elizabethan england 1600s

• East India company founded

  1600
• East India company founded details

  *Elizabeth granted a Royal Charter to the merchants of London to form the East India Company

  *Aimed to compete with Spain and Portugal in the spice trade

  *Eventually became central to Britain's empire in Asia

  *Laid the foundation for future British imperialism

  *Shows England's growing commercial ambition under Elizabeth
• Cultural decline at court

  1600-1603
• Cultural decline at court details

  *The once-vibrant Elizabethan court had grown stale and isolated

  *Few public progresses (royal tours) occurred

  *Elizabeth was visibly aging and more melancholic

  *Shows contrast with the 1570s-80s, when court life was central to her propaganda and image
• Essex's Rebellion


  1601
• Essex's Rebellion


  *Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, led a failed rebellion against the Queen

  *Tried to seize London and force Elizabeth to remove Robert Cecil

  *Very few supported him; rebellion collapsed in hours

  *Essex was executed for treason

  *Major challenge to Elizabeth's authority

  *Shows decline in court loyalty and growing political desperation

  *Final nail in the coffin of Elizabeth's "favourite" system
• The 'Golden Speech'


  1601
• The 'Golden Speech'

  *Elizabeth gave an emotional farewell speech to Parliament

  *Praised MPs for their loyalty and promised to put her people's interests first

  *Reflected on her love for England and being "married to the kingdom."

  *Seen as her farewell to public life

  *Cemented her cult-like image as the Virgin Queen

  *Created the myth of Elizabethan glory, even as her power waned
• The last Poor Law Act passed

  1601
• The last Poor Law Act passed details

  *The Elizabethan Poor Law (1601) formalised the national system for helping the poor

  *Made parishes responsible for the poor

  *Divided the poor into the "deserving" (to be helped) and "idle" (to be punished)

  *Most important legacy in social welfare reform

  *Stayed in place for over 200 years (until 1834)

  *Response to rising poverty and unemployment after war and bad harvests
• Shakespeare's Hamlet performed


  1602
• Shakespeare's Hamlet performed


  *Reflects the darkening mood of the nation and court in Elizabeth's final years

  *Themes of decay, betrayal, and uncertainty mirror political tensions

  *Shows how drama reflected real anxieties about succession and national stability and how theatre was used as propaganda
• Deaths of close friends of Elizabeth

  1602
• Deaths of close friends of Elizabeth details

  *Elizabeth's long-time friend Lady Katherine Howard died

  *The Countess of Nottingham also died after revealing she had withheld a letter from Essex before his execution

  *These deaths deepened Elizabeth's depression

  *She reportedly became withdrawn, silent, and melancholy
• Peace talks with Spain

  1603
• Peace talks with Spain details

  *After years of costly war, both Elizabeth and Philip III (Philip II's successor) were open to peace

  *Indicates a shift in foreign policy, and Elizabeth likely wanted to secure stability before her death
• Death of Elizabeth I

  1603
• Death of Elizabeth I

  *Elizabeth I died at Richmond Palace, aged 69

  *She named James VI of Scotland as her successor

  *Buried in Westminster Abbey

  *End of the Tudor dynasty

  *Start of the Stuart era and union of crowns under James I.

  *Nation mourned her as a symbol of stability, even though her later years were difficult
• James VI becomes king

  1603
• James VI becomes king

  *Despite fears of a power struggle, James VI of Scotland became James I of England peacefully

  *Elizabeth had never named a successor publicly, showing her private diplomatic skill behind the scenes and avoided civil war or dynastic crisis

  *He was the first to be monarch of both England and Scotland