Elizabeth I
Government
The royal court
It was the place where Elizabeth made most of her key decisions
The court was part theatre and partly a place for patronage (The system by which the crown distributed favours to those that were seen as loyal)
2 main areas
The presence chamber: Anyone with the right status and connections could enter here (Relatively open)
The privy chamber: Was both more private and more important. It was heavily guarded and entrance was difficult to attain
The operation of court was managed by the Lord Chamberlain who was always a member of the nobility during Elizabeth's reign
3 of the Lord Chamberlains she appointed were related to her somehow meaning she could trust them not to betray her in some way
The Privy Council
Key functions
To enforce the religious settlement of 1559 using the JP's to investigate the compliance of certain individuals eg overseeing the laws against Catholics
To oversee arrangements regarding national defense by supervising the operation of trained bands and individual counties and serving as Lord lieutenants to monitor JP's make sure the armies were being trained in specific counties
To enforce a range of laws and regulations regarding issues such as lawlessness, vagrancy, prices and wages
To manage crown finances with the Lord Treasurer and the Chancellor of the Exchequer
To discuss matters of State and offer policy advice arising from those discussions to the Queen
Met regularly and often consisted of about 10 individuals. However its importance cannot be overestimated as Elizabeth often consulted ministers on a personal basis too
Important advisers
Sir Robert Cecil
Robert Devereux
Sir Christopher Hatton
Robert Dudley
Sir Francis Walsingham
William Cecil
Under Edward he became Somerset's private secretary and under Elizabeth he came her secretary of state
He took control of all public business and was the center of all public doings. It was stated that nothing would be done in which his voice had not been heard
Cecil was loyal and once Elizabeth had made a decision even if he disagreed he would follow it until it was done which is why he served Elizabeth for nearly over 40 years and was one of her most trusted advisers
When the prospect of peace and an alliance with Scotland came about Cecil was adamant that it should be done and even threatened to resign in order to persuade her. Which succeed.
Due to the revolt against Mary Queen of Scots Scotland turned Protestant and allied with England under the Treat of Edinburgh in 1560 meaning England was more secure against France
Cecil provide Francis Walsingham with money to finance and set up England's first counter-intelligence organisation as Cecil feared that Elizabeth could potentially be overthrown.
Cecil was elevated to Baron Burghley in 1571 and in 1572 he was appointed Lord Treasurer as well. Meaning he was a Baron, Secretary of State and Lord Treasurer
He was suspected of being involved in the Lady Jane Grey uprising but it was never proven
He returned to England once Elizabeth had become Queen in 1558
He disagreed with Elizabeth's view on religion and spoke about it but never made any attempt to go against Elizabeth in any way.
He was given money and set up a spy network in Europe that was extremely efficient and was put in charge of the security of the monarch a title which he fulfilled very well
He was aware of many spies in England and in some cases converted them to Elizabeth's cause to work as double agents
Francis was aware of many plots to either remove Elizabeth from power or damage her royal authority and successfully prevented any from happening
To keep his spy network running smoothly he established a spy-school where he taught cipher, forgery and taught agents field work
Dudley emerged as one of Elizabeth's leading advisers and was given the position of Master of the Horse making him the only man in England legally allowed to touch the Queen
Dudley was a similar age to Elizabeth and it quickly became apparent that Elizabeth preferred Dudley's company over everyone elses
Elizabeth was very close to Dudley and their relationship defined his life as Elizabeth was very emotionally dependent on Dudley
Rumors were spread about their relationship for example Elizabeth was waiting for Dudley's wife to die so she could marry him
It was rumored that he had killed his wife when she was found at the foot of the staircase with a broken neck in 1560. Dudley opted to stay in London and stem any accusations that he was involved . He also did not want his relationship with Elizabeth had driven her to take her own life for the sake of both their reputations as suicide was a grave sin and it would look like he had been depriving his wife of any love and affection which would have halted any possibility of him marrying Elizabeth
When Elizabeth fell ill with smallpox in 1562 she named him as protector of the realm
In 1565 Elizabeth gave more land and grants to Dudley as was also made an Earl and was a leading figure in the privy council
