Defending against internal and external enemies, 1571-88,

Lord Burghley 1520-1598

Sir William Cecil remained the most influential of Elizabeth's minister.
However, his status changed in1572 when he succeed the Marquis of Winchester as Lord Treasurer and was raised to the peerage as Baron Burghley - making matters easier for him.
He no longer had to deal with the bureaucratuc pressures that he had taken up so much of his time as Principal Secretary.
However, he still had a vitally important role, coordinating the privy council, managing parliament and supervising the Exchequer and the Court of Wards.
As Lord Treasurer, he adoped a conservative approach to royal expenditure.
This prudence was to pay off from the mid-1580s when it became necessary to spend more money on war in the Netherlands and defense of England against the Armada.
His failure to reform the crown's system of raising revenue would cause serious problems in the later stages of Elizabeth's reign.
As a result, as Wallace MacCaffrey has argued, 'major deficiencies in the crown's fiscal adminisration went unchecked or grew worse' with declining revenues from customs, crown lands and wardships.
This then caused immense problems later in the reign with the financial pressures created by the war against spain.

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A cambridge- educated lawyer whose family had courtly connections.
He had spent the reign of Queen Mary in extile studying law at Padua in Italy.
First appeared in the Crown's emplyment in 1568.
Was promoted to Secretary in 1573 in the aftermath of the reshuffle in which Burghley had been appointed Lord Treasurer.
A conscientious bureacrat, he exercied relatively little influence over domestic affairs.
But was concerned principally with diplomacy and espionage.
He was a fervant Protestant.
He enjoyed close family connections with many prominent Elizabethans who shared his religious views.

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Walsingham is his brother in law.
Mildmay was a Cambrigde- educated lawyer.
He enjoyed rapid advancement during the final years of Henry VIII reign and the reign of Edward VI on account of his skill as a financial administrator.
Regarded with suspicion by Mary, he was, nethertheless, too able to be removed from all public services.
He had retured to full favour under Elizabeth, who he served for many years as Chancellor of the Exchequer.

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Attracted the Queen's attention allegedly in part on account of his skill as a dancer.
Hatton was promoted through the royal household to become Vice Chamberlain and a privy Councillor.
His role in the government resembled that of Leicester, based on the personal chemistry between the Queen and himself rather than a cool appraisal of his political abilities.
Hatton often had been assumed to have had Catholic leanings and he certainly adopted a convervative approach in religious matters.

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Reshaping of the Privy Council took place in 1570s.
The influence of the traditional conservative aristocracy was reduced with the downfall and execution of Norfolk and the death of Lord Treasurer Winchester.
A nucleus of firmly Prostestant coucillors was appointed: Sir Thomas Smith, Sir Francis Walsingham, Sir Walter Mildmay, Sir Ralph Sadler, Sir Henry Sidney and the Earl of Warwick.,
Their advancement was balanced by the promotion of more conservative figures, such as Sir James Crofts and Sir Christopher Hatton.
According to John Guy, these changes resulted in an 'inner ring' of eight councillors. Some of these were militant Protestants. (Walsingham, Leicester, Mildmay and the Earl of Bedford)
The only relatively conservative figures were Sussex and Hatton.
Despite the changes in personnel, little changes in terms of the effectiveness of the Privy Council during the 1570s and the early 1580s.
Piecing together the discussions and debates that took place within the council is more problematical.
Nevertheless, historians have confidently asserted that the council offered cohesive descision making.

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