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History Stuarts > Social Basis Of Power > Flashcards

Social Basis Of Power Flashcards

1
Q

Political nation

A
  • Higher classes in society - had ‘economic, political and social influence’
  • Most were landowners during a time when the economy was dependent on agriculture
  • top of political nation = King then Lords, Sheriffs and bottom = Town officials
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2
Q

Historian Derek Hirst’s view

A

Seventeenth century Britain was ‘one of growing social and economic change’ - believes this change leads to the civil war and revolution during the Stuarts

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3
Q

Monarchs role in the political nation

A
  • responsible for shaping the nation as they were the head
  • had the ability to dissolve parliament and dictate what happened in the church ( Monarch was head of the Church of England )
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4
Q

Monarchs prerogative

A

Idea monarch can dissolve parliament and declare war - stems from the divine right of kings

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5
Q

What stopped the monarch from becoming absolutist

A
  • Due to inflation, the monarchs income was lower than their expenses and parliament was reluctant to give out subsides
  • The monarch needed help controlling the population - 2000 paid officials who helped the monarch collect taxes etc
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6
Q

Why was the Parliament reluctant to grant subsidies

A

Money would have to come from wealthy landowners who were reluctant to give away the money

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7
Q

Prerogative income

A

When the monarch became ‘financially self-sufficient’ - they would not require parliament for subsidies etc - Monarch would become absolutist

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8
Q

Who else formed the political nation

A
  • groups including the aristocracy, landowners and individuals such as lawyers - 1 in every 200 adult males were part of the political nation
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9
Q

Role of Women

A

Although they could get into the political nation the had limits on how they could use there power e.g. could not have a formal office through which the political nation worked

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10
Q

Society between 1500 and 1650

A
  • Population doubled
  • Food and land shortages
  • High unemployment
  • No formal police to impose laws
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11
Q

Impact of the grown population

A
  • Gap grew between the rich and the poor
  • Poor struggled with disease and famine in the 1620s
  • Rich charged more for rent even-though it was their duty to care for the poor through hardship
  • The dominance of rich over the poor led to the poor feeling intimidated and therefore the social order was maintained
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12
Q

Arminianism

A

A type of Protestantism whose members didn’t want further reformation of the church

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13
Q

Calvinism

A
  • Named after John Calvin
  • became the dominant branch of Protestantism within the church
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14
Q

Catholicism

A

Faith of the Christian church headed by the pope

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15
Q

Royal court

A

Household of the monarch

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16
Q

Fiscal - military state

A

State financially organised for war with a supporting administration

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17
Q

Franchise

A

The right to vote

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18
Q

Impeachment

A

Method where a Crown minister could be tried for treason or other crimes against the state

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19
Q

Laudianism

A

Anti-Calvinist teaching of Archbishop William Laud from 1633

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20
Q

Levellers

A

London based pressure group that sought political, economic and social reform

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21
Q

Millenarianism

A

Belief that the end of the world ( Judgement day ) was coming soon

22
Q

Personal monarchy

A

Idea that Monarchs had a God - Given right to rule and that rebellion against them was a sin

23
Q

Predestination

A

Belief that God had already decided whether an individual was going to heaven - not based on them leading a good life

24
Q

Parliamentary privilege

A

Legal immunity for members of parliament - allows them to speak freely without fear of legal action

