Who had the power in Elizabethan England?
- Created by: anekemayer
- Created on: 31-03-18 19:25
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- Who had the power in Elizabethan England?
- Parliament
- Parliament was made up of the House of Lords (lords, bishops and other members of the nobility) and the House of Commons ('common' people, although still wealthy and educated). It was much less powerful than the modern UK Parliament but it did have influence over tax and was responsible for passing laws. The queen decided when to call Parliament and how much of their advice she should listen to.
- Privy Council
- Took responsibility for the day-to-day running of the country. Its members were Elizabeth's main advisors. Technically Elizabeth could choose who was on the Council but in reality she had to appoint the most powerful landowners to avoid the risk of rebellion. The Council could be called upon to deal with almost any issue,including military and foreign affairs, religion and the queen's security. If the privy council agreed on a particular issue, it was hard for Elizabeth to refuse it. Luckily for her, privy councillors were rarely united. The council was lead by the secretary of state.
- Justices of the Peace (JPs)
- Each country had several Justices of the Peace to ensure order was kept. They were always selected from the local gentry and their main role was to ensure that the laws passed by Parliament were properly enforced. A single JP had the power to send somebody to prison but more than one JP was required to sentence a criminal to death. On taking office, JPs swore to treat everyone who they dealt with equally, whether they were rich or poor.
- Lord Lieutenants
- Appointed by the queen to take administrative responsibility for a particular area of the country. This involved settling disputes and collecting taxes. They were also responsible for raising a militia to fight for the queen if needed. Many Lord Lieutenants held other important roles in court, most notably privy councillors (if they served on the Privy Council, their day-to-day work could be carried out by a deputy-someone who did the job in their place). The position of a Lord Lieutenant could lead to great power and influence.
- Parliament
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