Elizabethan England

• Elizabeth was the daughter of Anne Boleyn and King Henry VIII


  Inherited a country which was divided and troubled + faced many challenges
• Elizabeth’s birth was a disappointment to her father - who was desperate to have a son and heir to continue the Tudor line + he had gone to great lengths to make this happen
• Henry divorced first wife - Catherine of Aragon and married Anne Boleyn - gave birth to Elizabeth in 1533
• Anne Boleyn accused of committing adultery + was executed for treason - shortly before Elizabeth’s birthday
• Elizabeth was well taken care of and educated in different subjects + languages
• Elizabeth was being prepared to become a member of the royal court
• Royal court


  • Large group of advisors and figures which surround monarch
• After her father died [King Henry VIII], Edward became king


  Elizabeth went to live with her dad’s 6th wife Katherine Parr and her husband Thomas Seymour
• After Katherine’s death, there were rumors that Elizabeth was going to marry Seymour - who wanted to gain influence over young king


  So he is executed for treason
• Edward dies in 1553 - Henry’s oldest daughter becomes Queen = Mary


  Mary spent most of her reign feeling paranoid about threats and rebellions
• During these 5 years, Elizabeth was given the opportunity to grow as a future leader
• Elizabeth noted mistakes that her sister made and was often surrounded by powerful figures
• After Mary died, Elizabeth became Queen
• When Elizabeth became queen, she had to establish authority
• When she was crowned at age 25, Elizabeth already had many enemies
• Elizabeth had a difficult childhood
• Mother had been executed - ordered by her father
• She had seen 1 stepmother die in childbirth
• These events supposedly had an impact on her decisions about marriage & how to deal with her cousin Mary Queen of Scots
• Despite being queen, Elizabeth did not have complete freedom to do as she wished
• Elizabeth's court of advisors & other figures

  • Had clear structure but government was dominated by a small number of powerful men who had great influence on queen
• Parliament

  • Made up of House of Lords, bishops, other members of the nobility & House of Commons
• Parliament was much less powerful than modern parliament
• Parliament had influence over tax & was responsible for passing laws
• Queen decided when to call parliaments & how much advice she should listen to
• Privy Council


  • Controlled day-to-day running of the country
• Members were Elizabeth's main advisors
• Elizabeth could appoint who was on the council
• Had to appoint most powerful landowners to avoid the risk of rebellion
• Council could be called to deal with almost any issue - including military and foreign affairs, religion, and queen’s security
• If privy council agreed on a particular issue, Elizabeth hardly could refuse
• Council was led by the Secretary of State
• Lord Lieutenants


  • Appointed by queen - responsible for a particular area of the country
• Settled disputes & collected taxes
• Were responsible for raising a militia for the queen when required
• Position could lead to great power & influence
• Justice of the Peace (JP’s)


  • Selected from local gentry
• Main role was to ensure laws passed by parliament were properly enforced
• Single JP had the power to send someone to prison but more than 1 JP required to sentence death to a criminal
• JP’s swore to treat everyone who they dealt with equally whether they were rich or poor