Elizabethan England: Elizabeth and her Court Flashcards
Who were Elizabeth’s parents?
Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn
Why did Elizabeth ascend the throne?
Her sister, Mary, had died
When did Elizabeth become Queen?
1558
Why wasn’t Elizabeth’s power secure?
- she had been declared an illegitimate child by the throne as her parents had not been officially married
- she was also Protestant in a country that had been mainly Catholic during her sister’s reign
Name the different groups in Elizabeth’s Court life
- Monarch
- Privy Council
- Parliament
- The Royal Court
- Lord Lieutenants
- Justices of Peace
Describe the role of the Justices of Peace
- large landowners
- appointed by the government
- kept law and order locally
- heard local court cases
Describe the role of the parliament
- advised Elizabeth’s government
- made up of House of Lords and the House of Commons
- HoC elected, though barely anyone was allowed to vote
- passed taxes and approved laws
Describe the role of Lord Lieutenants
- noblement
- appointed by the government
- ruled over English counties
- raised local militia
Describe the role of the court
- noblemen who acted as the monarch’s closest advisers and friends
- advised queen and helped display her wealth and power
- could also be members of the Privy Council
Describe the role of privy council
- members of the nobility who helped govern the country
- monitored parliament and Justices of Peace
- oversaw law and order + national security
- many were lizzy’s close advisers
Who was the Privy Council led by?
The Secretary of State
What were progresses?
Tours that Elizabeth would take, visiting the homes of the nobility
Why were progresses beneficial?
- helped build better relations with the nobility
- allowed her to live in luxury at the expense of her subjects
- removed the court from the palace at times that the Plague was rife, so that it could be fumigated
Define patronage
Involved handing out titles, offices or monopolies, which gave men a source of income
Why was having a patronage beneficial to Elizabeth?
- made everyone loyal to lizzy
- ensured that she remained in the middle of the whole political system
What were Elizabeth’s initial problems?
- legitimacy
- gender and marriage
- taxation
- foreign policy
- Mary, Queen of Scots
- Ireland
- succession
How was legitimacy a problem for Elizabeth?
- the Act of Succession declared her an illegitimate child
- Many Catholics didn’t accept Henry VIII’s remarriage to Anne Boleyn
How was sucession a problem for Elizabeth?
- last living child of Henry VIII
- no children of her own –> unclear who would succeed the throne after her
- when she was a child, she almost died of smallpox, which drew uncertanity to England’s future
How was gender and marriage a problem for Elizabeth?
- women were not considered fit to rule a country
- Elizabeth’s sister Mary was hated by many due to burning people at stake, leaving England in debt, marrying the King of Spain and losing Calais
- so many felt they didn’t want another queen in charge
How was taxation a problem for Elizabeth?
- country was short of money and lizzy needed to raise the taxes
- poverty was widespread, so this would be an unpopular decision
How was foreign policy a problem for Elizabeth?
- Catholic countries wanted control over England + were backed by the pope
- so invasion was very likely
Why was Mary, Queen of Scots a problem for Elizabeth?
- next in line to the throne would be Mary, Queen of Scots
- as lizzy didn’t have an heir
- many Catholics also saw Mary as lizzy’s alternative
Why was Ireland a problem for Elizabeth?
- lizzy considered herself Queen of Ireland
- Ireland did not
- they revolted
Who were Elizabeth’s key advisors?
- Francis Walsingham
- William Cecil
- Robert Dudley
- Christopher Hatton
Who was William Cecil?
- Lizzy’s longest serving minister
- became secretary of state in 1571
- acted as lord treasurer so was responsible for government’s money
- most trusted adviser
- key role in developing poor laws and religious policies
- protestant
Who was Robert Dudley?
- earl of Leicster
- childhood friend + Lizzy fav
- many rumours abt a romance between the two
- personally responsible for her safety
- Puritan
- Privy council member
Who was Francis Walsingham?
- Secretary of State
- ran a network of spies and uncovered lots of plots against lizy
Who was Christopher Hatton?
- helped organise Elizabeth’s progresses
- lord chancellor in 1587
- used to be a court dancer
Why was the Parliament important?
- monarch couldn’t raise taxes without parliament’s support
- taxes + legislations had more authority once approved by the parliament
- could act as a pressure group
- could be used to criticise the Queen and her court
What were the limits on Parliament’s power?
- rarely called, only called around 13 times during Elizabeth’s reign
- couldn’t actually discuss matters the Queen didn’t like for the fear of being shunned by her
What issues were discussed by the parliament?
- parliamentary rights
- taxes or subsidies
- religion and the church of England
- the poor
- succession
What were the arguments for marriage?
- would create an alliance with a foreign country or win the support of a powerful English family
- could then produce an heir + continue the Tudor line
- marriage and children would prevent Mary, QoS from ruling after Elizabeth’s death
What were the arguments against marriage?
- marrying a foreign prince means England could fall into their control
- Marrying an Englishman could cause controls with authority
- marriage at the time meant that the husband had control and legal authority over his wife, which meant lizzy would have to answer to her hubby
- giving birth was often risky for the mother and often resulted in death
- sisters marriage was disasterous
Who were Elizabeth’s suitors?
- Robert Dudley
- Francis, Duke of Anjou and Alencon
- King Phillip II of Spain
How did Parliament get involved with Elizabeth’s marriage?
- saw it as their duty to find her a match
- as they became increasingly concerned with the lack of heir
Who was the politician who argued against the ban on discussing Elizabeth’s marriage?
Peter Wentworth
What happened to Peter Wentworth?
Rest of Parliament arrested him in the Tower of London for fear of losing favour
