British Kings, "Bullet Book," Chartles I, 1625 - 1649

BillJones

Charles I Gold Unite

Charles I Six Pence

• Charles I was the second in-line for the British crown. He became the heir apparent when his brother, Henry, died.

• Charles was a weak and sickly child. He did not speak until he was four and could not walk until he was seven. Lady Carey was the nursemaid who brought him to a more healthy state.

• From his early problems, Charles became over assertive, which would not serve him well in later years.

• He married a French princess, Henrietta Maria, who have also have a negative effect upon some of his decisions later in life.

• Like his father, Charles was heavily influenced by the Duke of Buckingham. Buckingham got him involved in some ill-conceived conflicts with France and Spain which drained the treasury.

• Parliament did not care for Buckingham and refused to provide the funds for his schemes. Buckingham was executed which took him out of the picture, but Charles continued to quarrel with Parliament. Ultimately Charles would not call it into secession for 11 years, from 1629 until 1640.

• In the mean time Charles paid his expenses by taxes, import duties, forced loans from nobles and the sale of knighthoods. He also dipped into his wife’s dowry.

• Charles often failed to pay those who served him. Those who were shortchanged included servants and soldiers. In the mean time he lived a very lavish lifestyle.

• Charles was a dedicated art collector. During his reign, he commission works by van Dyke, Rubens, and architect, Inigo Jones. He also purchased works by Italian masters which were sold off during the Commonwealth period.

• In 1638 Charles decided to impose the Anglican Church on the Scots. After they would not accept his prayer book willing, Charles at the urging of his Wentworth decided to impose on them by force.

· Charles planned on using a force of 30,000 men to subdue the Scots, but his reputation for not paying his bills and his general lack of popular support preceded him. He could field only a force of 8,000. The Scots easily defeated Charles in the First Bishop’s War.

· Charles called Parliament in to supply him with additional funds. When they refused him, he dissolved it after only a few weeks. This was known as “The Short Parliament.”

· Charles raised another force and went against the Scots again. He lost this second battle which was known as the Second Bishop’s War.

· Charles called Parliament again, but this time he could not dissolve. It was known as “The Long Parliament.”

· Parliament chose to blame Wentworth for the failures instead of Charles because Wentworth had threatened to call an army from Ireland to subdue the Scots. Charles was forced to sign Wentworth’s death warrant, and he was executed for treason on Tower Hill on May 12, 1641.

· Charles continued to think that he could impose his reforms on the Church of England and subdue the Scots. Members of Parliament continued to demand that he give in to their list of grievances known as the Grand Remonstrance. Encouraged by the queen Charles went to Parliament with an armed guard to arrest five descendent who were known as the Pym. They had already left the scene, however.

· Public opinion turned against Charles. To this day British monarchs must ask permission to enter and address Parliament. This tradition started with Charles’ actions on that day.

· Over the next seven months, Charles would not budge on his positions. Ultimately the two parties declared a civil war.

· At first the royalist forces held the upper hand, but well trained cavalry under Thomas Fairfax and Oliver Cromwell gained the advantage. After deliberating his position for a year, Charles decided to surrender to the Scots believing that they would have give him better terms. After Charles rejected their proposals, the Scots handed him over to the English.

· Charles was confined to Hampton Court. Cromwell and Fairfax offered to settle with Charles if there were a written constitution which included their terms. Charles refused.

· Charles escaped to the Isle of Man were he began to try to pay one side against the other. Charles got an agreement with the Scots called the Engagement. They would agree to restore him as their king if he would accept Presbyterianism for a trial period. This agreement would be imposed on the English and the two countries’ Parliaments would be united.

· Charles raised an army of Scots, which the English easily defeated. Royalists were also defeated in southern England.

· Charles was brought up on trial for treason and was convicted. The vote was close with the 135 judges divided by a margin of 68 to 67 in favor of conviction.

· Charles was publicly executed. At his beheading he showed grace and bravery. Those actions went a long way toward supporting the restoration of the monarchy a decade later. Charles was a weak king because he could not make compromises with those who disagreed with him. His “divine right of kings” attitude served him poorly. His weaknesses as a leader were demonstrated by the fact that best day as king was the day of his execution.

bigmarty58

"I go from a corruptible to an incorruptible Crown, where no disturbance can be"

The final words of Charles I

BillDugan1959

This synopsis does not reflect the bloodiness of the English Civil Wars. There were about 200,000 persons killed in England and Wales, and more in Scotland and Ireland. The absolute pigheadedness of the King was a very major factor.

There were about 5 million persons in England and Wales at the time.

