Research Paper On Elizabethan England Government

Elizabethan England Government

In the late 1500s, there came period in time where the country of England had gone through an era called Elizabethan England. During this time, the ruler of England was Queen Elizabeth I. She's considered to be have been England's best monarch. During her reign, the government was described as a personal monarch. This is because Queen Elizabeth's personality played a role in determining the style, intensity, and efficiency of the government. The government of Elizabethan England was centralized, well organized, and very efficient.

The government, during this time, was known to be centralized. Being a monarchy, England was under one ruler, their monarch Queen Elizabeth I. Although she couldn't do everything

The Privy Council was a group of advisers for the Queen. Their main priority was to give numerous opinions to Queen Elizabeth, and she would decide on the situation at hand. They also were in charge of taking care of routine administrations, such as matters of religion, military, the Queen's security, economics, and the people's welfare. The Council had to deal with national and individual interests, issue proclamations in Queen Elizabeth's name, and supervise law and enforcement. While there was the Privy Council, there was also Parliament to help govern. Parliament was a group of representatives whose main purpose was to deal with financial matters, such as taxation and giving the Queen money. Parliament was also used for passing laws both private and public. Public laws applied to everyone while private laws only applied to certain individuals. Parliament could undo laws only if both houses, the Upper House and the Lower House, agreed with them three times and the Queen had also agreed. Parliament could also advise the Queen, though, she was never interested in hearing their advice. The Queen once said to Parliament, "Was I not born in this realm? Were my parents born in any foreign country? Is there any cause I should alienate myself from being careful over this country? Is not my kingdom

The Elizabethan England's judicial system, for instance, is made up of many different courts. The Great Session Courts, or the Assizes, and the Quarter Session Courts were the most important courts. The Great Session Courts were held twice a year for each county while the Quarter Session Courts were held four times a year. The Quarter Session Courts had dealt with most of the crimes, whereas, the Great Session Courts were known to give very harsh punishments. Other courts, such as Petty Session Courts, Manor Court, and town courts, took care of unimportant crimes. Civil cases were handled by many courts depending on the person's financial status. The wealthy was dealt with by the Star Chamber, one of the highest profile courts. The Court of Chancery handled criminal cases, and the Exchequer of Pleas took care of financial suits. The poor were dealt with by the Court of Requests, and religious and moral cases dealt with the Church Courts. Whoever committed high treasons or any other dangerous crimes were sentenced to death, which was usually issued to the