chapter 1: elizabeth’s court and parliament Flashcards
who were elizabeth’s parents?
henry VIII and anne boleyn
who had power in elizabethan england?
- parliament
- privy council
- lord lieutenants
- justices of the peace
what was parliament made up of in elizabethan england?
lords, bishops and nobility, common people (house of commons)
what was the role of parliament in elizabethan england?
had influence over tax and were responsible for passing laws - queen decided when to call them in and how much she listened to them
what was the role of the privy council in elizabethan england?
had responsibility for the day to day running of the country, elizabeth’s main advisors
dealt with:
- military or foreign affairs
- religion
- queens security
were rarely called in but elizabeth couldn’t really refuse them
what was the role of the lord lieutenants in elizabethan england?
took administrative responsibility for particular areas of the country
- settled disputes
- collected taxes
- responsible for gathering a militia to fight if the queen needed them
what was the role of justices of the peace in elizabethan england?
- ensured order was kept
- made sure laws were enforced properly
why was it difficult for elizabeth to be a female ruler?
- people thought females were weaker
- succession
- religion
- mary queen of scot’s
- ireland
- taxation
- foreign policy
why was succession a problem for elizabeth as a ruler?
both elizabeth’s siblings had died childless and elizabeth did not yet have an heir - this scared people as elizabeth faced a near death experience and there was no monarch to take over
why was religion a problem for elizabeth as a ruler?
- elizabeth was a protestant and so after mary turned the country catholic, elizabeth had to decide what to do - she brought back protestantism and still allowed catholics to follow their faith privately however many catholics were still unhappy
- puritanism was becoming more popular
why was mary queen of scots a problem for elizabeth as a ruler?
- mary was next in line to the throne and after she was exiled from scotland to england in 1561, she became more of a threat to elizabeth’s throne as catholics now had an alternative queen to fight for
- she was married to a french man and involved in her ex husbands murder so could cause problems for mary
why was ireland a problem for elizabeth as a ruler?
although elizabeth was considered to be queen of ireland, many irish disagreed causing a major revolt - elizabeth spent thousands of pounds and soldiers to try and limit the rebellion - it didn’t work
why was taxation a problem for elizabeth as a ruler?
the government needed money and one way to get it was through taxes, however the country was very poor and so taxes would be very unpopular which was dangerous for a new monarch
why was foreign policy a problem for elizabeth as a ruler?
- elizabeth had to deal with powerful countries that wanted influence over england
- france and spain (catholic and had support of the pope) saw england as a target
why was elizabeth marrying so important?
if elizabeth were to die while still single, there would be no one to take over the throne
