5.3 Elizabeth - Ministers and Government Flashcards
Elizabeth’s privy council: who was Robert Dudley?
- rumoured to have been the lover of Elizabeth
- made master of the horse in 1558 (top army position)
- in 1562 he gets a seat on the privy council
- in 1564 he becomes the Earl of Leicester
- he often advocated for war and clashed with Cecil
who was the Duke of Norfolk?
- owned over 400 states, was very powerful
- controlled a lot of patronage and was able to offer seats in the house of commons
- was responsible for appointing half of Norfolk’s JPs
- he effectively ruled the north
Elizabeth’s privy council: who was William Cecil?
- in 1553 he becomes an MP and her chief minister
- he was the secretary of state from 1558
- had control over patronage from 1561
- he was ennobled in 1571 to Lord Burghley
- controlled the treasury from 1572
- often clashed with Roberty Dudley
Elizabeth’s privy council: who was Christopher Hatton?
- also and MP so another link between the Houses of Parliament and the Privy Council
- in 1587 he becomes Lord Chancellor
Elizabeth’s privy council: who was Sir Walter Raleigh?
- great naval excellence
- at court from 1581
- in 1585 he was knighted, made captain of the Queen’s bodyguard and granted vast estates
Elizabeth’s privy council: who was Sir Francis Walsingham?
- another MP, one of the greatest intellects of the time
- in 1573 he was promoted to secretary of state with special responsibility for foreign affairs
- was known as the spy master, he undermined MQS plots and rebellions and developed a whole spy network
- a very committed protestant
when did Elizabeth’s initial ministers die/leave the privy council?
- Robert Dudley: dies 1588
- William Cecil: dies 1598 but isn’t active in service in the last 10 years
- Christopher Hatton: dies 1591
- Sir Walter Raleigh: sent to the tower in 1595 after getting one of Elizabeth’s maids of honour pregnant
- Sir Francis Walsingham: dies in 1590
what were the main clashes between Elizabeth and her privy council?
- who should she marry
- more reform/less reform
- whether to help protestants abroad or not
- foreign policy in general
- what to do with MQS
when was the council divided over marriage?
- 1567: possibility of marriage to Habsburg Catholic Archduke Charles of Austria, Dudley tries to prevent it, Cecil encourages it
- 1579-81: proposed marriage to French Duke of Alencon, Dudley is again against the marriage
when was the council divided over MQS?
- 1569-70: discuss dangers of MQS as the rebellion of the northern earls took place that year
- 1586: the pushing of a death warrant for MQS
- Cecil was hugely in favour of it
- Elizabeth was very nervous about it
- in 1587 she reluctantly signs the death warrant
- the warrant is enacted without her permission by Secretary William Davison and he is sent to the tower
when was the council divided over helping foreign protestants abroad?
- specifically Scotland, France and the Netherlands
- 1578: focused on the fight in the Netherlands to get rid of Spanish rule
- the council was split, Dudley and Walsingham advocated for supporting Protestants but Cecil argued against it
- intervention occurs seven years later
who replaced Elizabeth’s ministers after they died/left and what were the issues?
- from 1588 all her leading ministers began to die
- Dudley’s stepson, Earl of Essex, Robert Devereaux
- William Cecil’s son, Robert Cecil
- they lacked skill and training in a time when foreign threat was great and strong ministers were needed
- William Cecil was in control of patronage and when the power was handed to Robert, he failed to evenly distribute it causing faction fighting
what was the general condition of Ireland under Elizabeth? (Essex rebellion background)
- under Elizabeth the Irish had become more rebellious following HVIII’s policy of plantation, causing a number of rebellions
- religious tensions also arose from the Protestant England the Catholic Ireland
what happened at the battle of yellowford? (background to Essex rebellion)
- in 1595 there was a rebellion by the Earl of Tyrone who developed Spanish links
- in 1598 a full invasion from England was sent over
- it was a disaster, Tyrone had around 6000 men and England about half this
- the English were defeated at the battle of Yellowford
- Elizabeth then sent the Earl of Essex to Ireland as Lord Lieutenant to try control the seemingly independent country following their victory
- Essex disobeyed orders, he was supposed to confront Tyrone but set up a truce and was therefore called back to England
what were the causes of the Essex Rebellion?
- Essex was unhappy that he had been withdrawn from Ireland
- he was annoyed Cecil controlled patronage and wasn’t sharing it with him
- he couldn’t get his supporters seats on the privy council
- his monopolies had been withdrawn by Elizabeth
- he was virtually bankrupt at this point
when was the Essex rebellion?
