Urban Government and the Early Stuart State: Provincial Towns, Corporate Liberties, and Royal Authority in England, 1603-1640

This book investigates relations between centre and localities in seventeenth century England by looking at early Stuart government through the lens of provincial towns. Focusing particularly on incorporated boroughs, it emphasises the distinctive circumstances that shaped governance in provincial towns and the ways towns contributed to the state. Royal charters of incorporation legally defined patterns of self-government and local liberties in corporate boroughs, but they also created a powerful bond to the crown. The book argues that a dynamic tension between local autonomy and connection to the centre drove relations between towns and the crown in this period, as borough governments actively sought strong ties with central authority while also attempting to preserve their chartered liberties. It also argues that the 1620s and 1630s ushered in new patterns in the crown’s relations with incorporated boroughs, as Charles I’s regime hardened policies towards urban localities. Based on extensive original research in both central government records and the archives of a wide range of provincial towns, the book covers critical aspects of interaction between towns and the crown, including incorporation and charters, governance and political order, social regulation, trade, financial and military exactions, and religion.