Elizabethan government

Question 1

When did Elizabeth become queen and when did she appoint William Cecil as her Secretary of State?

Answer 1

November 1558

Question 2

What was Elizabeth’s relationship with her Privy Council like? How often did they meet?

Answer 2

Elizabeth chose her councillors from a small group of men and summoned a dozen or so at any one time. She did not attend their meetings regularly but received reports afterwards. She was not bound to accept their advice, but rarely disregarded it completely. The Council met regularly, twice a week at the start of the reign and daily in times of crises.

Question 3

What role did the court play in Elizabeth’s decision making?

What proportion of nobility attended court during her reign?

Answer 3

She was open to influence from courtiers. Those at court had the advantage of daily access to the queen and could try to influence her.

Aroun two thirds of the nobility attended court at some time.

Question 4

Name 3 influential courtiers

Answer 4

• Robert Dudley was initially just a courtier and source of advice for Elizabeth, until he was put on the Privy Council in 1562
• The Earl of Sussex was very involved in marriage negotiations of 1564-66 but only joined the Council after defeating the Northern rebellion in 1569
• Sir Walter Raleigh was an influential courtier in the latter part of Elizabeth’s reign

Question 5

Describe the structure of local government under Elizabeth

Answer 5

• Outlying areas were brought under royal authority through the Council of Wales and the Council of the North
• Each county was headed by a Lord Lieutenant, with Deputy Lieutenants - this was a military role, involving the supervision of the militia. From the 1580s, Lord Lieutenants were appointed for life and their duties increased.
• Each county had a sheriff, whose job was largely legal (eg. empanelling juries)
• Justices of the Peace (30 to 60 per county) were chosen by a Royal Commission of the Peace and maintained order by presiding over the Quarter Sessions, with the ability to arrest, search and imprison offenders. They were also made responsible for collecting poor rates and highways. JPs provided the Privy Council with information and worked with Parish Constables (largely elderly and ineffective), Deputy Constables and Overseers.

Question 6

True or false: local law enforcement was largely flawed.

What did JPs begin to complain about by the end of Elizabeth’s reign?

Answer 6

True, it was unrealistic and relied heavily on the co-operation of the local magnates.

JPs began to complain that they were over-burdened (it was an unpaid role)

Question 7

Which 3 types of men sat on Elizabeth’s Privy Council?

Answer 7

Members of the nobility (deemed to be natural advisors to the monarch), those who had experience under her predecessors and men who had not served on the Council before but were deemed suitable by Elizabeth.

Question 8

Who, from Mary’s council, did Elizabeth appoint to her own?

Answer 8

• Seven noble peers (ensured the loyalty of the areas where they owned estates)
• Commoners & men of experience eg.
  
  • Sir Thomas Cheney, Treasurer of the Household
  • Sir WIlliam Petre, a career civil servant

Question 9

How many new members of the Council were there? Why were they appointed?

Answer 9

Nine new members (inc. Sir William Parr, Sir William Cecil, Sir Nicholas Bacon, Sir Francis Cave, Sir Thomas Parry, Sir Ambrose Cave)

These were men who had stayed loyal to Elizabeth throughout her life. They attended Council most often as the nobles were often away keeping order on their estates.

Question 10

In the autumn of 1559, the Spanish ambassador believed that Elizabeth governed England with which 4 men?

Answer 10

Cecil, Dudley (not yet on the Council), Bacon and Parry

Question 11

When did Elizabeth become ill and when was Robert Dudley appointed as a Privy Councillor?

Answer 11

October 1562

Question 12

How did membership of the Council change up to 1588?

Answer 12

• In 1562, Dudley and Thomas Howard were added (the former, Protestant, the latter with Catholic connections - Elizabeth wanted representation)
• By 1586, the nobles that served were close allies of the queen and only the Earl of Derby served due to territorial power
• The inter-relatedness of the Council became more marked with brothers and brothers-in-law sitting on it (narrow and less representative)

Question 13

Between 1559 and 1560, what was the main issue of discussion on the Council?

