17th Century England

Lesson 1: Guide to pre-civil war England

The Army and Navy

This describes the state of the army in Britain during this time.

In Great Britain, a permanent standing army was impossible due to costs, so it was only formed whenever war or a national emergency occurred. The problem with money often made Britain powerless in the event of trouble with other nations, hence she was often not powerful enough to back up arguments with force.

Although England had no peacetime army, it did have Trained Bands, or local reserves that were there for the defence of their county and also to combat crime. The amount of drill and training they received was dependent on the officers. The Lord Lieutenant, who was the King’s representative, controlled them and the reserves often would not serve in another county, staying only for the defence of their own county. This prevented them from combining to form a national army.

Fortifications in 17th century England were archaic, for England had faced no war on its home soil since the War of the Roses. Most fortifications dated back 150 years or more.

With no standing army, it was difficult to get experience of warfare and soldiering, so soliders, to gain experience, often went to fight in foreign wars, like those in the Low Countries and Holland and in Germany.

If the Monarch wanted to declare war on another nation, then he or she would summon a Parliament and ask for subsidies. Parliament would grant the subsidies and taxes would be raised to bring the money in for war.

Rarely had Parliament ever wavered in granting money, but in Elizabeth I’s last years they made a stand, insisting that they did not have to grant the Monarch’s wish. Elizabeth was furious, for as she saw it, she was going to need to defend the country against Spanish invasion and her own Parliament was deliberating as to whether to allow her the finances to do so. Elizabeth’s shrewd and intelligent handling of Parliament ensured she got her money, but other Monarchs were not so astute when Parliament got fussy.

Normally one subsidy and a fifteenth would be £100,000, but depending on Parliament's attitude and support of the proposed war, it could give between one subsidy and a fifteenth and about nine subsidies and nine fifteenths (£900,000).

Subsidies were usually attached to petitions; in other words, Parliament granted the money in the hope that the Monarch took note and acted on their concerns.

By the early 1630’s, King Charles I had followed his father and the previous Tudor monarch's examples by enlarging the Royal Navy up to 22,000 tons. Charles issued a statement that he would launch two new ships per year, as he saw the navy as essential to protect his people’s trade, safety from pirates, and England’s honour. Every nation's shipping was supposed to lower their flag on the sight of an English ship, though many refused. Indeed Barbary pirates often managed to raid the English coast and carry people off to sell back in North Africa for slaves.

Pauline Greggs states in her book King Charles I, that it cost Charles roughly £60,000 per year for the upkeep of the navy; an immense amount from the under-sized annuity granted to the Monarch for running the country.

  1  2  3  4  5  6  7