Early Stuart England: Recent Episodes
Greg Koabel
Spring 1660
After a long exile, the rightful King returns, to restore the line of his ancestors.
January 1660
A broad movement for a free parliament unites royalists, Presbyterians, the apprentices of London, and the only coherent army left in England.
December 1659
Assailed on multiple fronts, the Committee of Safety simply dissolves. Without any other immediate options, England (for the third time) turns to the Rump.
1659
As the Committee of Safety struggles to establish itself as England's new government, London falls under the sway of different ruler - coffee.
1659
Army officers and the Rump squabble over the remains of the increasingly irrelevant Commonwealth state
Summer 1659
The new regime at Westminster is briefly united by the most dangerous royalist insurgency parliament has yet faced.
1659
Having run out of ideas, England once again turns to the men of the Rump parliament, who Oliver Cromwell had banished from Westminster six years earlier.
Fall 1658
With the death of Oliver Cromwell, the Protectorate seeks stability under a new, untested Lord Protector.
1658
Just when Cromwell completes his dream of securing Dunkirk, England is drawn into a new war in Scandinavia.
January 1658
Oliver Cromwell (who is the Lord Protector, definitely not the King) seeks to control the House of Commons through the new "Other House" (which is definitely not the House of Lords).
1657
Thirty years after the Duke of Buckingham's French alliance failed in spectacular fashion, Oliver Cromwell and the Protectorate once again outdo their Stuart predecessors.
1657
Rival Cromwellian factions in parliament (who had disagreed on just about everything so far) once again split on a final question - whether to make the Lord Protector a King.
1657
The Second Protectorate Parliament gathers, but rather than heeding Cromwell's call to confirm the existing constitution, the men at Westminster re-open fundamental questions of religion and money.
1656
A new radical religious group (the Quakers) suffers an internal power struggle, which threatens to de-stabilize the new parliament gathering at Westminster.
1656
It's election season for the Second Protectorate Parliament, and English voters use the opportunity to contemplate the meaning of republicanism, and how to reconcile liberty in Britain with slavery in the New World.
1656
England once again makes the capture of a Spanish treasure fleet the centre-piece of their war strategy. Only this time, it works!
1656
While Oliver Cromwell and his friends re-make the English state, a collection of eccentric academics and amateur enthusiasts re-make the field of natural philosophy.
1656
The Lord Protector, an Amsterdam Rabbi, and a merchant in the underground Jewish community of London seek to reverse a 350 year old ban on Jews in England.
1655
Oliver Cromwell sends his son Henry to Ireland, for an apprenticeship in ruling a nation.
1655
Stymied by traditional institutions like parliament, the Protectorate turns to the army to extend its rule into the provinces.
1655
The New Model Army finds waging war on the other side of the world, and with little local intelligence, is harder than it looks.
1654-5
The Protectorate state draws up plans for the most ambitious amphibious campaign in English history, and the first step in conquering a global empire.
Spring 1655
An underground network of royalists seek to take advantage of instability within the Protectorate regime, but find that they are hampered by internal divisions of their own.
Fall 1654
Lord Protector Cromwell opens his first parliament, and soon discovers what James or Charles could have told him - that managing the men at Westminster is no easy task.
Now Lord Protector, Oliver Cromwell is forced to finally make some concrete decisions about England's spiritual life. Perhaps unsurprisingly, his choices are as much political as religious.
1654
Having seized control of the state, Cromwell immediately ends the war with the Dutch, and adopts a much more conventional foreign policy.
December 1653
John Lambert, after orchestrating the demise of the latest attempt at a political settlement (the Nominated Assembly), produces his own solution - a written constitution.
1653
With the Rump hastily dissolved, England turns to an ad hoc assembly to craft a new political order.
1654
As social unrest in France takes a revolutionary turn, England sends out feelers to potential republican comrades.
1652-3
With England distracted by the Dutch War, and turmoil at Westminster, a group of soldiers and administrators are left to determine Scotland's future on their own.
Spring 1653
A long stand-off culminates in the forced dissolution of the Long Parliament, twelve and a half years after its initial elections.
1652-3
Oliver Cromwell struggles to hold the disparate elements of the Commonwealth coalition together, but the mounting pressure seems to make a break all but inevitable.
1652
Having pacified all organized resistance in Ireland, the Puritan Commonwealth regime contemplates how to rule a pre-dominantly Catholic nation.