Answer 13

Intervention in Scotland.

Cecil was in favour but had to convince the other Councillors that having French troops north of the border was undesirable.

Question 14

What were the main topics of discussion on the Privy Council in the 1560s (3)?

Answer 14

• 1562: matter of succession due to Elizabeth contracting smallpox but they didn’t come to a conclusion
• In 1566: the possibility of marriage was discussed. Dudley and Sir Francis Knollys led the opposition to the match with Archduke Charles (to the annoyance of the Earl of Sussex)
• In 1568: when Mary Queen of Scots arrived in England, the Council was adamant that there was no possibility that Elizabeth would restore her or let her leave England without trial. Elizabeth agreed with them and attended some meetings.

Question 15

Who was Amy Robsart and why did her death in September 1560 arouse suspicion?

Answer 15

She was Robert Dudley (later the Earl of Leicester)’s first wife, who died in suspicious circumstances, causing a scandal and making it impossible for Elizabeth to marry Dudley.

Question 16

In which parliaments was there a significant amount of trouble over the insistence that the queen had to get married?

Answer 16

February 1563

November 1566

Question 17

When was Robert Dudley made Earl of Leicester?

Answer 17

September 1564

Question 18

What were the main issues of contention on the Privy Council in the 1580s (5)?

Answer 18

• In 1572: met to discuss the Massacre of St Bartholomew. Increased guards around MQS.
• In 1573: Sir Francis Walshingham became a member of the Council and during the 70s, the council were largely unified due to general support for Protestantism - tended just to disagree with the Queen.
• In 1579: Debate about whether Elizabeth should marry the Duke of Alencon. Day long meeting. Dudley and Wasingham tried to persuade the queen against by organising public protests (critical sermons and pamphlets). Eventually, the queen pulled out
• From 1576: Question of sending aid to the Dutch rebels (Dudley in favour, Cecil cautious). Elizabeth held aloof until it was decided to send troops in 1584 and they went in 1585.
• From 1568 onwards: Mary Queen of Scots.

Question 19

Stephen Alford said of William Cecil that “he was everywhere and everything in Elizabethan government. No piece of paper…could escape his attention”

Give some examples of his prominence in government (8)

Answer 19

• Believed there was a Catholic plot to overthrow Elizabeth and that onlu marriage/succession could solve this
• In 1560, he threatened to resign unless Elizabeth agreed to help the Lords of the Congregation in Scotland against the French
• He was prominent in developing propaganda warfare eg. ‘The Execution of Justice in England’
• In 1569 he survived a plot to overthrow and arrest him
• 1561 - Master of the Wards, 1571 - Lord Burghley, 1572 - Lord Treasureship
• Had his own personal secretariat and intelligence gatherers (one being Thomas Norton, author of Gorboduc - about failure of kingdom without succession, later play attacking proposed marriage between the Duke of Norfolk and MQS)
• In 1586, he was part of the commission that tried MQS
• Maker and enforcer of policy

Question 20

When was William Cecil made Lord Burghley?

Answer 20

February 1571

Question 21

To what post was Lord Burghley promoted in July 1572?

Answer 21

Lord Treasurer

Question 22

List Lord Burghley’s achievements by importance

Answer 22

1. Economic policy - cut government expenditure/cost of war (comparatively small debt at the end of reign)
2. Admin for the Privy Council - effective methods and concerned itself with everything that went on in the country
3. Propaganda - ensured public acceptance of political regime and religious settlement
4. Elizabeth’s correspondence - with other countries, parliament etc
5. Intelligence service
6. Managing House of Commons/Lords

Question 23

Who becomes Secretary of State in December 1573?

Answer 23

Sir Francis Walshingham

Question 24

In which parliament was there significant trouble over free speech?

Answer 24

February 1576

Question 25

What was patronage?

What did it give rise to?

Answer 25

The giving of appointments in office or special privileges to nobles/courtiers in reward for their loyalty

It gave rise to faction because nobles were competing to win her fvaour

Question 26

What were the three main factions during Elizabeth’s reign?