25
Protestantism
Form of Christian faith which originated from the Protestant reformation
26
Puritanism
Radical form of Protestantism - sought further reformation of the Church to remove remnants of Catholicism
27
Regicide
Act of killing a king
28
Salvation
Being saved from the punishment of sins in the afterlife
29
Structure of the Tudor Government
Was not rigidly defined - depended on the personality of the Monarch
30
Central Government - The Crown
- Divine right was the accepted origin of the Monarch's power - People also wanted the Monarch to rule in conjunction with the Lords and Commons = Three Estates
31
The Crown's Powers
- Appoint and Dismiss adviser's - Veto parliamentary legislation - Supreme executive power - Direct role in all government decisions - Control of Foreign policy
32
The Crown's Weaknesses
- influenced by favourites - Power limited by a lack of local officials
33
Central Government - The Privy Council
Body which governed the country - consisted of a group of leading nobles who were trusted by the King Three main functions : - Advise the Monarch - Sit as a court of law ( Star Chamber ) - Administrate government policy - responsible for day-to-day running of the country Role of Privy Council depended on how much the monarch wanted to involve it and membership
34
Central Government - The Court
- People around the King - Was not a formal structure of government but most of the business was transacted here - Main features = Faction and Patronage - different factions competed for the Kings ear - Court = Centre of administration, finance and propaganda
35
Central Government - The Bureaucracy
Where administration was carried out - mad up of many department's e.g. Chancery and Treasury Department's were not effective as... - Posts were given due to Patronage - most able men didn't get the Job - 2 people from different factions could be given the same post and then carry out contradictory policies - Departments only vaguely defined and tended to overlap which led to confusion
36
Principal officers of state - Secretary of state
- Leading members of the privy council prepare its agenda and are responsible for ensuring decisions are carried out - By the end of Elizabeth's reign, Cecil had made this the leading post in government
37
Principal officers of state - Lord Treasurer
Dealt with finance - Head of the exchequer
38
Principal officers of state - Lord chancellor
Overseer of various courts - Central = Chancery and Star chamber - Church = High commission - Local = Petty sessions
39
Parliament
- made up of Lords and Commons - Legislation has to pass through both houses to receive royal assent - "Parliament represented a unified class" - Historian Christopher Hill
40
House of Lords
-seen as the most important - members were the highest nobility and bishops - passed legislation but not involved in the administration
41
House of commons main functions
- Vote subsidies to the crown - Pass legislation - Advise the monarch - Mediate between the 'court and country'
42
The house of commons
- did not represent the people of England a the vote belonged to the properties minority - House of commons was growing from 296 MPs in 1500 to 426 in 1600
43
MPs came to parliament for three main reasons
-To remedy local grievances - seen as the house's true role - To enter patronage networks to acquire wealth and status - To be noticed
44
Significance of the late Tudor - Early Stuarts commons
Traditional 'Whig' view = Commons were gradually winning rights and liberty from a tyrant king
45
Ancient constitution
existed from Anglo-Saxon times and was based on a mixed monarchy - seen as a perfect system and therefore unchangeable
46
Fundamental laws
originated in the Magna Carta - stated the law must always bind the King
47
Fundamental laws and the Ancient constitution
- general agreed that the two principles required a mixed monarchy where the Crowns, Lords, and Monarch would act together, known as the three estates - James 1 to parliament in 1610 = 'even though a king is like unto god, yet still he is bound to rule according to the law.'
48
Kind Should rule alone?
also an agreement that the king should rule alone as the Divine right made them answerable to God only - 'There is no contract between a king and people'
49
The Commons position
- feeling threatened under James - Parliament met less frequently under Elizabeth ( 3 weeks per annum ) - James and Charles also had long periods without calling the parliament - made MPs defensive of their prerogative
50
The crowns position
Commons and crown clashed over the Royal prerogative which covered areas such as: - Foreign policy - Religion - Finance Key point for the crown was money - needed money for: - to cope with inflation - Funding the royal household - Modern warfare was costly This meant the Crown needed more subsidies which made the MPs feel overtaxed etc
51
Two areas of Royal prerogative
Ordinary powers - Call and dissolve parliaments - Create laws - Choose ministers - regulate trade Absolute powers - Emergency powers used in times of crisis
52
The Jacobean Court
- Sir Walter Raleigh claimed the court 'glows and shines like rotten wood' - Point of contact between the king and his most powerful subjects - felt James was spending money on the wrong people and things (extravagances) - James carefully appointed members of each faction to senior offices e.g. Winwood became secretary of state

History Stuarts (17 decks)

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