Book contents
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Buckingham's England in crisis
- 3 The death of a Parliament
- 4 The aftermath
- 5 Government and justice
- 6 The king, his court and its enemies
- 7 Foreign policy
- 8 Decision
- 9 The anatomy of a political transition
- Bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History
- Frontmatter
- Contents
- Acknowledgements
- List of abbreviations
- 1 Introduction
- 2 Buckingham's England in crisis
- 3 The death of a Parliament
- 4 The aftermath
- 5 Government and justice
- 6 The king, his court and its enemies
- 7 Foreign policy
- 8 Decision
- 9 The anatomy of a political transition
- Bibliography
- Index
- Cambridge Studies in Early Modern British History
Summary
Protestant Europe was euphoric with joy at the victory of Breitenfeld. As Gustavus struck south through Germany during the autumn of 1631, it was clear that a revolutionary change of affairs was at hand. The following months would present Charles with the best opportunity to achieve his international goal. In early October, Elizabeth implored her brother to take advantage of this precious conjunction of circumstances:
I only beseech you to give me leave to say freely to you that if this opportunity be neglected, we may be in despair of ever recovering anything, for by treaty it will never be done, as you may easily see by the delays they have already made, and let not yourself be deceived … if they give you good words now, it will be only to gain time and keep you from assisting so that the king of Sweden may be disheartened to do anything for us … so as we shall never have anything but live to be a burden to you and a grief and affliction to ourselves and posterity …
Elizabeth and Frederick enlisted Dorchester's support, and the Secretary worked to further their interests at court. For those in England interested in the Palatine and Protestant causes, the war option appeared more attractive every day. Its advocates urged it on Charles, as Dorchester wrote, ‘diverse ways with no small earnestness’. The king was now utterly in two minds. He joyfully knighted the messenger, John Caswell, sent by Gustavus to announce his victory.
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- Information
- Charles I and the Road to Personal Rule , pp. 275 - 291Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 1989