Elizabethan

• What was a key learning outcome regarding Elizabethan society in 1558?

  Understand the structure of Elizabethan society
• What circumstance affected Elizabeth I's legitimacy when she came to the throne?

  Her legitimacy was questioned due to her birth
• What challenges did Elizabeth face during her early reign?

  Challenges both at home and abroad
• How was order maintained in Elizabethan England?

  Through a clear social structure
• What was the societal view on equality in Elizabethan England?

  Equality was not important to Elizabethans
• Who was at the top of the Elizabethan social hierarchy?

  The monarch
• What determined a person's place in the Elizabethan social hierarchy?

  Amount of land owned or rented
• What percentage of England's population lived in the countryside?

  About 50%
• Who were yeomen in Elizabethan society?

  Men who held a small amount of land
• What was the role of tenant farmers?


  To farm rented land
• How was the hierarchy structured in towns?

  Based on wealth and occupation
• Who were at the top of the town hierarchy?

  Wealthy merchants
• What was the role of skilled craftsmen in towns?

  They could be quite wealthy
• Who were at the bottom of Elizabethan society?

  Unskilled laborers and the unemployed
• What was expected of individuals in Elizabethan society regarding respect?

  To owe respect and obedience to superiors
• Who was the head of the household in Elizabethan families?

  The husband and father
• What was the role of the court in Elizabethan government?

  To celebrate and advise the monarch
• Who made up the Privy Council?

  Close advisors to the monarch
• What was the main function of Parliament in Elizabethan England?

  To pass laws and oversee local governments
• What were Justices of the Peace responsible for?

  Keeping local law and order
• What was the role of the monarch in Elizabethan government?

  To make government policy decisions
• What is divine right?

  The belief that monarchs rule by God's grace
• What was the significance of patronage in Elizabethan government?

  It helped gain support and control
• Who was Elizabeth I's most important Privy Councillor?

  Sir William Cecil
• What was the role of the monarch regarding Parliament?

  To call and dismiss Parliament
• What was required for extraordinary taxation?

  Agreement from Parliament
• What could the queen issue that could not be enforced in law courts?

  Direct orders known as proclamations
• What was the royal prerogative?

  Decisions only the monarch could make
• What was essential for a monarch to inherit the throne?

  Being born legitimate
• Why was Elizabeth's legitimacy questioned?

  Her father divorced before her birth
• What did Henry VIII create to grant himself a divorce?

  The Church of England
• What was the societal view on women ruling in the 16th century?

  It was considered unusual and unnatural
• What was the public perception of Elizabeth marrying?

  Many thought she should marry
• What was a significant issue during Mary I's reign?

  Unpopularity of her marriage to Philip II
• What did Elizabeth's character traits include?

  Highly intelligent and well-educated
• How did Elizabeth's experience during her imprisonment influence her reign?

  She learned power dynamics in court politics
• What financial sources did monarchs rely on?

  Rents, customs duties, and subsidies
• What was the role of the monarch regarding taxes?

  To collect taxes
• What was the significance of the Reformation in relation to Henry VIII?

  It allowed him to grant himself a divorce
• What was the main power of the monarch in Elizabethan government?

  Their word was law