Unit 3: The Triumph of Elizabeth: Britain 1547-1603 (HIS3B)

Key Issue: - The State and the People

Change and Continuity

Unit 3: The Triumph of Elizabeth: Britain, 1547-1603 Revision

Wednesday 12.5.10 - Topics 2-4: Elizabethan Government: Parliament
1. Opposition to Elizabeth in Parliament 1558-1571 a summary table
Date and purpose of
parliamentary session
25 Jan-8 May 1559
A bill was introduced by the Queen and
Council to restore royal supremacy over
the Church in England. Parliament initially
refused to pass the bill

12 Jan-10 April 1563

30 Sept 1566-2 Jan 1567
Parliament was summoned to grant money
to finance foreign policy towards Scotland
and France. The Commons petitioned
Elizabeth to marry and name a successor.

Neales interpretation of events

The revisionist interpretation of

events

Elizabeths strategies

Opposition came from Puritans in the House

of Commons who wanted a more Calvinist
Church

There is no evidence for a cohesive

pressure group in the Commons. Most
resistance came from the Catholics in
the Lords (N. Jones, Faith by
Statute. 1982)

Opposition was organised by the Puritan

Choir, who had developed well-organised
tactics, such as planning their agenda and
methods of opposition in advance. The group
was led by Peter Wentworth, a university
graduate who was skilled in public speaking.
The Queens response caused Wentworth to
demand that the Commons enjoy freedom of
speech.

The council, worried about her recent

illness, orchestrated the campaign to
request Elizabeth to marry and name her
successor. The committee which draft3ed
the petition was chaired by Sir Edward
Rogers and included all 8 Privy Councillors
sitting in the Commons. And, in 1566, it
was William Cecil who organised a joint
delegation to the Queen and worded their
request that she should name her
successor.

Elizabeth imprisoned John White (Bishop of

Winchester) and Thomas Watson (Bishop of
Lincoln) after their public dispute with
Protestants.
All but one bishop refused to accept the
Religious Settlement and these were
replaced in 1559. Elizabeth created an
unusually small number of hereditary peers
so that by 1603 the number in the House of
Lord had fallen to 55.
As a result of these measures the House of
Lords became increasingly small and under
the Queens control.
Elizabeth reminded the Commons of her
status as their monarch: I am your
anointed Queen, I will never be by
violence constrained to do anything . She
also forbade further discussion on the
subject of her marriage and the succession,
after promising that she would marry.

2 April 29 May 1571

Parliament met following the Northern
Rebellion and Elizabeths excommunication
by the Pope. Unusually no money was
requested, and Parliament was probably
called as a result of pressure put on the
Queen by the council.

The Puritan Choir gained new, radical

leaders in the 1570s. These included
Thomas Cartwright, John Field, Walter
Travers and Thomas Wilcox. These men
spearheaded a campaign to remove all
elements of the Popish dunghill from the
English Church and came into continual
conflict with the government over all
religious matters. The campaign centred on
a document called the Admonition to
Parliament.

The council, fearing for the safety of the

Queen after the Ridolfi Plot, pushed for
the execution of the Catholic heir, Mary,
Queen of Scots. Growing tension over the
possible threats posed by Catholics was
apparent. A campaign to exclude Mary
from the English throne was led by 2
councillors, Knollys and Croft, their
manager in the Commons, Thomas Norton,
and Lord Bacon and Lord Burghley.

Elizabeth agreed to execute the Duke of

Norfolk who had been implicated in the
Ridolfi Plot. She refused to agree to the
execution of Mary, Queen of Scots (using
her veto). Promised to consider excluding
Mary from the succession (evading the
issue), and then prorogued Parliament.

2. Opposition to Elizabeth in Parliament 1576-1587: - A summary Table

Date and purpose of
parliamentary session

Neales interpretation of events

The revisionist interpretation

of events

Elizabeths strategies

8 Feb 15 March 1576

The Queen requested money, even though
the country was at peace

Peter Wentworth demanded freedom of

speech for the Commons on all subjects. In
doing so he became the heroic figurehead
of Parliaments struggle to gain liberties and
privileges, a struggle which was realised
during the Civil War

Michael Graves, in Elizabethan

Parliaments, 1559-1601 (1987), describes
Peter Wentworth as, foolhardy,
impetuous and politically inept (p 51). He
argues that Wentworth did little to
enhance the efficiency of the Commons
and was little more than a parliamentary
nuisance (p 51). Wentworth was sent to
the Tower by the Commons for offensive
remarks made against the Queen.

23 Nov 1584 29 March 1585

Parliament was called to provide for the
Queens safety, following the assassination
of William, Prince of Orange, and the
discovery of a plot by Mary, Queen of
Scots, to kill Elizabeth

The Puritans seized the opportunity to start

the Bill and Book campaign to replace both
the Anglican Prayer Book and the Anglican
system of Church government with a
Calvinist model.
Puritan opposition was becoming organised:
campaigns were characterised by presession planning where tactics were
rehearsed and wide support within the
Commons was exploited. The Puritans
continued to demand unrestricted freedom
of speech and make difficulties for the

Nealess views are based on supposition.

