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Elizabeth > Court and Parliament > Flashcards

Court and Parliament Flashcards

1
Q

who were Liz’s parents?

A

she was HVIII’s second child, daughter of Anne Boleyn

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2
Q

why did no one expect Liz to become queen?

A

she was 3rd in line for the throne, behind Edward VI and Mary I

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3
Q

what was Liz accused of in 1554 and what happened?

A

accused of conspiring against her half-sister Queen Mary I and was placed under house arrest for almost a year

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4
Q

what was Liz’s character like?

A
  • very cautious; only trusted a few close advisors
  • indecisive; reluctant to make decisions without carefully considering the possible consequences
  • intelligent, well-educated and confident, though she had little training in how to govern
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5
Q

why was gender an issue for Liz in becoming queen?

A
  • most people believed the monarch should be a man and though that rule by a woman was unnatural
  • they expected her to act like a figurehead, without any real power, and let her male counsellors take control or find a husband to govern for her; but Liz was determined to rule in her own right and refused to let her councillors take over
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6
Q

what were 2 issues for Liz in becoming queen?

A

gender & illegitimacy

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7
Q

why was illegitimacy an issue for Liz in becoming queen?

A
  • 1533 HVIII divorced Catherine of Aragon to marry Anne Boleyn, however divorce was forbidden in the Catholic Church so many believed HVIII’s marriage to Anne was not valid and so Liz was illegitimate
  • this weakened her claim to the throne and some people thought MQoS had more right to rule
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8
Q

what was the Royal Court?

A

a large group of people who surrounded the monarch at all times and travelled with her when she moved between places and when great processions were held

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9
Q

who attended the Royal Court?

A
  • personal servants
  • the privy council
  • nobility
  • ambassadors
  • foreign visitors
  • liz’s ‘favourites’
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10
Q

who was Robert Dudley?

A
  • one of liz’s favourites
  • became close to him very early in her reign and may have considered marrying him
  • 1564 made him Earl of Leicester
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11
Q

who was Christopher Hatton?

A
  • one of liz’s favourites
  • 1587 made him Lord Chancellor even though he had little relevant experience
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12
Q

who was Walter Raliegh?

A
  • one of liz’s favourites
  • came to court in 1581
  • gave him many valuable gifts and the right to colonise the New World
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13
Q

who were 3 of liz’s favourites?

A

Dudley, Hatton and Raleigh

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14
Q

what were some courtly pastimes?

A
  • watching plays or concerts
  • sports like hunting, jousting, or tennis
  • events like grand balls and meals
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15
Q

what did courtiers do?

A
  • were expected to flatter Liz and showered her with gifts (some pretended to be in love with her)
  • they competed with one another for Liz’s attention and favour, but towards the end of her reign, she began to lose control of this competition which led to growing conflict at court
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16
Q

what were progresses?

A

when the royal court followed Liz when travelling around the country visiting the houses of wealthy noblemen

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17
Q

what was the function of the royal court?

A
  • Liz = centre of gvt, so political power revolved around her
  • those closes to Liz had the greatest influence and power
  • centre of political life
  • people didn’t necessarily hold gvt positions, but became powerful by their close relationship with Liz
  • entertainments and fashionable clothes on show at court allowed Liz to impress her subjects and foreign visitors by displaying her wealth and power
  • let her keep informed about different areas of the country
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18
Q

what was patronage?

A

handing out titles, offices or monopolies to people who were in favour

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19
Q

how was patronage useful to liz, in running the country?

A
  • helped ensure loyalty; those receiving patronage are now dependent on Liz for some or all of their income and status
  • helped ensure political stability; distributed patronage widely and all members of elite feel they have a chance to be rewarded by Liz so were less likely to rebel
  • protected the economy; allowed Liz to reward her courtiers without spending royal revenues especially as the economy was weak during her reign so income was limited
  • limited the power of traditional noble families; used to be dominated by noble families whose power came from owning large amounts of land that they inherited but by promoting men who relied on her for wealth and influence, she made the new elite loyal to her
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20
Q

what were the 2 main roles of the privy council?

A
  • gave advice to Liz
  • managed the administration of gvt
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21
Q

how did liz treat advice given to her by the privy council?

