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Elizabeth’s management of financial, economic and social affairs - Coggle…
Elizabeth’s management of financial, economic and social affairs
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Sources of crown income, methods of raiding finances, ordinary revenue, parliamentary taxation, methods of reducing costs
Crown lands
- revenue from the lands owned by the queen increased from £86,000 to £111,000
- nobles were adopting more aggressive land management systems using short term leases to increase rents
- Elizabeth didnt want to risk this
- reluctant to exploit tenants
Parliamentary taxation
- she could ask parliament for money, usually her reasoning for summoning them
- parliaments were often willing to grant her supplies but she didnt ask them too often
- fifteenths and tenths raised £30,000 and a subsidy produced £100,000
- it was normal for parliament to grant one subsidy and 2/15ths and 10ths in the subsidy bill - this brought £140,000
- assessments for parliamentary taxes were made by local gentry who collected them and many wealthy landowners were very under assessed
- she didnt want to pay a tax collection service, and she didnt want to alienate the gentry by insisting they increase assessments
- hence this source of revenue not heavily exploited
- Cecil agreed that social disruption was to be avoided and was unwilling to increase taxes
Customs duties
- Elizabeth benefited from the revision of the book of rates which governed the collection of customs duties
- the new rates came into force in 1558
- more imports were subject to tax up from 790 to 1170 and amount of tax also increased often by 100%
- the rate levied on cloth rose from 14d to 6s.8d (6p-33p)
- customs revenue went from £29,315 to £82,797
- in the 1590s customs brought in £91,000 an increase which barely kept up with inflation
- Elizabeth could only increase the yield from customs duties by raising the rates or encouraging more trade
- there was scope to develop other products but woollen cloth receipts could onl grow if new markets were found
- Elizabeth encouraged the finishing of cloth which was mostly carried out in the Netherlands, so greater profit could stay in the country. Most profit came from the finishing process
- a result of the book of rates was higher duties led to smuggling on a larger scale (in 1559 parliament passed an act to regulate where and when goods could be loaded or landed)
- Gresham suggested that it might be more profitable to use customs farmers who would pay the government at a fixed rate and collect the customs duties
- Paulet was not in favour of this and preferred to use more officers, it was overruled
Efficiency savings
- a change that had been made in the reign of Mary was that 3/4 of crown revenue was now collected into the Exchequer of Receipt (meant the exchequer had a better idea of how royal finances stood, less duplication of officials and subsequent savings)
- Paulet was determined to end the storage of money in the homes of officials, Paulet insisted on officials directly responsible to himself taking charge so he had a better control of the cash flow and avoid needless borrowing
- Elizabeth did not address the salaries of officials, there were few pay rises and inflation further eroded the value of salaries
- Thefore, there was encouragement for officials to increase their income from unofficial sources - which gave them greater financial independence and lessened royal control
- spent £8000 on employing 80 people, and constructing a new building at Westminster to accommodate financial officials
other income
- queen derived other income from the church
- first fruits and tenths, a tax had which had once gone to the pope
- Elizabeth kept Bishopric vacant to gain the income
- fines for non-attendance at church mounted, and after 1581 recusancy fines were increased
- even the collection of those would be sporadic, especially in counties were the JPs were sympathetic to Catholicism
- (none of these sources were subject to much increase)
- the rate of taxation of the church was already higher proportionally than the laity
- Elizabeth wanted conformity more than revenue
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Inflation
- inflation made worse by the debasement of the coinage in the 1540s, accompanied by prices
- food prices rising especially rising
- the growing population demanded more food, when supplies were short, prices rose
- public opinion blamed price rises on greed of individuals
- those who built up farms from enclosures were culprits, known as ‘greedy gulls’
- by 1571 another cause of inflation was identified in the amount of bullion coming from the new world
- sir Thomas smith in his commonwealth of England argued there was a ‘great store of treasure in these parts of the world’
- while the import of bullion had some impact on inflation, it is not seen a major contributor, since there are doubts as to whether much Spanish silver actually entered England
- given the difficulties Elizabeth had in increasing her income, inflation was bound to have a severe effect
- her reluctance to spend money was notorious and her hostility to war was only based on politics
- she attempted to deal with inflation by revaluing coinage so prices would come down
- this had limited success and the coming of war caused a crisis as the supplies she needed for her army and navy all cost more
- high prices had an impact on wage-earners as real wages did not keep up with pace with inflation
- the only helpful factor was that the rate of population increase eased
How far did recoinage solve the problems
- Elizabeth was sure that once the debased coins were replaced by good ones, the inflation would ease
- in 1560 the old coins had all been called in, the base alloys contained in them used to fill up potholes
- the new coins were circulating but the prices didnt go down
- the privy council had to rise loans in Antwerp, which led to a fall in the value of the pound
- the issue was that merchants and traders charged as much or more in the new money as they had in the old
- raw materials were affected, because in some cases demand was outstripping supply
