Elizabeth's Problems as a Female Leader

• When Elizabeth became queen in 1558, most people wanted a man to be king (or monarch)
• Women did not have much power in society and Mary I’s reign made some people think that women should not rule
• Finding a husband


  Important for producing a legitimate heir
• Having an heir


  Would provide stability if Elizabeth were to die
• If there was no clear successor to the throne

  A civil war seemed likely
• She could not marry a Catholic, because England was now a Protestant country after the split from Rome
• Rejected suitors

  • King Philip of Spain
  • King Eric of Sweden
  • Archduke Charles of Austria
  • Robert Dudley
• Having a child that could take over as king or queen (an heir) was very important
• This put pressure on Elizabeth to marry and have children
• Doing this would risk her losing her power as monarch to her husband
• Parliament (the House of Commons and the House of Lords) was responsible for passing laws, setting taxes, and advising the queen
• The House of Commons was elected by property-owning men
• Elections were not free, because ‘the state’ controlled the ballot in certain places if they wanted particular figures to be elected
• The Privy Council was responsible for negotiating between Parliament and the Crown
• William Cecil


  Strong advocate for the queen’s policies to Parliament
• Elizabeth did not have to listen to parliament, but she could not ignore it entirely
• Elizabeth called only 13 sessions of parliament during her reign, which lasted 44 years
• Parliament was called when Elizabeth wanted to consult it
• Reasons for calling Parliament

  • When money was required for war
  • When there was a crisis
  • When she wanted to levy a tax
• Many parliamentarians saw it as their responsibility to find Elizabeth a husband, but this angered the queen
• MP Peter Wentworth was arrested three times for suggesting that MPs should be allowed to express their views on any matter they wanted
• Wentworth tried to pressure Queen Elizabeth into naming a successor who was Puritan or Protestant in 1593
• This earned him an arrest and imprisonment
• He died in prison
• Puritanism


  A branch of Protestantism that wanted to reduce the influence of Catholicism in England
• The majority of parliamentarians were Protestants who supported Elizabeth’s religious settlement, the Middle Way
• A number of Puritans in parliament wanted to pass laws to change the Church of England, but they didn’t have enough support
• MPs disagreed about how to deal with crime and poverty
• Most realized that punishing the poor did not work, but a Poor Law was not passed until 1601
• Elizabeth was criticized by some parliamentarians for giving powerful people monopolies to make sure that they supported her
• MP Robert Bell called this practice unfair in 1571
• Elizabeth gave a speech to parliament in 1601 where she appeared to promise big reforms, without giving any concrete details
• Elizabeth died in 1603