Elizabeth and Her Government Flashcards
(21 cards)
The system of government
Queen Court Privy council Lord liutenant Justice of the peace
Importance of privy council
- It was important because it was a small group of professional politicians who ran country on a daily basis
- Advised Elizabeth
- Elizabeth trusted it and let it go on with its work
- Could issue proclamations in Queens name
- Consisted of most powerful men in country (Walsingham and Cecil)
- Queen relied heavily on Cecil as she respected and listened to him
- Important in early years when Elizabeth lacked political experience
Importance of parliament
- It passes laws; turned Elizabeths laws into policies (passed 434 acts)
- Elizabeths financial problems meant she relied heavily on parliament to agree to new taxes (met 13 times,11 for money)
- MPs were well educated and started to express opinions (delved into personal matters like marriage/succession)
- Elizabeth often attended parliament speeches to try and persuade MPs to support her - she knew she needed the backing of parliament even if she didn’t like it
How did Elizabeth maintain control?
Patronage
- Elizabeth use the system of patronage which involve showing favoritism by by giving particular men important jobs
- Jobs given by the Queen will highly sought-after because they brought wealth and prestige; winning and keeping the Queen’s favour was very important.
- Patronage created competition and rivalry between people that meant everyone was totally loyal to her
How did Elizabeth maintain control?
Divide and rule
- Elizabeth deliberately appointed men who were hostile towards each other.
- By forcing rival factions to work together on the Council, Elizabeth played a game of ‘divide and rule’, which meant the men would compete with each other for her affection.
- They would give her contrasting advice, which would then allow her to make measured decisions
- This also ensured they remained loyal to her
Sir William Cecil
- Moderate Protestant who had studied law at Cambridge
- Enormously intelligent and very hard working.
- Made Secretary of State in November 1558.
- A stabiliser. Like Elizabeth, he wanted to avoid war and unite the nation through moderate policies.
- He was naturally conservative, and like the Queen disliked being rushed into rash decisions.
- Elizabeth admired the fact that Cecil spoke his mind if he disagreed with her or other councillors.
- Elizabeth relied heavily on Cecil, counting on his loyalty and trusting him complete
Sir Francis Walsingham
- Fervent Puritan.
- Fiercely loyal to Elizabeth.
- Appointed to the Privy Council in 1573, became Secretary of State with special responsibility of foreign affairs
- A superb organiser. Was in charge of the Elizabethan ‘secret service
Robert Dudley
- A childhood friend and favourite of Elizabeth
- A member of the Court
- Highly ambitious, he became a PRIVY COUNCILLOR in 1562, proving to be a conscientious worker.
- A radical and a Puritan, he frequently argued with Cecil about the succession, religion and foreign policy.
Sir Christopher Hatton
- Studied law at Oxford
- Loyal, kind, clever and hardworking.
- Helped organise Elizabeth’s famousprogresses.
- A moderate Protestant, he hated Puritans and sympathised with Catholic
Why was it important for Elizabeth to marry?
- Can a woman rule effectively?
- Need to secure succession/stability
- Secure foreign alliance - support
- Ensure tudor dynasty continues
Why did Elizabeth choose not to marry?
- All possible suitors could have serous consequences - better to choose no one
- Concern about loss of power/independence for Elizabeth (position of women)
- Seen too many marriages go wrong - unwilling to make a commitment
Why did Elizabeth not marry Phillip of Spain?
- He was catholic
- Unpopular in England
- Marriage to Mary unsuccessful
- Likely to impose his will
- Use Britain to Spains advantage
Why did Elizabeth not marry The Duke of Alencon?
- Catholic
- Brother of french king
- England could fall under British control
- Massacre of protestants led to popular anger against France in England
Why did Elizabeth not marry any foreign prince/king?
- Alliances good or bad
- Other countries feel rejected
- Could take over England
Why did Elizabeth not marry Dudley?
- Already married
- Wife died in suspicious circumstances
The question of succession
- Suffolk line - descended from Henry VIII younger sister, her granddaughters Mary grey or Catherine Grey
- Stuart line - descended from Henry VIII elder sister, her great grand son James
- Towards end, the problem solved itself; Mary and Catherine were imprisoned and died before Elizabeth
- James Stuart, king of Scotland was only remaining heir when Queen died so throne was passed to him
Years of decline
-By the 1950s Elizabeth’s government was in a crisis
-The country has been damaged by war, plague poverty and poor harvest
The system of patronage was breaking down; one by one her counselors died
-They were replaced by younger ambitious men who is rivalry cause unrest in court and the council
-Elizabeth became increasingly angry depressed and bad-tempered; she lost popularity and faced criticism.
-There was a feeling that she had arranged long enough
What made the Earl of Essex important in Elizabethan England
- He disrespected the Queen and challenged her
- He represented the weakness in privy Council (through the divisions by his rivalry with Cecil)
- He led a rebellion against the Queen
- He failed to deal with Irish rebellion
Essex rebellion
- He was part of privy council and was jealous of Cecil rise to power and influence over the Queen
- He was banished from court many times for losing his temper with the Queen
- When Essex was away in Ireland Elizabeth promoted Cecil
- He was banned from court and placed under house arrest
- Elizabeth did not renew his Monopoly causing him to be ruined financially and politically
- In 1601 he gathered support and rumours of rebellion began
- Elizabeth summoned him front of the Privy Council but he refused
- He marched with his followers to the centre of London to capture the Queen
- The government responded decisively
- Essex was called a traitor and he got no support from people of London
- The rebellion lastd 12 hours
- He was executed in February 1601
Norfolk rebellion
-Mary Queen of Scots arrival in England triggered a Catholic Rebellion
-Many in northern England retained their Catholic
beliefs and there was support for the idea of Mary, Queen of Scots, replacing Elizabeth on the throne.
-Although many northerners were torn between
loyalty to Elizabeth and their religious beliefs, they
nonetheless questioned her right to rule.
-Norfolk left the royal court without permission and headed north.
-Taking this as a sign, a group of northern lords
led by Westmorland (Norfolk’s brother-in-law)
and Northumberland began a rebellion against
Elizabeth.
-They took control of Durham Cathedral
and celebrated an illegal Catholic mass.
-They then began a march south with around 4600 men.
How did Elizabeth respond to the Norfolk rebellion?
- Elizabeth got wind of the plan and sent a huge army to crush the rebellion.
- Elizabeth put 800 rebels to death and the two Earls fled to Scotland.
