17th Century England

Lesson 1: Guide to pre-civil war England

The Government

When evaluating the comparative powers of the Monarch and Parliament, power in the British government was largely held by the Monarch. However, the Monarch needed Parliament as Parliament determined taxation, and therefore the funds needed for the government.

The lawmaking process occurred as follows: the House of Commons would pass laws first, then the House of Lords, (which consisted of all the titled landowners and aristocracy) would consent, followed by the Monarch. This process of Government was called Crown in Parliament; Parliament consisting of both the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

In times when no Parliament sat, the Monarch ruled through his Privy Council, an offical body consisting of ministers appointed by the Monarch. The Monarch always had the prerogative to appoint the country’s ministers, judges, army officers and also to hand out titles and peerages to whomever they chose.

To administer the government in Scotland and Ireland, both of which had their own separate Parliament, the Monarch relied on two Lord Lieutenants. These were appointed by the Monarch as his or her direct representative in those countries. The Lord Lieutenants were left to deal with the Parliaments of their country via delegated powers of the Monarch.

The Monarch ensured that the law and the Crown's authority were upheld by sending the Royal judges around the country regularly. This was called the "assizes".

In times of war, the Monarch controlled the army and made war and peace with other nations. However, as they controlled taxation, Parliament had to vote the money for raising an army, but they were also there to advise the Monarch.

This lack of permanent funding meant that England could have no permanent standing army, just a very small number of lifeguards to protect the royal person. But being an island, they had the natural defence of the sea.

The Royal Navy was the only force in England permanently mobilised, apart from the Trained Bands of each county.

The other part of Parliament, the House of Lords, acted as a supreme court, but there were also lesser courts that the Monarch could take a direct hand in, in administering justice. The Star Chamber was the most famous prerogative court, which administered justice to the poor and protected them from any aggressive rich person. This court was also used by Monarchs to uphold their own authority.

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