Government Flashcards
Describe the royal court
- Important to decision making as E could seek advice on individual basis
- Court = place for patronage (crown distributing royal favours to loyal subjects)
- Court existed where Q was
- 2 main areas - Presence Chamber and Privy Chamber
What was Prescence Chamber and why was it important?
- Relatively open area with access based on right status or connections
- Privy Chamber = more important and more private admission = carefully guarded
However, less imp than under a King as Gentlemen of Privy Chamber no longer had access to female monarch.
Who oversaw the jurisdiction of the Court?
Lord Chamberlain - E always aptd a member of the nobility and 3 were close relatives of E
What other developments were there in Elizabethan Court?
- Ceremonial aspects of court life became more important as reign progressed
- E turned her politicians (Cecil) into courtiers and her courtiers (Leicester/Hatton) into politicians
Explain E understanding of patronage and how she used it
- Understood need to gain and retain loyalty of political elite
- Bestowed favours carefully and to a wide circle so goodwill was maintained
- Aim = ensure as many nobles/gentry bound through patronage in loyalty to the Crown so not support rebellions against her
How did E control appointments?
- Controlled aptments to offices (jobs) in loc/cen govt, the Church, law & household
- Also had land and titles to distribute
- Right to collect taxes granted by crown
- Key to power = Q
What was the granting of offices?
- Most valuable patronage varying from high to low positions in society
- Large proportion of politically active class held some office under Crown (great or small)
What was Secondary Patronage?
Those who acquired office then had right to make apts -> more people showing loyalty to Q
What was the Granting of Pension or land?
- Another form of patronage
- Occasionally land sold but E realised imp of keeping as much land as possible so favours involving land = leasing at low rent often to imp Politicians
What were monopolies?
- Lucrative form of income as the individual had sole right to manufacture or sell a particular item e.g. sweet wine- E of Essex
- Unpopular as prevented competition -> freq complaints in HoC at end of E reign
Why could the granting of patronage be dangerous?
- E knew NOT to be too liberal with granting of titles (Earl, Duke) as she realised these were most valued if given frequently
- Only 18 peerages throughout reign
- 1603 fewer nobles than 1558
- E able to maintain control in male dominated atmosphere of court and keep rivalries under control
- Burghley helped with this
What was the key functions of the Privy Chamber?
- Court of Law = Adjudicate when sitting as Star Chamber. Deal with local maladministration
- Manage Parliament = PC would speak to P ahead of sessions to tell them Q policy. Usually done by indiv councillors not council as whole. Often clashes in P = reflection of clashes in PC
- Matters of State = Discuss and offer advice to Q
- Finance = Manage crown finances with Lord Treasurer and Chancellor of Exchequer
- Appeals = Oversee and receive appeals from regional councils e.g. North, Wales
- Officials = Instructions given to a range of officials e.g. Lord Lieutenants, JPs, tax commissioners. During E reign councillors increased involvement in local admin and built networks of influence in counties. Councillors influencing the apt of JPs.
- Regulations = Enforce laws on issues e.g. law + order, vagrancy, prices, wage.
- Defence = Arrange national defence by supervising training in indiv counties and serving as Lord Lieutenants with militia responsibilities in counties.
- Religion = Enforce Rel Settlement of 1559. Require JPs to investigate compliance e.g. oversee laws v Catholics
How did E intend to rule?
- Rule as well as reign (play full role)
- Intelligent and sophisticated - had developed political skills to ensure survival at dangerous times
- Conscious of royal prerogative, not prepared to restrict it
Who were Elizabeth’s key ministers?
William Cecil:
- Key Minister
- Dominate Court
- Close associates on Council = Sir Nicholas Bacon, Francis Russell - Earl of Bedford and Sir Francis Knollys. ALL reformers
Conservatives on the council from traditional aristocracy:
- Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk (premier peer, young impetuous)
- Marquis of Winchester (Lord Treasurer)
- Earls of Sussex and Shrewsbury - both their offices kept them away from court and reduced their political influence.
Robert Dudley:
- Earl of Leicester
- Joined Council in 1562
What was the reshaping of the Privy Council?
- Took place in 1570s
- Influence of trad. conservative aristocracy reduced due to downfall and execution of Norfolk and death of Lord Treasurer, Winchester
What happened in the 1570s?
- Nucleus of firmly Prot councillors aptd
- Francis Walsingham, Sir Walter Mildmay, Sir Ralph Sadler, Sir Thomas Smith, Sir Henry Sidney and Earl of Warwick
- Advancements of Prots balanced by promotion of more conservative figures e.g. Sir James Croft and Sir Christopher Hatton
- Resulted in an “inner ring” of 8 councillors. Some = militant Prots (Walsingham, Leicester, Mildmay, Knollys, Earl of Bedford) along with Burghley. Only relatively conservative figures = Sussex and Hatton
What problems occurred in the 1580s?
