Elizabeth - Finance and Economics

Question 1

Who was William Paulet?

Answer 1

Marquis of Winchester; Lord Treasurer until 1572

Question 2

Who was William Cecil?

Answer 2

Secretary of State; Lord Treasurer from 1572

Question 3

Who was Sir Thomas Gresham?

Answer 3

Founded the Royal Exchange (equivalent to Antwerp) in 1565; a key financial advisor to Elizabeth

Question 4

Who was Sir Walter Mildway?

Answer 4

Chancellor of the Exchequer and announced in 1576 that Elizabeth had delivered the kingdom from debt

Question 5

When and what was the Act for Maintaining Tillage?

Answer 5

1563- land which had been under tillage for 4 years since 1528 could not be converted to pasture

Question 6

When and what was the Statue of Artificers?

Answer 6

1563- all unemployed people to seek work and fixed a maximum wage – increased poverty for those with work

Question 7

When and what was the Vagabonds Act?

Answer 7

1572- serve penalties against vagrants. JPs to keep a register of the poor in their parish and raise poor rate to provide shelter for the elderly and
the sick

Question 8

When and what was the Act for the Relief of the Poor?

Answer 8

1576- The able-bodied poor were to be directed by JPs to find work. Those that refused were sent to a house of correction

Question 9

What two things happen in 1885?

Answer 9

War with Spain begins, Elizabeth has paid off Mary’s debt and has £300,000 in the reserve

Question 10

What were the protests in parliament about in 1589?

Answer 10

Purveyance

Question 11

When and what was the Statute Regarding the Export of Corn?

Answer 11

1592-3 - banned the export of corn unless the home prices was below twenty shillings a quarter

Question 12

What were the protests in parliament about in 1597?

Answer 12

Monopolies

Question 13

What was the Act for the Relief of the Poor?

Answer 13

1598 - Overseers appointed to supervise the admin of the poor relief; secure apprenticeships for children, provide employment or materials for adults, build hospitals for the old and sick. Compulsory poor rate from the inhabitants of each parish.

Question 14

What was the Act for the Punishment of Rogues?

Answer 14

1598 - JPs to establish houses of correction rogues and vagabonds. Rogues were to be whipped

Question 15

What does Statute against the Conversions to Pasture mean?

Answer 15

stop further enclosure

Question 16

When was the golden speech?

Answer 16

1601

Question 17

What does ordinary income mean?

Answer 17

The crown’s regular and personal sources of income, which were paid directly into the Exchequer.

Question 18

What is extraordinary income mean?

Answer 18

Occasional sums of money, to cover unexpected and expensive things such as warfare. It had to be granted by Parliament and usually came in
the form of taxation.

Question 19

What is Tenths and Fifteenths?

Answer 19

A basic parliamentary tax. It was, theoretically, a tenth of the value of moveable goods in urban areas and a fifteenth in rural areas.

Question 20

What is Exchequer?

Answer 20

Royal treasury; collected revenue and made payments; income came mainly from lands, import duties and any taxation granted by Parliament

Question 21

What is Debasement?

Answer 21

The act of adding non-precious metals (such as lead) to the coinage of the land. This increased the spending power of the monarch, but led to inflation.

Question 22

What are Monopolies?

Answer 22

This was “royal patent for the sole right of exporting, importing, manufacturing, or distributing some particular article”; (S Atkins). Monopolists could thus set their own prices, and were often very unpopular as a result – in 1601 one MP famously called them “the bloodsuckers of thecommonweal”.

Question 23

What were Wardships?

Answer 23

Principle landowners were technically tenants in chief of Crown, who held their land in return for military service. Underage heirs could not do this military service, so the land was held under royal ward. This wardship could be sold, or exploited for profit. As such, they were a useful additional to the Crown’s ordinary revenue.

Question 24

What does Purveyance mean?

Answer 24

This was the right of the Court to buy commodities at a price they themselves set. It was meant to be used only in extraordinary times, such as war.

Question 25

What does Custom Duties mean?

Answer 25

These were taxes on imports - Book of Rates. The most important was the Tonnage and Poundage duties. At the start of each reign, Parliament voted the profits from these to the monarch. They were an essential part of Elizabeth’s ordinary revenues.

Question 26

What is a Subsidy?

Answer 26

A parliamentary tax on land and goods. It was based on an individual’s ability to pay.

Question 27

What financial difficulties did she face in the early years of her reign?

Answer 27

Marain debt
Debassement
Reforming sources of income

Question 28

Which financial policies did the queen pursue between 1558 and 1585?

Answer 28

Expenditure did not exceed income
Selling crown lands
Joint Stock Trading Companies

Question 29

What events after 1585 threatened Elizabeth’s financial stability?

Answer 29

Outbreak of war with Spain

The intervention in Ireland

Question 30

Which strategies did Elizabeth resort to in the 1590s?

Answer 30

Elizabeth relied increasingly on parliamentary taxation. She also used purveyance and monopolies which were increasingly unpopular. In the last parliaments attacks on Elizabeth for granting monopolies were ferocious, causing her to back down and investigate.

Question 31

What criticisms are there of her financial policy?

Answer 31

 Failing to undertake any reforms or initiatives that might put the crown’s finances on a more secure, long-term footing.
 Ordinary revenue was allowed to stagnate
 Parliamentary taxation was not reformed
 Cecil was too conservative as Lord Treasurer from 1572
 Financing war with Spain
 The use of unpaid official’s reduced their efficiency

Question 32

What impact was there on the population?

Answer 32

The impact of inflation and population growth was huge on the less well-off classes. Governments feared the possibility of uprisings and also began to believe they had some moral responsibility for the poorest people. Where monasteries had once ministered to the poor,
now non-religious authorities had to take over and local landowners were expected to make contributions for the relief of the poor. By the end of the reign the problem was reduced, helped by the easing of the rate of inflation and better harvests.