Parliaments, Politics and Elections, 1604-1648

This volume reproduces a wide range of parliamentary documents from the seventeenth century. It presents Parliament as an institutional event which generated great interest within both the gates of the Palace of Westminster and in the country at large. The volume includes the unpublished notes and diaries of the 1604-10 Parliament by Sir Edward Montagu, Sir Robert Cotton and Sir George Manners and Committee lists highlight the apathetic attitude of MPs and the chaotic nature of the nascent bureacracy. The translation of two letters from the Spanish Ambassador, Gondomar, to the Infanta details the personal nature of James I’s kingship and reveals much about his attitude to Parliament and why the 1621 Parliament ended in acrimony. Finally, the inclusion of 117 letters sent to Hull by its MPs between 1644 and 1648 illustrate a fascinating interaction between centre and locality and highlights the localist nature of Hull politics.