A
  • she didn’t have to follow their advice
  • councillors expected to carry out her instructions, even if it went against their own advice
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22
Q

how did the privy council manage the administration of gvt?

A
  • made sure that Liz’s policies were enforced
  • oversaw many different areas of gvt, e.g. religion, the economy, the military, foreign policy, Liz’s security
  • managed relations between Liz and parliament effectively
  • some members sat in Parliament and acted as royal spokesmen to help steer debates in favour of royal policies
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23
Q

who was the privy council made up of?

A

made up of ~20 men, chosen by Liz

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24
Q

who were liz’s most trusted advisors?

A
  • robert dudley
  • Nicholas Bacon
  • William Cecil
  • Francis Walsingham
25
Q

who was William Cecil?

A
  • Liz’s closest advisor
  • highly skilled politician and administrator - good at convincing MPs to support Liz’s policies
  • led the Privy Council and made sure gvt ran smoothly
26
Q

what was parliament made up of?

A

the house of lords and the house of commons

27
Q

who belonged to the house of lords?

A
  • not elected
  • comprised of nobility and senior churchmen
28
Q

who belonged to the house of commons?

A
  • elected
  • only men who owned property over a certain value allowed to vote
29
Q

what were elections like?

A

elections not free; the Crown controlled who got elected in some areas, and in other powerful local figures controlled who was chosen

30
Q

what were the 3 main functions of parliament?

A
  • advice
  • taxation
  • legislation
31
Q

was parliament’s advice useful?

A
  • important point of contact between central gvt and the leading figures in local gvt throughout England
  • enabled Liz and her councillors to gauge the mood of the country and levels of support for their policies
  • but she generally took little interest in their advice
32
Q

how were parliament important in taxation?

A
  • had to ask parliament’s permission to raise taxes for extra revenue
  • occasionally tried to force Liz to change jer mind by threatening to refuse taxation - Liz never gave in to this type of parliamentary pressure
33
Q

how was parliament important in passing legislation?

A
  • needed Parliament’s approval to pass new laws
  • could bypass this by using royal proclamations instead
34
Q

what were topics of debate in parliament?

A
  • not free to decide what topics they debated
  • had to have Liz’s permission to discuss matters of state (religion, the succession, foreign policy) as DRoK gave Liz a royal prerogative
  • most parliamentary business focused on local matters and social or economic issues, which it could discuss without royal permission
  • MPs concerned about the succession - repeatedly tried to persuade her to marry or name an heir
  • some puritan MPs challenged the religious settlement to try to make england more protestant
  • MPs worried about threat from MQ0S and the Catholic plots surrounding her so tried to convince Liz to take action
35
Q

what was the Speaker in parliament?

A
  • kept order in House of commons
  • chosen by Liz and carefully watched by Privy Council
  • helped Liz’s councillors control parliament and convince MPs to support royal policy
36
Q

how did Liz keep control over parliament?

A
  • she summoned and dismissed them
  • disliked working with them and used them as little as possible; only called 13 sessions out of her 44 year reign
  • liz was a strong public speaker and made a number of powerful speeches in parliament which helped persuade MPs to obey her wishes
37
Q

how many sessions did Liz call in parliament?

A

13

38
Q

why was marriage such an issue for Liz?

A
  • people believed women couldn’t rule effectively so there was pressure for Liz to find a husband who could rule for her
  • concerns about the succession
39
Q

what was concerning about Liz’s succession?

A
  • if Liz died without an heir there was a risk of civil war with different groups competing for the throne
  • to prevent this, Liz was expected to marry and produce and heir as quickly as possible
  • Privy council and parliament deeply concerned about succession & repeatedly asked her to marry or name an heir but she always refused (1563 asked Liz to find a husband, she refused to even discuss it)
40
Q

what were the 2 main issues that Liz had with marriage?

A
  • power and control; women expected to obey their husbands so she would lose power and freedom
  • who would she marry?
41
Q

what were the 2 types of people Liz could have married?

A
  • european prince or king
  • english nobility
42
Q

what was the issue with marrying a european prince or king?

A
  • could give a foreign country too much influence over england
  • e.g. Mary I’s marriage to KPII forced England to become involved in an expensive war with France
43
Q

what was the issue with marrying a member of the english nobility?