291fifth

All of this and they still ended up restoring the monarchy. Cromwell (referred to as Bloody Cromwell in Ireland), then three years dead, was dug up and subjected to a ritual hang, drawn and quarter.

Bob13

@BillJones - these are great - thanks again.

Hope you don't mind me posting another coin. Here is a Charles Half groat - this coin is TINY (16mm). But you can still see the sun over the outline of an eye mintmark at 12 o clock on the obverse!

SaorAlba

· Charles hesitated to be crowned in Scotland, despite having become king in 1625 he waited until 1633 to travel to Edinburgh for his coronation in Scotland. His baggage train, with a lot of his jewels etc was lost in the Firth of Forth during a storm - an event he blamed a witch for having performed.

BillJones

@Bob13 said:
@BillJones - these are great - thanks again.

Hope you don't mind me posting another coin. Here is a Charles Half groat - this coin is TINY (16mm). But you can still see the sun over the outline of an eye mintmark at 12 o clock on the obverse!

No, I’m glad you added it to the discussion.

WillieBoyd2

I have had this little coin for 50 years and now get to post it, a Scottish coin from King Charles I:

Scotland Turner (two pence) Charles I 1642-1650
Copper, 20mm, 3.16gm

Obverse: Crown over large "CR" - CAR DG SCOT ANG FRA E HIB R
(Charles by the Grace of God, Scotland England France and Ireland, King)

Reverse: Thistle - NEMO ME IMPUNE LACESSET
(No one shall hurt me with impunity)

Charles II had a similar coin made around 1663 with a "II" to the right of the "CR".

291fifth

@SaorAlba said:
· Charles hesitated to be crowned in Scotland, despite having become king in 1625 he waited until 1633 to travel to Edinburgh for his coronation in Scotland. His baggage train, with a lot of his jewels etc was lost in the Firth of Forth during a storm - an event he blamed a witch for having performed.

Those 17th century witches were an active group.

EVillageProwler

Crown, dated 1645 (though the date is illegible). SCBC 3062. Exeter Mint; castle, im. Ex Hulett.

Bob13

@Billjones and @EVillageProwler - just clicked on all your posts this morning - great English coins! I bet a lot and time and effort for you both that I really appreciate. I'd like to emulate some of your coins, but still getting my feet wet on where to try and get them. World dealers and auctions by and large seem behind US counterparts in imaging.

Thanks to you both.

asheland

Great thread! I happen to have a Charles I shilling, also a seal top spoon, but no pictures handy. I'll try to find them later if anyone is interested in seeing it.

The coin:

asheland

Seal top spoon, London, 1642-43
(Far right)

SaorAlba

A fascinating memento from Scottish and British history, this AR medal by Nicholas Briot was struck in 1633 to commemorate Charles I's very belated Scottish coronation that year. His coronation should have been much earlier, he ascended the throne in 1625, but he carelessly delayed said coronation until finally giving into demands that it be done in 1633. His introduction of Anglican liturgy into the coronation ceremony did little to endear him to his Scottish subjects, and things went decidedly sour thereafter. On his return trip to London his baggage including many crown jewels were lost in the Firth of Forth, just off of Burntisland. Subsequently alleged witches were brought to trial in London, on charges of causing the shipwreck. Things went down for Charles I from there on, both in Scotland and in England.

This lovely medal, with a lifelike portrait of the monarch, was commissioned to Nicholas Briot, a famous and skilled coiner. This medal was struck in a screw press, and is actually much better detailed as a result. One of these medals was struck piedfort in gold, which was presented to the King, he kept it as a pocket piece until his death in 1649. The silver examples like this one were thrown by the king to the crowds at the coronation ceremony.

Namvet69

Thanks for the history, I love the thistle on these coins. Those unfortunate women who were rounded up as witches. I see lots of thistle in the wild when I am detecting. Have a good day. Peace Roy

Cladiator

Excellent posts Bill, congrats and thanks. My family's original emigrants to the new world came over from England in 1634. We have lost any information relating to why the two brothers left. Your posts go a long way in demonstrating it was not exactly pleasant times they were leaving behind so perhaps that was part of their motivation. I got this coin some time ago and I like to think that it could have been in one of those two brothers' pockets on their way over. A long shot to say the least but it's not impossible. Fun stuff.

1634-1635 Charles I Half Crown S-2773

SaorAlba

@Cladiator said:
Excellent posts Bill, congrats and thanks. My family's original emigrants to the new world came over from England in 1634.

I'd say they got out whilst the going was good! Missed out on all the turbulence of the next three decades in Britain.

291fifth

The lives of the commoners in Britain must have been terrible during this period. The new world was the escape hatch, which they used in spite of its dangers.