Power and Government
by Heather Thomas
The England of Elizabeth was a very structured place, and had a rather complicated system of government. First there were the national bodies of government such as the Privy Council and Parliament, then the regional bodies such as the Council of the Marches and the North, and then county and community bodies.
National, or rather Central, government, consisted of:
 The Monarch (Click to Open, Click to Close)
The government of England in the age of Elizabeth I was very different to what it is today. Queen Elizabeth was very much a ruler, unlike the monarchs today who are larely figureheads, and had to make all the major decisions of government herself. But Elizabeth could not do everything herself, and so she had various councilors and officials to help her govern the country justly and fairly. The Queen was not above the law, but had to act in accordance with it, but Elizabeth was still a very powerful woman. No law could be passed without her consent. She could decide the religion of the country, decide when parliament was going to sit and what they could discuss, decide when and if the country was going to go to war, make decisions about education, the welfare of her people, even what food her people could eat and the clothes they were to wear. She also was responsible for choosing the men to help her govern, and had the power to send men or women to prison and order executions. Everyone in the country had to obey her. Not to obey her was against the law, and could be treason, for which the penalty was death.
The most powerful men in the land were those that Elizabeth chose to have around her. These were largely courtiers. Powerful men did not have to hold positions of power in the land. For some years Robert Dudley did not hold an important office, but was very powerful because of his close relationship with Elizabeth.
Elizabeth governed the country with the help of two very important institutions. The Privy Council, and it's daughter bodies the Council of the Marches and the Council of the North, and Parliament.
The Privy Council (Click to Open, Click to Close)
The Privy Council was responsible for the general administration of the country. Who was on the Council depended on who Elizabeth wanted on it, but as some of the nobles of her realm had a lot of money and influence in the places that they lived, Elizabeth had to make sure that the most powerful men in her country had their interests represented. If she did not, they could rebel against her. In the reign of Queen Mary, the Council had been rather large, but Elizabeth did not want this, believing that too many people with different ideas would only cause more problems than solve them. Her first Council only had nineteen members, compared to about fifty members under her predecessor, and by her death in 1603, this had been reduced to thirteen.
The Privy Councilors were involved in an array of governmental areas, including religion, military matters, the Queen's security, economics, and the welfare of the people. They could be called on to deal with matters of national interest, and also, surprisingly, very mundane issues that effected individuals rather than the country. The Council issued proclamations in the Queen's name, and supervised the enforcement of statutes. One of the Council's principal roles was to advise Elizabeth when she needed advice. The Councilors did not always agree on matters, however, and Elizabeth would have to listen to all sides of the argument, and then make up her own mind what to do. This increased her power to a degree, as it meant that she was never faced with a united Privy Council. If, for example, the Privy Council had agreed upon a husband for her, it would have been rather difficult and awkward for Elizabeth to disagree with them. They were all agreed that she should marry, but could not decide who she should marry.
In the early years of the reign, the Council met only three times a week, but by the end of the reign, it was meeting almost everyday. The Council did not do all the work themselves, however, but delegated a lot of it to secretaries. William Cecil, who as Secretary of State was effectively the leader of the Council, had his own personal secretaries, and his son, Robert Cecil, had four secretaries helping him with his duties as Secretary of State and Master of the Wards. The secretary of State was effectively Elizabeth's personal secretary, and a very influential man. The most famous of the secretaries was William Cecil, and his great administrative ability has earned him the reputation of one of the greatest statesmen in English history. He was wise and cautious, and worked well with Elizabeth. She trusted him above all men, and he was her chief advisor until he died in 1598. So well did they work together, that some historians have debated whether the success of the Elizabethan regime was due to Elizabeth herself, or whether it was down to Cecil. Cecil's son, robert, also became Secretary of State late in the Queen's reign.
The role of the secretary was mainly advising the Queen, overseeing the preservation of law and order, defending the realm against plots, and general security. Sir Francis Walsingham, William Cecil's successor, and mastermind of the great Elizabethan spy network, began as William Cecil's servant in 1568, and was responsible for giving him information on spies in London. In 1570 he was nominated ambassador to France. In 1573 he was recalled and made secretary. He was a gifted, able man, and his spy-network defended Elizabeth against foreign powers. Once he had 53 agents in foreign courts and 18 other spies. The practical defense of the country, however,Ê was done by the Army and the Navy.