- the governemnt tried to solve the issue by reducing imports and enforcing laws about clothes to cut down material imports
- this led to trade embargoes
- the lord treasurer, Marquis of Winchester told the council they didnt know what they were doing and he was right in that they didnt understand population increase drove inflation
what other methods did the governemnt use to control prices
- legislation, e.g a maximum price for french wins which did little
- she tried to enforce fasting in lent and observance of both Wednesday and Friday as fish days
- fish days had a dual role of encouraging more fishing and so a larger fleet and conserving of food stocks
- there was some protest from radical Protestants after Wednesday became a fish day in 1563
- ‘Cecil’s fast’
- Elizabeth forbade the export of grain at times when prices rose
- in 1586 there was a poor harvest and the books of orders, (instructions to JPs) ordered that there was to be no hoarding of grain
- when corn was sold at markets it was to be available in small quantities so it was affordable for the poor
- the clergy were told to preach about the evils of food hoarding and to pray for better weather
- there was complaint that London drew an unfair ration of food
- the legislation of the 1597-98 parliament reflected the difficult conditions, hoiuses formerly belonging to labourers which had fallen into disrepair were to be refurbished, JPs were to fix wage rates, Cloth manufacturing was regulated, acts passed to help the poor and punish rogues
Impact of war
- the outbreak of rioting in 1666 led to many Flemings leaving the flinders and coming to England to settle, their manufacturing skills enhanced royal income
- The English could be aggressive themselves and in 1563 restricted the privileges of Flemish merchants, raising custom duties and prohibiting some imports
- the Flemings were expected to spend their profits from their sales on English goods
- the Spanish retaliated with similar restrictions and English merchants briefly abandoned Antwerp for Emden in Germany
- the Spanish held the English to blame for much of the piracy in the English Channel
- the English resented how the Spanish treated English sailors in Spanish ports
- all these factors affected trade, even though England was not directly involved in war between Dutch and Spain, it reduced her revenue
- in 1568 Elizabeth provoked a reaction from spain
- she allowed money to be collected in England and sent to help the rebels and Dutch pirates
- known as sea beggars, were allowed to use English ports
- in December, ships carrying bullion to pay the Spanish troops were forced by pirates to plymouth
- Elizabeth discovered that the money was a loan from Genoese bankers to Phillip and the contract was only valid once the bullion was delivered, so she took the loan herself
- trade ceased
- Elizabeth used La Rochelle and Hamburg, and Venetian ships took goods to England
- Spain suffered more, not until 1573 that the trade embargo was lifted
- in 1576 Spanish troops in Antwerp mutinied because they had not been paid, Spanish fury
- members of the merchant adventurers suffered and one wrote to the privy council saying some of their company had been killed
- because of the mutiny there were robbed of money and goods, and forced to save their lives
- Drakes voyage of 1577-1580
- Drake’s investors included Walsingham, Leciester and Hatton
- intention of the voyage was to investigate the coast of chile to test Spanish strength there
- attacks on Spanish ships carrying silver and other treasures
- by the time drake returned in 1580 he had a large amount of money, he kept £10,000
- by 1585 intervention in the Netherlands was becoming a necessity
- Phillip II seized English shipping in Spanish harbours in 1585
- august the treaty of Nonsuch committed Elizabeth to providing an English force at an annual cost of 3
£126,000
- this was under the equivalent of half of her annual income
- His attack on Cadiz was more successful in 1587, Spanish cargo worth £140,000, he also forced the Spanish to delay the Armada to 1588
Overseas trade
- the export trade in cloth in 1558 was mostly in Antwerp where the merchant adventurers were based
- the Muscovy company was developing the Russian market and some merchants from London and the West Country were interested in trade with the Guinea coast
- These were the only trading contacts outside europe
- American trade was firmly controlled by the spanish
- The Elizabethans were eager to develop new markets for their goods as demand at home in Europe for their woollen products declined
- They were ready to travel to long distances to secure new private trade routes
- much of the finance for these enterprises came from private investors
- profits were variable
- joint stock companies originated in italy
- investors bought shares in the company and received profits in proportion to their investment
- the Muscovy company with a monopoly of trade between London and Moscow had been set up in 1555 in the reign of Bloody Mary
Where did merchants hope to open up trading ventures
- the Muscovy company had began to trade with Russia
- woollen goods were sold in Russia and furs brought back
- good such as hides, tar, timber for masts, hemp for ropes and wax were imported and proved useful in expansion of navy
- another aim was to buy silk and spices using the route down the river Volga to Persia and to undercut the Portuguese
- another trading venture proposed by John Hawkins, Canary Islands, he learned that slaves could be easily obtained on the guinea coast
- in 1562 he sailed three ships and 100 men
- he acquired 300 slaved and sold them
- on Hawkins’ second voyage in 1564-65 the queen also had a stake
- in 1570s English merchants began trading directly with the mediterranean
- in the 1580s this was formalised with the Levant company which traded with Turkish empire
- other English ports tried to expand but were often thwarted by strength of trade in london
- merchants from hull complained they couldnt access the Baltic trade because all the merchandise came to london
- the Spanish empire in South America was another target and Francis drake initiallly hoped to trade legitametly with Spanish settlements
