The participation of estates in the adoption of agricultural legislation in Tudor England of the mid-16th - early 17th century

On the basis of parliamentary documents of the Tudor era the author attempts to find out the degree of participation of both direct and indirect representatives of the nobility, clergy and peasantry in the adoption of laws by parliament regarding enclosures. Analysis of the debates in the parliaments makes it possible to trace the position of the English nobility and the bourgeoisie regarding the process of enclosing the arable land of peasants. The estate of the nobility, with the support of deputies from the bourgeoisie, in fact, was able to significantly influence the content of agrarian bills. The agrarian bills prepared in government circles were significantly adjusted by the commoners, taking into account the specific interests of the gentry of individual counties. The position of the Anglican clergy boiled down to supporting the government’s point of view regarding the conversion of plowing to pasture. The peasantry declared their attitude to the process of enclosures both by sending complaints to the Privy Council, lawsuits in courts, as well as open social protests. As a result, it is noted that Elizabeth I Tudor, when adopting agrarian laws by parliament, showed political flexibility and repeatedly made concessions to the interests of the nobility. In the last parliament, her cabinet managed to reach a consensus of interests of the estates in the agrarian sphere. The results of the study allow us to better understand the mechanism of functioning of the absolute monarchy while maintaining the estate-representative body of power.