1601
what were the events of the Essex rebellion?
- he began by attempting to seize strategic London locations like Whitehall and the Tower of London
- he had some support from those who hated the Cecil family and those who wanted James VI to be named heir
- but there wasn’t a lot of popular support
- it was ultimately a complete failure and easily put down
- Essex was executed
how many parliamentary sessions did Elizabeth have?
13 sessions in a 44 year reign
what was parliaments main functions under Elizabeth
- generate extraordinary revenue
- religious legislation
- poverty legislation
- protect Elizabeth from Catholic and separatist threats
what was the composition of parliament?
- peers (nobles and bishops) sat in the House of Lords
- Elizabeth had to replace Mary’s Catholic bishops with reformist ones
- the house of commons had about 460 MPs and included represtentatives from counties
- commons was elected through nomination (via the crown or a local noble)
- a number of privy councillors were also in parliament providing a valuable link
what were clashes with parliament over marriage/succession?
1563:
- the issue of marriage and succession brought up after Elizabeth nearly dies from smallpox
- Elizabeth shuts it down quickly
1566:
- the issue of succession rises again which angers her
what was Elizabeth’s relationship with parliament regarding religion?
CLASHES
1566:
- a group of around 40 MPs nicknamed the ‘puritan choir’ who were pushing further religious reform
1571:
- MP William Strichland wanted to reform the book of common prayer to be more protestant
- the privy council removed him from the commons as Elizabeth still feels the issue is her royal prerogative
1584:
- puritan members express anger at Whitgift after he shut down prophesyings, saying he had attacked ‘Godly preachers’
1586-87:
- presbyterian MPs seek more reform of the church
- their leaders are imprisoned for breaching royal prerogative
SIDING WITH ELIZABETH
1559:
- Elizabeth’s religious settlement is passed
- settlement helped through by Cecil and Bacon
passed a series of laws protecting Elizabeth from potential threats:
- 1571: treasons laws against Catholics were tightened
- 1581 and 1584-5: they were tightened again after the assasination of William of Orange
- 1585: act for the protection of the surety of the Queen’s person
- 1593: tightened legislation against those who refused to go to church
- 1593: act against seditious sectaries, protecting against extreme puritanism
what issue was there with parliament over monopolies?
The monopolies:
- Elizabeth handed out monopolies to quickly generate revenue
- this led to reduced competition which damaged the economy
- this compromised Elizabeth’s patronage and led to factionalism
- in 1601 parliament succesfully got monopolies cancelled
how did parliament clash over MQS?
1572:
- parliament debated what to do about MQS
1586-87:
- parliament called for the execution of MQS and the Duke of Norfolk
when did parliament grant subsidies/extraordinary revenue?
- 11 out of the 13 parliaments were to grant money
- 1571: Elizabeth asked to be reimbursed after suppressing the rebellion of the northern earls
- 1589: parliament grants a double subsidy, benefitting from the fact the Armada had just been defeated
- 1593 and 1598: parliament grants a triple subsidy
- 1601: parliament grants a quadruple subsidy, showing they are very willing to raise money
overall Elizabeth’s relationship with parliament?
she had a 44 year reign so naturally there are going to be disagreements and points of contention. But overall she was good at controlling parliament and remained steadfast in her convictions.
what system of local control did Elizabeth have?
- members of the gentry headed local control, usually reporting straight to the privy council
- the scope of JPs function does increase, especially around poor laws
- they decide who deserves relief and who doesn’t
- there was an average of 50 JPs per county with a varying degree of effectiveness
what issues with local control were there?
- the rebellion of the northern earls (1569) demonstrated poor local control in the north with rebels holding Catholic mass in Durham cathedral
- 800 executions followed this rebellion
- after this Elizabeth reinstates the council of the north and puts a puritan in charge
who were Lord Lieutenants?
- under Elizabeth appointed permanently in almost every county
- usually from very distinguished families
- they raised troops and supervised the work of JPs
- in the 1560s the position of deputy lord lieutenant was made suggesting a growth in their importance and size
how successful was local control over all?
- there was only one popular rebellion (northern earls in 1569) in a 44 year reign
- there were however more issues regarding inflation, harvest failures, population growth, disease etc.
- there was some food rioting in the 1590s but it did no constitute rebellion