- Number of Ministers died in quick succession e.g. Earl of Leicester 1588. By 1597 only 11 in Council
- E failed to make immediate replacements -> made matters worse. Often replaced with sons of former councillors who lacked their father’s skills.
- Absence of senior noblemen on the Council mattered as it suggested E’s PC did not include the country’s most imp families.
- E refused to allow Burghley to retire although his effectiveness diminished during 1590s. He aptd his son Robert Cecil to PC -> had to take on immense admin burden due to father’s ill health.
- Promotion of younger Robert Cecil angered E of Essex who = temperamental = enemy of Cecil.
What was the impact of factional rivalry on government?
- Often thought that councillor govt was affected by rivalry thr’ E’s reign
- However her structure of govt (esp in early years) helped PREVENT rivalry getting out of control
- No single minister (not even Cecil) had complete control over patronage
Describe influential families at Court and within Privy Council
- Balanced each other out -> relatives of Boleyns = senior ranks of Crown service in substantial numbers. Parrs along with their close connections also featured strongly early in reign
- Family connections (Parr = E stepmother) overcame reli differences
What were Leicester’s (Dudley) and Cecil’s relationship like?
Disagreed over E potential mari but tended to CO-OPERATE on other issues together as needed each other
What are differing interpretations on factional rivalry?
- Clear divisions between Cecil and his allies (favoured moderate, pragmatic policies) AND Protestants like Dudley
- Recently this view has been challenged. Guy sees Cecil as more radical figure in reli terms and in fact disputes bet. Cecil and Dudley tended to be occasional and focused on specific policy issues.
How did coherence of govt decline in 1590s?
- Fierce clashes between Cecil and Essex (Robert Devereux) made govt difficult
- Came to a head in Essex rebellion 1601
How did Earl of Essex’s influence decline?
- Once Essex = bright star of court but lost his influence/political judgement and eventually his head
- His career suffered related problems:
1. Largely frozen out of court by Cecil and allies therefore lost his position as faction leader
2. In deep financial trouble - made worse when E did not renew his sweet wine monopoly
3, Failed as military leader in Ireland - brought shame on himself when burst into E’s bedchamber on his return
What was the Essex rebellion in 1601?
- As a response Essex planned an armed coup to bring down Cecil and other enemies, however his plans were discovered
- Cecil was well prepared and Essex finally forced to surrender
- Quickly tried and executed 1601
- Essex while an incompetent political figure lacking judgement, does show the rule of E and Cecil -> unpopular and attitude of Essex and his associates reflected a larger discontent tied in with Q diminishing authority.
How important was Parliament under Elizabeth?
- Less imp under E, possibly less than H8
- E regarded it a necessary but occasional evil - something she had to put up with
- While imp for legislative and revenue purposes, it was largely a secondary feature of the Elizabethan political system
Which parliaments were called for money/taxes?
Jan - April 1563 (1st session), Sep 1566 - Jan 1567 (2nd session) -> E wanted money
April - May 1571 -> E wanted money to pay for suppression of 1569 rebellion
Feb - Mar 1589 -> Parli called so that revenue could be raised for war against Sp
Oct 1597 - Feb 1598 -> E desperately short of cash at a time of eco/soc crisis
Oct 1601 - Dec 1601 -> E remained short of cash
Which parliaments discussed religion?
Jan - May 1559 -> for settlement of religion:
- Settlement pushed through because of efforts of strongly Prot councillors in face of conservative opposition in HoL
= Legal status of Ch and forms of worship were established for whole of reign.
Sept 1566 - Jan 1567
- E prevented the passage of bills for further religious reform which were favoured by Cecil and many of the bishops
April - May 1571 -> Council sought tightening of treason law and laws against Catholics
- Parliament happy to support tightening of laws
- William Strickland proposed bill to reform Book of Common Prayer - upset Q
= Strickland annoyed Council which was trying to secure future religious reform by subtle means, Council took initiative to remove him from attendance at Commons.
Jan - Mar 1581 -> Parliament recalled
- Granted a subsidy and tightened anti-Catholic laws
Nov 1584 - Mar 1585 -> difficult time with international relations after assassination of William of Orange
- Parliament once again tightened laws against Catholics
Oct 1586 - Mar 1587 -> difficult time internationally and in aftermath of Babington Plot
= A few Presbyterian MPs sought religious reform
Feb - April 1593 -> Largely concerned with legislation against those who refused to attend Church
- Parli voted a triple subsidy
Which parliaments infringed Royal Prerogative?
Jan - April 1563
- Large number of MPs urged E to marry
= Parliament saw this the first difference of opinion between MPs and Q on an issue she considered part of royal prerogative.