The Parliament (Click to Open, Click to Close)
Like today, the Tudor Parliament consisted of the House of Lords (the Upper House (and the House of Commons (the Lower House). In the Lords sat the bishops and the aristocrats, and in the commons sat the common people.Ê Although elections were held for the lower house, who was made a member of parliament depended very much on who was supported by important people in the locality, and elections were often rigged. Only those with a certain annual income could vote, and only men.
The main function of Parliament was to pass laws and grant the Queen money when she needed it. However, the Queen could make laws without Parliament's consent, in what were called ROYAL PROCLAMATIONS, if she wanted, and so if for some reason she and the Privy Council could not get Parliament to pass certain measures, they could resort to proclamations. Tudor monarchs tended only to summon Parliament for major governmental reforms or for money, and money was the main reason that Elizabeth summoned hers. Parliament did not have anywhere near as much of the power it has today, and there was no Prime minister or any political parties. It was up to the Queen when a Parliament was called, and over the course of her long reign, she only had ten Parliaments.
ELIZABETHAN PARLIAMENTS
1559 - 25 January-8 May
1563-1567 - 12 January-10 April 1563(i), 30 September 1566-2 January 1567 (ii)
1571 - 2 April-29 May
1572-1581 - 8 May-30 June 1572, 8 February-15 March 1576
1584-5 - 16 January-18 March 1581, 23 November 1584-23 March 1587
1586-7 - 29 October 1586-23 March 1585
1589 - 4 February-29 March
1593 - 19 February-10 April
1597-8 - 24 October 1597-9 February 1598
1601 - 17 October-19 December
These three bodies would work together to rule the country, make laws, raise money, and decide upon matters of religion and national defense. The Privy Council was largely an administrative body, but it could not oversee the administration and government of all England and Wales, and so the Council of the North and the Council of the Marches helped. The Council of the North, residing in York, was responsible for the North of England, and the Council of the Marches was responsible for Wales and some of the English border counties. During Elizabeth's reign, it became settled in Ludlow, which made it effectively the capital of Wales, although it was in England. The Council of the North and the Council of the Marches were also part of a more localized method of government, and in Tudor England, local government was very important. To ensure that the Queen's commands and the laws of the land were being obeyed, there were royal representatives in every county in the country. The most important of these were the Justices of the Peace, the Sheriffs, and later the Lord Lieutenants. Cities and towns even had their own hierarchy of government, and various officials to oversee certain matters, the principal official being the mayor.
Also of great influence in Tudor and Elizabethan times were the nobility and gentry. Land was power in the early modern period. Those who possessed it were wealthy, and masters of the tenants on the land as well as those who worked for them. The Nobility and Gentry were considered to be in a position of responsibility, and were meant to aid the monarch in governing the lands over which they presided. People could take their grievances to their lord, or to the lord of the manor. Some members of the nobility took their duties seriously and were involved in establishing institutions of religion or education. The Earl of Leicester, for example, established a hospital in Warwick. Tenants owed loyalty to their lord, and if called upon, were expected to go to war for their master or mistress. One of the reasons the Tudor monarchs feared the rebellion of one of their greatest noblemen, was because that nobleman was likely to command the loyalty of a significant proportion of the people over who he presided. Indeed, the political or religious views of an aristocrat was very important as it could and did influence the views of his tenants and subjects.
Also important to the government of the country were the courts of the land. The most important courts were probably the Great Session (or Assizes), held twice a year in each county, and the Quarter Sessions Court, held four times a year. Between them, these courts dealt with most crimes, such as theft, witchcraft, recusancy, murder, and assault. The Assizes in particular had the power to inflict harsh punishments. For not so important crimes, there were other courts such as the Petty Sessions, Manor courts, or even town courts. For civil cases, there were various courts to choose from, but choice was probably limited by a person's wealth. For the wealthy, there was Star Chamber, one on the highest profile courts as it largely consisted of Privy Councilors; there was the Court of Chancery, a court that could also judge criminal cases; there was the Exchequer of Pleas, especially expedient in dealing with financial suits, and for those lacking wealth, there was the Court of Requests, popularly known for this reason as "The court of poor man's causes". The Church Courts were important in dealing with religious or moral affairs. There were also other courts with particular functions such as the court of Admiralty for naval matters.
High Treason was usually dealt with by the Queen and her ministers and carried a death sentence. For other serious crimes, such as murder, a person was also put to death. Lesser crimes were punished by imprisonment or the stocks, or sometimes both.
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©2005 Heather Thomas - Visit her Website
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