17th Century England

Lesson 4: Summary

Parliament's Situation

Parliament's situation was one of gain power or be damned - if they did not manage to push through reforms of taxation, so that again they were the sole body who could raise money, then Parliament as an institution would not be needed. It had to pass legislation banning Ship Money and other forms of illegal taxation while they held the King over a barrel with the Scots invasion.

Once this was done, members believed it would ensure the continuation of Parliament, along with a lawful amount of power.

Pym was clever and astute in managing the members of the Houses of Parliament, Lords, and others needed to gain this increased role. Subsequently, he saw the opportunity of revolutionising Parliament's role in England through further demands.

To a certain extent, Parliament had to make its position doubly safe, to stop the King going back on anything decided on and ruling without them. By 1641, they had gained this security and more, but had clearly decided that they needed to gain most if not all executive power.

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