1652
The republics of England and the Netherlands test each other in battle, and in doing so act out a debate in naval tactics that had been brewing for a century.
1651-2
As England prepares for a Dutch war, factions within the Commonwealth find that they have enemies at home.
1652
Desperate to match the modernizing credit economy of the Dutch, the Commonwealth turns to a been enthusiast, an impoverished inventor, and England's spinsters.
1651-1652
After decades of close co-operation, the Anglo-Dutch relationship falls apart due to heated economic competition.
1651
Having pacified Scotland and Ireland, the Commonwealth regime looks to secure one last component of the old Stuart realms - the New World colonies.
1651
Amid the soul searching after their defeat at Worcester, the royalists re-assess the philosophical underpinnings of their cause.
1650-1
As Henry Ireton seeks to impose Commonwealth rule on Ireland, he finds his work obstructed by a persistent guerilla campaign.
1651
When the Scots and Charles find themselves unable to defend Scotland, they turn the tables on Oliver Cromwell, and invade England.
1649-50
In an effort to project the Commonwealth's military and economic power beyond the British Isles, the New Merchant faction re-organizes the navy.
1649-1650
Charles II attempts to balance his desire for revenge on the men who killed his father, and the need to build allies in Europe.
1650
The Commonwealth government searches for the words to define itself, and at the same time, bind the people of England to its rule.
1650
A divided Commonwealth government institutes a pilot program in Wales that will determine the future of religion in England.
1649-50
While Cromwell continues his campaign in Ireland, Scotland veers from theocracy to reconciliation with the Stuart monarchy.
Summer/Fall 1649
Oliver Cromwell takes the New Model Army into Ireland, where it faces a renewed coalition of royalist forces.
Spring 1649
Fearing that they have merely traded one tyranny for another, the Levellers rise up to overthrow the infant Rump regime.
Winter 1649
The men who executed the King struggled to define the new political world they've created.
1649
The new masters of London re-organize England's system of international trade, with their eyes firmly set on the East India Company.
1633-1649
The Calvert family founds the experimental colony of Maryland, but soon find their efforts undermined by the chaos of war.
1642-1649
With trans-Atlantic ties disrupted by war, the American colonies are forced to grow up quickly.
1643-1648
Decades of conflict come to an end in Europe, presenting post-monarchical England with a brand new geo-political landscape.
1649
After a decade of conflict, England finds itself a changed nation on a new trajectory into the 1650s.
January 1649
The King is put on trial. His life, and the future of England, hang in the balance.
December 1648
A heavily purged parliament ends two and a half years of stalemate by putting the King on trial for his life.
December 1648
Frustrated with parliament's continued negotiations with the King, a group of army officers engineers a coup to seize control of Westminster.
Fall 1648
With England once again secure, parliament returns to that has plagued English politics for two and a half years - what to do with the King?
1647-1648
As the rest of the British Engager project falls apart, Ireland once again devolves into a new set of factions and alliances of convenience.
1648
Mutinies at the main navy dockyard in Chatham threaten to give royalist exiles a ticket back to England.
Summer 1648
After the defeat at the battle of Preston, the Engager government in Scotland is challenged by insurrection. Meanwhile the royalists at Colchester see their struggle is futile.
Summer 1648
The centre-piece of the Engager campaign, a long delayed Scottish incursion, begins. The New Model Army rushes north to meet the invaders.
Spring 1648
After weeks of unrest, organized, armed opposition to the regime at Westminster erupts in the form of an army mutiny in Wales, and royalist-led insurrections in Kent and Essex.
Spring 1648
Protests break out across England against the regime's religious policies, taxation, and intrusion into local affairs. The disturbances in Norwich get particularly "explosive".
December 1647
While the army contemplates an increasingly radical settlement, the King turns to last remaining option - the Scots.
Fall 1647
Now firmly in control of the kingdom, the army coalition debates what its goals are - revealing its fundamental divisions.
Summer 1647
The long awaited storm finally breaks as both the Independents and the Presbyterians provoke each other into open conflict.
Spring 1647
Alarmed by the consolidation of Presbyterian power in London and parliament, a coalition emerges in the army between Independents, political radicals, and soldiers worried about their back pay.
Spring 1647
Unable to find a voice under the repressive Presbyterian regime in London, a group of dissidents turn in a truly revolutionary direction.
1646-7
In preparation for a conflict with the Independents in the New Model Army, the Presbyterians consolidate their control over London's government, and mobilize the city's military resources.
