Meetings of Elizabethan Parliament

Main Purpose:

To discuss the religious settlement.

What happened: 

• Bill was introduced to restore royal supremacy over the church. 
• Parliament initially refused to sign.
• Eventually did sign, but Elizabeth imprisoned some catholics. 
• She also reduced the number of peers in the house of Lords so that she had more control. 

Mark out of 10 for level of cooperation:

• 7
• Initially there was opposition, however she handled the situation well and eventually got what she wanted.  

Main Purpose:

To grant money to finance foreign policy.

What happened: 

• The Privy Council were worried about her recent illness and pushed her to name an heir. 
• Elizabeth reminded Parliament of her status as their monarch. 
• She forbade any further discussion of the topic. 
• Promissed that she would marry. 

Mark out of 10 for level of cooperation:

• 4
• She did not get what she wanted.
• They did try to push her into doing something. 
• They did stop discussing the issue. 
• She was forced to promise that she would marry. 

Main Purpose:

Mary Queen of Scots

What happened: 

• The council called parliament to try and persuade Elizabeth to act over MQS.
• Campaign to exclude Mary from the throne
• Elizabeth agreed to execute the Duke of Norfolk who had been a part of a plot to kill her
• She refused to agree to the execution of Mary
• Promissed to consider excluding Mary from the throne

Mark out of 10 for level of cooperation:

• 6
• It seems like parliament were making demands and elizabeth is making the concessions. 
• They are co-operating with her, they jsut fear for her safety. 

Main Purpose:

Elizabeth requested money despite the country being at peace. 

What happened:

• Peter Wentworth demanded that the commons be able to discuss whatever it wanted. 
• He was sent to the tower. 

Mark out of 10 for cooperation:

• 6
• Wentworth did not cooperate, however he was imprissoned by the house of comons itself showing that they knew he had crossed the line. 
• She did not get the money. 

Main purpose:

To discuss the safety of Elizabeth after another plot to kill her was discovered. 

What happened:

• A few Puritans tried to make religious changes. 
• Acts were passed to ensure Elizabeth's safety and to ban Jesuit priests from the country. 
• Subsidies were granted to maintain the country's naval defences. 
• Elizabeth protected James' right to the throne even if Mary was implicated in a plot to kill her. 

Mark out of 10 for cooperation:

• 9
• There were a few MPs who tried to derail the session but for the most part parlament went with what Elizabeth wanted. 

Main purpose:

The privy council wanted Elizabeth to agree to the execution of MQS. 

What happened:

• Privy councilors in both houses of parliament lead the discussion and Elizabeth eventually signed the death warrant. 
• MPs were sent to the tower for discussing a religious bill outside of parliament and for speaking about a banned topic. 

Mark out of 10 for cooperation:

• 7
• Parliament was talking about a topic which Elizabeth had previously banned. 
• She was forced into doing something that she had previously been opposed to. 
• It wasn't really parliament acting though, but the Privy Council. 
• Members again tried to discuss religious reforms.  

Main purpose:

To raise funds for the war in Spain. 

What happened:

• The issue of Monopolies was brought up. 
• MPs were not happy about the heay financial demands. 
• MPs wanted to vote on subsidies. 
• Elizabeth agreed to look into Molopolies and gave into their demands on subsidies and the prerogative. 

Mark out of 10 for cooperation:

• 4
• Parliament took the oppertunity to voice all of its own concerns and ignored the main reason it had been called. 
• Forced Elizabeth to act. 
• Showed the level of growing disconent within Parliament.