Elizabethan Government in 1558: Court, Privy Council and the Problems Elizabeth Inherited - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

16 original exam-style questions - 5 pages of questions with a full mark scheme - free printable PDF.

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This topic is chapter 3 of GCSE History: Early Elizabethan England, 1558-88 Practice Book.

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3.8 Elizabethan Government in 1558: Court, Privy Council and the Problems Elizabeth Inherited

EDEXCEL 1HI0 · about 60 minutes

Total Marks

Name: _______________________________ Date: ____ / ____ / ______

Answer ALL questions. Write in full sentences for Questions 14, 15 and 16. You are advised to spend about 65 minutes on this pack.

Give the year Elizabeth I became queen of England.

(Total for Question 1 is 1 mark)

Name the senior body that advised the monarch and met regularly in Elizabethan government.

(Total for Question 2 is 1 mark)

Give the title of the Crown official who served as principal secretary and head of administration in Elizabethan government.

(Total for Question 3 is 1 mark)

State two roles carried out by Justices of the Peace in Tudor local government.

(Total for Question 4 is 2 marks)

Give one way Parliament in 1558 differed from the Privy Council in power and function.

(Total for Question 5 is 1 mark)

Name the social group in towns that governed local affairs and often sat on borough councils in Elizabethan England.

(Total for Question 6 is 1 mark)

State two duties of the Privy Council in 1558.

(Total for Question 7 is 2 marks)

Name an office-holder who might chair Privy Council meetings and handle the monarchs correspondence in 1558.

(Total for Question 8 is 1 mark)

Name the royal representative in a county responsible for raising the militia and keeping order, often appointed from the nobility.

(Total for Question 9 is 2 marks)

State two features of the social hierarchy in the countryside in 1558.

(Total for Question 10 is 2 marks)

Give one reason why the Crown's finances were a problem in 1558.

(Total for Question 11 is 1 mark)

State two problems connected to religion that Elizabeth inherited in 1558.

(Total for Question 12 is 2 marks)

Give two consequences of the loss of Calais for the English Crown before 1558.

(Total for Question 13 is 2 marks)

Describe two features of the structure of government Elizabeth inherited in 1558.

(Total for Question 14 is 4 marks)

Explain why Crown finances were a serious problem for Elizabeth in 1558.

You may use the following in your answer:
- the level of Crown debt and limited royal income
- the costs of defending the realm against threats such as France

You must also use information of your own.

(Total for Question 15 is 12 marks)

'The main problems Elizabeth inherited in 1558 were financial weakness and religious division.' How far do you agree? Explain your answer.

You may use the following in your answer:
- the Crowns financial position and debt
- the religious divisions between Protestants and Catholics

You must also use information of your own.

(Total for Question 16 is 16 marks)

Mark scheme · 3.8 Elizabethan Government in 1558: Court, Privy Council and the Problems Elizabeth Inherited

Question 1

B1 1558
Answer: 1558

Question 2

B1 The Privy Council
Answer: The Privy Council

Question 3

B1 Secretary of State
Answer: Secretary of State

Question 4

B1 identifies one role, e.g. keeping law and order locally or hearing petty legal cases
B1 identifies a second role, e.g. overseeing local administration such as poor relief, roads and enforcing statutes
Answer: They kept law and order and heard petty cases, and they oversaw local administration such as poor relief and road maintenance.

Question 5

B1 Parliament met less frequently and primarily enacted laws and granted taxation, rather than advising day to day policy like the Privy Council
Answer: Parliament met only occasionally to pass laws and grant taxation, unlike the Privy Council which advised the monarch on daily government.

Question 6

B1 The town burgesses or the merchant elite (town council members)
Answer: The town burgesses or merchant elite who served on borough councils.

Question 7

B1 identifies one duty, e.g. advising the monarch on policy and administration
B1 identifies a second duty, e.g. directing enforcement of royal policy across the realm, including responses to local disorder
Answer: Advising the monarch on policy and administration, and directing enforcement of royal policy including responses to local disorder.

Question 8

B1 The Secretary of State (or Principal Secretary)
Answer: The Secretary of State, often chairing meetings and handling correspondence.

Question 9

B1 Lord Lieutenant
B1 accepts supporting detail, e.g. raised militia or organised local defence
Answer: Lord Lieutenant, who raised the militia and organised local defence.

Question 10

B1 identifies one feature, e.g. a clear hierarchy from gentry and nobles down to yeomen, tenants and labourers
B1 identifies a second feature, e.g. local power held by landowners who acted as JPs and influenced village life
Answer: A hierarchy from nobles and gentry down to yeomen, tenants and labourers, and local power concentrated in landowners who served as JPs and influenced village life.

