Queen, Government and Religion (1558-69)

• The court

  • Noblemen who acted as the monarch's advisers and friends
  • Helped display her wealth and power
  • Could also be members of the Privy Council
• The Privy Council

  • Members of the nobility who helped to govern the country
  • Oversaw law and order and the country's security
  • Monitored parliament and Justices of the Peace
• Justices of the Peace

  • Large landowners
  • Appointed by government
  • Kept law and order locally and heard court cases
• Lord Lieutenants

  • Noblemen
  • Appointed by government
  • Governed English counties
  • Raised local militia
• Parliament

  • Advised Elizabeth's government
  • House of Lords - noblemen and bishops
  • House of Commons - elected, but few people could vote
  • Passed laws and approved taxes, including:
  • Extraordinary taxation - extra taxes required to pay for unexpected expenses, especially war
• Elizabeth did not have complete power. She couldn't pass laws or raise taxes without parliament's approval
• Elizabethan society was rigid, based on inequality and social hierarchy where everyone knew their place
• Countryside: 90% of Elizabethan England population

  Hierarchy goes

  • Nobility
  • Gentry
  • Yeoman farmers
  • Tenant farmers
  • Landless and labouring poor
  • Homeless and vagrants
• Countryside: 90% of Elizabethan England population

  Hierarchy goes

  • Nobility - major landowners, often lords, dukes, and earls
  • Gentry - owned smaller estates
  • Yeoman farmers - small landowners
  • Tenant farmers - rented land from the yeoman farmers and gentry
  • Landless and labouring poor - didn't own or rent land, had to work or labour to provide for their families
  • Homeless and vagrants - moved from place to place looking for work
• Towns: 10% of Elizabethan England population

  Hierarchy goes

  • Merchants
  • Professionals
  • Business owners
  • Craftsmen
  • Unskilled labourers and unemployed
• Towns: 10% of Elizabethan England population

  Hierarchy goes

  • Merchants - very wealthy traders
  • Professionals - lawyers, doctors, clergymen
  • Business owners - often highly skilled craftsmen like carpenters
  • Craftsmen - skilled employees, including apprentices
  • Unskilled labourers and unemployed - no regular work, can't provide for their families
• Everyone owed respect and obedience to those above them, and a duty of care to those below them. Households were ran similarly, the husband/father being the head of the house, and the wife and children expected to be obedient to him.
• Problems facing Elizabeth as queen

  • Young (21) and inexperienced
  • Her government needed money
  • Needed support of parliament to pass laws
  • Her legitimacy was doubted as the pope refused to recognise her mother's marriage to Henry VIII
  • Catholics refused to acknowledge her right to rule England
  • She was protestant but Mary, her predecessor was Catholic
  • She was unmarried. Christian tradition suggested that women should follow men's authority
• Issues facing Elizabeth

  • She was expected to marry, but this would reduce her power
  • Her inexperience meant she needed support and advice of her Privy council
  • Marrying a protestant would anger Catholics and vice versa
  • The Crown was already £300,000 in debt. Marrying could involve England in expensive wars
  • Marriage was important as she needed an heir, to prevent a vacant throne after her death, which could lead to a civil war
• Elizabeth's character and strengths

  • Confident and charismatic - enabling her to win over people and be commanding
  • Well educated - speaking many languages
  • She understood politics, and knew the interests and ambitions of her subjects
  • The number of Protestants were growing, meaning she could claim divine right with more conviction
  • Resilient - She had spent time in the tower facing possible execution before, and could handle the pressure of being queen
• Elizabeth demonstrated that she wasn't an ordinary woman. She argued that she could govern by herself. She portrayed herself as strong, legitimate and popular 'Virgin Queen'
• Financial weaknesses in 1558

  • The Crown was £300,000 in debt
  • Over £100,000 of the debt was owed to foreign moneylenders, with a high interest rate of 14%
  • Mary Tudor had sold Crown lands to pay for wars with France, so the rent income was falling
  • Elizabeth needed money to stay secure on the throne, by rewarding her supporters
  • Since the 1540s, the Crown had devalued the coinage, to make money for wars against France, resulting in inflation
• How monarchs could raise money

  • Rents from Crown lands
  • Taxes from trade (customs duties)
  • Special additional taxes (subsidies) which had to be agreed by parliament
  • Profits of Justice (fines, property or lands from people convicted of crimes)
  • Loans
• What Elizabeth did to try and solve financial weaknesses

  • She didn't raise taxes but instead hoarded her income and cut her household expenses by half.
  • She sold Crown Lands, raising £120,000
  • By 1574, the crown was out of debt for the first time since 1558
• French threat

  • France was wealthier than England and had a larger population
  • Elizabeth's cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, was married to the heir of the French throne
  • Mary had a strong claim to the English throne and English Catholics might try to rally her if the French invaded
• Under the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis England lost Calais to France. This was England's last remaining territory and there was pressure on Elizabeth to regain it. But war with France could be expensive and dangerous.
• France had ended its war with Spain. French military resources were no longer occupied with Spain, making a war with England more likely. It was possible that Catholic countries, Spain and France would unite against protestant England. Spain had troops in the Netherlands, not far from England
• The Auld Alliance

  • Frances alliance with Scotland threatened England.
  • Mary of Guise who ruled Scotland on behalf of her daughter, Mary QoS, kept French soldiers there, who could attack England.
  • The French-Scottish relationship was strengthened by the marriage of Francis, French heir, with Mary QoS, in 1558. Francis became King Francis II in 1559
• War was expensive. England couldn't afford a war as it would deepen the government's debts
• How Elizabeth dealt with challenges from abroad

  • Signed the Peace of Troyes, which recognised the French claim to Calais
  • Imprisoned Mary QoS, who had fled from Scotland
  • By 1569, Spain was her only significant threat
• Religious divisions in Europe

  • Protestants were often found in northern Europe, especially the Netherlands, Scandinavia and Germany
  • The Reformation divided the Christian Church between Catholics and Protestants
  • The north of England, especially Durham, Yorkshire and Lancashire remained largely Catholic
  • The number of English protestants was growing. Many protestants fleeing persecution in Europe settled in England.
  • Some Protestants became Puritans - people who wanted to purify the Christian religion by getting rid of anything not in the Bible
• Religious settlement aimed to establish a form of religion acceptable to both Protestants and Catholics.

