iving it power in the running of the kingdom. All the Tudor monarchs tried to get money in other ways. By 1600 Elizabeth had found ways to raise money that were extremely unwise. She sold «monopolies», which gave a particular person or company total control over a trade. In 1601, the last parliament of Elizabeth's reign complained to her about the bad effect on free trade that these monopolies had.
Elizabeth and her advisers used other methods. She and her chief adviser, Lord Burghley, sold official positions in government. Burghley was paid about? 860 a year, but he actually made at least? 4,000 by selling official positions. He kept this secret fro m Parliament. Elizabeth «s methods of raising money would today be considered dishonest as well as foolish.their old age Elizabeth and Burghley noticed less, and became more careless and slower in making decisions. They allowed the tax system to become less effective, and failed to keep information on how much money people should be paying. England needed tax reform, which could only be carried out with the agreement of Parliament. Parliament wanted to avoid the matter of tax, and so did local government because the JPs who were responsible for collecting taxes were also landlords who would have to pay them. As JPs were not paid, they saw no reason for collecting unpopular taxes. Elizabeth left her successors to deal with the problem.avoided open discussion on money matters with Parliament. There was clearly an unanswered question about the limits of Parliament »s power. Who should decide what Parliament could discuss: the Crown or Parliament itself? Both the Tudor monarchs and their MPs would have agreed that it was the Crown that decided. However, during the 16 th century the Tudors asked Parliament to discuss, law-make and advise on almost every subject.naturally began to think it had a right to discuss these questions. By the end of the 16 th century it was beginning to show new confidence, and in the 17 th century, when the gentry and merchant classes were far more aware of their own strength, it was obvious that Parliament would challenge the Crown. Eventually this resulted in civil war. [4, pp.79-80] the feudal wars of the 13 th and 14 th centuries became history, the conflicts between the kings and the parliaments became an everyday matter. Usually they were about the right to impose taxes. For some brief periods, such as the reign of Henry VIII, English monarchy seemed to move towards absolutism. But as soon as the «firm hand» of this or that monarch stopped threatening the lives of the troublemakers in Parliament, this institution renewed the demands for control over finance of the state. Parliament gained strength after the death of Henry VIII and was strong enough even in the days of his powerful daughter, Elizabeth I, but she preserved her popularity with Parliament by keeping her expenses as small as possible. When James I, the son of Mary Stuart, succeeded Elizabeth on the English throne, he expected to rule the country in his own way, without interference from Parliament. Charles I, his son, had been brought up to believe that he ruled by «divine right» and could therefore call for as much money as he liked. But these conflicts over money matters between the King and Parliament were but a reflection of a deeper conflict that had been splitting the country for a long time. [11, p.36]
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