The Political Nation & The Social Basis Of Power Flashcards
What was the position of the monarch?
What rights did he have?
Head of Church of England
Devine & prerogative right
What did the kings prerogative give him?
Led PN through prerogative
Foreign diplomacy
Declaration of war
Legislation (through right to call & recap p)
Religion (as supreme governor of Church of England)
What was the Great Chain Of Being?
Social ladder
Ordered society set in place by God
Paternalism: fartherly duty of those above to help those below in society
Monarch
PN
Rest of population:
Aristocracy
Lesser gentry
Newer groups (lawyers, merchants,)
Urban workers
Peasants
What imbalance was there with sociatal power?
Minorities had most power
Majority almost none at all
Who could be richer than some aristocracy?
Some London merchants
What was a problem with the constitution?
Unwritten which blurred political system as all was open to interpretation
What does Jacobean mean
Time of rule of Elizabeth and James
What was the state of the monarchs political power?
In theory, monarch had unrestricted political power
In practice, limited by bad finances:
Parliament could control monarch through subsidies
Who were the PN?
Those with political, social & economic influence
Aristocracy
Lesser gentry
Lawyers
Merchants
& Urban growth
Became significant force in PN
What factor was most important to becoming part of PN? How?
What was required to become part of the PN?
However, what was the PN exempt from?
Economic: gave political & social power
Mostly based on land ownership
40 shillings (£2) annual income (cost to vote)
Paying taxes
How were MPs chosen?
Selected not elected
Selected if family aided PN in local area
Those selected most likely with higher position of authority
Who were the non-land owning electes to the PN?
Workers in:
Church
Medicine
Surveying
Music
Architecture
Visual arts
How did the monarch rely on the PN?
Help control general population as monarch had no force of civil service to impose his will
Justices of the peace: enforce crown will in localities
Collected taxes
Trials
Training militia
Law enforcement
What was the affect of the characters of the monarchs?
Shaped relationship with Parliament and institution of Parliament
What was a tacktick of Elizabeth that caused king term problems?
Habit of pushing political problems down the road
Left James to deal with them
Didn’t reform financial system
No clear toleration/ unacceptable of different religious groups
