Government under Elizabeth I

What increased in importance under Elizabeth concerning government?

Local and regional government

What did Elizabethan government develop from?

The systems that had been developed/had evolved under Henry VIII

What had the Privy Council been estabished as under Henry VIII?

An advisory and coordinating body

How many people were in the Privy Council under Mary I?

40-50

How many people did Elizabeth reduce the Privy Council to after her accession?

Under 20

Why did the number of people in the Privy Council increase under Mary?

To contain:

• The heads of major government departments

• Representatives of the greater nobility

• Mary’s personal favourites

Why did Elizabeth scale down the membership of the Privy Council (2 reasons)?

• To make it easier to manage

• To reduce the power of the nobility

Who was the greatest of Elizabeth’s ministers and what was his title?

William Cecil, Lord Burghley

What was Cecil’s religious and political position?

Religious conservative and political stabiliser

What is much of Cecil’s career associated with?

Financial management

Who did Cecil counterbalance with his conservatism and wish to stabilise politics and foreign policy under Elizabeth?

Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester

When Elizabeth reduced the number of nobles in her Privy Council, who did she replace them with and what was positive about this?

• A core of professional men

• Elizabeth’s confidence in them meant that they tended to serve for long periods, which improved the effectiveness and unity of the council

Why might Elizabeth’s reliance on professionals rather than nobles and small membership in her Privy Council have been a disadvantage (3 points)?

• Made it unrepresentative of the ruling body as a whole

• Provoked resentment among nobles

• Entailed a limited scope for debate

Why did the workload of the Privy Council Expand under Elizabeth (2 points)?

• Administrative needs of the Elizabethan Church

• Country’s complex foreign policy

Name the 4 roles of the Privy Council:

• Adviser (offered advice to the monarch)

• Administrator (administered public policy)

• Coordinator (coordinated the work of different elements of government)

• Lawyer (acted as the royal court of law)

What was a main area of debate in the Privy Council?

How to reduce Spanish influence in the Netherlands

What is an example of the routine work of the Privy Council?

November 1574 - Issued an instruction to arrest Catholic troublemakers in Lancashire

What was the result of the increased workload of the Elizabethan Privy Council?

The growth in the number/duration of their meetings (e.g. during the crisis years of the 1590s, the Council met 6 full days a week, rather than the customary 3 and a half)

What partially explains the increase in the variety of the Privy Council’s workload?

The growth in the number of petitions received from the wealthy and influential

In what areas did Elizabeth guard her right to decide?

• The succession

• Taking firm action to support the revolt in the Netherlands

• Dealing with Mary Queen of Scots

What is an example of one of Elizabeth’s councillors using resignation to pressurise the queen?

When William Cecil threatened Elizabeth with resignation to pressure her into military action in Scotland in 1560

Who were the key figures in local government under Elizabeth?

Justices of the Peace

What were the responsibilities of JPs?

• Settling disputes

• Punishing offenders

• Administering government policies (e.g. Poor Laws)

How many JPs are there estimated to be by 1600?

50 in every county

List 2 reasons why having a large number of JPs was an ineffective policy:

• Some ignored policies that they knew would be unpopular locally

• Some used their position for personal profit against rivals

What was another type of local official that grew in status under Elizabeth?

Lord Lieutenants

What had Lord Lieutenants been responsible for under Henry VIII?

Raising local militias

How many Lord Lieutenants did Elizabeth appoint and what were they usually recruited from?

• 1 in every county

• The most distinguished families (often someone already in the Privy Council)

What were the responsibilities of a Lord Lieutenant under Elizabeth?

• Manage the raising of troops

• Supervise the JPs

• Report local events to the Privy Council

Who acted under the JPs and Lord Lieutenants?

Parish officials

Name 4 responsibilities of the parish officials under Elizabeth I:

• Distribute poor relief

• Catch rats

• Repair local roads

• Arrest troublemakers

What is a proof of the sophistication of Elizabethan government?

The variety of work at a grassroots level

Name 4 sections of national government under Elizabeth:

• The Queen

• Parliament

• Privy Council

• Agencies of government

What were 3 things that Parliament was responsible for under Elizabeth?

• Advising the monarch

• Voting for extra taxation in emergencies

• Turning royal policies into laws

What was responsible for the increase in the scope and importance of Parliamentary work from 1509-1558?

• Henry VIII’s need to legalise the break with Rome

• Use use of Parliament to enact religious/social/economic changes under Edward and Mary

What increased Parliament’s influence under Elizabeth?

The Crown’s financial problems

What was Elizabeth forced to rely on, despite trying to control spending and increasing traditional sources of income and what did this mean?

• Government subsidies

• It gave Parliament leverage over the Crown

What was a growing tendency between Elizabeth an her Parliaments?

The tendency towards conflicts

By the end of Elizabeth’s reign what were over half of her MPs?

Trained lawyers or had university degrees

When did MPs anger Elizabeth by discussing the succession question?

1566

When did a “Puritan Choir” emerge in Parliament, pressing for greater reforms in the church and how many were in the group?

• 1563-1566

• At least 40

What Puritan MP was imprisoned under Elizabeth for demanding greater freedom of speech and when?

• Peter Wentworth

• 1576

What did Puritans react with fury against in 1584?

Whitgift’s attack on godly preachers who wanted reforms to “purify” the church

When did Whitgift make an attack on godly preachers who wanted reforms to “purify” the church?

1584

When did MPs discuss a bill to reform the Church of England using their claim to free speech?

1593

What was Elizabeth’s response to MPs discussing reforms in the Church in 1593?

She instructed Lord Keeper Pickering to read out a statement setting out the extent to which she would allow free speech

When did Parliament clash with the Queen on the matter of monopolies?

1601

How did Parliament pressure the queen into withdrawing many of the licences for monopolies?

They refused to grant her additional taxes for the war against Spain

How many Parliaments were called under Elizabeth?

13

What was the average running time for the 13 parliaments under Elizabeth?

10 weeks

What was the most common reason for parliamentary bills being vetoed under Elizabeth?

Defects in the bill which meant that it needed to be redrafted

What was an important training ground for future Privy Councillors and a place where promotion was possible by catching the attention of the Queen?

The House of Commons in Parliament

When did the house of Commons assert its right to settle a dispute over the election of Norfolk and how was this resolved?

• 1586

• They conceded to the right of the Lord Chancellor to decide the matter

What does the Norfolk election case demonstrate about Elizabeth and her Parliament?

It demonstrates that real conflicts were infrequent and could be solved

What disproves Neal’s thesis?

• The “Puritan Choir” was less united and powerful than he suggested

• Religious opposition to the Elizabethan religious settlement was not sustained, but only flared up occasionally (e.g. Whitgift in 1584)

Why did Elizabeth summon most of her parliaments and what did this result in on nearly every occasion?

• To obtain money

• Receiving the grant she asked for

What did much of the work of the Commons involve?

Uncontentious issues, such as land disputes and town charters

What was discussed at the Parliament in 1559?

The Religious Settlement

What was discussed at the Parliament in 1571 (2 points)?

• Religion following 1570 Papal Excommunication

• Mary Queen of Scots (imprisoned in England since 1568)

What was discussed at the Parliament in 1601 (2 points)

• Finance for foreign policy, including Ireland

• Monopolies

What was discussed at the Parliament in 1584-5?

• Jesuit Priests/Puritans

• Foreign threat from Spain

Name the years for the 13 Elizabethan parliaments:

1. 1559

2. 1563

3. 1566-7

4. 1571

5. 1572

6. 1576

7. 1581

8. 1684-5

9. 1586-7

10. 1589

11. 1593

12. 1597-8

13. 1601