1645-1646
The end of the war in England causes a re-alignment of factions in Ireland that (if anything) make the conflict more complicated and intractable.
1646
The Scots begin to regret hosting their royal guest and look to pass off the stubborn king on to the English parliament.
1646
The Presbyterian-controlled government of London does its best to suppress the Independent churches of the city, in preparation for the coming conflict.
1646
The people of England await a return to pre-war normalcy, but find that the kingdom's institutions have been irreversibly changed by the conflict.
1646
Charles finally accepts reality, and gives up the fight. But in ending the war, the King manages to initiate new rounds of political conflict within the parliamentary coalition.
1645-1646
The Kilkenny Confederation contemplates a series of offers from an increasingly desperate King Charles. But continental Catholics powers have some tempting proposals of their own.
1645-1646
In the southwest of England, a collection of royalists desperately hold out hope that reinforcements from Ireland might swing the balance of the war.
1644-1645
A rag-tag group of Scottish Highlanders and Irish warriors threaten to bring down the Covenantor government and turn the tide of the war.
Summer 1645
In desperate need of help, King Charles turns to his most consistently loyal subjects - the Welsh. But he finds that loyalty can wither, when taken for granted.
Summer 1645
The farmers of the West Country have had enough of the fighting, and declare war on the war.
Spring 1645
The King hopes to continue his recent run of successes against parliament's latest experiment - the New Model Army
Winter 1645
In order to break the deadlock over the Self-Denying Ordnance, parliament embarks on a comprehensive reform of the army.
Winter 1644/1645
Parliament's feuding generals lay down their arms for the winter, and sharpen their blades for a political knife fight.
Fall 1644
An all-star team of parliamentary generals confront the King in battle, but spend most of their time bickering with one another.
1643/1644
As parliament struggles to build a replacement to William Laud's anti-Calvinist church, disorder and uncertainty spreads through the parishes of England.
Summer 1644
With the royalist position in the north collapsing at Marston Moor, Charles fights for his life in the south.
1644
Prince Rupert goes on the march to save the beleaguered royalist army of the North. At Marston Moor he meets a joint Anglo-Scottish army for the largest battle of the war.
1643/1644
New soldiers enter England from Ireland and Scotland, changing the course, and nature, of the war.
1643/1644
Oxford is transformed from a sleepy university town into a royal court full of factional infighting.
1643-44
With the Scottish alliance providing added pressure, parliament finally divides into two factions on the religious question.
1630-1643
The limits of religious freedom are tested in the New England colonies. 380 years later a podcaster repeatedly fails to pronounce "Massachusetts".
1643
Parliament seeks an alliance with the Covenantor Scots, and in doing so, is forced into an uncomfortable clarification of its religious policy.
1643
In order to free up soldiers for the war in England, Charles orders the Marquis of Ormond (the commander of the government forces in Ireland) to negotiate a truce with the rebels of the Kilkenny Confederation.
Summer 1643
In East Anglia, a local gentleman named Oliver Cromwell emerges as one of parliament's leading commanders.
Summer 1643
The royalists look to cap off a successful campaigning season by capturing Gloucester, the last parliamentary garrison blocking the entrance to South Wales.
Summer 1643
The people of England read about a series of royalist plots and parliamentary defeats in a new genre of print material - the newsbook. London is torn between defeatism and a determination to see the war through.
Summer 1643
The royalists win a string of victories from Yorkshire in the north to Cornwall in the west. Charles seems poised to link up his disparate forces, and take the upper hand in the war.
1642-1643
Outnumbered and divided, the parliamentarians of Yorkshire try to prevent the royalist army of the north from linking up with the King at Oxford.
1642-3
Ralph Hopton and William Waller, two friends from their university days at Oxford, find themselves on opposite sides of the war in the West Country.
1642-3
The King's Welsh subjects rally to his cause, turning the western borderlands into one of the key strategic theatres of the war.
1643
After the inconclusive fighting in 1642, both King and parliament set about trying to accomplish something no government had so far achieved in early Stuart England - construct a state capable of successfully waging war.
1642-3
Both parliament and the King look to expand the war by drawing in allies from Scotland and Ireland.
1642-3
Queen Henrietta Maria travels to the continent in search of aid for the royalist cause. However, France and Spain are distracted by war, and she finds the Dutch deeply divided on English affairs.
