How would you like to live under someone who told you what to do and when you were supposed it? This is exactly how a monarchy works.The Elizabethan Era was full of odd laws and activities that stemmed from Elizabeth’s ideals and customs.

For example she was extremely religious and therefore, everyone else who lived in England was required by law to attend a church as well. There were several other similar laws that were put into place as well. This stems from the form of government that there is where everyone’s outlooks are not taken into account when creating law.

The Elizabethan politics and general overview of the treatment of life was very brutal in comparison to today. In fact, if you were being charged with a severe crime, you may have to endure several types of torture. Many people were tortured to bring out other people’s names if they thought they had necessary details that they wanted.

While the above sounds like a very bad time for England, it actually was not. In fact, it was a very prosperous time. While many of the laws and things stemmed down from previous monarchs, Queen Elizabeth I did a good job of continuing on with many of the country’s trade policies.

The ability to trade with other countries really did help the economy as a whole. The Elizabethan’s felt the impact and many people increased their wealth during this time period.

Also, it is without saying that Queen Elizabeth I was a good ruler. She had great intentions. I think when you see the way she ruled, you may not always agree with what she did. She still seemed to love the country and the people inside of it.

She sometimes has a bad name for being a thrifty with the countries money. She also had some rough times at the end of her reign when the country got tied into the Anglo-Spanish war.

During Elizabethan times, the Queen held supreme power according to law, heredity and the doctrine of divine right; she was the primary source of patronage and had the last word on all state policy. Government was viewed as the monarch’s private business and its success therefore depended greatly upon the ruler’s strength of character and political acumen.

Elizabeth I was particularly successful because she valued the goodwill of her subjects above all; the abuse of royal prerogative under James and Charles I provoked much resentment and led to increasing limitations upon royal power.

The Elizabethan administrative structure was highly centralized, with most actions centered on the Privy Council, which in turn was directly appointed by the monarch.

More On the way the actual government worked.

The Three National Government administrations were

Monarch:

The government of England in the age of Elizabeth I was very different to what it is today. Queen Elizabeth was very much a ruler, unlike the monarchs today who are largely figureheads, and had to make all the major decisions of government herself. But Elizabeth could not do everything herself, and so she had various councilors and officials to help her govern the country justly and wisely.

The Queen was not above the law, but had to act in accordance with it, but Elizabeth was still a very powerful woman. No law could be passed without her consent. She could decide the religion of the country, decide when parliament was going to sit and what they could discuss, decide when and if the country was going to go to war, make decisions about education, the welfare of her people, even what food her people could eat and the clothes they were to wear. She also was responsible for choosing the men to help her govern, and had the power to send men or women to prison and order executions. Everyone in the country had to obey her. Not to obey her was against the law, and could be treason, for which the penalty was death.

Privy Council:

The Privy Council was responsible for the general administration of the country. Who was on the Council depended on who Elizabeth wanted on it, but as some of the nobles of her realm had a lot of money and influence in the places that they lived, Elizabeth had to make sure that the most powerful men in her country had their interests represented. If she did not, they could rebel against her. In the reign of Queen Mary, the Council had been rather large, but Elizabeth did not want this, believing that too many people with different ideas would only cause more problems than solve them. Her first Council only had nineteen members, compared to about fifty members under her predecessor, and by her death in 1603, this had been reduced to thirteen. 

Parliament:

Like today, the Tudor Parliament consisted of the House of Lords (the Upper House (and the House of Commons (the Lower House). In the Lords sat the bishops and the aristocrats, and in the commons sat the common people.  Although elections were held for the lower house, who was made a member of parliament depended very much on who was supported by important people in the locality, and elections were often rigged. Only those with a certain annual income could vote, and only men.

This is the conclusion of my elizabethan era politics.

I hope you enjoyed.

PS: I didnt write all this on the blog i copy pasted from the word document that i wrote the draft on.

My Sources: The Political Aspect (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England)

Elizabeth: All the information in this url (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0127536/) the movie.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Monarch

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Privy_Council_of_England

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parliament_of_England

there are all my sources.