Short Parliament

The Short Parliament (April - May 1640) of King Charles I is so called because it lasted only three weeks.

Charles recalled Parliament in 1640, after eleven years of attempting to rule without one. He was forced to call the Short Parliament primarily to obtain money to finance his military struggle with Scotland in the Bishops' Wars. Like its predecessors, the new parliament had greater interest in redressing perceived grievances occasioned by the royal administration. Charles's attempt to cease the levying of Ship Money did not impress the Members of Parliament. Impatient with their thoroughgoing ways, Charles dissolved the body (5 May 1640) after only three weeks' sitting. It would be followed by the Long Parliament.