The Short Parliament, so called because it only sat from 13 April to 5 May 1640, was the first called by King Charles I in 11 years. Having determined to rule without Parliament after a series of disputes in the 1620s, Charles was now faced with the consequences of war against the Covenanters in Scotland: the First Bishops' War had been fought the previous year, and the Scots were already preparing for a Second Bishops' War. Advised by Lord Thomas Wentworth, recently created Earl of Strafford, Charles saw Parliament as his only hope to raise funds. However, as soon as the parliamentary session opened, MPs including John Pym and John Hampden proved resistant to the King's plans, and after barely three weeks, he dissolved it again.
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