elizabeth

• Parliament's role

  In charge of passing laws and approving taxes
• Elizabeth inherits a government that has been run by Mary, the first Catholic leader
• Role of the court


  • Comprised mostly of noblemen who were Elizabeth's friends and advisors
  • Job was to make Elizabeth look good, provide advice, and handle day-to-day matters
• Elizabethan society was very unequal with extreme poverty alongside those who could say no to old lie
• Role of large landowners

  • Appointed as justices of the peace to maintain law and order in the local area
• Parliament rarely argued with the Queen
• Elizabeth becomes Queen in 1558
• Structure of the government during Elizabeth's reign

  • Elizabeth is the supreme ruler who makes all decisions
  • Parliament provides advice
  • House of Lords mostly made up of noblemen and bishops
  • House of Commons elected with limited voting rights
• Role of the Lord Lieutenant


  • Appointed by the government to oversee local militia and ensure law enforcement
• Privy Council


  • Key group advising Elizabeth, comprised of nobility and her chosen friends
  • Responsible for helping Elizabeth make decisions, monitoring Parliament, and ensuring law and order
• Social structure in Elizabethan England

  • Nobility
  • Gentry
  • Yeoman
  • Tenant farmers
• People at the top of the social hierarchy in towns

  • Merchants
  • Professionals
  • High skilled craftsmen
  • Business owners
  • Skilled employees
  • Laborers and unemployed people
• Tenant farmers did not own their land and had to pay rent to use it for farming
• Homeless people and vagrants were looked down upon
• Types of people based on land ownership

  • Yeoman
  • Tenant farmers
  • People with no land
• High skilled craftsmen could make intricate and beautiful things like silversmiths, tailors, and carpenters
• Yeoman owned their own land and farmed it
• Social hierarchy in towns was based on Commerce
• Merchants were traders who became extremely wealthy, often in charge of importing and exporting goods like English wool
• People with no land did the main jobs in the countryside
• Laborers and unemployed people had no regular work and no permanent job contracts
• More serious crimes were dealt with at the courts
• Professionals included lawyers, doctors, and clergy
• Business owners employed skilled employees
• There was no police force, only local watchmen who reported to the justice of the peace
• Most things were handled at a local level
• Local watchmen reported on people's activities to the justice of the peace
• Follow the history teacher on Twitter at @thehisty and email for specific questions
• Justice of the peace dealt with minor offenses like not attending church or getting rowdy in the pub
• Elizabethan society was not as peaceful as commonly imagined
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• For more historical context, check out other videos on the problems Elizabeth inherited when she became Queen
• The Protestant Reformation was sparked by Martin Luther's ideas
• As a consequence of Martin Luther's ideas

  People start moving away from the Catholic Church and become Protestant
• The divisions between Catholics and Protestants didn't exist before the end of the 15th century

  15th century
• Martin Luther produced his 95 theses

  1517
• Martin Luther's 95 theses

  • The idea that the Bible is essential religious authority
  • Humans can reach salvation only by their faith in God, not by indulgences
• At the beginning of the Chilton price, some people in England were interested in Protestant ideas
• History teacher: 'Today we're going to have a look at Martin Luther and the Protestant Reformation'
• Rap: '95 problems with the Pope, what if you have a church problem, I got 95 problems but the Pope ain't one'