sources of crown income and methods of raising finances

Crown lands as a source of income and evaluate

Crown lands were a major source and these initially increased her revenue to £111000 (gain of nearly £30000) however most wealthy gentry and landowners were exploiting their tenants as they used short-term leases and aggressive methods (suggesting initially Elizabeth wasn’t exploiting this income as much as she could have- however doing so could have caused unrest and a lack of stability so this could also be a strength). Overall the selling of crown lands as a method of finance provided a short-term solution as keeping and renting the land would provide long-term income

Custom duties as a source of crown income and evaluate

New rates by book of custom duties came into practice 1558 and initially increased revenue by a lot however after 1559 this only increased a further £10000 and did not keep the same pace as inflation. Strategies by advisors to make this a more effective method of finance involved improving efficiency of collecting duties and Elizabeth attempted to branch into new markets and finish the cloth (her biggest export) however this had limited success as many still exported cloth and increasing the rates would be difficult as had just been revised and would encourage smuggling

Aswell as crown lands and custom duties evaluate other methods of ordinary income as a source of income

Administration due to Marian reforms were used to raise money, for example the inherited services by paulet ment he actively attempted to increase her revenue e.g. attempted to end the practice of officials hoarding money in their homes (however this had limited success and by 1571 £40000 had been borrowed by officials- possibly also reflecting the poor financial situation as people were not well paid and their was a lack of security about treasuries and money), aswell as a cheap form of patronage she granted monopolies to her courtiers however these were limited as they dramatically increased prices and reduced competition for certain goods (evidence of this limitation in 1597 and 1601 when MPs when against her forcing her to end some monopolies and do her golden speech), finally she also used purveyance (buy goods for cheaper due to her royal right) and this did save her roughly £40000 a year however was very unpopular

Overall ordinary income was a more ideal way of raising money and she was able to pay off debt (1584 surplus of 300000) she did also still need to rely on extraordinary income especially in times of emergency and war

Evaluate the use of extraordinary income

Parliamentary subsidies were crucial as they were direct tax’s on income and property (brought in about £100000) however these fell in value as Elizabeth often allowed wealthy landowners and nobles to be under assessed meaning they weren’t paying as much tax as they should be. Additionally, in times of emergency such as the war with Spain/ Spanish Armada, if Elizabeth did not have enough ordinary income (which she didn’t) she would be forced to use extraordinary methods like loans, which were very unpopular and later in her reign resulted in huge debt as evident by the situation inherited by James. However sometimes it was used effectively e.g. privateering and prize money from exploration brought in significant sums e.g. Francis drake brought in £80000 in 1592 and also his attacks on Spanish ships gave profit e.,g. 1587 £140000 (however these were inconsistent and deteriorated retaliations with Spain). Finally, recusansy fines increased throughout the operioid e.g. to £20 in 1581 for non-attendance