The Kings most gracious messages for peace and a personal treaty published for his peoples satisfaction, that they may see and judge, whether the foundation of the Commons declaration, touching their votes of no farther addresse to the King, viz His Majesties aversenesse to peace, be just rationall and religious. . . . by Charles I
This month’s featured text is The Kings most gracious messages for peace and a personal treaty published for his peoples satisfaction, that they may see and judge, whether the foundation of the Commons declaration, touching their votes of no farther addresse to the King, viz His Majesties aversenesse to peace, be just rationall and religious by King Charles I (regined from 1625-1649). Charles I was born in 1600, the second son of James I (king of Scotland 1567-1625 and king of England and Scotland 1603-1625) and became heir to the throne on the death of his brother, Henry in 1612. Charles I is perhaps best known for the problems of his reign leading to the civil war in the 1640s and his execution by Parliament in 1649. Charles inherited significant debt from his father and financed two wars on the continent, leaving himself incredibly short of money. Parliament was the only body in England that could levy taxation, and many of its members disliked Charles because of his constant financial problems, his choice of ministers (who were generally very unpopular with the people), and his seemingly "Catholic" tendencies (Charles himself was married to a Catholic, Henrietta Maria and favored a form of high Anglican worship with much ceremony). Charles dismissed Parliament in 1629 and ruled without it for eleven years, known as "the eleven years tyranny" by his opponents. When Scotland invaded England, Charles was forced to call "the long parliament" in 1640. Because of tremendous dissatisfaction with Charles's policies for the past eleven years, Parliament refused to grant Charles the money needed to raise an army without significant condititions many of which were unacceptable to Charles. When Charles attempted to arrest five members of Parliament in 1641, Parliament responded by denying Charles the right to raise an army. Finally, in 1642, Charles went to Oxford (which was to become his capital during the civil war). The Civil War lasted from 1642-1648 when Charles was captured by Parliamentary forces. In 1649, members of Parliament tried and found Charles guilty of high treason "against the realm of England" and was executed at Whitehall on January 30, 1649. His final words were "I go from a corruptible to an incorruptible Crown, where no disturbance can be." These words proved prophetic after the problems of the Interegnum (period when Parliament under Oliver Cromwell ruled), people began to view Charles as a martyr and eventually asked his son, Charles II to become king in 1660.

The Kings most gracious messages for peace and a personal treaty published for his peoples satisfaction, that they may see and judge, whether the foundation of the Commons declaration, touching their votes of no farther addresse to the King, viz His Majesties aversenesse to peace, be just rationall and religious was published in 1648 when Charles was attempting to justify his actions against the English people and to play off various political factions against one another in an attempt to regain his power. Additionally, this pamphlet responds to a specific act that Parliament had enacted forbidding future communication with the King. Charles is attempting to show that he was blameless in this situation and Parliament was unreasonable with him. He goes on to reprint much of his correspondence with Parliament to prove his innocence. This text helps to understand the difficulties between the Crown and Parliament during this tumultous period and gives insight into the causes and effects of the English Civil War and Charles I's execution. Finally, it represents a transition in the English constitution when representative government began to gain more power over absolute monarchy. The actions of both sides helped to shape constitutional history for hundreds of years and continues to influence our views of constitutional governments today.

Featured Text Archive