William Lambarde on the politics of enforcement in Elizabethan England

The political life of early modern local communities has been the focus of intense historical attention in recent years. The question of how local politics were connected to national political debates remains obscure, however. An insight into this problem is provided by the document printed here, in which the antiquary and Kent J.P. William Lambarde lays out his views on the political motivations underpinning contributions to militia service and other local burdens. As well as illustrating the dynamics of policy formation within Elizabethan central and local government, he suggests that issues of national politics were of considerable importance in shaping local responses to government initiatives, among the 'middling sort' as well as the nobility and gentry.