ELIZABETHAN GOVERNMENT
Elizabethan England l Elizabethan Characters l Elizabethan Government l Elizabethan Food

Elizabethan Government

The Monarchy
The monarch of England during the Elizabethan era was Queen Elizabeth I. The government of Elizabethan England was centralized, well organized and very efficient. It was very much a personal monarch with ministers. Queen Elizabeth’s personality determined the style, intensity and efficiency. She ruled and led her people for 45 years, and produced great developments and advancements for England. During her time, monarchs were rulers and not just figureheads. She was the ultimate decider and was able to determine issues of her nation’s religion, when Parliament would sit and what it would discuss, when and if her country would go to war, matters of education, welfare of her citizens, what food they would eat and what clothes they could wear. She is considered to be England’s best monarch. She was a wise and just Queen and chose the right advisers and never let herself get dominated by these advisers. She dealt with the stubbornly resistant members of Parliament without being tyrannous, and was cleaver at compromising in both religious and political matters. Queen Elizabeth I was the sixth and last of the Tudor dynasty.

The Divine Rights of Kings gave the monarch the image of being a Demigod. The theory of the Divine Right of Kings aimed at instilling obedience by explaining why all social ranks were religiously and morally obliged to obey their government. The strong authority made going against the monarch a sin. By not obeying the queen, you could be accused of treason and sentenced to death. The queen had the power to send one to prison and order execution. Even with all of this power, the monarch was not above the law, and she could also be brought before the court.

All laws required the queens consent in order to be passed. The queen could not write and pass laws herself. She had to draw up a Bill and put it forward to Parliament for consideration and approval. However, the queen could make Royal Proclamations without Parliament’s consent.

The Privy Council
The Privy Council was Queen Elizabeth’s group of advisers and its main purpose was to give numerous different opinions to the queen and she decided on the issue at hand. Too often the advice was often ignored and the Council had to still carry out the queen’s wishes. The Council took care of routine administration which involved matters of religion, military, the queen’s security, economics, and the welfare of the citizens. The Council dealt with matters of national and individual interest, issued proclamations in the queen’s name and supervised law and enforcement. The Council could not may any decisions, they could only advise. The members of the Council were depended on who the queen wanted there. Certain powerful noblemen were also necessary in the Council so that their and their realms’ interest were represented so that a rebellion would be avoided. Queen Elizabeth believed the more members of the Council, the more opinions and problems. She dropped the number of Council members from 50 to 19 and eventually to 13. At the beginning of her reign, the Council met three times a week, by the end her reign, they met almost every day.

The Secretary of State, Sir William Cecil led the Council. He was wise, cautious, and cooperative with Queen Elizabeth and trusted by all others. He was also the queen’s personal secretary and chief adviser until his death. He had the reputation of one of the greatest English statesmen. His successor, Sir Francis Walsingham, was the mastermind of the English spy network which defended Queen Elizabeth against foreign powers and plots. He was succeeded by Sir Robert Cecil.

Parliament
A group of representatives called Parliament was divided into two sections. The House of Lords or the Upper House consisted of bishops and aristocrats. The House of Commons or the Lower House consisted of common people. There were no political parties or a Prime Minister associated with Parliament during the Elizabethan era.

The main function of Parliament at this time in history was to deal with financial matters such as taxation and granting the queen money. The monarch paid for daily administration with ordinary revenues from customs, feudal dues and sales of land. Parliament covered extraordinary expenditures such as war with taxation. If taxation did not supply enough funds for military expenditures, more land was sold along with illegal scheming. Parliament was also used for passing laws. During Queen Elizabeth’s reign, 438 public and private laws were passed. Public laws applied to everyone, whereas, private laws only applied to certain people. Parliament could undo a law if both houses agreed three times and the queen was also in agreement. The queen could make laws by Royal Proclamation without Parliament’s consent. Parliament could also advise the queen, but she was never interested in their advice.

Elections only occurred for the members of the House of Commons. These members were supported by the important local people from their locale. The members of the House of Commons only had voting power if they were male and received a certain annual income. The queen decided when Parliament would be called to session. Queen Elizabeth I only called Parliament to session 10 times during her reign.

Local Governments
Local governments were important to the citizens of Elizabethan England. Every county had royal representatives such as Justices of the Peace, Sheriffs, and Lords Lieutenant. They insured that the queen’s command and laws were enforced and obeyed.

Regional governments were responsible for overseeing parts of England that the Privy Council could not supervise. The Council of the North, which resided in York, was responsible for Northern England, and the Council of the Marches, which resided in Ludlow, was responsible for Wales and some border counties.

Manors were run by nobility and gentry. Owning land was what made one powerful, and those with land were wealthy and masters of the tenants on his land, thus they had had a major influence. It was a position of responsibility as they were meant to aid the monarchy by governing their own land. Grievances were taken to the Lord of the manor and the tenants were loyal to him. His political views were greatly impacted on his tenants as well.

Each city and town had its own government, head by a mayor.

 

Courts
The judicial system of Elizabethan England was made up of several courts. The most important courts were the Great Sessions Courts or the Assizes, and the Quarter Sessions Courts which dealt with most crimes. The Great Sessions Courts were held twice a year in each county, and the Quarter Sessions Courts were held four times a year. The Assizes was famous for its power to inflict harsh punishment.

Petty Sessions Courts, Manor Courts, and town courts handled unimportant crimes. Civil cases were dealt by various courts depending on the person’s monetary status. The Star Chamber, one of the highest profile courts consisting of mostly Privy Counselors tried the wealthy. The Court of Chancery judged criminal cases, and the Exchequer of Pleas handled the financial suits. The Court of Requests dealt with the poor or “poor man’s causes, and the Church Courts handled religious and moral cases. Those who committed high treason and other serious crimes received the death sentence which was often handed down by the queen. Those guilty of lesser crimes were sent to prison or to the stocks.

It was an era of great economic development. Sir Thomas Gresham established the first stock exchange called the Royal Exchange in 1565. This was the first one in England and one of the first institutions in Europe. This relative peaceful and prosperous Elizabethan era was known as the “Golden Age.”