Answer 26

Dudley vs Cecil: Cecil didn’t want Elizabeth to marry Dudley, he was more cautious than Dudley on financial affairs. Dudley wanted to intervene in Europe, whereas Cecil wanted peace. Cecil filtered letters from English ambassadors to ensure that Elizabeth only saw what he wanted her to see. In 1576, Dudley got the Dutch to write to Elizabeth asking for help. However, they both supported the execution of MQS.

1565-66: Dangerous conflict between Dudley and the Howard Alliance (Norfolk and Sussex). Dudley accused Sussex of misconduct and Norfolk retaliated with accusations that Dudley had murdered his wife. The factions began to wear different coloured ribbons. Elizabeth resolved the conflict by agreeing to not marry Dudley and Dudley came round to the Norfolk proposition of a Habsburg match.

Robert Devereux vs Robert Cecil: 1593: Disagreed over maritime war policy (Essex wanted aggression). 1596: Cecil wanted to negotiated an end to the war with Spain, Essex opposed and tried to have friends appointed (Queen ensured they went to Cecil’s friends). 1601: Essex’s plotted rebellion. Cecil reigns supreme.

Question 27

What is the difference between Sir John Neale and Sir Geoffrey Elton’s opinions of Elizabeth’s relationship with her parliaments?

Answer 27

Neale argued there was considerable conflict between MPs and the queen. He believed the House of Commons had come under the influence of more members of the gentry class, often educated in university or at Court. Such men were independently minded and often influenced by Puritan ideology.

Elton argued that the crown and parliament co-operated with one another. He suggested that both had aims in common, although disagreed on method. He argued the Puritan choir worked in tandem with the PC and were usually in united opposition to the queen but conflict didn’t last long.

Question 28

Outline the composition of parliament

Answer 28

House of Lords:

60 Lord Temporal

2 Archbishops and 24 Bishops - Lords Spiritual

House of Commons:

400 MPs, elected by borough vooters and others

Question 29

What happened when the queen prorogued parliament?

Answer 29

The session of parliament would discontinue, without it being fully dissolved

Question 30

True or false: Elizabeth was a dictator

Answer 30

False. She was an autocrat.

Question 31

What led to the Duke of Norfolk’s execution? Who put pressure on Elizabeth to kill him?

Answer 31

In 1569 he was imprisoned for scheming to marry Mary, Queen of Scots.

Following his release, he participated in the Ridolfi plot with King Philip II of Spain to put Mary on the English throne and restore Catholicism in England. He was executed for treason in 1572.

Parliament and the PC conviinced Elizabeth to execute him

Question 32

True or false: parliament was a regular part of the governmental process.

Answer 32

False. They met just 13 times in Elizabeth’s 45 year reign, for just a few months at a time. Usually only 40% of MPs would be the same in one parliament compared to the last and attendance was low - even when fines were introduced for not attending.

Question 33

How did parliament attempt to achieve what they wanted with regards to religion(4)?

Answer 33

• Some evidence of pre-session planning and an organised attempt at reform from some MPs supported by bishops. Often supported by PC but ELizabeth refused to revise settlement on other’s terms.
• 1571: Thirty nine articles
• 1571: Walter Strickland proposed reforming the Book of Common Prayer (outcry when he was excluded from parliament meant Elizabeth never suspended an MP for something they had done in the HoC again)
• 1586: Anthony Cope’s ‘bill and book

Question 34

How did parliament push forward the case for the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots and the Duke of Norfolk?

Answer 34

• In 1572, Bacon, the Lord Keeper made parliament’s wishes clear in his opening speech
• MPs and Lords used speeches, contributions during the committee stage of the proposals, written statements and joint consultations (between the two houses) to keep up pressure on Elizabeth.
• Cecil, using evidence from the Ridolfi plot, convinced Elizabeth to execute Norfolk, whilst Mary was preserved.
• In 1586, Mary had been found guilty of treason and in the same year parliament met to discuss the issue. The two houses joined together in presenting a petition to the Queen. Cecil prepared the execution warrant and Elizabeth signed it.

