Society in Age of Exploration

• From the age of 6, where did all children have to go? What were they taught there?

  Sunday school. They were taught the Lord's Prayer, the 10 Commandments and the Creed.
• What did most parents teach their children?

  • How to behave correctly
  • Basic religious education
• What were boys vs girls taught from a young age?

  Boys: simple work skills

  Girls: household activities
• What did private tutors teach those from noble households?

  • How to behave in noble society
  • Skills that would help them to be successful at court
• What were petty schools?

  Small, local schools that provided a basic education. They were mostly run by a local parish priest, but some were attached to grammar schools, or set up by private individuals.
• What did petty schools teach?

  • basic reading and writing
  • sometimes maths
  • no set curriculum, but a strong religious focus
• What type of schools were than a large increase in?

  Grammar schools, they had existed for centuries but around 100 new owns were made
• Who often went to grammar schools?

  Boys from the upper and middle classes. It was rare for girls to attend. Some offered free places to bright boys from poorer backgrounds, but few were able to attend as their parents needed them to work at home.
• What were lessons in grammar schools mostly focused on?

  • Latin
  • Classical literature
  • Sometimes Greek
• Why did the number of university students increase?

  Because the upper and middle classes were growing.
• What were university courses mostly conducted in?

  Latin
• How did university courses work?

  • students studied advanced written and spoken Latin
  • then they moved onto arithmetic, music, Greek, astronomy, geometry and philosophy
  • after their undergraduate degree, some students might specialise in law, theology or medicine
• Who was the royal court?

  A large group of people who surrounded the Queen at all times. Over 1000 people attended the court.
• What activities did Elizabeth do?

  hunting, hawking, fencing, tennis, bowls
• Why didn't ordinary people have much time for leisure activities?

  • they worked six days a week
  • they went to church on Sundays
• What did ordinary people do for leisure when they had the time?

  • play football
  • cockfighting
  • bull/bear baiting
  • visit the theatre
• Who did the theatre appeal to?

  both the rich and poor
• Who opposed the theatre? Why?

  London authorities and Puritans, they saw it as a source of crime and immorality
• What did the population grow from and to during Elizabeth's reign? Why?

  From 3million to 4million. This was because the birth rate rose and the death rate fell.
• What did population rise lead to?

  • Food prices being risen more quickly than wages
  • Food shortages
  • Standards of living fell for many workers
  • Rents increased
• How did Henry VIII's dissolution of the monasteries affect the poor?

  Much less support for them
• Explain how developments in agriculture left many people unemployed

  • 16th century landowners began to, instead of sharing open fields with many famers, create only a few large farms
  • these required few labourers, so farmers who rented land were evicted
  • exporting wool to Europe also became more profitable than growing grain, so farmers began sheep-farming instead. the fall in grain production led to increased food prices.
• What was traditionally the main source of support for the poor? What happened to this?

  traditionally, it was charity. However during Elizabeth's reign, the problem of poverty became so bad that donations were not enough.
• What were the 3 categories of poor?

  • the helpless poor
  • the deserving poor
  • the undeserving poor
• Who were the helpless poor?

  those who were unable to support themselves, including orphans and people who were elderly, sick or had disabilities.
• who were the deserving poor?

  people who wanted to work, but weren't able to find a job in their home town or village.
• who were the undeserving poor?

  beggars, criminals and people who refused to work. also migrant workers (vagabonds) who left their homes and travelled around looking for work.
• What did the 1563 poor law say?

  • it gave magistrates the power to raise local funds for poor relief
  • introduced fines for people who refused to pay
• what did the 1572 poor law say?

  • local officials had the power to decide how much people payed in poor relief
• what did poor relief taxes go towards?

  • provided hospitals and housing for the elderly, sick or disabled
  • poor people were given apprenticeships
  • local authorise were expected to provide work for the deserving poor
• what did the poor law of 1576 say?

  poor people could be sent to prison if they refused to take work
• How were the undeserving poor treated?

  • 1563 poor law said they could be publicly whipped
  • 1572 poor law said they could have a hold bored through their ear
  • repeat offenders could even be imprisoned or executed
• Who were the first to explore beyond Europe?

  the Portuguese and Spanish. In the 1400s, their fleets began to set out on voyages to Africa, the Americas and Asia. By the time Elizabeth became queen, both Portugal and Spain had established many colonies.
• When was it that English sailors began to take an interest in global exploration?

  1560s
• What were new pieces of technology that made long journeys possible?

  • Sea astrolabe - used to navigate by the position of the stars of the Sun
  • Log and Line - to estimate their speed with more accuracy
  • Improvements in map making - more detailed and reliable maps and naval charts
• How did improvements in ship-building encourage exploration?

  • Larger, longer ships were faster, more stable and easier to navigate
  • Larger cargoes made their trips more profitable
• Where were most exports traded through? Why was it increasingly difficult for England to trade through here?

  Antwerp. It was owned by Spain.
• How did rivalry in Spain encourage exploration?

  • They had to look for new routes due to trouble trading through Antwerp
  • Elizabeth realised that England needed to compete with Spain globally, she encouraged English sailors to get involved in privateering and long distance trade
• What were the main Asian luxuries? Where did most of their merchants come from?

  • Silk
  • Spices
  • Venice
• Describe Drake's exploration trip around the globe between 1577-1580

  • Set off from Plymouth December 1977
  • Explored South America coastline, raided many Spanish settlements
  • Near Lima he captured 2 extremely valuable Spanish treasure ships
  • He had to sneak these, so he took a different route home, sailing north along the coast of North America
  • He then sailed west across the Pacific to Indonesia
  • He then made his way across the Indian Ocean round the Cape of Good Hope and back to England