Fichas
Government under Elizabeth I
Fichas del conjunto (10)
- 1The Royal Court- Integral to the decision making process
- Elizabeth could use it to seek out influence and as a way of ensuring support through distribution of patronage
- Included Presence Chamber (open) and Privy Chamber (private)
- Lord Chamberlain: key official that controlled Royal Court, 3 of them her close relations
- Court and political life became increasingly intertwined - 2The Privy Council- Queen's principal ministers came together, responsible for advice and administration
- Key functions: discuss matters of state and offer policy advice, work as a court of law when sitting as the Star Chamber, enforce the religious settlement of 1559, oversee arrangements for national defence, enforce a range of laws and regulations, administer the country by instructing a range of officials that worked at a lower level, oversee the operation of the regional councils, manage Crown finances with the Lord Treasurer and Chancellor of the Exchequer - 3Changes to the Privy Council- William Cecil was established as Elizabeth's key minister at start of reign
- Council did contain some ministers that held more conservative views led by Duke of Norfolk
- Elizabeth's favourite Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester joined 1562
- Council reshaped somewhat 1570s with execution of Norfolk 1572
- Nucleus of firmly Protestant councillors appointed, Council was dominated by Protestants - 4Problems in the Privy Council- Some disputes over foreign policy over MQoS execution, but mostly Queen was served well by her council
- Number of councillors died in quick succession, Queen often delayed replacement and relied on their sons
- Absence of senior noblemen on the council
- Refused to allow Cecil to retire, his son Robert was appointed to help him
- Promotion of Robert Cecil angered Earl of Essex - 5Factional rivalry at Elizabeth's court- Structure prevented factional rivalry from creating too many problems, no single minister had control over patronage
- Various great families had their areas of influence and this balanced out rivalries
- Rivals to Cecil's early dominance emerged: Robert Dudley extremely ambitious and wanted to marry the Queen, Earl of Sussex represented the old aristocracy and relative to Howard family, Duke of Norfolk - 6Factional Rivalry- Plot surrounding MQoS late 1560s, Northern Rebellion: wanted to restore Catholicism, Norfolk disgraced and executed 1572
- 1570s and 80s was a period of cooperation
- Earl of Essex led rebellion 1601: shambles and badly planned, forced to surrender quickly, tried and executed 1601
- Elizabeth becoming unpopular towards end of her reign, attitudes of Essex reflected the growing discontent - 7The importance of Elizabeth's image- Needed to promote a strong image with perfect health and strength
- Travelled country on 'royal progresses' to houses of leading families and met her subjects
- Deliberately toned down extravagance at court to portray herself as careful and hardworking and save money
- Relied on extravagant gifts from courtiers
- Reluctance to marry turned into positive propaganda: 'Virgin Queen' - 8How did Elizabeth use patronage?- Strong appreciation for need to gain and retain loyalty of elite
- Bestowed these favours carefully and to a wide circle
- Aim to ensure as many nobles and gentry as possible were bound in loyalty
- Another form of patronage with grant of pensions or favourable grants of land
- Saw the danger of being too liberal with granting titles - 9Elizabeth and her Parliaments- Tended to regard Parliament as a necessary but occasional evil
- Secondary feature of political system but still important
- Law making: 438 Acts passed
- Granting taxation: most important function
- Giving advice: Elizabeth irritated by them infringing on royal prerogative - 10Financial problems facing Elizabeth's government- Ruled at a time of inflationary pressure, prices were rising
- New Book of Rates at end of Mary's reign increased income from customs duties on imports
- Recovery of cloth industry generated taxes
- As Head of the Church she claimed income from variety of religious sources
- Parliament approached to grant additional subsidies for foreign policy
- Crown lands sold off
- Monopoly rights to produce or import particular products were sold off to Merchants
- Attempted to control expenditure, cautious approach to foreign policy, tried to conserve her finances using diplomacy rather than conflict
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- A2 (Elizabeth) History Fichas sobre Government under Elizabeth I, creado por Sofia Curtis el 04/05/2017.
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- Sofia Curtis
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