Fall 1642
After the inconclusive Battle of Edgehill, both parliament and the King come to grips with the fact that they are in a prolonged war.
Summer 1642
The Earl of Essex leads an army out of London, in search of the King. Meanwhile Charles scrambles to put together a force capable of meeting the rebels in battle.
As the title suggests, an introduction to the 1640s and 1650s, as well as some of the themes we'll be encountering. Looking forward to it!
Thank you to everyone who submitted questions, and to everyone who's listened to the show. Hope you stick around for the next 100 odd episodes!
Summer 1642
After weeks of clashes between rival mobilization efforts, Charles formally raises his banner at Nottingham Castle. The Civil War has begun.
Spring 1642
On the verge of a civil war, both Charles and parliament refine their ideological arguments and present them to an anxious public.
Winter 1641/2
After 16 months of concessions, Charles makes a stand and demands the impeachment of six Junto leaders in parliament.
Winter 1641
With the raising of an Irish expeditionary force stuck in political gridlock, Charles and the Junto start to mobilize less formal military resources on the streets of London.
Fall 1641
Fearing the rise of Puritanism in both England and Scotland (and seeing an opportunity in the political chaos at Westminster) the Catholics of Ireland rise up.
Summer/Fall 1641
In the absence of the King, the Junto deals with a backlash against their radicalism, and reliance on the Scots.
Summer/Fall 1641
After three years of failing to find an English solution to his Scottish problem, Charles heads to Edinburgh to find a Scottish solution to his English problem.
Spring 1641
The political crisis escalates as Charles turns to a disgruntled army, and the Junto mobilize the crowd in London.
Spring 1641
The Junto faces its first test of unity - whether to seek the death, or just the political ruin of Thomas Wentworth.
Winter 1641
The Junto hopes that a popular bill requiring a parliament every three years will distract from their controversial religious alliance with the Presbyterian Scots. Charles works to ensure it does not.
Fall 1640
Less than 6 months after he dissolved the Short Parliament, Charles opens a new session at Westminster, the Long Parliament. This time the dissident peers and their Scottish allies hold all the cards.
1640
Charles attempts to throw back the Scottish invasion, but finds that his efforts and undermined by collaborators within England.
1640
After a failed parliament, Charles scrambles to prepare for another summer of war. Meanwhile the Scots make much better use of the winter truce.
1640
After an eleven year hiatus, a parliament once again opens at Westminster. While Charles hopes that the threat of a Scottish rebel army will inspire his subjects to be co-operative, a group of dissidents plays their own game.
1635-1640
Thomas Wentworth uses threats and intimidation to cow the various factions in Irish society. As Charles prepares for the first parliament in 11 years, Wentworth comes home to try his methods in England.
1639
While a Scottish parliament confirms the legality of the Covenantor revolution, Charles decides to rally his English subjects with a parliament of their own.
1639
Almost two years after the Prayer Book protests, Charles finally uses military power to suppress his unruly Scottish subjects. Or, at least tries to.
1639
Scotland and England mobilize for war. Defying generations of precedent, Charles does so without the aid of a parliament.
1638
Charles finally starts treating the situation in Scotland seriously. However, he is torn between finding a political solution and a more direct, military one.
1637-8
In the absence of a coherent state response, the Scottish Prayer Book Rebellion morphs into a provisional government. At its core is the Covenant, a bold statement of religious and political principles.
1637
Charles and William Laud attempt to impose an English-style Book of Common Prayer in Scotland. It does not go well.
1637-8
When Charles rejects their request for a parliament, the Providence Island gang decides to force the King's hand by challenging Ship Money collections in court.
1637
In an effort to stamp out Puritanism, William Laud has three religious radicals publicly mutilated.
1630-1636
Charles encourages a flourishing of painting, poetry, and theatre that articulates and supports his larger ideological project.
1635-1636
As France fully commits to the conflict on the continent, Charles hopes to take advantage by selling his Ship Money fleet to the highest bidder.
1635
The death of Lord Treasurer Richard Weston opens up a stiff competition at court to replace him. The outcome of the contest will shape future English policy.
1634-1635
Seeking to once again insert England into European geo-politics, Charles implements a revenue raising scheme to pay for a powerful navy - Ship Money.
1634
A massive drainage project in the marshlands of East Anglia creates tensions between the Crown, local land owners, and commoners.