Although Puritans in the Commons did
want to demolish the Elizabethan
Church, such campaigns were mounted by
a handful of members, lacked general
parliamentary sympathy or support, and
were easily smother4ed by official
action (M. Graves, Elizabethan
Parliaments, 1559-1601, 1987, p 54).
The House of Commons itself refused to
hear Peter Turners bill to change the
Prayer Book and system of Church

Elizabeth continued to impose her limited

version of freedom of speech on the
Commons, ensuring that it could discuss only
matters which she approved. Issues such as
marriage, religion, foreign policy etc. came
under the sphere of the prerogative and
were not to be discussed. Despite his
recklessness, Wentworth was not alone in
his beliefs that these matters were of
public importance and that Parliament was
the best forum for discussion.
Elizabeth stopped Burghleys attempt to
make the Bond of Association statute law,
although the first Act of Safety was
similar. She also safeguarded the rights of
Marys son James, even if his mother were
implicated in a plot against Elizabeth.

government.

29 Oct 1586 23 March 1587

Elizabeths councillors wanted Parliament to
persuade Elizabeth to agree to the
execution of Mary, Queen of Scots

The debates emphasised the emerging

threat of Presbyterianism, which Anthony
Copes re-introduction of Turners Bill and
Book to abolish Church courts, the
episcopacy, and the Queens position as
Head of the Church

government. Parliament also passed an

Act for the Queens safety, an Act
against all Jesuit Priests, and a subsidy
for maintaining the countrys naval
defences.
Any opposition was led by the
councillors: Hatton and Knollys in the
Commons, Burghley and Bromley in the
Lords. Once again, the Privy Councillors
in the Commons took the lead.

Elizabeth refused to commit herself, until

Walsingham revealed the so-called Stafford
Plot, which frightened her into signing
Marys death warrant.
Although the Commons decided to hear
Copes bill, the Queen intervened to prevent
it from proceeding. Wentworth, Cope, and
three others were arrested for discussing
the bill outside Parliament

3. Opposition to Elizabeth in Parliament in the last years of her reign: - A summary Table
Date and purpose of
parliamentary session
24 Oct 1597 9 Feb 1598
27 Oct 19 Dec 1601
Both Parliaments were called so
that Elizabeth could request
subsidies to finance the war against
Spain. MPs, however, raised
interests of their own..

Neales interpretation of events

This is an example of rebellion in
the Commons by organised
opposition, a response to the
Queens misuse of the royal
prerogative. Grievances over the
Queens granting of monopolies
(which raised consumer prices)
caused considerable agitation.
There was also general
dissatisfaction over the heavy
financial demands, which provoked a
row in which the Commons claimed
the right to initiate any votes for
money. Parliament originally voted
far less than the two subsidies
requested.

The revisionist interpretation

of events
This is an example of rising
discontent, nothing more. It was
a spontaneous response to a
common grievance, voiced by the
governing class through its
representatives (M. Graves,
Elizabethan Parliaments, 15591601, 1987, p.55)

Elizabeths strategies
The Queen ignored the complaints
initially, but in 1601 she had to act
in the face of public unrest. She
promised to cancel some monopolies,
suspend others, and to thoroughly
investigate the situation. She
preserved her prerogative and
subsidies by conceding to
Parliaments demands.

Unit 3: The Triumph of Elizabeth: Britain 1547-1603 (HIS3B)

Key Issue: - The State and the People
Change and Continuity

Unit 3: The Triumph of Elizabeth: Britain, 1547-1603 Revision

Wednesday 12.5.10 - Topics 2-4: Elizabethan Government: Parliament
Use the three Opposition to Elizabeth in Parliament A summary table above (you already have these in your Topic 2,3 and 4 notes
but they have been put together here into one whole set of notes) to complete the grid below which is designed to organise your synoptic
understanding of the key issues concerning Elizabethan Government: Parliament.

Change 1558-1603

Nature of Opposition by
Parliament

Opposition to the
Queen over
religious matters
declined as the
reign progressed
and she had firmly
enforced her
prerogative
Opposition in
parliament in the

Continuity 1558-1603

Was never
significant enough
to undermine the
Queens authorityher strategies
were always
effective in
quieting opposition
even if this did
include compromise

Historical Debate:
Neale v. Revisionist
Interpretation

Personal Interpretation

1590s saw
Elizabeth concede
to their wishes and
compromise over
the prerogative to
an extent
(monopolies issue)

Effectiveness of
Opposition by Parliament

Opposition to the
terms of the Act
of Supremacy in
1559 made
Elizabeth
compromisebecame Supreme

(not always
reflective of
weakness to
compromise)
Elizabeths
Councillors often
behind the
opposition in
Parliament in order
to get MPs to
bring up matters
they could notcouncillors were
loyal to Elizabeth
and this does not
reflect declining
control of the
Queen within
Parliament
Puritan Opposition
to the Crown not
supported by the
majority in
Parliament
Opposition never
effective to the
extent that the
Queens supreme
authority was
threatened

Governor rather
than Head (the
concerns about
female control of
the church was
also a widespread
view in England not
just Parliament)
Opposition in
Parliament rarely
effective in terms
of religious efforts
in the 1560s1580s (Peter
Wentworth)
In the final years
parliamentary
opposition to the
Crown again made
it necessary for
Elizabeth to
compromise
(dissatisfaction
with patents of
monopoly- initially
in 1597, grew and
in 1601 members
presented
Elizabeth with
detailed evidence
of their concerns

Nature of Response by
Elizabeth

Effectiveness of
Response by Elizabeth