The political nation and the social basis of power

Question 1

what does the ‘Political Nation’ refer to?

Answer 1

those members of society who influence how a country is ruled which included the land owning aristocracy and gentry, as well as other wealthy individuals sometimes referred to as the ‘elite’

Question 2

what was the importance of land ownership for the Political Nation?

Answer 2

• economic standing was predominantly based on land ownership which lay at the root of the Political Nation’s influence
• their wealth gave them their political and social power

Question 3

what was the nature of Early Modern monarchs?

Answer 3

• king theoretically appointed and approved by God
• god-ordained authority and not accountable to any earthly authority
• divine right gave authority called the royal prerogative
• monarch had to seek cooperation of landowning

Question 4

what was the nature of power of Early Modern monarchs?

Answer 4

• they made laws (through Parliament)
• responsible for organising the defence of the realm
• they administered justice (e.g. through appointment of chief judges)
• they appointed close advisors (often from among their closest friends)
• also Supreme Governor of the CoE + had total authority over direction of religious policy

Question 5

what areas did the monarch’s prerogative give them power over?

Answer 5

• foreign diplomacy, as Head of State
• declaration of war, as commander-in-chief of the military
• legislation, through the right to call and dissolve Parliament
• religion, as the Supreme Governor (head) of the Church of England

Question 6

what limitations were there on the monarch’s power

Answer 6

• finances; lay at the root of the monarch’s power
• limits on the monarch’s income prevented them from becoming truly absolutist
• a century of inflation or general rise in prices, meant that English monarchs found their income could not meet their expenses
• esp in relation to foreign policies e.g. warfare + international diplomacy
• substantial funds only raised through parliamentary subsidies

Question 7

what are subsidies?

Answer 7

funds approved by parliament for an emergency such as war

Question 8

what are crown lands?

Answer 8

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 9

what are customs duties?

Answer 9

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

Question 10

what are feudal dues?

Answer 10

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

Question 11

how did prerogative income raise concerns for Parliament?

Answer 11

• if a monarch became financially self-sufficient, they could establish themselves as absolute
• did not need Parliament, reducing their power
• financial issues was at the centre of most tensions between Crown + Parliament (and thus within the Political Nation) across whole Stuart age
• Parliament’s control on financial resources = key limit on development of an absolute monarchy in England

Question 12

what was another limit on the development of absolutism?

Answer 12

• the monarch needed the Political Nation to help control the general population
• Crown did not possess force or civil service to impose its will independently
• relied on members of the PN to ensure central + local government could function
• e.g. relied on Justices of Peace (chosen from ranks of nobility + gentry) to enforce Crown’s will in the localities

Question 13

what were the Political Nation responsible for?

Answer 13

• collecting taxes
• training the militia
• enforcing laws
• conducting trials

Question 14

what was the ‘Great Chain of Being’?

Answer 14

• the contemporary phrase for the idea of an ordered society set in place by God
• held that everyone must accept their place in society

Question 15

what was the structure of government?

Answer 15

• Parliaments were not a permanent part of parliament: ‘an event not an institution’
• assembled when monarch deemed necessary with the two houses (Commons and Lords) drawn from the nobility, gentry and clergy across the kingdom
• far less powerful in the 17th century: existed to enable the King to pass new laws (changed significantly over course of 17th century)
• wealthy landowners (nobility) had a good deal of power in the regions bc they administered the law as Justices of Peace
• Crown had little coercive power + little bureaucratic power-> total number of paid officials in 1630s was 2000 while civil service which governed England was less than 1000

Question 16

what range of social groups did the Political Nation cover?

Answer 16

• the aristocracy
• the lesser gentry whose status was based on land ownership
• newer groups including lawyers + merchants, whose wealth based on income not derived from land ownership (pseudo-gentry due to non-land-based nature of their wealth)

Question 17

who was important in the Political Nation?

Answer 17

• gov overseen by a monarch with help of a Privy Council drawn from the nobility
• also supported by the church and Parliament

Question 18

what were the negative consequences of the population growth in England?

Answer 18

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

Question 19

what were the implications of this population growth on the hierarchical society?

Answer 19

• a subclass of poorest of the poor developed
• some died from famine during harvest failures in 1620s as agricultural production couldn’t meet increased demand for food
• landowners + landlords charged higher prices due to increased population’s growing demands

Question 20

what was the importance of land ownership?

Answer 20

• land remained central to power + wealth across the century as economy remained predominantly agrarian
• ownership of land during time of rising population = benefit for landowners from increasing price of food

Question 21

what was the importance of and other rival forms of wealth?

Answer 21

• other professionals considered non-landed elite or pseudo-gentry could over time, use their acquired wealth to purchase land for their families to become part of the landed gentry
• while those of higher status in diff levels of PN were most wealthy, not always the case that aristocracy had more income than merchants
• some London merchants could have annual incomes of £100,000 while some aristocracy could have as little as £200 a year

Question 22

how serious were the tensions between the court and parliament?

Answer 22

• disagreements in parliament were bitter but represented a range of frustrations rather than an organised resistance
• much criticism of royal policies, but no unity of criticism as MPs and Lords were anxious about different issues
• under James, there was opposition, but no organised opposition existed as of yet
• Parliament was an event not an institution