When we meet on Friday 4th you will start by getting your essays back and we will go through them in the normal way. As part of your reflection on your scripts I would like you vote in this poll. Again, it is a relative importance and linking exercise.
All you need to do is to decide which body of government was most important. Vote by posting a comment, and make sure to write a paragraph to explain your ideas. I will again turn the results into a bar chart. You would do well to also consider the comments of your peers.
1. Your choices are the five issues that we have studied in this unit.
The Monarch.
The Privy Council.
Parliament.
The Court.
Local Government.
Remember what we are looking for.
1. Relative importance. Quite simply I want you to pick the one that you think is most important and post a comment here naming it (I will total these up and post the results) and then explaining it.
2. Linking. In the same post try to explain any links that you can see between the issues. Perhaps you might like to reflect if one issue causes another to happen. Is there an underpinning issue.
3. Reflection. When everyone has posted read their comments and reflect on their ideas. What ideas do you want to note down before you write ?
Enjoy…
Mr Kydd.
Enjoy,
Mr Kydd.
The Privy Council.
This institution was the most important, because of the decisions it made, particularly in Elizabeth’s early reign. For instance, England intervened in Scotland entirely due to Cecil believing, rather than Elizabeth, it would help English security to have a Protestant ally. He was right; with a Catholic Scotland, a Franco-Gaelic invasion was likelier. Another example is the Religious Settlement, where the Privy Councillors, a largely moderate group, helped to pass the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity into Parliament that was, at least probably, acceptable for both England and Elizabeth. This avoided national and political division that was equally a threat to England’s security than a Catholic Scotland. The Privy Council’s significance, which was very great, lay in its decisions that kept England secure.
However, it was only marginally more important than Elizabeth, who had more power than the Privy Council and therefore a greater ability to be executive. Indeed, not only was her Council’s composition very much at her discretion (it was only William Cecil she would have struggled to dispose of), she could subordinate their opinions through patronage and faction. This was the case with issues of marriage, succession and Mary Stewart, as well as The Netherlands in the 1570s. Elizabeth thereby was more powerful than the Privy Council, which meant the monarch was very important; with control over her ministers, she could decide, even with their objection, the direction of policy. For this, she was chief governor.
Local government was quite important. Although it was under the control of the monarch and the Privy Council, the central government would not have been able to impose its laws or raise adequate finance or soldiers for its military expeditions. Despite this, it was not a necessary body politic. It could have been disposed, with Elizabeth ruling England as France and Spain were- with an absent monarch who would intervene when there were revolts in the localities or needed to raise an army or navy. For this reason, albeit somewhat unlikely, and that it was under central control, local government was less important.
The Court and Parliament were relatively unimportant. With the first, its function lay in its projection of the Cult of Gloriana, which created popular support for the monarch, and as the “hub” of patronage which led faction inside the Privy Council and loyalty in the localities, thus helping the popularity and sovereignty of Elizabeth. Again, this may well have been removed from Elizabethan government; instead, she may have ruled through intimidation when there was local uprising.
Parliament once more could have been removed. Its purpose was nor arbitrary; the taxes it raised helped the normal functioning of government and the financing of war with Spain and the laws it passed were more legitimate than if they were through Royal Proclamation among the populace. It, however, could have been suspended and instead taxes and laws passed on Elizabeth’s discretion.
In conclusion, the Privy Council was the most important institution as its decisions were vital for English security. While the monarch had more power, including over the Council, and Parliament, Court and local government aided the smooth running of governance, its significance laid in actions.
Although the Privy Council hugely impacted Elizabeths decisions and therefore the way she ruled the realm, the Monarch herself was the most important body of Elizabethan government. Some would say Elizabeths power in reality was a lot less then in theory however no law could be passed without her approval and although her parliament was referred to as the legislative body of Elizabethan government, Elizabeth could pass laws without their consent through royal proclamation. Also the Privy council could only do their best to influence Elizabeth into making decisions but she had the final say. This can be seen with the issue of marriage, the Privy Council constantly tried to persuade Elizabeth to marry and produce a protestant heir, however ultimately she doesn’t wish to and therefore doesn’t. The monarch was responsible for important issues such as deciding the religious worship for the realm and when it would go to war. She was head of the Elizabethan government and therefore the most important body in government.