A

create anger and resentment among those who weren’t chosen

44
Q

why was religion an issue for Liz in trying to find someone to marry?

A
  • england was protestant so it was difficult for her to marry a Catholic
  • growing anti-Catholic feeling in England would have made a Catholic husband unpopular and could have undermined support for her rule
45
Q

who were some of Liz’s suitors?

A
  • early in her reign, she received and rejected proposals from foreign rulers
  • may have been in love with her ‘favourite’ Robert Dudley
  • courted by Duke Francis of Anjou
46
Q

which foreign rulers did Liz receive and reject proposals from?

A
  • King Philip II of Spain
  • Archduke Charles of Austria
  • King Eric of Sweden (seriously considered his proposal)
47
Q

why didn’t Liz marry Dudley?

A
  • seriously considered marrying him
  • members of the Privy Council and nobility, including Cecil, strongly opposed this match so it did not go ahead
48
Q

who was Duke Francis of Anjou?

A

brother of the king of France

49
Q

why didn’t Liz marry Duke Francis of Anjou?

A
  • some support for the match
  • strong opposition to the idea of Liz marrying a French Catholic
  • marriage negotiations abandoned
50
Q

how had the issue of marriage changed by the late 1570s?

A
  • she was in her mid-forties and it was clear she would never have children
  • issue of succession still needed to be resolved but she refused to name a successor
  • was concerned that a successor might become the focus of plots to overthrow her
51
Q

how did the issue of succession change by the end of Liz’s reign?

A

advisors began secret negotiations to make James VI of Scotland (MQoS’ son) heir to the throne

52
Q

who was Robert Devereux?

A
  • the Earl of Essex
  • 1593, Liz made him a member of the Privy Council
  • stepson of Liz’s earlier ‘favourite’ Robert Dudley
  • came to court in 1584 and quickly became a ‘favourite’ himself
  • extremely ambitious for military success
  • could be arrogant and disrespectful, even to Liz
53
Q

why did court begin to split up in the 1590s?

A
  • several of Liz’s key ministers (incl. Christopher Hatton and Francis Walsingham) died around this time
  • William Cecil was succeeded by his son, Robert Cecil, whilst Robert Devereux became a member of the Privy Council
  • Essex’s rise led to growth of 2 conflicting groups at court - one around Essex, and one around William and Robert Cecil
  • the 2 groups competed constantly for royal patronage and influence, disagreed over important matters (esp. strategy in war with spain)
54
Q

how did the splitting up of court in the 1590s affect Liz’s ability to rule?

A
  • her inability to control this conflict undermined her authority
  • this conflict also made the gvt less effective as the constant competition and in-fighting between groups made it more difficult to make decisions and get things done
55
Q

why did the Essex Rebellion occur?

A
  • 1599 Liz sent Essex to Ireland, at the head of a huge army, to crush Tyrone’s Rebellion (the Nine Years’ War), which had started in 1594
  • he made limited attempts to fight the rebels, but when these were unsuccessful he made a truce, then abandoned his post and returned to England without Liz’s permission
  • as punishment, was put under house arrest, banished from court and took away most of his public offices
  • nov 1600 she also took away his main source of income (a monopoly on the distribution of sweet wines)
  • the loss of political power and income drove Essex to revolt
56
Q

what happened during the essex rebellion?

A
  • 8th February 1601 Essex launched rebellion in London
  • aimed to seize Liz and force her to replace her closest advisors, especially Cecil, with him and his followers
  • failed within a few hours as he received no support from ordinary Londoners & most of his own supporters quickly abandoned him
  • arrested, tried for treason, executed 25th February 1601
57
Q

who were essex’s supporters during the rebellion?

A

in the later years, Liz rarely appointed new men to the Privy Council which created resentment among some courtiers who became frustrated at Liz’s refusal to promote them to gvt posts

58
Q

what was the effect of the essex rebellion?

A
  • lack of popular support shows it wasn’t a serious threat to her rule as Liz was still a popular and respected queen & there was no desire to overthrow her or her gvt
  • the existence of the rebellion does suggest that her authority over court had weakened as she wasn’t using patronage as effectively as she had in the past & she allowed the Cecils to become too powerful and failed to promote many others which led to a build-up of anger and resentment which risked fuelling challenges to her authority

Elizabeth (6 decks)

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