen! They would quarrel until judgement day if they could only agree when the Lord would decree it to fall."