What was causing inefficiencies in Charles’s finances?
Corruption, embezzlement by officials and people dodging taxes
What was Richard Weston’s primary goal?
Efficiency of finances and reduced spending
How did Richard Weston balance the books?
Encouraged restricted spending, employed ancient methods of revenue, and reformed the process by which taxes are collected to prevent embezzlement
What was Sir Thomas Wentworth’s primary goal?
To whip local officials into shape and become tighter on law and order
What were Archbishop Laud’s primary goals?
Restore the beauty of religion, undermine puritanism & restore order and hierarchy
What forms of income did Weston employ to fund the personal rule?
Recusancy fines, sales of monopolies, distraint of knighthood, Forest Fines, Tonnage and Poundage, and Ship Money
What were recusancy fines?
Fines on those who refused to attend church services (especially Catholics
What was Distraint of knighthood?
A feudal fine on those who owned property worth more than £40 who didn’t present themselves for knighthood
How much did an individual’s land have to be worth to instigate Distraint of Knighthood?
£40 per year
What were forest fines?
A feudal fine imposed on those living on or near Royal Forests
What was Tonnage and Poundage?
A customs tax on imports and exports illegally collected without the consent of Parliament
What was ship money?
A tax on coastal counties raised at times of national emergency to fund the navy
What year did Charles introduce ship money?
1634
What year did Charles move ship money inland?
1635
What year did Charles make ship money annual?
1636
How much did recusancy fines generate?
A relatively small amount, but a reliable source of income
How much money did monopolies generate?
Amounts varied; the monopoly on soap sold to Catholics for £29,000, nicknamed the ‘Popish Soap Monopoly’
How much did distraint of knighthood generate?
£174,000 in total, fining nearly 10,000 men
How much did forest fines generate?
Despite backlash, only £40,000
How much did Tonnage and Poundage generate?
£270,000 per year until 1635, rising to £425,000 per year by 1640
How much did ship money generate?
Up to £200,000 per year; nearly £800,000 in total, all spent on the navy
What was the role of Church Court officials?
Conducted trials on church matters, marriage, wills, and sexual misconduct, giving the Church significant power
How did Laud undermine Puritanism?
Restricted preaching to Sundays and reissued the Book of Sports
How did Laud promote the Beauty of Religion?
Decorated the altar, moved it to the centre of the church, and brought back clerical robes
