elizabeth

• Elizabeth I became queen of England

  1558
• Elizabethan government


  • Had many different features and involved the court, the Privy Council, parliament, Lord Lieutenants and Justices of the Peace
• Court


  Made up of noblemen who acted as the monarch's advisers and friends. They advised the monarch and helped display her wealth and power
• Privy Council


  Members of the nobility who helped govern the country. They monitored Justices of the Peace and oversaw law and order and the security of the country
• Justices of the Peace

  Large landowners, appointed by government, who kept law and order locally and heard court cases
• Lord Lieutenants


  Noblemen, appointed by government, who governed English counties and raised the local militia
• Parliament


  Advised Elizabeth's government, made up of the House of Lords and the House of Commons
• House of Lords


  Made up of noblemen and bishops
• House of Commons


  Elected, though very few people could vote
• Extraordinary taxation


  Extra taxes required to pay for unexpected expenses, especially war
• Militia


  A force of ordinary people (not professional soldiers) raised in an emergency
• Elizabeth did not possess complete power. She could not pass laws without parliament's approval, or raise taxes without parliament's agreement
• 80% of the population of England lived in the countryside
• Social hierarchy in the countryside

  • Nobility (major landowners, often lords, dukes and earls)
  • Gentry (owned smaller estates)
  • Yeoman farmers (owned a small amount of land)
  • Tenant farmers (rented land from yeoman farmers and gentry)
  • Landless and labouring poor (did not own or rent land)
  • Homeless and vagrants (moved from place to place looking for work)
• 10% of the population of England lived in towns
• Who's who in the towns

  • Merchants (traders who were very wealthy)
  • Professionals (lawyers, doctors and clergymen)
  • Business owners (often highly skilled craftsmen)
  • Craftsmen (skilled employees, including apprentices)
  • Unskilled labourers and the unemployed (people who had no regular work)
• Wherever you were in Elizabethan society, you owed respect and obedience to those above you and had a duty of care to those below
• Households were run along similar lines to society, with the husband and father as head of the household
• When Elizabeth became queen, she had to find a way of establishing her authority as reigning monarch
• Legitimacy


  Whether a monarch is lawfully entitled to rule
• Elizabeth was unmarried and it was unusual for a woman to rule in her own right, as Christian traditions suggested that women should follow men's authority
• Many people disapproved of the idea of a queen regnant (a queen who actually ruled)
• The pope had refused to recognise Henry VIII's marriage to Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth's mother
• Catholics questioned Elizabeth's legitimacy, claiming that she had no right to rule. They preferred a Catholic monarch and there was a real risk of rebellion
• It was widely expected that Elizabeth would marry, but this would reduce her power as her husband would be expected to govern the country and deal with parliament
• Elizabeth's inexperience meant that she needed the support and advice of her Privy Council, especially her Secretary of State, Sir William Cecil
• Elizabeth could issue royal proclamations and had prerogative powers, enabling her to govern without parliament's consent, especially in foreign policy. However, laws could only be passed with parliament's approval as Acts of Parliament
• Charismatic leader


  Someone who possesses great personal appeal and can use this to win people over
• Legitimate ruler


  Someone who is legally and morally entitled to rule
• Divine right


  The idea that God alone appointed the monarch, meaning that to challenge the monarch was to challenge God
• Protestants


  Christians who no longer accepted the authority of the pope and many of the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church
• Patronage


  The monarch could use the granting of lands, jobs and titles to reward her supporters
• The Crown was £300,000 in debt and had an annual income of only £286,667 when Elizabeth became queen
• Over £100,000 of Crown debts was owed to foreign moneylenders (the Antwerp Exchange), which charged a high interest rate of 14%
• Mary Tudor had sold off Crown lands to pay for wars with France, so the Crown's income from rents was falling
• Elizabeth needed money to remain secure on the throne, as she could use it to reward her supporters
• Since the 1540s, the Crown had debased (devalued) the coinage, by reducing its silver and gold content, in order to make more money to fight wars against France. This resulted in inflation, as the value of the currency fell
• Inflation


  Where prices rise because coins are worth less, so people charge more for what they sell
• Elizabeth did not raise taxes but instead hoarded her income and cut her household expenses by half
• Like her predecessors, she sold Crown lands, raising £120,000