Francis Bacon introduced the bill into the House of Commons on 5 November 1597. He criticised those lords who had converted land to pasture and he lamented the decay in tillage in the country.[1] The act ordered that land that had been converted to pasture during Elizabeth's reign should revert to tillage and it also banned any further conversion of land to pasture.[2] It applied to 25 counties.[3]
In 1601 the act was due for renewal and was subject to debate. Sir Walter Raleigh opposed the act, declaring that the best policy would be to set corn free "and leave every man free, which is the desire of a true Englishman".[4] Sir Robert Cecil, however, supported the act: "Whoever doth not maintain the plough, destroys the kingdom".[4]
Notes
↑ Neale, J. E. (1957). Elizabeth I and Her Parliaments, 1584-1601. London: Jonathan Cape. p.338.
Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last monarch of the House of Tudor.
Enclosure or inclosure is a term, used in English landownership, that refers to the appropriation of "waste" or "common land", enclosing it, and by doing so depriving commoners of their rights of access and privilege. Agreements to enclose land could be either through a formal or informal process. The process could normally be accomplished in three ways. First there was the creation of "closes", taken out of larger common fields by their owners. Secondly, there was enclosure by proprietors, owners who acted together, usually small farmers or squires, leading to the enclosure of whole parishes. Finally there were enclosures by acts of Parliament.
The Vagabonds Act 1597 was an Act of the Parliament of England, which aimed to address concerns of vagrancy.
Sir Richard Knightley of Fawsley Hall in Northamptonshire was an English Member of Parliament (MP) and leading patron of the Puritans during the reign of Elizabeth I. The Knightleys were one of the leading families of Northamptonshire.
John Lyttelton MP JP (1561–1601) was an English politician and member of the Lyttelton family who served as Member of Parliament for Worcestershire during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I.
Sir Edward Hoby was an English diplomat, Member of Parliament, scholar, and soldier during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I. He was the son of Thomas Hoby and Elizabeth Cooke, the nephew of William Cecil, Lord Burghley, and the son-in-law of Queen Elizabeth's cousin Henry Carey, 1st Baron Hunsdon.
Sir John Ernest Neale was an English historian who specialised in Elizabethan and Parliamentary history. From 1927 to 1956, he was the Astor Professor of English History at University College London.
Thomas Cromwell was an English Member of Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. His diaries of proceedings in the House of Commons are an important source for historians of parliamentary history during the period when he was a member, and Sir John Neale draws heavily upon them in his ground-breaking two-volume study of Elizabeth I and Her Parliaments (1953–1957).
Sampson Lennard, of Chevening in Kent, was an English Member of Parliament who represented an unusually large number of different constituencies during the reigns of Elizabeth I and James I.
Sir William Cooke of Highnam Court in Gloucestershire, was an English landowner and politician who sat in the House of Commons at various times between 1597 and 1614.
Sir Jonathan Trelawny, of Pool in Menheniot, Cornwall, was an English Member of Parliament. Trelawny was the posthumous younger son of John Trelawny of Pool ; his elder brother died in infancy and he inherited the estate. He entered Parliament as member for Liskeard, representing that borough in three parliaments, and subsequently also represented Cornwall in the Parliaments of 1597 and 1604. On one occasion he was sent to the Tower of London for losing his temper during a parliamentary debate where he "dealt his opponent, Mr Ashe, a thundering box to his ear" and "flashed his sword".
Sir John Croke was an English judge and politician who served as Speaker of the English House of Commons between October and December 1601. He also served as Recorder of London, and won the City of London constituency in his election to the 1601 parliament, being the last Speaker before the death of Elizabeth I, in 1603.
Miles Sandys was an English courtier and politician. He sat in each of the eight Parliaments from 1563 to 1597, yet never represented the same constituency twice.
Anthony Bacon (1558–1601) was a member of the powerful English Bacon family and was a spy during the Elizabethan era. He was Francis Bacon's elder brother.
Thomas Fanshawe (1533–1601) was a Member of the English Parliament during the reign of Queen Elizabeth I. He also held the civil service post of Queen's remembrancer of the exchequer.
Sir Matthew Browne of Betchworth Castle, Surrey, MP, was the only son of Sir Thomas Browne and Mabel Fitzwilliam. He was involved in legal and financial transactions concerning the Globe Theatre in 1601. He was killed in a duel with his kinsman, Sir John Townshend, on 1 August 1603.
The 8th Parliament of Queen Elizabeth I was summoned by Queen Elizabeth I of England on 4 January 1593 and assembled on 19 February following. Edward Coke, the Solicitor-general and Member of Parliament (MP) for Norfolk, was appointed speaker of the commons. At the state opening of Parliament the Lord Keeper Sir John Puckering informed the house that the reasons for summoning the Parliament were the threat of Spanish invasion and the Queen's "extraordinarye and most excessive expenses". This parliament occurred in the context of an ongoing Spanish-English conflict. At the time parliament was called, the Spanish and English were in the midst of ongoing strife that began decades prior and threatened the prosperity of England. Although relations between Spain and England at the start of Elizabeth’s reign began in a largely cordial manner, the two countries came into conflict over their investments in the Americas along with religious differences; Spain was a Catholic nation while England was a largely Protestant nation. Philip II of Spain was in frequent competition with Elizabeth for influence and resources in the New World and sought to weaken England’s sway in the region. In 1582 Philip began preparing a fleet to invade England, the Spanish Armada. Three years later in 1585, Elizabeth and her government feared Philip’s growing power as his empire came “dangerously near to total supremacy in Western Europe,” which threatened the stability of Elizabeth’s rule. By 1588 the Spanish Armada had been successfully prepared for battle and began an invasion of England led by the duke of Medina Sidonia who sailed with 130 ships carrying 29,453 men in total. Their goal: overthrow Elizabeth. Ultimately, the Spanish Armada failed to defeat the British in battle and take Elizabeth’s crown, but it served as a stark reminder to England that the country was not safe from a Spanish threat. This matter of urgency was a major topic of discussion during the 8th Parliament.
The 9th Parliament of Queen Elizabeth I was summoned by Queen Elizabeth I of England on 23 August 1597 and assembled on 24 October following. The Parliament was summoned to discuss the problems of food shortages and the need for social and economic legislation to deal with the consequential social problems. The speaker was Sir Christopher Yelverton, the Member of Parliament (MP) for Northampton.
The 10th Parliament of Queen Elizabeth I was summoned by Queen Elizabeth I of England on 11 September 1601 and assembled on 27 October 1601. It was to be her final Parliament.
The Houses of Husbandry Act 1597 was an Act of the Parliament of England passed during the reign of Elizabeth I. It was declared to be "An Act against the decaying of towns and houses of husbandry".
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