Simon Black – Even before his coronation in 1626, King Charles I of England was almost bankrupt.

His predecessors King James and Queen Elizabeth had run the royal treasury down to almost nothing.

Costly war and military folly had taken its toll. The crown had simply wasted far too much money, and brought in too little.

To make matters worse, King Charles was constantly at odds with parliament.

The English government was completely dysfunctional, with constant bickering, personal attacks, and very little sound decision-making.

Parliament refused to pass the taxes that Charles needed to make ends meet. But at the same time, the King was legally unable to levy his own taxes without parliamentary approval.

So, faced with financial desperation, he began to look for alternative ways to raise revenue.

One way was relying on practically ancient, obscure laws to penalize his subjects.

The Distraint of Knighthood, for example, was based on an act from 1278, roughly three and a half centuries before Charles’ coronation.

The Act gave him the legal authority to fine all men with a minimum level of income who did not present themselves in person at his coronation.

Charles also commandeered vast amounts of land, restoring the boundaries of the royal forests to where they had been during the time of King Edward I in the 13th century. Continue reading →