GCSE History Full Mark Question: The Importance of Elizabeth's relationship with Parliament.
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Course
History
Institution
GCSE
‘Though you have had, and many have, many princes more mighty and wise sitting in this seat, yet you never had nor shall have any that have been more careful and loving’.
Elizabeth to Parliament, 1601.
How convincing is this interpretation of Elizabeth’s relationships with her Parliame...
‘Though you have had, and many have, many princes more mighty and wise sitting in this
seat, yet you never had nor shall have any that have been more careful and loving’.
Elizabeth to Parliament, 1601
How convincing is this interpretation of Elizabeth’s relationships with her Parliament? (8
marks).
In the Elizabethan era, Parliament consisted of the House of Lords and the House of
Commons. The House of Lords was made up of 90 nobles and the House of Commons was
made up of 450 elected MPs who were well-educated gentry. Parliament’s function was to
pass laws and Parliament was vital in order for the Queen to do so. Parliament had a
financial role and could collect taxes and approve of legislation.
The interpretation is very convincing for someone studying Elizabeth and the relationships
that she maintained with her Parliament. Parliament’s role was to pass laws and approve
subsidies. Parliament evidently trusted the Queen and perceived her as ‘careful’ because
they only refused her money on two occasions. Usually, she got what she asked for, which
shows they respected her.
Furthermore, this Interpretation is very convincing as it accurately reveals Elizabeth’s
negative attitude towards her Parliament. Her Parliament constantly pressured her to
discuss the issue of marriage in order to resolve the debate of who would inherit the throne
when she died. But Elizabeth decided to ban Parliament from talking about this issue as she
believed marriage was a decision for her to make on her own. Additionally, an MP named
Peter Wentworth was arrested numerous times during the reign of Elizabeth for arguing
that MPs should be able to discuss any matter that they chose. Eventually, Elizabeth decided
to limit Parliament’s freedom of speech. Furthermore, Elizabeth bullied and charmed her
Parliament into doing what she wanted them to do. However, the interpretation does not
acknowledge how much Elizabeth relied on Parliament to run the country and the
interpretation is limited in its knowledge of how Parliament was an essential part of
Elizabethan England.
Notably, she viewed Parliament as a ‘necessary evil’ and in 1601, she granted concessions to
MPs on the issues of monopolies. She felt she had to appease Parliament because of the
way that viewed her and she did this to fund activities in Ireland. The Interpretation
highlights that although she held the status of Queen her actual power was quite limited
and she needed to rely on Parliament for support.
However, the Interpretation is limited in its knowledge because Elizabeth had a very poor
relationship with Parliament. She did not have good relations with Parliament and
considered them to a little bit of an inconvenience. Queen Elizabeth did not call on
Parliament very often and during her reign she called on Parliament 140 weeks in total. In
44 years, Parliament was only called upon to meet thirteen times. Over time, the members
of Parliament grew in confidence and tried to influence her. On many occasions, her leading
councillors, who were MPs, planned parliamentary business in advance so they could
control it and control her.
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