Elizabeth and government
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- Elizabeth and government
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Elizabeth and government
Queen Elizabeth I was A person who has supreme authority or power. of England, meaning she had upmost authority and rule, compared to the monarchy today. Elizabethan government operated on a A system of organising people or things in terms of a perceived importance, eg from king to beggar would represent a social hierarchy. system. Elizabethans believed that God had appointed the monarch and she had the power and status to grant jobs to those below her. They in turn granted rewards and jobs to the people below them and so on. The Court was the centre of political power in Elizabethan England and wealthy people went to court to try and win the favour of the queen.
Elizabeth had ultimate power in the land and she could appoint people to the most important jobs. She did this using a system of The power to appoint people to important jobs based on a system of duties and rewards. and she used this system to maintain the loyalty and support of her subjects. The most important group of people was the A group of senior politicians who advise the monarch.. These men were chosen from the Someone of high rank with a title., People who belong to the class below the nobility. and the Church. They advised the queen and acted as her ministers. Their role was not always safe as Elizabeth could dismiss her Privy Councillors if they offended her and she sometimes refused to see them as in the case of William Cecil in 1587. She did face serious opposition from one of her Privy Councillors, the Earl of Essex, in 1601 when he organised a rebellion against her. The rebellion was unsuccessful and Essex was beheaded in February 1601 accused of treason.
In Tudor times The law-making body of a country. had far less authority than it does now and whilst the Privy Council met every day, Parliament only met when the monarch decided. Elizabeth tightly controlled Parliament and set the agenda of what they were allowed to discuss and pass laws on. However, during her reign Parliament did become more influential and was often in conflict with Elizabeth over issues such as religion, marriage and her A market where there is only one seller of a particular good or service. licences. The most difficult of Elizabeth鈥檚 critics were the Strict Protestants who wanted to get rid of ritual in church services and lead a plain and simple life. and they pushed for further Protestant change.
Whilst Elizabeth used the Privy Council and Parliament to help her in governing the country, they were based in London. In order to maintain control in the provinces she relied upon local officials such as the Lord Lieutenant and the Justices of the Peace.