1634
A peace-time trade boom creates new winners and losers among London's merchant oligarchs. Municipal power shifts from merchants doing business in the Netherlands to those exploiting markets in the Mediterranean and the East.
1633
Charles visits Scotland to receive his crown and continue his father's religious reforms. Though he finds himself a stranger in his native land.
1633
Intent on turning Ireland into a profitable enterprise, Charles selects a new Lord Deputy - Thomas Wentworth, his top man in the north of England.
1633
The newly elevated Archbishop of Canterbury, William Laud, puts his distinctive stamp on the English Church.
1630-1633
Having determined to work without parliament, Charles gets creative in extracting revenue from his subjects.
1632
As the Swedish King, Gustavus Adolphus, re-draws the map of Germany, Charles contemplates calling a parliament and re-joining the Protestant war effort.
1630-1631
The Swedish King Gustavus Adolphus overturns a decade of Catholic dominance in Germany, opening new diplomatic opportunities for England.
Winter 1631
In the wake of widespread social unrest in 1629, England's property owning elites and the central government co-operate on the reform of county governance.
1630
Squeezed out by William Laud's anti-Calvinist Church, the Calvinists of England struggle to adapt to their new circumstances. Some look to escape England altogether, and establish a new life in America.
1630
Rival pro-French and pro-Spanish factions race to make peace with England's enemies. In doing so, they establish the main division at court for the next few years.
1629
As Charles turns away from parliaments, political influence shifts to a small group of people surrounding the King at court. These personalities, and their conflicts with one another, determine English politics for the next decade.
1629
Facing insurrection in parliament, and riots throughout the kingdom, Charles suspects a co-ordinated conspiracy against his regime. A lengthy investigation uncovers troubling opposition to this rule.
Spring 1629
As Charles deals with disorder on the floor of the House of Commons, unemployment and poor harvests spark riots and unrest throughout the kingdom.
Winter 1629
Parliament reconvenes, in the hopes that the removal of Buckingham will solve the political problems of the past decade. However, the divisions in society run deeper than one man.
1625-1628
In an effort to provide for the war-time defence of Ireland, Charles enters into negotiations with the Old English Catholics. A settlement emerges in the form of limited toleration for Catholics in exchange for a locally raised (and funded) army.
1625-1628
Charles learns to rule Scotland through trial and error. But the land of his birth is now a foreign nation that he struggles to understand.
Summer 1628
With parliamentary subsidies in hand, and favourable diplomatic circumstances in Europe, Charles and Buckingham finally see light at the end of the tunnel.
Spring 1628
Charles comes to a tentative agreement with his subjects. Parliament agrees to provide war funding in exchange for the King's acceptance of the Petition of Right (a declaration of the rights enjoyed by all English subjects).
Spring 1628
The moderates on the Privy Council attempt to reconcile King and parliament, through a bill clarifying the rights of English subjects. Success depends on their ability to manage parliament.
1627
While the Duke of Buckingham wages war in France, the Forced Loan has its day in court. A group of 5 loan refusers dispute the King's right to detain them without charge, hoping to test the legality of extra-parliamentary taxation before the law.
1627
The Duke of Buckingham exploits the burgeoning news industry to promote his military expedition to the Isle of Rhe in France. But despite the positive spin in the press, victory proves elusive.
1626-1627
Charles implements his "new counsels" and raises money outside of parliament. Within the Privy Council, a debate rages over whether this is a war-time emergency or the new normal.
1626
Without any parliamentary subsidies, England is forced to sit on the sidelines during the campaigning season of 1626. However, Buckingham and Charles are active on the diplomatic front, as an attempted coup in France presents an opportunity.
Summer 1626
After a disastrous parliament, Charles forges an alliance with the ceremonial, anti-Calvinist wing of the Church. His hope is that a more orderly Church will create a more orderly society.
Spring 1626
New accusations against Buckingham raise the stakes at Westminster. Charles is faced with either saving his chief minister, or securing funding for his war.
Spring 1626
After a disastrous first 11 months of his reign, Charles opens his second parliament. As he prepares to swallow his pride and ask parliament for money to continue the war, a group sets their sights on the Duke of Buckingham as the price of co-operation.
Winter 1626
Across the kingdom elections to the House of Commons mark the beginning of a new parliament. Charles and Buckingham do their best to ensure government friendly representatives are selected from England's counties and boroughs. But other figures also carry weight in elections, particularly the Earl of Pembroke - an influential Calvinist with ambiguous loyalties to the government.
