Great Contract

England, [1610]

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June 29, 2026

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The Great Contract was a proposal in 1610 between King James I of England and his Parliament. The plan aimed to reform the royal finances by exchanging the king's feudal revenues for a fixed annual sum from Parliament. This was an attempt to address the Crown's significant debt, which had nearly doubled during James I's reign due to prolonged peace and extravagant spending.1

The negotiations were led by Robert Cecil, the Earl of Salisbury, James I's chief minister. However, the Great Contract ultimately failed because Parliament refused to grant the necessary funds, and James I's actions, such as imposing new customs duties without parliamentary consent, further strained relations. The failure of this contract marked a turning point, leading to increased conflict between the Crown and Parliament and contributing to the financial issues that would plague his successor, Charles I.1

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United Kingdom
Finance and politics
…1610 negotiations began for the Great Contract between the king and his taxpaying subjects that aimed to raise £200,000 a year. But at the last moment both royal officials and leaders of the House of Commons backed away from the deal, the government believing that the sum was too low…
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…1610 negotiations began for the Great Contract between the king and his taxpaying subjects that aimed to raise £200,000 a year. But at the last moment both royal officials and leaders of the House of Commons backed away from the deal, the government believing that the sum was too low…
Read More

Robert Cecil, 1st earl of Salisbury
…him to accept his proposal—the Great Contract of 1610—that the House of Commons grant the crown a fixed yearly sum in return for the abolition of certain feudal dues. The deterioration that took place in James’s rule after Cecil’s death was presaged as early as 1611, when the incompetent Robert…
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…him to accept his proposal—the Great Contract of 1610—that the House of Commons grant the crown a fixed yearly sum in return for the abolition of certain feudal dues. The deterioration that took place in James’s rule after Cecil’s death was presaged as early as 1611, when the incompetent Robert…
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James I
Failure of the Great Contract and the rising power of Parliament
…the negotiations over this so-called Great Contract came to nothing. James dissolved Parliament in 1611.
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…the negotiations over this so-called Great Contract came to nothing. James dissolved Parliament in 1611.
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