He was a loyal supporter of Elizabeth and monitored the polices put forward by William Cecil and Francis Walsingham closely once he had been elected into the House of Commons
Once Walsingham had died he became a much more prominent figure in the privy council and rivaled Robert Devereux
In the last years of Elizabeth's reign he enter secret negotiations with James VI of Scotland who was the strongest claimant to the English throne but Elizabeth would not acknowledge him as heir
Was supposed to be the son of Robert Dudley
He came to Elizabeth's attention through a play he was performing
He became ward to the queen and was educated in French and Latin which he soon became fluent in
Was taken in by William Cecil and was raised with Cecil's own older son
He met with the Queen in order to weaken the power of his fathers main rival Sir Walter Raleigh which worked and they were soon inseparable as she was impressed with his gaiety, wit and high spirits
In her later years Elizabeth would dance with no one else and insisted that he went hunting with her
Hatton was loyal to Elizabeth in Parliamentary debates
He was appointed to the privy council and was involved in the negotiation of Queen Elizabeth to the Duke of Alencon. Personally he disagreed but did agree to the marriage if it pleased her
In May 1587 was made Lord Chancellor
Foreign policy
Anglo-Spanish relations
They deteriorated over time mainly due to Elizabeth rejecting Phillip's marriage proposal in 1559 and their differing religious views (Elizabeth was Protestant and Phillip was Catholic)
Phillip was not happy with Elizabeth's support of the Protestant French rebels in 1562
Phillips government in the Netherlands banned imports of English cloths which is significant as the Netherlands was England's main export prior to this
In 1568 Phillip expelled the English ambassador from Madrid and replaced the Spanish ambassador in England with a much more radically Catholic ambassador
Things began to deteriorate at a faster rate when the Pope excommunicated Elizabeth in 1570 for example in 1571 the Spanish ambassador was expelled from London for being complicit in the Ridolfi plot to overthrow Elizabeth
Religion
Law and Order
France
Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis 1559 Ended the war with France that had damaged the crown finances and lost England their last territory in France, Calais. The treaty stated that as long as England did not attack France in 8 years they would return Calais and if they failed to do so would pay England £125,000
Scotland
Treaty of Berwick February 1560: Was an agreement that secured Elizabeth's support for the rebel Protestant rebels that wanted to make Scotland a protestant country
Treaty of Edinburgh July 1560: It removed the English and French forces from Scotland including the French navy which had bee badly damaged by storms. It also made Scotland a protestant country which was a big win for Elizabeth as it provided security as they were now allies with the only country that had a land boarder with them
Elizabeth tried supporting the French protestants that rose up against the French Catholics in 1562 however this did not work and as well as not concerting another country to protestantism she lost any hope of England regaining Calais as it was a direct attack on France this conflict led to the Treaty of Troyes in 1564
Elizabeth imposed a religious settlement in 1559 that made the country moderately Protestant as it banned alters, stain class windows and the Pope but vestments, music and transubstantiation was allowed
Act of Supremacy 1559
Removed the Pope as head of the Church
The reformation legislation under Henry VIII was restored
Heresy law that had been revived under Mary was repealed
Reinstated the role of commissioners so they could visit, reform, correct, amend heresies and abuses that were found in parishes and churches
The act made Elizabeth supreme governess of the church of England
An oath of Supremacy was taken by every clergyman and church official and were either removed from their post or punished for not doing so (Most members of the clergy felt they could not take this oath as such the clergy was practically reappointed
The act of uniformity 1559
Reinstated a revised version of the 2nd book of common prayer that allowed vestments, music and transubstantiation
Pleased many of the Catholics as they believed that the reform would be like it was under Edward and would prosecute ant Catholic practice
Royal injunctions 1559: A set of instructions that the church had to follow that were an attack on many Catholic beliefs like the alters, stain class windows and Latin Bibles and mass however they also represented some of Elizabeth's personal beliefs with the music and vestments staying angering many Protestant reformers that had returned from exile in Europe
Act of 39 articles 1563 (in law 1571)