Winter 1626
The Calvinist members of the Patriot Coalition give Charles and Buckingham one last chance to prove their dedication to the Protestant cause as a new session of parliament begins. At York House, the Duke of Buckingham hosts an informal conference to determine whether Arminianism will be tolerated in the English Church.
Fall 1625
Delayed and underfunded due to the failed parliament, an English fleet sets sail for Cadiz. Their goal is to either raid the port, or capture the American treasure fleet before it can land. However, the expedition suffers from a lack of provisions and (after two decades of peace) inexperience.
Summer 1625
The Charles and Buckingham partnership take control of the kingdom after the death of James. However, their popular war program runs into problems in Charles' first parliament as the pair discovers that ruling is not as easy as it looks.
Ernst von Mansfeld's mercenary army is paralyzed by conflicting orders from England. James directs Mansfeld to the Palatine, while Charles and Buckingham urge him towards Breda. The impasse is broken when the King suddenly falls ill.
Autumn 1624
After using parliamentary pressure to get James to break off negotiations with Spain, Charles and Buckingham prepare for England's first war in a generation. But who and where England will be fighting remain open questions, capable of dividing Charles and Buckingham's political coalition.
Spring 1624
Charles and Buckingham attempt to navigate their way through a parliament. They have to convince James to adopt a war policy without violating his jealously guarded prerogatives, while at the same time convincing parliament that they can trust the King. Standing in their way is the greatest advocate of peace, Lionel Cranfield, Earl of Middlesex.
1623-1624
Charles and Buckingham are met with popular celebrations upon their return to England. They immediately begin work assembling a popular anti-Spanish coalition in order to force James into war. Standing in their way are the entrenched interests of the court.
Summer 1623
Charles and Buckingham plot to return home from Madrid, by any means necessary. In the mean time, Buckingham plans a diplomatic break with Spain, and a re-branding of himself as the Protestant saviour of Europe.
Spring 1623
Charles and Buckingham arrive in Madrid, where they find themselves in over their heads in a world of geo-political intrigue. The men who had been picking through the marriage negotiations (John Digby, Earl of Bristol and Count-Duke Olivares) struggle to adapt to the new circumstances.
Meanwhile, back in England, Buckingham's rivals take advantage of his absence, and challenge his political position.
The Earl of Buckingham and Prince Charles embark on a secret voyage to Madrid to complete the marriage treaty between Charles and the Infanta of Spain. Confusion and fear reigns in England when the news breaks that the heir to the kingdom has walked into the heart of Spain.
After the failure of the 1621 parliament, James turns to a diplomatic solution to the crisis in Europe. He hopes to use a royal marriage between his son Charles, and the Spanish Infanta (Princess Maria Anna) to broker a peace in the Empire. However, this plan meets with popular resistance in England, where anti-Catholic and anti-Spanish sentiment runs high.
1622
The Earl of Buckingham and Lionel Cranfield (Earl of Middlesex) battle for supremacy in Ireland. After Cranfield managed to convince James to set up a commission to investigate corruption in Ireland, and Buckingham does his best to undermine the project.
Autumn 1621
After receiving the support of his subjects in the spring session of parliament, James tries one last time to solve the European crisis through diplomatic pressure. When he fails, an emergency fall session of parliament reveals the fragility of England's unity.
Early 1621
As England faces war in Europe and an economic crisis at home, parliament meets for the first time in seven years. Francis Bacon advises James to build goodwill by allowing parliament to reform government before asking for money - a strategy that Bacon soon regrets.
1620
Just as England is about to be sucked into the war in Europe, a mysterious trade recession strikes the kingdom. The Privy Council scrambles to find a solution.
1619-1620
Pushed out of mainstream politics because of their anti-Spanish views, a group of hard-line Calvinists take to international commerce. Competition with Spain on the high seas and around the globe provides them with an outlet, and a place to organize and prepare for the day James finally sees Spain as the enemy.
1620
James scrambles to contain the Bohemian crisis despite the best efforts of his son-in-law Frederick. However, the Thirty Years' War becomes truly international with fighting in both Bohemia and western Germany.
1618-1619
A rebellion in Bohemia sends the Holy Roman Empire into religious and political turmoil. At the centre of events is James' son-in-law, Frederick V, elector of the Palatine.
1618-1619
With a religious and political civil war brewing in the Netherlands, James intervenes to broker a settlement.