  • Act of Uniformity - dictated the appearance of churches and how religious services were held. It required everyone to attend church.
  • Act of Supremacy - Elizabeth became Supreme Governor of the Church of England. All clergy and royal officials had to swear an oath of allegiance to her
  • The Royal Injunctions - Instructions to the clergy reinforcing the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity.
  • The Book of Common Prayer introduced a set church service to be used in all churches. The clergy had to follow the Prayer Book wording during services
  • An Ecclesiastical (to do with church) High Commission was established to keep discipline in the church and enforce the religious settlement
• Aims of the Religious Settlement

  • To be inclusive and accepted by as many subjects as possible
  • Therefore, the wording could mean different things
  • Protestants would approve of the ban on pilgrimages to 'fake' miracles, but Catholics approve the possibility of 'real' miracles
• The Royal Injunctions - all clergy must:

  • teach the Royal Supremacy
  • report those refusing to attend, to the Privy Council. They would be fined a week's wages
  • keep a copy of the Bible in English
  • Have a government license to preach
  • prevent pilgrimages, shrines and monuments to 'fake' miracles
  • wear vestments
• Impacts of the religious settlement

  • 8000 out of 10,000 accepted the settlement
  • Many Marian Bishops (Catholic Bishops appointed by Mary Tudor) opposed the settlement and were replaced
  • Most ordinary people accepted the settlement and attended church services, even though many held Catholic beliefs
• Role of the Church of England (COE)

  • Preached the governments message, as priests need to agree to preach Elizabeth's message, to get a license to preach
  • Provided guidance for communities
  • Enforced the religious settlement
  • Legitimised Elizabeth's rule - encouraging people to remain loyal
  • Responsible for Church Courts - these dealt with marriage, sexual offences, slander, wills and inheritance
  • Visitations - Every 3-4 years, bishops inspected churches and clergy, to ensure that they obeyed the religious settlement. They also checked the licenses of physicians, midwives and surgeons
• Role of parish clergy in village life

  • Clergyman was a major figure in all village communities and conducted church services including baptisms, weddings and funerals
  • Offered advice and guidance, especially in hard times
  • Clergy were funded by taxes
• Role of parish clergy in town life

  • Parish churches in towns contained many people including merchants, craftsmen, labourers and vagrants and more religious beliefs, especially in London, which had Catholics, Protestants and Puritans.
  • The role of clergy varied
  • Due to overcrowding, clergy in towns had a wider range of issues to deal with, including poverty, vagrancy and diseases
• Puritans

  • Wanted to develop their own church, not controlled by the Queen, with no bishops and priests wouldn't wear vestments
  • Wanted to make the world a more godly place by banning 'sinful' activities, such as gambling and cock fighting
  • Wanted a simpler style of worship, whitewashed churches and no worship of religious idols including crucifixes and statues, seen as ungodly and too Catholic
  • A minority of Puritans believed the monarch could be overthrown in certain circumstances, especially if they were Catholic
  • Many Puritans were anti-Catholic and believed the pope was anti-Christ. Others, millenarians, believed the world was ending and that Christians had to prepare for Jesus' return
• Puritan challenge

  • Elizabeth demanded that a crucifix was placed in churches to not upset Catholic subjects.
  • Puritans opposed this, and when Puritan bishops threatened to resign, she backed down as she couldn't replace them
  • Elizabeth wanted clergy to wear special vestments as in the Royal Injunctions. Puritans resisted this. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Thomas Parker, required priests to attend an exhibition showing vestments they should wear. 37 Puritan priests refused to attend church and wear the vestments and lost their posts
• The extent of the Puritan Challenge

  • Puritan had less impact on northern England where most people were Catholics, than in London, Oxford, Cambridge, East Anglia
  • Puritans were very vocal
• The Catholic Church's attempt to reverse the Protestant Reformation in Europe and stop its spread was called the Counter Reformation. Protestants in Europe were charged with heresy (denying teachings of Catholic Church) and the pope instructed English Catholics to not attend Church of England services.
• The Nature of the Catholic Threat at Home

  1. Counter Reformation in Europe attempts to reverse the spread of Protestantism
  2. Catholic hostility towards Protestants
  3. Pope instructs English Catholics not to attend Church of England services and one third of the English nobility and a large part of the gentry are recusants (secret Catholics)
  4. Revolt of the Northern Earls
• The Extent of the Catholic Threat

  • One third of nobility and many gentry were recusants, especially in the North and North-West
  • Catholic nobility were often from traditional and powerful families that prospered under Mary Tudor, e.g. Nevilles and Percys. They resented their loss of influence under Elizabeth and disliked the growing influence of her favourites, e.g. Sir William Cecil and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester
  • The nobility in the North were very influential and had always enjoyed freedom of action (independence) from the Crown, so were well placed to incite a rebellion against Elizabeth
  • This threat was increased by the pope's instruction that Catholic's should not attend Church of England services. This was a powerful religious reason to rebel.
• Many of Europe's powerful leaders were Catholic and, encouraged by the pope, presented a real threat to Elizabeth's monarchy, as they could seek to overthrow her and replace her with a Catholic monarch.