Publisher's Synopsis
Private alliances and exchange of favors permeated political, social, economic, and artistic life in early modern Europe. These informal patronage relationships, which helped construct ties between monarchs and political elites, were especially strong in early Stuart England. As court patronage grew, so did opportunities for betrayal and corruption. But was early Stuart government really more corrupt that Tudor government? Were the structures of goverance becoming unworkable, or were they badly managed by the Stuarts? Did corruption aid modernization?;In this book, Linda Levy Peck analyzes the language and common metaphors of patronage as well as the structures and networks that made patronage function. She then applies this analysis to studies of factions, favourites, naval venality, impeachment, monopolies, and more. Finally, Levy Peck argues that the increase in royal bounty in the early 17th century redefined the corrupt practices that characterized early modern administration.;This wide-ranging volume goes to the heart of the revisionist debate about the crisis of government that led to the English Civil War.
