Elizabeth I's Government

Did Elizabeth I establish her authority over England?

She overcame the numerous difficulties of being a female monarch by centralising as much power onto herself as possible. She intentionally stirred factions amongst her Privy Council in order to prevent the emergence of an overwhelming opinion that she couldn’t refute, and to give her multiple opinions to choose from. She did this via patronage, giving lands and titles to those loyal to her, encouraging loyalty via rewards. She also forbade discussion of topics amongst her Council, such as marriage, religion, and succession. In 1559, she passed the Act of Supremacy, placing her as the Supreme Governor of the Church, and the Act of Uniformity, laying out the rules of religious service in the 1559 Book of Common Prayer, such as conducting service in English, and no longer interpreting bread and wine as the body and blood of Christ.

Was Elizabeth I’s Privy Council divided?

Elizabeth's Privy Council was divided by design in order to allow for a range of opinions and solutions proposed for her Privy Council to choose from, instead of a single popular opinion that she was either forced to agree or veto, with no resolution reached in the process. The primary factions that dominated her Council were the Essex faction, led by the Earl of Essex and comprised of the Earls of Southampton and Bacon. The second was the Cecil faction, led by Robert Cecil, and comprised of the Lord Howard of Effingham and Walter Raleigh.

Did Parliament support or challenge Elizabeth I?

Parliament and Elizabeth were divided on several aspects. The 1559 Act of Supremacy faced backlash in the form of bishops White and Watson refusing to accept Elizabeth as the Supreme Governor of the Church. The backlash was easily dealt with after both were imprisoned, and the act was passed. As her reign progressed, she forbade discussion of religion, marriage, and succession within Parliament, as they disagreed with her on these topics, such as when Puritan MPs disagreed with the compromises laid out in the 1559 Book of Common Prayer, such as the allowance of music to be played in Church.

Did Elizabeth I or her councillors control government decisions?

Councillors had some powers to control government, such as vetting MPs into Parliament, and submitting legislation to the Queen. However, Elizabeth had the full power to veto any legislation that she didn’t agree with, and she restricted the topics that could be discussed during Council meeting and Parliament, as marriage, religion, and succession would often cause discussions to derail off of Elizabeth’s goals as Queen.

What were the greatest challenges to Elizabeth I’s government?

By far her largest issue as Queen was retaining her authority while being a female monarch. She utilised numerous techniques to establish her monarchial authority as Queen in order to retain power amongst her Privy Council and Parliament. The numerous plots against her life, mainly the 1586 Babington Plot, involving Mary, Queen of Scots proved a challenge, as they would cause her Councillors to repeatedly request for MQoS’ execution, something which Elizabeth was hesitant to do. The 1588 Invasion of The Spanish Armarda that ensued threatened her rule, as it proved that Elizabeth was isolated as a Protestant country. The 1601 Essex Rebellion also proved a challenge to her, as it showed that Elizabeth was beginning to lose control of her Councillors, even if the rebellion had no direct threat.

Did Elizabeth I control the regions well?

Elizabeth controlled Wales by integrating members of their gentry into English governmental offices, and encouraging loyalty to her via patronage. However, she had great difficulty with Scotland, as Mary, Queen of Scots became a persistent threat to Elizabeth's throne following her abdication from the throne of Scotland in 1567, as MQoS became the epicentre for a series of plots against Elizabeth's life by Catholics within England, such as the 1586 Babington Plot, the aftermath of which forced Elizabeth to have her executed in the same year. Elizabeth also faced difficulty controlling Ireland, as seen with the 1594 Tyrone Rebellion, which she had initially sent Essex to suppress with an army of 16,000, a goal that he was incapable of doing, and formed a truce with Tyrone instead. This prompted her to send an additional army led by Lord Mountjoy, who was also forced to suppress a Spanish army of 3,500 soldiers sent to aid Tyrone in order to suppress the rebellion.

Did Elizabeth I govern well?

Overall, she successfully fulfilled her goals as Queen by reverting Mary’s reforms and re establishing Protestantism, and never bearing an heir, establishing her monarchial authority. She was able to overcome all the threats to her government, and vetoed any opinions that disagreed with her, preventing her Council from gaining too much power over her.