How successfully did Elizabeth manage parliament? Flashcards
What things were parliament not allowed to discuss?
-Matters of state->Settlement of religion, determination of foreign policy, her marriage and the succession and the right to grant monopolies and benefit from purveyance
When are the first arguments in parliament about marriage?
1563
When was the Puritan Admonition to parliament?
1572
In which years was the issue of Mary Queen of Scots debated? (more than once)
-1572
-1586
What does prerogative mean?
-the rights claimed by the monarch
What does royal prerogative mean?
-’matters of state’ for her only
What are matters of the commonwealth?
-parliament can discuss ‘matters of commonwealth’ (taxes/relief for the poor)
What can parliament talk about?
matters of the commonwealth
What is the organisation of parliament?
-2 houses->House of Commons and House of Lords
Who is in the House of Commons?
-462 men->2 nights from each county and 2 burgesses from each borough/town
Who is in the House of Lords?
-bishops, aristocrats and lords individually summoned by the queen
How many sessions were there before 1588?
9
How many sessions were there after 1588?
4
What do you notice about the times of year when they met?
-either winter to spring or just in the spring/summer
What are the recurring themes that parliament discussed?
-mainly granting subsidies
-also MQS
-some talk of succession and religion
-subsidies
-finances
What was the most common theme for calling parliament?
-subsidies
-finances
What was the overall period of time that parliament was in sessions?
-39 months
What was an average of the time passed between sessions?
-average of 3 years passed between sessions
How long was there no parliament in Elizabeth’s reign?
-no parliament at all in 26 years of Elizabeth’s reign
What were the average acts per sessions?
-Elizabeth’s parliaments averaged 33 acts per sessions->more than any other Tudor monarch
What was the attendance like after 1571? Why?
-attendance to parliament after 1571 was poor and fines were introduced
-Strickland’s Bill and Ridolfi Plot
What was an example of the religious conflicts in parliament?
-1571: Strickland proposes a stricter Prayer Book->he wants the Prayer book to be solely Protestant->was suspended from Parliament->aroused opposition which led to her never again suspending an MP for something he had said or done within the House of Commons
What was an example of the marriage and succession conflicts in parliament?
-1571: execution of MQS and the Duke of Norfolk (tried and found guilty of treason->MPs and members of the Lords marshalled their arguments to pressure Elizabeth but it was only when Cecil used evidence of the Ridolfi Plot convinced her to executed Norfolk but preserve the life of MQS->took the discovery of further plots to execute Mary->shows her she could be forced to agree to things
What was an example of the parliamentary privileges conflicts in parliament?
-some MPs were not happy about how Elizabeth forbade them to speak on certain matters->Paul Wentworth raised the matter in 1566 and Peter Wentworth persisted in 1571, 1576 and 1587->wanted the opportunity to discuss all subjects of concern but Elizabeth believed in her Royal Prerogative ->however the House of Commons was not responsive to the urgings of the Wentworth brothers
-brought up 4 times->shows how serious it is as Wentworth would’ve give it up
What were the key themes of her sessions with parliament conflict?
-Religion->the underpinning factor
-Marriage and Succession->including MQS
-Parliamentary Privileges->including free speech
-Finance and economy
