John Eliot was born in
Cornwall in 1592. He was elected to the House
of Commons in 1614 and was knighted in 1618. The following year
he was appointed vice-admiral of Devon.
When Charles
I came to the
throne King Louis
XIII was involved in a civil war against the Protestants (Huguenots)
in France. Parliament wanted to help the Huguenots but Charles refused
as he did not want to upset his wife or brother-in-law. Eventually
it was agreed to send a fleet of eight ships to France. However, at
the last moment Charles sent orders that the men should fight for,
rather than against, Louis XIII. The captains
and crews refused to accept these orders
and fought against the French.
Parliament was very angry
with Charles for supporting Louis XIII. When he asked for taxes of
£1,000,000 they only gave him £150,000. They also asked
Charles to sack his chief minister, George
Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, as they thought he was guilty of
giving the king bad advice. Charles refused and instead dissolved
Parliament. Sir John Eliot, who had led the attacks on the king was
imprisoned.
On his release Eliot led
the opposition to Charles
I. He was particularly
critical of the king's arbitrary government and the collection of
taxes with the agreement of Parliament. In 1629 Eliot was imprisoned
and fined £2,000.
Sir John Eliot remained
in the Tower of London until his death
in 1632.
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