ELIZABETHAN ENGLAND

• Who were all the Tudor monarchs and when did they rule?

  Henry VII – 1585-1509

  Henry VIII – 1509-1547

  Edward VI -1547- 1553

  Lady Jane Grey - 1553

  Mary I – 1553 - 1558

  Elizabeth I – 1558-1603
• Who were Elizabeth's parents and what was their relationship like?

  Henry 8th and Anne Boleyn. Their relationship started with Henry VIII divorcing his marriage with Catherine of Aragon and created the Church Of England because he wanted Anne to give him a male heir. They had Elizabeth but no male heirs so Henry accused of treason, incest, adultery and witchcraft and had her beheaded.
• What evidence can you provide about what Elizabeth's education was like growing up?

  Elizabeth had Kat Ashley as her governess then, when she was older, she was allowed to share some of her half-brothers tutors. She was fluent in Spanish, French, Italian and Latin and could read fluent Greek. She was good at history and enjoyed writing poetry as well as being athletic and skilled at needlework.
• How did being declared illegitimate as a child affect her reign?

  Being declared illegitimate when younger would make some people consider her claim to the throne as weak, despite being declared legitimate now. This could lead to rebellions and civil war. Elizabeth's brother also over ruled the third act of succession, making Lady Jane Grey queen instead of one of his half-sisters, which could be interpreted as him denying Elizabeth's legitimacy because even though he wanted a Protestant queen, and Elizabeth was Protestant and was going to be queen after Mary, he chose Lady Jane Grey
• How might Elizabeth's experiences growing up impact her beliefs towards marriage?

  Due to her father having many wives during her childhood , she was introduced to marriage with the idea that it wasn't long term, leading to possible beliefs that men were untrustworthy and men were unreliable and that if she was married, all her power would belong to her husband.
• How did her childhood affect her attitude to religion?

  Elizabeth's father created the Church of England and made England Protestant in order to marry her mother and have Elizabeth which made her Protestant. Edward made changes in England's churches to make them more Protestant, which made some people happy and other people angry. Mary did the opposite and made England catholic and burnt 300 Protestants and made Elizabeth temporarily catholic. This meant Elizabeth saw that neither religion benefitted everybody so she was less extreme and more tolerant for each religion.
• What problems did Elizabeth immediately face when she became Queen in 1558?

  People questioned her legitimacy, she had to think about changing to the religion to Protestant without causing more problems for herself and think about who she was going to marry.

   
• What was the Royal Court and why was it important?

  The royal court wasn't in one building only it moved around . It was made up of 500 nobles, advisors and officials who all lived under her power. It was important because in the Tudor period it was the centre of the political power.
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  What was a Marian Exile? 

  The Marian exiles were English Protestants who fled to Continental Europe during the 1553–1558 reign of the Catholic monarchs Queen Mary I and King Philip, die to their persecution. In that 5 year period, Mary burned nearly 300 Protestants. They settled chiefly in Protestant countries such as the Netherlands, Switzerland and Germany, and also in France, Italy and Poland.
• How did Elizabeth use progresses, performances and patronage to help her reign?

  These were important because progresses allowed her to helped her build her relationships with people and she could pick a noble to stay with to flatter them keeping the competition for her loyalty .Performances helped her be social and through these performances of art and culture it shows her power. Patronage helped her keep everyone loyal to her and keeps her in the centre of the political system.

   
• What was the Privy council and why was it important?

  The privy council were nobles who helped Elizabeth in the Royal Court. They were needed to make important decisions for the country. Elizabeth chose a small group of 19 men to minimise conflict between them.

   
• What changes did Elizabeth make to her Privy Council?

  Elizabeth made the Privy Council smaller. She appointed half of her council from existing catholic councillors and the other half were new Protestants.

   
• How did Elizabeth use 'divide and rule' within her Privy Council to her advantage?

   

  By forcing rival factions to work together on the council, Elizabeth made the men compete for her affection. They would give her contrasting advice, allowing her to make a more measured decision and whichever course of action she chose would be guaranteed to have some support.
• What was the role of Parliament like in Elizabethan times?