- the hostility of Spain led to piracy
- the cultivation of closer links to with India, through John Newbury and Ralph fitch was promising
- in 1591 the voyage of James Lancaster reached India, lead to the formation of the east India company
- could be argued that diversification was spreading merchants too thinly
what problems did ventures faces
- European trade was badly effected by events in the netherlands
- as the Dutch revolt broke out, conditions for trade became very insecure
- the merchant adventurers moved their staple to Emden and Hamburg in Germany
- there was rivalry with the merchants of the Hanse who wanted to win control of trade with Germany
- the Danes charged heavy tolls on shipping in the Baltic
- Mediterranean trade suffered so badly from piracy that ships had to sail in convoys
- the Shah didnt want to do business with non-Muslims so trade with Turks and Persians was not a substantial source
- Spain claimed a monopoly of trade with American slave settlements and resented English infringements
- the attempts to find a passage through to a route to the east met with difficulties in the weather conditions and in the fact that geographically the inlets were hard to penetrate
- Humphrey Gilbert was lost at sea after trying to plant a settlement on Newfoundland
- (difficulties faced by merchants facing expansion, the rewards could be good but the loss of profits, ships and men limited this)
were there changes in the goods exported
- main English export was woollen cloth
- something which changed this was the arrivals of refugees from the Netherlands
- as the revolt of the Netherlands made conditions disruptive and persecution of Protestants increased, cloth workers began to cross the channel
- they were appreciated as they diversified the textile business
- new draperies
- brought knoweldge of silk weaving and encouraged linen production
- this was timely as English cloth market declining
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The statute of artifices, poverty and the poor law
why was there more poverty and vagrancy
- population increase which outstripped productivity
- prices rose more than wages, reducing purchasing power of those in employment
- living standards declines by a 1/4 over the reign
- large migration of workers to look for jobs in larger towns
- there were large numbers of labourers unemployed and concern they might cause riots
- rumours asserted that vagrants had been prominent in the rising in the north in 1569
- in the 1540s the population was 2.7 million by 1601 it was 4.1 million
- 1550s saw a period of disease which led to fall but after that it rapidly increased at rate of over 1% per year
- former soldiers and sailors discharged, often with little Monet and far from their home parishes
- enclosure of arable land led to unemployment
- Phillip Stubbs ‘ The anatomy of abuses’ agreed that enclosure was a problem
- act passes in 1563 that said land which had been under plough for 4 years since 1528 and currently tilled could not be converted to pasture
How did some towns and cities try to solve the problem of the poor
- towns and cities were more effective with dealing with the poor
- city fathers has more resources
- in London there was St Bart’s hospital, the Bethlehem hospital and St Thomas’ Hopsital, so provision for three different groups of poor people
- in Norwhich, begging was forbidden, 650 householders made contributions for the relief of 200 really poor people
- some cities introduced taxed to pay for the poor like Exeter
- there were some rural locations were fines for non-attendance was used to help the poor
what efforts were made to regulate employment
- pressure from inflation meant employers were concerned about demands for higher wages
- problems were discussed in the 1559 and 1563 parliament
- statute of articles passed
- one of the major problems was youth unemployment, under the statute, those under 30 unmarried were bound to server any employer who needed them
- the act stated that everyone was to work on the land unless a scholar, at sea or in a skilled occupation
- wage rates were to be settled locally
- the effect was to keep wages low and by 1580s it is hard avoid that living standards fell
- hours of work enforced (5-7)
- if workers absent they had to forfeit 6d per hour
- apprenticeships
- enforced a 7 year apprenticeship
- this did not succeed in immobilising the population, those out of work moved to other towns and villages
- attempts to bring the working population under the control of the government foundered from the lack of enforcement and mixed pattern of employment
- less than half of population entirely dependent on wages
- agriculture was dominant source of employment and many farmers had no regular staff outside families and brought in casual labour as they needed it
- act of artifices had little relevance to them
what laws were passed to solve the problem of the poor
- 1563: alms act
- revived the statutes passed under Henry and Edward for the punishment of sturdy beggars
- distinguish between the ideal and the impotent
- those who refused to pay the levy would be asked by the bishop to do so and if still recalcitrant would be reported to JPs
- 1572: Vagabonds or poor relief act
- contributions towards the poor relief became mandatory
- begging was licensed in parishes where relief could not be provided
- anyone begging over 14 without a licence was to be whipped
- 1576: Act for the relief of the poor
- able bodied who had lost possessions or poor with needs given license to beg
- all towns were to provide a store of wool, hemp, flax or iron so the idle poor could be put to work and earn wages
- persistent beggars were to be sent to houses of correction
- 1598: act for the relief of the poor
- a maximum amount was laid down for the compulsory poor rate
- JPs were to appoint four overseers of the poor at Easter who were to provide stocks of material
- begging forbidden
- 1598: Act for the punishment of Rogues, Vagabonds and sturdy beggars
- act to be administered by JPs
- dangerous rouges sent to galleys
- 1601: act for the relief of the poor
- 1598 poor law made permanent
- became Elizabethan poor law