Question 35

What happened when Elizabeth changed her mind about sending off Mary’s execution warrant?

Answer 35

• She told him to persuade Mary’s gaoler, Sir Amyas Paulet, to have her quietly murdered but as a conscientious Puritan, he refused.
• The Privy Council met and authorised the sending of the warrant two days later so that Elizabeth didn’t have sole responsibility
• Elizabeth was able to use the circumstances to assert that she hadn’t intended for it to happen. The secretary to the PC, William Davison was put in the Tower but released within months and forfeited no pay.

Question 36

What did Elizabeth allow/disallow parliament from speaking about?

Answer 36

Elizabeth argued that maters of the commonwealth (eg. social or economic measures and local/personal bills) could be discussed but not matters of state. She believed religion was a matter for her bishops and marriage, the succession and foreign policy, part of her prerogative

Question 37

How did parliament address the issue of freedom of speech?

Answer 37

• Paul Wentworth raised the issue in the 1566 parliament and Peter persisted in 1571, 1576 and 1587
• In 1576, Peter made a controversial speech in which he challenged the way in which the queen controlled debates through ‘rumours and messages’
• However, the loyal House of Commons stopped Wentworth in full flow and committed him to the Tower

Question 38

What were the problems with Elizabeth being a female ruler? (5)

What was the advantage? (1)

Answer 38

• Issue of marriage
• Issue of succession
• Typically subservient to men (public opinion)
• Male courtiers attributed her change in moods to her gender
• Religious opposition to female leadership
• She could manipulate men, by presenting them to be in or outside of her favour

Question 39

What factors helped Elizabeth to manage parliament (11)?

Answer 39

• Calling and dissolving/Proroguing and adjourning sessions (could do so after subsidy bill was passed, when she no longer needed them)
• The Speaker was a royal nominee
• The Privy Council largely drew up the agenda
• Privy Councillors were often also MPs
• William Cecil was an effective parlimentary manager, using his ‘men of business’ to make speeches and lead the debate in the way that he wanted
• MPs themselves were generally not too keen to stay in expensive London
• Many MPs cared more about local bills than national issues
• Lord Keeper could read messages to parliament/the queen addressed them herself
• She would send her reply to petitions via Cecil (toned down)
• In difficult situations she made concessions eg. 1566 refusal for them to speak about succession, leading to protests about freedom of speech so she relented
• Used her powers to veto bills (eg. in 1571, one which would have introduced heavy fines for those who refused to take communion, 1572 one that declared MQS couldn’t be queen of England, 1585-85 those aimed at church reform)

Question 40

What was the religious argument against female leadership?

Who was a famous proponent of this?

Answer 40

That a female monarch was not only contrary to nature but displeasing to God (as he had created Adam as a superior).

John Knox (leader of the Protestant reformation in Scotland) supported this view in ‘The First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women’ (1558).

Question 41

True or false: Elizabeth was jealous of other people’s happy relationships at court.

Answer 41

True.

In 1574 when one of the ladies of her Privy Chamber secretly married a Gentleman Pensioner she ‘dealt liberal both with blows and evil words’. When she found out that Dudley had married Lettice Knollys she sent him to the Tower, until she was convinced that this would do her image no good. Sir Christopher Hatton danced his way into Elizabeth’s favour and remained single for her sake.

Question 42

What was The Faerie Queen?

Answer 42

An allegorical poem by Edmund Spenser, in which he glorified the queen as a ‘most virtuous and beautiful lady’ - Elizabeth appeared as Diana, the virgin huntress, the chaste Britomart and Gloriana, the queen of fairies. The evil Duessa represented Mary.

Question 43

Why was it important that Elizabeth remained chaste, as she had chosen not to marry?

Answer 43

Women were typically idolised for being virgins - eg. the virgin mary. If she was not going to be respected as an ideal Tudor woman (with a husband and kids) then she had to conform to this superhuman chaste representation of women.

Question 44

When did Elizabeth I court the Duke of Alencon?