   

  During her reign, parliament was only called 13 times in 45 years, as Elizabeth regarded parliament as an inconvenient necessity. Their two main jobs were: to introduce new laws, by having an act of parliament passed, raise money, as parliament's consent was necessary for the collection of taxes.

   
• How did Parliament change during Elizabeth's reign?

   

  She inherited a political system that was ineffective and she changed it by giving the parliament privileges that they didn't have before but also limited them by using patronage, progresses and performances to put them against each other so that they would work harder for power and influence.
• The Essex rebellion of 1601:

  Caused by a rivalry between Robert Cecil and Earl of Essex. Cecil rose to power and Elizabeth was often angered by Essex, e.g., when he married without her permission or burst into her bedchamber before she dressed. In early 1601 he gathered c.300 supporters and rumours of treason/rebellion began to spread. Refused to appear in front of the privy council and began to march around the centre of London to try to capture the queen. Essex was executed at the Tower of London on 25th February 1601. This was important to Elizabeth as it was a sign of her fading power.

   
• How did people in Tudor times view women and female rulers?

   

  There was prejudice against female rulers as Henry VIII had gone to a lot of trouble to prevent a female succeeding to the throne, believed that women shouldn't rule the country.
• Why did Elizabeth's advisors pressure her to marry at the beginning of her reign?

   

  They wanted her to marry as they thought she was too old to not to be married, she was also the last of Henry VIII children an so if she died without an heir the Tudor dynasty would die too. Her privy council repeatedly pressured her to marry to solve the issue of the succession.
• Why did Elizabeth reject her foreign suitors?

   

  Most foreign suitors were catholic, for example she turned down King Phillip of Spain (catholic) immediately as he was the widower of her sister Mary an was keen to regain he is title of king of England. However his family were England's traditional allies against France. Elizabeth also remembered how badly he traded Mary and that Mary’s choice of a Spanish husband caused rebellion.
• Why did Elizabeth reject her English suitors?

   

  She didn't choose marry Robert Dudley Earl of Leicester, firstly he was already married however his wife died of mysterious circumstances, the rumours that Dudley’s wife had been possibly murdered either by Dudley or on Elizabeth’s orders meant that marriage between the two would have been scandalous .
• Why did Elizabeth choose not to name an heir?

   

  Parliament urged Elizabeth to marry or nominate an heir she would do neither naming that she would marry only when the time was ignite and that to nominate a second person would place her in danger.
• What were the problems with Elizabeth's possible heirs?

  Mary Stuart was a controversial claimant, being catholic and the grey sisters married without Elizabeth's permission which angered Elizabeth greatly.
• Why did the Elizabethan period see a rise in the gentry?

   

  The Tudors were suspicious of the ‘old nobility’ so deliberately marginalised the nobles who they saw as a threat leaving a power vacuum for the gentry to fill. Furthermore, the dissolution of the monasteries made Henry VIII sold the gentry land which was previously owned by the monasteries. Additionally, the rising population, rising prices and agricultural changes lead to a rise in the gentry as it allowed them to make money.
• How did the rise of the gentry affect fashion in the Elizabethan period?

  The wealthy used their money to buy expensive clothes and it showed off their wealth and status. Therefore, fashion became an important status symbol so Elizabeth introduced the Sumptuary laws ( or the Statutes Apparel ) in 1574 to control what people could wear depending on their social rank.
• What were the Sumptuary laws?

  The Sumptuary laws ( or the Statutes Apparel) were made in  in 1574 and controlled what people could wear depending on their social rank.
• Why were so many new houses built in Elizabeth's reign?

   

  The country houses were built to reflect the wealth and stability of the era, most houses were often built to impress and host Elizabeth during her progresses. Additionally, the Gentry had more money so could afford to build new house and there was no longer a need for defensive features like moats and drawbridges so they could build in nicer styles, influenced by the Renaissance.
• How does the increase in theatres suggest Elizabeth's reign was a cultural golden age?

