The Political Nation + Social Basis Of Power

Question 1

Who does the term “political nation” refer to?

Answer 1

• people in early modern Britain who had economic, political and social influence

Question 2

How does Kishlansky refer to the monarchy?

Answer 2

• “atop of the political hierarchy’

Question 3

What rights did the monarch have through their prerogative?

Answer 3

• foreign diplomacy
• declaration of war, commander in chief of military
• legislation, through the right to call and dissolve Parliament
• religion, as the Supreme Governor of the Church Of England

Question 4

What is “absolutism”?

Answer 4

• a monarch ruling freely with unrestricted political power

Question 5

What were the main forms of crown income?

Answer 5

• crown lands
• custom duties
• feudal dues
• parliamentary subsidies

Question 6

What was the nature of England’s constitution?

Answer 6

• unwritten : blurred the political system, due to lack of documentation regarding the rules of how the state should be run
• instead, the country had a set of parliamentary laws, eg Magna Carta
• main disadvantage was that it was open to interpretation, could however also be an advantage

Question 7

What was the minimal requirement to be part of the political nation?

Answer 7

• annual income of 40 shillings (£2)

Question 8

What was “the great chain of being”?

Answer 8

• idea that your social position was granted by God, and that you had to accept where God had placed you

Question 9

What was central to power and wealth?

Answer 9

• the ownership of land.
• during a time of increasing population, ownership of land enabled landowners to benefit from the increasing prices

Question 10

What was the total population in England by 1600?

Answer 10

• estimated to have been close to 4.1 million
• mid century, population hit 5.3 million

Question 11

What were the consequences of population growth?

Answer 11

• price inflation: food prices rose eightfold in the period 1500-1640, wages less than threshold
• put pressure on land: on average, families produced more than one son, so family property had to be divided, or one son took over the property and the other had to fend for himself
• put pressure on jobs: by mid 17th century, there was widespread underemployment in England. Agricultural work remained the main source of employment, however it was seasonal.