ON THIS DAY

March 2, 1629:

English King Charles (1625-1649) I dissolved Parliament against opposition, imprisoning 9 members of parliament.

After his accession in 1625, Charles quarreled with the English Parliament, which sought to curb his royal prerogative. He believed in the divine right of kings and was determined to govern according to his own conscience. Many of his subjects opposed his policies, in particular the levying of taxes without Parliamentary consent, and perceived his actions as those of a tyrannical absolute monarch. His religious policies, coupled with his marriage to a Roman Catholic, generated mistrust.

When Charles ordered a parliamentary adjournment on 2 March, members held the Speaker, Sir John Finch, down in his chair so that the session could be prolonged long enough for resolutions against Catholicism, Arminianism, and tonnage and poundage to be read out and acclaimed by the chamber. Charles dissolved Parliament and had nine parliamentary leaders imprisoned over the matter, thereby turning the men into martyrs and giving popular cause to their protest.

The next 11 years, during which Charles ruled England without a Parliament, are known as the Personal Rule or the "eleven years' tyranny". Ruling without Parliament was not exceptional, and was supported by precedent. However only Parliament could legally raise taxes, and without it Charles's capacity to acquire funds for his treasury was limited.

On 20 January, 1649 Charles was charged with high treason 'against the realm of England'. Charles refused to plead, saying that he did not recognise the legality of the High Court. He was sentenced to death on 27 January. Three days later, Charles was beheaded on a scaffold outside the Banqueting House in Whitehall, London.