ANST - FW: Musing on August 22 -- Not Speaking to Parliament

[j'lynn yeates]

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- -----Original Message-----
From: Ellsworth Weaver [mailto:astroweaver at yahoo.com]
Sent: Wednesday, August 23, 2000 12:53
To: 2thpix at surfari.net
Subject: Musing on August 22 -- Not Speaking to Parliament


Dear Folk,

The kings of England, especially those who followed Elizabeth, had
their problems with Parliament. Ever since it was invented by Simon
de
Montfort, Parliament was saying "nay" when kings and queens
desperately
wanted them to say "yea."  Other European monarchs did not have these
problems: they just did what they wanted, launched wars, whatever,
and
then raised taxes. On this day, August 22, 1642, King Charles Stuart
hoisted up his banner and went to war with Parliament.

James I was the first Stuart king of England. He arrived in the
country
after the death of Elizabeth I to find the treasury almost completely
empty, the plague in London, and his legacy from his predecessor:
thousands of formal gowns sewn richly with pearls and gems. None of
them were James’ size, either.

James’ first Parliament did not enthusiastically endorse the formal
union of England and Scotland. They might have been a tich worried as
to be continually ruled by a dynasty of Scots. They said they would
study the matter. In the meantime, James got the church folk to meet
and to pass some nifty taxes on everyone from archbishop to country
cleric. Over 300 clergymen left their offices rather than being so
heavily taxed. Slackers! James showed them by enforcing the
Recursancy
Laws which punished those who did not go to church or went to the
wrong
kind (Catholic).

James’ second Parliament, convened 4 years after the first one was
dissolved, did little better. There were 300 new members. James did
his
best but all the Parliament wanted to do was argue about the King’s
taxes. James dissolved this parliament after just two months. They
did
not pass a single resolution and were called for that "The Addled
Parliament."

Seven years later James was forced to call a third Parliament to
session. He had gotten England involved, though half-heartedly, in a
war in Bohemia of Protestants against Catholics. Remember the
defenestration in Prague? I talked about that a little in "A Plump
and
Pleasant King." Wars cost money. Parliament granted him a little. In
the meantime, it rebuked their King for his handling of affairs of
state. That Parliament lasted almost a year.

On December 18, 1621 some Parliamentarians got together to issue "The
Great Protestation." It said, in part, that the rights of Parliament
were an ancient and sacred birthright and that affairs concerning the
king, state, and defense of the realm are fitting topics for debate
in
Parliament. James angrily tore that page out of the record of the
Commons and dissolved Parliament.

James’ son Charles and the Duke of Buckingham went down to Spain to
contract for a marriage between Charles and a lady from the Spanish
nobility. In return England wanted help in the war in Bohemia. Spain
rather naturally ducked. Charles and Buckingham came home in a snit
(a
smallish vessel much like a snood but very uncomfortable.)  In James’
fourth Parliament, the folk were angry not so much at Spain but at
Charles and Buckingham. Oh well. The Parliament did authorize some
funds for defense of England and sent a small contingent of soldiers
across the channel where they died do to lack of sufficient funding.
How is that any different today? Forgot the screens for the
helicopter
intakes? Whoopsy!

Charles I got married May 11, 1625 to Henrietta Maria, sister of
French
King Louis XIII, and I’ll bet none of you were invited. I surely
wasn’t. It was the same year that Charles I became king.

He called his first Parliament on June 18, 1625 and dissolved it two
months later. That Parliament granted the king a little tax money and
some cash for a war with Spain. In February 1626 he called a second
one. For this one he thought he had a lock on things. He made the
guys
who were the leaders of the first Parliament and made them sheriffs.
That made them ineligible to sit in the Parliament. Cool move. Only
problem was that this new Parliament was even more resistant to the
meddling of kings. They impeached Buckingham. When the King’s side
put
charges against the leaders of the opposition, they were forced to
let
the leaders go because Parliament refused to meet without them.

Two more Parliaments met. Each forced the issue of arbitrary rights
claimed by the King. The ideals of no taxation without
representation,
no billeting soldiers in private homes, no martial law in times of
peace, no just arresting folks without due cause and charges were
pressed. This was over 100 years before the Americans fought for the
same rights. Leaders of these Parliaments wound up in jail and dying
for their brashness.

Charles I ruled for 11 years (1629 - 1640) without a Parliament
raising
money any way he could: old feudal privileges, strange taxes, selling
monopoly rights, bake sales, you name it.  Finally Scotland, home of
the Stuarts, and religion, which had been daddy James’ strong suit,
brought Charles to convene another Parliament. The Scots had some
problems with the Anglican Church. Reading the liturgy in English was
repugnant to them. The Scots formed their own Church. This led to two
wars with England. Charles needed money badly. His fourth Parliament
met for less than a month in 1640. They said that they would grant no
money until Charles listened to their grievances. Charles just was
not
in a listening mood.

The last one, the Long Parliament, technically sat from November 2,
1640 to March 16, 1660. You see Charles, in return for peace with the
Scots, promised the Scottish army a cash settlement. He could not pay
it. Further, the Scottish army would not disband until they were
paid.
Parliament thought that this surely would be just what they needed to
get Charles to listen. Parliament pushed hard for their right to
exist
independent on the king’s whim, the rights of the middle class folk
to
have businesses fairly taxed and free from unfair monopolies. They
even
wanted the right to appoint royal ministers and even to appoint
guardians for the king’s children. What do you think Charles said?

In July of 1642, Parliament appointed a committee of public safety,
and
put Lord Essex in charge of an army of 20,000 foot soldiers and 4000
cavalry. And on August 22, 1642 King Charles I Stuart raised the
royal
standard at Nottingham. The military phase of the Great Rebellion had
begun.

What have we learned? Don’t mess with Scotland? Control the money,
control the king? Sometimes negotiations fail and you just gotta go
out
there and get medieval on folks’ buttocks? How about all taxation is
theft? Whoops, did I say that?

If it pleases my Parliament of readers, we shall speak more of the
war
later. I do want to make known that on August 22, a scant few years
ago, a wonderful poet, critic, and friend, Erin Harris graced this
world by entering it. It was to this world’s benefit, I assure all of
you.

Hey, if you are out there impeaching your Buckingham, establishing
your
own wee kirk in the dale, or fighting a king and you want to send
these
missives off to others, do keep my name and sig attached.

Holding my bake sale and astrology discounts,
J.  Ellsworth Weaver

SCA – Sir Balthazar of Endor
AS – Polyphemus Theognis
TRV – Sebastian Yeats


=====
SmileWeavers Astrology Charts & Interpretations
Modern & Medieval (but always discreet)
If you are interested, contact me at
astroweaver at yahoo.com or 805.473.8867

Read back issues of Musings at http://www.surfari.net/~2thpix/amuse/

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