Feb - Mar 1576 -> Parliament recalled
- Parliament granted subsidy to Q
- HoC itself imprisoned MP Peter Wentworth for infringement of royal prerogative
Oct 1586 - Mar 1587
= E sought advice from parliament on what to do with MQS. Petitioned E for MQS to be executed. A few Presbyterian MPs sought religious reform; their leaders were imprisoned for infringement of royal prerogative
Feb - April 1593
= Peter Wentworth imprisoned 2nd time for raising issue of succession, thereby infringing royal prerogative.
What was law making like during E’s parliamentary sessions?
- 438 Acts in total
- Most imp
= Act of Supremacy and Act of Uniformity (religion)
= Acts of 1598 and 1601 about Poor relief
What was granting taxation like?
- To E the most imp function of P = granting of extraordinary revenue
- 11/13 parliamentary sessions re granting revenue
- Distinction between ‘ordinary’ and ‘extraordinary’ had been lost during H8 reign and E frequently forced to resort to ‘extraordinary’ revenue just to pay for normal; expenditure because ordinary revenue and decreased in real terms.
- However failure to reform the system of direct taxation meant that subsidies of extraordinary revenue ALSO declined in real terms.
What were parliamentary sessions like for giving advice?
- Mostly E was NOT interested in listening to advice of MPs
- E often irritated by MPs infringement of her royal prerogative
- On the other hand
-> P was an opportunity for Privy Council to gauge opinion of ‘political nation’
-> P served as a means of communication and a clear point of contact between councillors and MPs who administered local areas
What are historians’ views on Elizabeth and her parliament?
Neale - while researching Eng Civil War of 1640s and P’s challenge to royal auth traced the roots of that challenge back to emergence of opposition elements in E reign e.g. Puritan Choir (40 MPs who challenged E religious legislation)
His argument has been attacked by Elton and Graves
What were the role of ministers in managing parliament?
- Managed P sessions carefully
- Cecil played imp role in preparing the crown’s legislative programme ‘framing and shaping bills’
- Cecil was assisted by the Council ‘floor managers’ in HoC - 1st Knollys, fr 1576 Hatton
He used MPs who were lawyers and experts on parliamentary procedures to promote measures Cecil considered important.
What was the role of Privy Councillors in managing parliament?
- Set the tone and outlined crown’s priorities at start of P sessions
- Introduced the bills
- Sat on committees that considered the content of parliamentary bills i.e. directing P
What was Elizabeth’s irritation with parliament?
- P irritated E if they challenged prerogative
- Outburst of irritation 1563 and 1566 re debates on mari and succession
- E readily intervened to prevent some bills passing that she disapproved of
- E refused royal assent (agreement) to some bills that had passed thr HoL & HoC e.g. 60 in whole reign
What changes were made in management at the 1593 parliament?
- Traditional methods of managing P began to have less success
- E tried charm and flattery but there = differences over reli
- Crown, urged by Archbishop Whitgift, wanted to pass an Act v Secretaries (mbers of a Prot sect which had rejected the Ch of Eng and Royal Supremacy) This was opposed by MPs e.g. Walter Raleigh
- An MP made a Commons speech criticising Whitgift and E took this personally and barred the MPs advancement.
What happened with Peter Wentworth at the 1593 parliament?
- Imprisoned for arguing for a named successor to E
- Infuriated by this attack on royal prerogative E had Wentworth and 3 colleagues imprisoned in the Tower - shows Q’s temper is worsening with age
What happened in relation to monopolies at the 1601 parliament?
- Relationship bet E & P broke down entirely over issue of monopolies
- Debate over monopolies = 1 occasion when crown officers lost control over HoC
- Not helped by the inexperience and lack of skill of Robert Cecil
- In the end
= compromise achieved
= E presented Golden Speech to crowded gathering of 140 MPs
What was the Golden Speech in 1601?
- Delivered as final parliamentary session drew to a close
- E = aware final part of reign
= valediction (statement or address of farewell) - E performance = masterly as she drew a veil over the poor relations in P, complimenting her people, praising God, reminding them how she kept her subjects safe from danger and how much she loved them (and them her)
- MPs left the chamber in tears
How successful was Elizabeth’s government?
- Mixed picture of success, partial success and failures
- On whole govt = well conducted esp 1st 30 years
= broad consensus (except reli) amongst the governing classes concerning royal policies and enforcement - E fortunate to have talented individuals e.g. Cecil, Walsingham, Mildmay, Hatton BUT she herself demonstrated effectiveness and wisdom in choosing her ministers
- One blind spot is Earl of Essex (failing to see his weaknesses) but perhaps should be seen as part of wider issues in govt in final yrs of her reign
