1558-1603] THE TUDOR SOVEREIGNS 
nA 
when her brave sailors were driving away the Armada, it 
was a great struggle to persuade her to spend what was 
necessary. Her worst fault was that her word could not 
be trusted. On the other hand, she really loved her 
country, and she meant sincerely to do her best for England. 
She chose wise men for her advisers, She was a Tudor and 
meant to have her own way, but she invariably yielded 
when she saw that she was acting against the wishes of the 
nation. She had many great qualities—wisdom, foresight, 
moderation; and these qualities were just the ones that the 
nation needed at that time to unite England and to make 
the country great in politics, discovery, literature, and in 
material and social progress. 
148, Parliament under Elizabeth.—During the reigns of 
the early Tudors, Parliament was little more than an instru- 
ment for registering the personal will of the sovereign. In 
Elizabeth’s reign, however, the House of Commons assumed 
an importance and independence that it had not possessed 
for many years. The members were no longer content to 
do as they were told, but vigorously insisted upon the full 
and free discussion of all public questions. There were but 
thirteen sessions of Parliament in the forty-four ycars of 
Elizabeth’s reign, but on many occasions, during these ses 
sions, the Commons ventured to dispute the will of the 
queen and even to register its protests against her actions. 
The representatives of the people in Parliament were be- 
ginning to think for themselves, and were not slow in giving 
expression to their desires. 
In 1601 Parliament gained a conspieuous vietory over the 
crown. Elizabeth, as much as possible, avoided taxing the 
people directly. One way she had of raising money was 
by the sale of monopolies. For example, the Earl of 
Essex was the only man in England who was allowed 
to sell sweet wines, and for this privilege he paid & 
certain sum to the quecen. So many monopolies were 
granted that they became a great burden, and Parliament 
petitioned her to make an end of them. When she saw 
that Parliament was determined, she graucefully gave  »y 
and promised to remedy the abuse.