Answer 44

August 1579 and between 1581 - 1582

Question 45

Why was there so much pressure on Elizabeth to marry?

Answer 45

• To provide an heir
• It was generally believed that a queen needed a king to support her
• William Cecil wanted Elizabeth to marry to secure the crown and because he thought he might find a king easier to deal with and less temperamental/prone to procrastination

Question 46

Why was Robert Dudley an unsuitable match for Elizabeth?

Who did Elizabeth try to set him up with?

Answer 46

• The Dudley family had a poor reputation (father and grandfather were executed as traitors)
• He was already married and his wife had died in suspicious circumstances in 1560 - rumours spread he had killed her so he could marry the queen.
• He was in debt
• William Cecil believed he was only wanting to do so to further his own position
• He was generally unpopular at court

Elizabeth hoped Mary, Queen of Scots would marry him and that their son could become king.

Question 47

Who were Elizabeth’s main foreign suitors? How did the matches end?

Answer 47

• Philip II of Spain - Elizabeth declined his offer in 1559 on the basis that she could not accept a papal dispensation to allow the marriage
• Archduke Charles - she showed some interest bt eventually wrote to Vienna to say she was not ready to marry yet
• Prince Eric of Sweden - eventually Eric thought that his brother, Duke John might be courting the queen himself and recalled him
• Archduke Charles - William Cecil revived the idea in 1564 - Earl of Sussex was sent to negotiate terms but events in Scotland made Elizabeth feel more secure, ending the prospect of the match 3 years later
• Charles IX (French king) - Sir Nicholas Throckmorton was sent to Paris in 1565 but marrying another monarch was never desirable and the match floundered on religious grounds (same with brother Henry, Duke of Anjou)
• Francis, Duke of Alencon - he came in person to woo secretly in 1579 and openly 1591-82 after sending an envoy but there was serious opposition from the public and Elizabeth fretted that she might die in childbirth. Elizabeth ended it by telling Alencon that she felt divided by her duty as a queen and her feelings as a woman.

Question 48

When did pressure on Elizabeth to marry decline?

Answer 48

1584

Question 49

Give the possible arguments for why Elizabeth didn’t marry (and also counter arguments for these points) - 9 arguments with counters in total

Answer 49

• Witnessed disastrous marriages of her father (only 3 when mother was executed, under 10 when Henry married later wives)
• Sexually abused by Thomas Seymour (speculative)
• Not a good idea to marry a monarch (Marriage Treaty of 1554 proved otherwise)
• Needed a husband of equal rank (was prepared to marry Alencon)
• Needed a Protestant husband and most were Catholic (they could carry out private mass)
• English were xenophobic and wanted a Protestant king (a good enough candidate could overcome this)
• Fear of faction (less likely with a popular suitor)
• Personal independence (could still rule with a husband)

Question 50

What was the impact of an uncertain marriage and succession on domestic and foreign affairs? (3)

Answer 50

• Elizabeth’s early parliaments showed their concern about the urgency of her need to marry (petition in 1559, urged again in 1563) and Elizabeth responded via the Lord Keeper thanking them for their concern. When the bill granting a subsidy included a subsidy noting Elizabeth’s promise to marry, she was furious
• In 1566, Robert Molyneux and Sir Ralph Sadley pressed for a promise that Elizabeth would marry and name a successor. Elizabeth remained hostile, saying she wouldn’t be ‘buried alive’. She summoned deputations of 30 of each house and spoke enigmatically to them. Parliament had to be content.
• There was opposition to the French match, with a notorious example being a tract written by John Stubbs MP (a Puritan and lawyer). All copies were burned and banned and Stubbs and his publisher were imprisoned and lost their right hands.

Question 51

What was the impact of an uncertain marriage and succession on foreign affairs?

Answer 51

• Increased Mary, Queen of Scots’ claim to the throne. She sent her envoy in 1561 to negotiate being named Elizabeth’s successor.
• Philip was more inclined to support Mary as time went on and Spanish governor of the Netherlands, Don John, planned to rescue and marry Mary.