The Privy Council:
One reason why I believe this is a reason that I ,personally, feel is overlooked slightly, but still very important in that Elizabeth valued this body very highly, more so than the Court, Parliament and Local Governments. The Council also controlled what was discussed in Parliament and many of it’s members had been involved in the Court, it played a leading role over what actions and laws Local Governments carried out too. Going back to my first point, you need only to look at how Elizabeth reacted to the news that William Cecil was dying, any Queen that looks after her ministers when they are on their death bed is one that truly values them and the work that they do, her ministers mainly worked in the Council so this proves my point. Her Council met several times a day as oppose to the once every few years for Parliament, it was her most important body definitely.
Although all of the parts of Elizabeth government was important in their own ways, overall I believe that Elizabeth herself was the most important part of government. Although her Privy Council and the ministers within that discussed major decisions for England and its people, it was the monarch herself that made the final decision. Elizabeth also appointed and dismissed all the ministers herself in the council. The Court was only there to make Elizabeth look good in my opinion and she used that to gain support from the country and to make her power even greater, therefore the monarch being more important again. Although Parliament was the place where laws were passed, it was still Elizabeth that decided on the laws that were passed and if need be she could pass them without going through Parliament. Elizabeth could also decide when Parliament were called or dismissed, therefore showing she has more power over them. Elizabeth was also the most important part of government because she could make important decisions that no other part of government could, such as if and when England went to war and the type of religion England followed. For all them reasons and the fact that Elizabeth had control over the rest of the government that is why I believe the monarch was the most important part in the Elizabethan system of government.
The Privy Council was the most important body in Elizabethan government. It made some very important decisions e.g the Religious Settlement of 1559; more so than any other institution and it was highly regarded by the monarch herself. It was responsible for controlling Local Government, which was vital in keeping areas outside London under control and making sure they enforced Elizabeth’s will. In theory the Monarch herself was more important, but in reality it was the Privy Council that ensured England’s stability. Yes, Elizabeth did choose the ministers herself, but their significance in Elizabethan government was second to none.
The Monarch herself,
Elizabeth fiercely defended her Royal prerogative, which in turn, linked her closely to these other bodies of her government.
Primarily, Elizabeth was the centre of the patronage system, carefully controlling who attended court, when Parliament was called, prorogued or closed and who would become ministers in her Privy Council. She could award patronage to acknowledge the loyalty and service of her people in time where wealth was very much seen as power arguably leaving Elizabeth, well placed to manipulate the other bodies of government. As Robert slogan argues, Gloriana’s intellect and remarkable sense of will made her a, “wily and defensive politician” which, intertwined with John guys adamants that she, “knew her own mind and her instinct for power was inflammable”, undoubtedly makes Elizabeth an essential component to the Elizabethan government – brimming with her political skills. Carrying this point forward, she used her politic skill to manipulate bodies such as the Privy Council to increase their efficiency stating that, “a multitude doth make rather discord and confusion rather than good Council” – preferring the Cromwellian style Council with less members. In turn, she reduced the number significantly – according to C Hague, from 20 to11 until it was arguably, “dangerously narrow and weak in its membership” for she shifted from magnates to the nobility but they were still from a similar political background. She also had the ability to deploy faction in court, allowing Elizabeth herself to control and dominate her Council; forming the cult of Gloriana, which carved her a ideal image through rigorous campaigns and propaganda -making her the focus and increasing her dominance as she was always present, either physically or in topic.
In turn, the significance of Elizabeth’s pure, autocratic interaction with other bodies of government made almost all resistance to her, futile and her importance, unparalleled. Even her contemporaries such as William Camden, believed that Elizabeth, “had so rare gifts, as when her counsellors had said all they could say, she would frame out to wise counsel beyond all theirs” showing her paramount importance in engineering an effective system of government and in my opinion the most important, overall.