The Elizabethan Government

Three Branches of Government: Monarch Privacy Council Parliament

Monarchy Elizabeth chose what men would help her govern and had the Power to send people to prison. Everyone obeyed her because if you didn’t, it was against the law, sometimes considered treason, and punishable by death. The most powerful men in the country were chosen by her. Hence, Queen Elizabeth was a very powerful force in England at the time. Unlike today’s queens, Queen Elizabeth was very much the Ruler and had to make very important decisions about government herself. Although the queen was not above the law, she was still a very powerful woman. No law could be passed without her consent. She decided many things such as the religion of the country, when Parliament would sit and what they would discuss, and educational decisions. She would decide if and when the country went to war. She even had the power to decide what people could eat and wear.

Parliament Parliament was mainly used to pass laws or grant money to the Queen, but if the Queen or the Privacy Council could not get the Parliament to pass a certain law, the Queen would issue a Royal Proclamation which overruled Parliament’s decision. Parliament did not have near as much power as it has today and did not even have a Prime Minister or political parties. The Queen usually only summoned Parliament to grant money and only did so ten times during her reign. Just like today, the Parliament consisted of the House of Lords (the Upper House) and the House of Commons (the Lower House). In the House of Lords sat the bishops and aristocrats, and in the House of Commons sat the everyday people. Elections were held for the House of Commons, but the winners depended very much on who the important people in the area supported since elections were often rigged. Only men who made a certain annual income could vote.

Privacy Council The "Privacy Councillors" had to have knowledge in many different areas since they assisted the queen in areas such as 'religion, military, the Queen's security, economics, and the welfare of the people.' In the early years of Elizabeth's reign, the Council met about three times a week, but by the end of her reign, they met almost everyday to advise her and argue their sides. 'The Privacy Council was responsible for the general administration of the country.' It was made up of people that Queen Elizabeth wanted on it. She chose them diligently though because she wanted to make sure that the most powerful men in the country had their interests represented. If she didn't represent their interests, they would rebel against her. The Council can be as large or small as the queen would like. Queen Elizabeth decided that she did not want a very large Council. She believed that too many ideas would only cause more problems. Her first Council had nineteen members, compared to about fifty from her predecessor. By the time she died, that number had been reduced to thirteen. Info courtesy of http://www.elizabethi.org/uk/power/

3 branches of government To summarize… VS. 3 branches of government Checks and balances The Queen “rules”

Sources: http://www.elizabethi.org/uk/power/ http://www.everything2.com/index.pl?node_id=1529015&lastnode_id=0 The End!