1618-1619
Buckingham's reform team takes on their greatest challenge yet - cleaning up the navy. In doing so, Buckingham finds the identity that will define the rest of his career - Lord Admiral, the chief military office in the kingdom.
1618
Thomas Howard, the Earl of Suffolk, tries to beat Buckingham at his own game by placing a young, attractive man close to the King. Buckingham survives the attack and finally snuffs out the Howard faction. But anxieties about the nature of James' relationships with his favourites grow.
1607-1617
In the years since the Flight of the Earls, Ireland becomes a hot bed of corruption for court figures in England. This process only speeds up with the rise of George Villiers, Earl of Buckingham.
1603-1617
Despite his absence in England, James continues to pursue his project of reforming the Scottish Church. In the summer of 1617 he returns to his native land to oversee the return of bishops as important players in Scottish governance.
1617
George Villiers, now Earl of Buckingham, begins creating a political network. In exchange for royal offices, Buckingham demands marriage into the large Villiers family. However, his aggressive exploitation of both public service and the institution of marriage draws criticism.
1615-1616
23 year old George Villiers supplants the disgraced earl of Somerset as King James' favourite. However, the young man quickly proves to be far more ambitious than his backers imagined, and Villiers establishes a stranglehold on power that will last over a decade.
1615-1616
A murder scandal rocks James' inner circle, bringing down some of the most powerful people in the kingdom.
1615
In the wake of the failure of the Cockayne Project, James once again turns to his Privy Council for advice. The remedy for the kingdom's financial ills is clear - James must attack corruption and rebuild confidence in his government. To do so, the King turns to Lionel Cranfield, a merchant relentlessly devoted to efficiency.
1614-1615
After failing to secure money through parliament, James seeks to fill the state's treasury by reshaping the world of commerce. Unfortunately he finds the merchants of London just as helpful as the lawyers of parliament.
The Howard administration faces its first test - a hastily planned parliament with the goal of solving the Crown's financial woes.
1613
In need of cash, James and his new chief minister (the earl of Northampton) shop young Prince Charles around Europe. Likely princesses in Paris, Madrid, and Turin each come with the promise of significant a dowry, and political implications.
1613
The Howard faction strikes an alliance with Robert Carr, the Earl of Somerset (James' Scottish favourite). As a result, the Howard family returns to the dominant position in English politics they once held in the Tudor era.
1612
18 year old Prince Henry organizes an alliance between England and the Protestants of Germany through the marriage of his sister, Elizabeth, to Frederick V, Elector of the Palatine. As a result, England becomes involved in the convoluted politics of the Holy Roman Empire.
1611
From a cell in the Tower of London, Walter Raleigh organizes a voyage to discover El Dorado, the long lost city of gold in South America. Leading the expedition is Thomas Roe, a young man of the Virginia Company.
1611
After the failure of his Great Contract, new players emerge to challenge the Earl of Salisbury. The most threatening are the Scots who act as the King's bedchamber servants. Their control over physical access to James provides them with a very different kind of power.
Summer 1610
After several years of peace, Europe suddenly becomes a more dangerous place. Meanwhile at home, Henry the Prince of Wales comes of age, promising a more active English foreign policy in the future.
1610
James recalls parliament for one last attempt to resolve the kingdom's financial problems. The Earl of Salisbury proposes a "Great Contract" - the King will give up his revenue raising perks in exchange for an annual tax.
Two poles begin to emerge in James' "big tent" Church. First, the hard-line Calvinists (or Puritans) we encountered at the Hampton Court Conference, seeking to purify the Church of Catholic ritual. And a second group, determined to maintain the ceremonies of the Church.
Two Irish lords flee the British Isles, leaving the Crown in possession of their extensive lands.
In the wake of the prerogative debates of parliament, two lawyers (Edward Coke and Francis Bacon) offer competing visions of English law and society.
Parliament re-convenes to discuss the kingdom's finances. The Earl of Salisbury suggests a tempting bargain.
A group of English Catholics attempt to murder the political leadership of England and restore Catholicism to the kingdom.
James calls his first parliament. At the top of the agenda is the union of his English and Scottish crowns. However, the King meets some unexpected resistance.
At his palace at Hampton Court, James meets with leading members of the clergy to define his English church.
Robert Cecil and the Earl of Essex battle for supremacy in the last days of Elizabeth's reign.
A brief introduction to the goals of the podcast, and England at the beginning of the 17th century.