Question 11

B1 Because the Crown was in debt after expensive wars and Mary Is reign left limited income
Answer: Because the Crown was heavily in debt after expensive wars and Mary Is reign had left limited royal income.

Question 12

B1 identifies one problem, e.g. deep division between Protestants and Catholics in the country
B1 identifies a second problem, e.g. uncertainty about how to settle the Church without provoking unrest
Answer: A divided population of Protestants and Catholics, and uncertainty over how to settle the Church without provoking unrest.

Question 13

B1 reduced English prestige and the loss of an important foothold on the Continent
B1 an increase in concern about the French threat and pressure to recover territory or secure borders
Answer: A loss of prestige and a valuable continental foothold, and increased concern about the French threat to English security.

Question 14

B1 feature 1 identified, e.g. a strong personal monarchy where the queen was the ultimate authority
B1 supporting detail for feature 1, e.g. the monarch appointed ministers, called Parliament and controlled key aspects of policy
B1 feature 2 identified, e.g. an inner advisory body, the Privy Council, that met regularly to run government business
B1 supporting detail for feature 2, e.g. the Privy Council coordinated administration, directed law enforcement and advised on policy
Answer: Any two features, for example: the monarch as ultimate authority who appointed ministers and called Parliament; and the Privy Council as a regular advisory and executive body coordinating administration and enforcement.

Question 15

Level 1 (1-3): Identifies one or two simple reasons why Crown finances were a problem, with little supporting detail or explanation.
Level 2 (4-6): Begins to explain reasons with some relevant detail, showing an understanding of the financial pressures Elizabeth faced.
Level 3 (7-9): Explains several reasons clearly, supported by accurate and relevant detail, and begins to show links between the reasons.
Level 4 (10-12): Offers a well-developed explanation of why Crown finances were a serious problem, supported throughout by precise, accurate detail and clear analysis of connections between causes and consequences.
Indicative content:
- High Crown debt after recent wars, leaving the Exchequer with regular interest payments that reduced available revenue for policy or defence
- Limited royal income from Crown lands and customs duties, weakened by previous grants, sales of monastic lands and mismanagement, so the ordinary revenue base was too small to meet running costs
- The loss of Calais removed customs revenue and a trading foothold, reducing income and increasing the perceived need for spending to secure security or prestige
- Cost of defence and the need to maintain ready forces or militia in case of French aggression, placing pressure on already stretched finances
- Parliament could be asked to grant taxation, but this was uncertain politically; Elizabeth could not rely on immediate extra revenue without political cost, limiting short term solutions
- Consequences included limits on foreign policy options, greater dependence on credit and borrowing from financiers, and pressure to economise in government spending which could weaken administration or social order

Question 16

Level 1 (1-4): Shows limited knowledge of the problems Elizabeth inherited and offers a simple, unsupported judgement about the statement.
Level 2 (5-8): Shows some relevant knowledge and begins to weigh factors, but the argument is only partially supported and the judgement is limited.
Level 3 (9-12): Shows good knowledge and balance, explaining a range of factors and reaching a supported judgement on how far the statement is accurate.
Level 4 (13-16): Shows precise, well-selected knowledge and provides a balanced, analytical evaluation of the factors, reaching a sustained and well-supported judgement on the accuracy of the statement.
Indicative content:
- Support: financial weakness was central because high Crown debt and limited ordinary revenue constrained Elizabeths ability to fund defence and pay for government, affecting her freedom of action
- Support: religious division was a major immediate domestic problem because a significant portion of the population and elite held Catholic sympathies while many others supported Protestant reforms, risking unrest if settled harshly
- Against: the loss of Calais and the French threat constituted a separate security problem that forced urgent foreign-policy considerations, so military and diplomatic pressures were as important as finance and religion
- Against: government structure and the existing personnel, such as an operative Privy Council and local officials like JPs and Lords Lieutenant, gave Elizabeth administrative capacity to manage problems, so weaknesses could be mitigated by effective governance
- Analysis: the problems were interconnected, for example financial weakness limited the response to the French threat and made managing religious settlement harder because military and diplomatic spending competed with domestic needs
- Judgement: a balanced conclusion might argue that while financial weakness and religious division were among the main problems, the security threat from France and the loss of Calais, together with the need to rely on existing administrative structures, mean the statement is only partly true unless it recognises the combined nature of Elizabeths challenges

Elizabethan Government in 1558: Court, Privy Council and the Problems Elizabeth Inherited - Worksheets, Questions and Revision

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3.8 Elizabethan Government in 1558: Court, Privy Council and the Problems Elizabeth Inherited

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