   

  The theatre helped society come together because everyone was allowed in the theatres, regardless of social status and richer people in the Gentry would sponsor the poorer people in acting groups allowing both to make money and help the economy.
• How did Elizabeth's government use theatre for propaganda and encouraging social stability?

   

  The public would agree with Elizabeth and support her decisions as queen and would dislike those that Elizabeth disliked, making a civil war less likely and Elizabeth’s reign and England more stable.

   
• How did population growth, inflation, poor harvests, enclosures and the closure of monasteries under Henry VIII cause poverty in Elizabethan England?

   

  Population growth meant there were more people in the country who need food, this put a strain on England's resources. Inflation meant people struggled to afford eve the most basic foods. Poor harvests meant that there was less grown and that more people risked starvation. Enclosures meant land owner grew rich while the tenant farmers suffered. The dissolution of monasteries meant there was less help for the poor.

   
• Who were the deserving/impotent poor & who were the undeserving/idle poor?

   

  The 'impotent poor' were unable to provide for themselves because they were too young, too old or too ill to do so. The 'idle poor' were fit to work but didn't and often begged, they were referred to as Vagabonds.

   
• What were examples of vagrants? 

   

  Angler – someone who used a long stick to steal clothes from washing lines of valuable items through a window, counterfeit crank – someone who pretended to have a fit and foam at the mouth after swallowing soap, dummerer – someone who pretended to be unable to speak, freshwater mariner – someone pretending to have been shipwrecked, and  prigger of prances – someone who stole horses and sold them.

   
• What were people's attitudes towards vagrants in Elizabethan England?

  Many were attacked in the streets as they were believed to be immortal criminals as they were perfect fit but too lazy to work and happy to live off begging and petty crime.
• Government dealing with the poor

  1563 Statute of Artificers stated anyone who refused to pay poor rates (taxes to help deserving poor) could be imprisoned.

  1572 Vagabonds Act said that vagabonds >14 were whipped and had a hole drilled through their ear, & repeat offenders were imprisoned or executed for a 3rd offence and local JPs had to keep register of poor people in their parish.

  1576 Poor Relief Act provided the poor with wool and raw materials to enable them to work by making things to sell and JPs had to build Houses of Correction in each county for those who refused to work.
• What did the 1601 poor law provide for the poor and why was it important?

  The fit and healthy poor were given work, care was given to the vulnerable and this was important as it helped break the cycle of poverty thus decreasing begging.
• How did the Ottoman Empire lead to greater English Exploration?

   

  The Ottoman empire was hostile to Christian Europe so they cut off England's main trade line with the east. Every item passes through the East to England had to be taxed. This annoyed England, so they had to find a different route.
• How did new ideas and inventions lead to greater English Exploration?

   

  Growing ideas that the world was round flared interest in exploration. The printing press allowed maps to be readily available and the astrolabe meant the ship's position could be plotted accurately. Ship designers copied from the Arabs which allowed for easier turns and navigation due to their small size.
• What were Privateers and why did they mainly target Spanish ships?

   

  Privateers were licenced pirates that could legally steal for England such as Sir Francis Drake. Privateers mainly targeted Spanish treasure ships as the Spanish had large and harder to turn ships, but England had nimble and fast ships.
• Why did the Elizabethan period see an increase in trading companies? 

   

  England wated to promote themselves and were jealous of Portugal's achievements. England was looking for direct trading links to gain goods from all over the world. Trading companies such as the East India Company (set up in 1600) traded silks, spices and tea. The Levant Company (set up in 1581) traded currants and dyes from the Mediterranean.
• What were Sir Francis Drake's key achievements?

   

  He was the second man to ever circumnavigate the globe (1577-1580), in 1572 he stole £400,00 from the Spanish on one of his voyages, in 1581 he was knighted on his boat (the Golden Hind), He played a crucial role in the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, He became an MP in the 1580s
• What were the benefits of colonisation in the new world?

   

  More land, new resources, more ways to solve the poverty crisis (more jobs), ease the problem of overpopulation and it increased the prestige of the mother country – England.