The doctrine of Elizabeth's church
Rebellions
The Northern rebellion 1569
Causes
It was triggered by the summoning of Northumberland to Elizabeth's court as word had got out that he was plotting to marry Mary Queen of Scots to take the throne with her when Elizabeth eventually died
Religion played a part as Elizabeth sent James Pilkington who was a radical reformer in a Conservative North so tensions rose when he began to enforce the settlement eg. He removed statues that had survived the initial iconoclasm
Local factors also played a part as the Earls of the North felt dishonor as they had been excluded from the Northern council so had no influence over the royal court anymore
Feudal loyalties as many of the commoners were loyal to the nobles they were under so felt honor bound to fight for them
Successes
They rebels took Durham in November 1569 and then the month later in December 1569 took the crown stronghold of Barnard Castle which had never been done before
Failures
After the rebels had seized Durham they moved South but did not capture York which was poorly defended and would have made the rebellion more dangerous as they would have control of 2 of the main cities in the North
The rebellion was led by very inexperienced nobles
They hoped that the Spanish fleet would help them out once they had captured Barnard Castle but it never came
Upon hearing the royal forces were on approach the Earls largely disbanded their troops as they only had 4500-6000 against Elizabeth's 22000
Decisive action from the authorities as MQS was put somewhere safer and an army was raised quickly to deal with the rebels
Other than the Earl of Northumberland, Earl of the Westmorland and the Duke of Norfolk it had little to no support from the nobility
66 rebels were executed in Durham and York
600 rebels were executed on mass on order of Elizabeth although 100 were not carried out
Confusion about the modernization of government
Northumberland's head was displayed on a pole for 2 years after he was executed in 1572
The Essex rebellion 1601
Causes
Faction rivalry as Essex was Elizabeth's favorite but was acting with increased arrogance and impatience at her policies and creating enemies in court
His failures in Ireland when he was sent over in 1599 to repress the Catholic rebels. Instead signed a truce with the rebels and knighted 38 of his captains against Elizabeth's direct orders so was charged with treason when he returned
Instead of being executed he was placed under house arrest where his hatred from Lord Burghley grew
Loss of Monopoly and favor. Elizabeth denied Essex his positions in government and his monopoly of sweet wines that cost him £50,000 and almost made him bankrupt
Competition between councilors, Essex blamed Cecil for his position and met with Jame VI of Scotland to plot a coup, and replace Cecil
Failures
Essex was incompitant and actually believed that Elizabeth would be forced into making him the Lord Chancellor
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Unified puritan groups
Moderate Puritans
Presbyterians
Separatists
Broke away from the church to pursue a more radical Protestant reform
Believed that the bible was the sole source of religious teaching and thought that the church was incapable of rooting up any Popish practices and superstitions
Called for thorough reform of the structure of the church and the simplification of the faith and ritual in line with Calvinist ideas
They voiced their ideas on 2 important pamphlets, known as Admonitions which attacked Elizabeth's 1559 book of Common Prayer
They also argued that religion should be handled by national assemblies and committees rather than a strict hierarchy of command this was debated by Parliament but was rejected
Elizabeth was against that kind of reform as it would challenge her position as the Supreme Governor and in response to the treat passed the act of 39 articles which all members of the clergy had to accept before they were granted a position in the church
Accepted the structure of the Church but wanted reform of doctrine and practices
A group of clergymen disagreed with the retention of vestments from Mary's reign under the act of uniformity leading to the publication of the Book of Advertisements in 1566. When the clergymen refused to conform they were stripped of their position
Puritan MP's call for reduction in the number of holy days
Society
The nobility
Nobility remain 10% of the population
51-55 noble families
Elizabeth didn't want to appoint any more new peers like Henry VIII as she was sacred to make more people powerful to potentially challenge her
They were well off enough to build lavish houses if the Queen ever journeyed to their estate
The wealth gap between the gentry and the commoners under the reign of Elizabeth
Gentry
This social group continued to grow in size and wealth
500-600 gentry families
They increased education by using printed books from Europe to further their standing in society