Grand Remonstrance facts for kids

The Grand Remonstrance was a long list of complaints. It was given to King Charles I of England by the English Parliament on December 1, 1641. This happened during a time called the Long Parliament. The Grand Remonstrance was a very important event that helped lead to the English Civil War.

Trouble Between King and Parliament

Things had been difficult between King Charles I and Parliament since 1625. That's when Charles married Henrietta Maria, who was a Roman Catholic princess from France.

In 1626, King Charles closed down Parliament. He did this to stop them from trying to remove his close friend, the Duke of Buckingham.

King Charles Needs Money

King Charles needed money to fight a war with Spain. This war was part of a bigger conflict called the Thirty Years War. Since Parliament wasn't meeting, Charles tried to get money in other ways. Some of these ways were not fully legal. He even put people in prison if they refused to pay.

Because of this, Parliament gave the King the Petition of Right in 1628. This document asked the King to follow certain laws. In response, Charles closed Parliament again. For the next eleven years, he ruled England without Parliament.

War in Scotland

By 1640, the situation was very serious. Charles had to call Parliament together again. He was facing a war in Scotland, known as the Bishops' Wars. He needed money to create a new royal army.

Parliament refused to give him money, so he closed it again in May. He still tried to send an army. But without enough money, the English army was not ready. Scottish supporters easily defeated it.

Now, Charles needed money to pay the Scots. A group of advisors told him he had no choice. He had to call Parliament back. So, Parliament met again in November 1640.

The Grand Remonstrance Document

The idea for the Grand Remonstrance came from John Pym. He was a main leader of the group in Parliament that disagreed with the King. Other important people like George Digby and John Hampden also supported it.

What the Document Said

The Grand Remonstrance listed all of Parliament's disagreements with King Charles. It covered his foreign policy, how he handled money, his laws, and his religious decisions. There were 204 separate points of objection.

The document asked for several big changes:

• All bishops should be removed from Parliament.
• Officials working for the King should be reviewed.
• Parliament should have a say in who the King appointed to important jobs.
• The sale of land taken from Irish rebels should stop.

The document was careful not to directly blame the King. Instead, it blamed a "Roman Catholic conspiracy." It said this plot was made easier because the King was friendly with Spain and married to Henrietta Maria, who was Catholic.

The Grand Remonstrance was strongly against the Church of Rome. It supported the Puritan group within the English church. It also hinted that William Laud, whom Charles had made Archbishop of Canterbury in 1633, was part of the implied plot.

The Vote and Its Impact

On November 22, 1641, Parliament voted on the Grand Remonstrance. After a long discussion, it passed by a small number of votes: 159 for and 148 against.

This vote caused a big split in Parliament. Some members, like Hyde and Falkland, had disagreed with the King before. But after this vote, they joined the King's side.

At the same time, the vote made those who opposed the King even more determined. They worried England was moving towards Catholicism and a king with total power. Oliver Cromwell told Falkland that if the Grand Remonstrance had failed, he would have left England forever. He knew many others felt the same way.

Church Government

The Grand Remonstrance also talked about how the church should be run. It called for:

A General Synod of the most grave, pious, learned and judicious divines of this island, assisted with some from foreign parts professing the same religion with us, who may consider all things necessary for the peace and good government of the Church.

This led to the creation of the Westminster Assembly of Divines. This group met to discuss how the church should be organized.