Elizabeth I: Parliament, Conflict & Cooperation (AQA A Level History: Component 1: Breadth study): Revision Note

Summary

• Elizabeth used Parliament sparingly

  • It met just 13 times across a 44-year reign and was a tool of royal government, not a rival to the Crown

• The biggest early clashes were over the marriage and succession question

  • MPs pressed Elizabeth to marry or name an heir in 1563 and 1566; she refused on both occasions

• Puritan MPs tried to push Church reform through Parliament from 1563 onwards but achieved nothing

  • Peter Wentworth's demand for absolute free speech attracted almost no backing from other MPs

• Monopolies became the sharpest flashpoint of the later reign

  • Members of Parliament (MPs) were openly furious and threatening to delay or withhold subsidies

  • Elizabeth defused the crisis with the Golden Speech (1601), framing the withdrawal of monopolies as an act of royal care rather than a concession forced by Parliament

Elizabeth & Parliament: How Did She Manage the Commons and Lords?

• Parliament was summoned rarely and sat for short sessions

  • Elizabeth called just 13 Parliaments in 44 years

  • Most sessions were relatively short, often lasting a few weeks to a few months

  • For most of the reign, government ran through the Privy Council without Parliament

Functions of Parliament:

• The House of Lords generally carried more political weight than the House of Commons

  • Senior ministers such as William Cecil (Lord Burghley) sat in the Lords, not the Commons

  • Many MPs were influenced by noble patronage, particularly in smaller boroughs

  • Many government bills were introduced in the Lords first

• Elizabeth managed the Commons through parliamentary managers

  • "Men of business" such as Sir Christopher Hatton and Sir Francis Knollys steered debates and legislation on the Crown's behalf

  • Elizabeth was often reluctant to call Parliament and had to be persuaded by her ministers, particularly when taxation was required

• Parliamentary confidence grew over time, though opposition remained intermittent

  • By the end of the reign, over half of MPs had a university education or legal training

    • A more confident Commons was harder to manage

  • War costs after 1585 forced reliance on parliamentary subsidies, giving Parliament financial leverage

    • Even so, Elizabeth almost always obtained the taxation she needed

  • Historian J. E. Neale argues that a rising Commons was asserting itself against the Crown

    • Geoffrey Elton and later revisionist historians have challenged this, arguing that cooperation was the norm and opposition was never sustained

Parliamentary Clashes Over the Marriage Question & the Succession

• The marriage and succession question dominated early Parliaments

  • MPs feared Elizabeth's death without an heir would trigger civil war or a Catholic succession

  • Parliament pressed Elizabeth repeatedly to marry or name a successor; she refused

• Elizabeth drew a firm line between matters of commonwealth and matters of state

  • Matters of commonwealth (trade, local law, finance) were Parliament's legitimate business

  • Matters of state (marriage, succession, foreign policy, religion) were the royal prerogative

    • MPs could raise them only at Elizabeth's invitation

  • This distinction was the foundation of every clash over the marriage and succession question

The Parliaments of 1563 and 1566–1567

• These clashes showed Elizabeth's management style

  • She punished insolence but avoided a permanent breakdown in relations

  • She obtained the money she needed while conceding nothing on the succession

Pressure regarding Mary Queen of Scots

• Parliament repeatedly demanded action against Mary Queen of Scots from 1572 onwards

  • After the Ridolfi Plot (1571), Parliament called for Mary's exclusion or execution

  • Elizabeth blocked these measures, refusing to execute a fellow anointed monarch

  • In 1586, following the Babington Plot, Parliament formally demanded Mary's execution

  • Elizabeth eventually signed the death warrant in February 1587 under sustained pressure

• The Norfolk election case (1586) showed the Commons asserting a further privilege

  • The Commons claimed the right to settle a disputed election

    • Traditionally it was the Lord Chancellor's responsibility

  • The Commons eventually backed down and conceded the Lord Chancellor's authority

  • This illustrated the limits of parliamentary assertiveness

    • Demands were made but rarely sustained

Parliamentary Clashes Over Religion: Puritans in the Commons

The Puritan challenge in Parliament

• Puritan MPs wanted to push the Church Settlement further away from Catholicism

  • They objected to Catholic-style vestments, ceremonies and church courts retained in the Settlement of 1559

  • From 1563, they introduced reform bills and tried to extend free speech to cover religious matters

    • None succeeded

  • Elizabeth blocked every bill, insisting Church doctrine was a matter of royal prerogative, not Parliament's business

• Historian J. E. Neale argues that a "Puritan Choir" of at least 40 co-ordinated MPs pressed for reform from 1563

  • Later historians, including John Guy, challenged this view

  • Guy argues this group was far less organised than Neale claimed, and that it achieved no lasting legislative change

Peter Wentworth and free speech

• Wentworth was the most persistent supporter of parliamentary free speech

  • In 1576, he argued that MPs should be free to speak on any matter without royal interference

  • The Commons committed him to the Tower without direct royal intervention

  • He was imprisoned again in 1587 and 1593 for raising the succession question

    • He died in the Tower in 1597

  • Even at his most persistent, Wentworth attracted almost no backing from other MPs

• Puritan opposition in Parliament achieved nothing

  • No real changes were made to the Settlement through parliamentary pressure

Monopolies & Parliamentary Protest in the 1590s

• Monopolies were Crown licences granting exclusive trading rights over a product

  • The Crown sold monopoly rights as a way to raise revenue without relying solely on parliamentary subsidies

  • Common monopolies included salt, starch, playing cards, iron and glass

  • Monopoly holders could charge inflated prices, harming merchants and consumers

• The number of monopolies grew sharply in the 1590s

  • War costs after 1588 pushed Elizabeth to raise money by any means available

  • Courtiers and royal favourites received monopolies as rewards, fuelling resentment among MPs, merchants and consumers

  • By 1601, the large number of licences made trade very difficult

The 1597 Parliament

• MPs raised monopolies in Parliament formally in 1597 for the first time

  • A bill was put forward to fight their growth

  • Elizabeth promised reform and the bill was withdrawn

  • No real change occurred; by 1601, the problem had worsened considerably

The 1601 Parliament: the monopolies crisis

• The 1601 Parliament produced the most serious confrontation of the reign

  • When MPs read out a list of monopolies in the House, the mood was openly angry

  • One MP asked what was not yet monopolised

    • Another replied "bread"

  • Members resisted voting subsidies for the war in Ireland until the monopolies issue was resolved

The Golden Speech, 30th November 1601

• Elizabeth defused the crisis by summoning a deputation of MPs to receive her in person

  • In the speech:

    • She declared she had never valued wealth above the welfare of her subjects

    • She promised to abolish all monopolies that harmed her people

    • In practice, many monopolies were reviewed or withdrawn, though the system itself was not completely abolished

  • MPs responded with warm loyalty and voted the subsidies she needed

  • The speech was circulated in print immediately and became one of the most celebrated statements of Elizabethan monarchy

• The monopolies crisis also reflected the wider strains of Elizabeth's last years

  • The patronage system was under strain

    • Too many courtiers competed for too few rewards

  • War costs made structural financial reform unavoidable

    • Elizabeth still avoided structural financial reform