Short Parliament

Short Parliament
source
Name	Short Parliament
Legislature	Parliament of England
House type	Unicameral
Jurisdiction	Kingdom of England
Foundation	13 April 1640
Disbanded	5 May 1640
Preceded by	Personal Rule
Succeeded by	Long Parliament
Leader1 type	Lord High Steward
Leader1	Thomas Coventry, 1st Baron Coventry
Leader2 type	Speaker of the House of Commons
Leader2	John Glanville
House1	House of Lords
House2	House of Commons
Meeting place	Palace of Westminster, London

Short Parliament. The Short Parliament was a session of the Parliament of England that was summoned by King Charles I in the spring of 1640. It convened on 13 April and was dissolved by the king just three weeks later on 5 May, having failed to grant the subsidies he demanded to fund a war against Scotland. This brief assembly, occurring after eleven years of the king's Personal Rule, highlighted the profound constitutional and religious conflicts between the Crown and the political nation, directly precipitating the Bishops' Wars and leading to the landmark Long Parliament.

Background and causes

The immediate cause for the summoning of Parliament was the king's urgent need for revenue to wage the Second Bishops' War against the rebellious Covenanters in Scotland. Following the Prayer Book Rebellion of 1637, Scottish resistance had crystallized with the signing of the National Covenant and their victory at the Battle of the Brig of Dee in 1639. Charles I's Personal Rule, also known as the Eleven Years' Tyranny, had been financed through controversial extra-parliamentary levies like ship money, a tax famously challenged by John Hampden. Facing a well-organized Covenanter army led by Alexander Leslie, the king's military position was precarious, and his Privy Council, including figures like Thomas Wentworth, advised recalling Parliament to secure funds. However, many members of the political nation, particularly in the House of Commons, saw the crisis as an opportunity to address long-standing grievances regarding the king's Arminian religious policies, epitomized by William Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury, and the abuses of the Court of Star Chamber.

Proceedings and dissolution

The Parliament opened on 13 April 1640, with John Glanville elected Speaker. Instead of immediately voting on the king's request for subsidies to fight the Scots, members of the House of Commons, led by stalwarts like John Pym, John Hampden, and Arthur Haselrig, launched into debates about their accumulated grievances. They demanded the redress of issues pertaining to ship money, the conduct of the Court of High Commission, and the religious innovations of William Laud. The Earl of Strafford urged the king to take a firm line, but negotiations quickly stalled. Charles I, frustrated by the Commons' refusal to provide money before discussing grievances, and fearing the assembly would transform into a platform for rebellion akin to the Scottish Parliament, dissolved it on 5 May 1640. This abrupt action left the Crown without parliamentary funding, forcing it to rely on inadequate and ad-hoc measures to confront the Covenanter army, which soon invaded England, occupying Newcastle upon Tyne after the Battle of Newburn.

Aftermath and significance

The dissolution proved a catastrophic miscalculation for Charles I. Without funds, the English forces were decisively defeated in the Second Bishops' War, leading to the humiliating Treaty of Ripon in October 1640, which required the king to pay the Scottish army's costs while it occupied northern England. This financial and political crisis left Charles with no alternative but to summon a new Parliament in November 1640, which became the famous Long Parliament. The Short Parliament's significance lies in its role as the immediate catalyst for this decisive assembly. The grievances aired in April 1640, particularly those concerning ship money and the church policies of William Laud, were taken up with vigor by the Long Parliament, which proceeded to impeach and execute Strafford, arrest William Laud, and pass landmark legislation like the Triennial Acts. Thus, the failed session directly set the stage for the escalating constitutional conflict that would erupt into the English Civil War.

Category:1640 in England Category:17th-century English Parliament Category:Charles I of England