Stuarts - Chapter 1: Political Nation and the social basis of power

Question 1

hierarchy of power (1)

Answer 1

king > council > parliament

Question 2

hierarchy of power (2)

Answer 2

chancery/ exchequer/ courts

Question 3

county officials: (3)

Answer 3

justice of peace/ lord/ sheriffs/ assize judges

Question 4

Parish officials: (4)

Answer 4

constables/ churchwardens/ overseers of/ town officials

Question 5

what significantly shaped and affected the period and the monarchs relationship with the rest of the PN?

Answer 5

The characters and personalities of each monarch affected their relationships with the PN - James was an intellectual, outgoing and experienced monarch who enjoyed debate and dealing with people. James was also pragmatic, enabling him to make the ill defined English political system work. Charles, however, was shy and hampered by a speech defect (therefore unapproachable and more damaging, uncommunicative with parliament).

Question 6

define perogative

Answer 6

The power of the crown, derived from the idea that the divine right to rule was given to monarchs by God. Included the rights to - call and dissolve parliament and declare war.

Question 7

define subsidy

Answer 7

a form of economic support for a particular undertaking; in this case, a sum of money to promote or aid crown policies, such as welfare. The crown subsidy came in the form of parliamentary taxation, with a tax on land and other forms of property.

Question 8

What were the main forms of crown income.

Answer 8

Crown lands, customs duties, feudal dues and parliamentary subsidies.

Question 9

what are crown lands

Answer 9

The crown had sold much land or rented it out on long leases at a fixed rent, thus their income was reduced because they couldn’t update rents in line with inflation

Question 10

what are custom duties

Answer 10

taxes from goods imported into the country. the crown could also temporarily sell the right to collect such taxes to raise funds quickly

Question 11

what are feudal dues

Answer 11

the crown had the right to control an estate that was inherited, by ancient right, by an heir under the age of 21.

Question 12

what are parliamentary subsidies

Answer 12

Funds approved by parliament for emergencies such as war

Question 13

England’s unwritten constitution

Answer 13

mixture of parliamentary laws, the common law, and documents such as the magna carta, as well as tradition and custom - (a constitution not embodied in a single document but based chiefly on custom and precedent as expressed in statutes and judicial decisions.)

Question 14

disadvantage and advantages of an unwritten constitution

Answer 14

it was open to interpretation, however, this was also it’s advantage. In a society that valued consensus, the ability to interpret the constitution in different ways enabled compromise.

Question 15

social groups that formed the Political nation

Answer 15

• the aristocracy
• the lesser gentry whose status was based on land ownership
• newer groups, including lawyers and merchants (pseudo gentry - non land based nature of their wealth)

Question 16

what was the minimum requirement for being seen as part of the PN

Answer 16

Needed to have an annual income of 40 shillings (2 pounds), as this was needed to qualify to vote for one’s local member of Parliament. However, in most cases MPs were selected (instead on elected) by agreement among the members of the PN.

Question 17

Impact of population growth between 1500 and 1650 (nearly doubling)

Answer 17

• price inflation (particularly with food)
• food shortage
• land shortage
• unemployment
• greater reliance on the state for poor relief

Question 18

social basis of the political nation’s power

Answer 18

The great chain of being - the idea of an ordered society set in place (decreed) by God; the idea held that everyone was linked to each other and must accept their place in society, whether born a peasant, a wealthy aristocrat, etc - thus maintaining the status quo (relative order in society)