elizabeth

• Elizabeth's parents

  Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII
• Henry VIII had 6 wives and 2 of them were executed
• Single:

  • lack of alliance
  • no heir
  • didn't want to marry as she would lose power to her husband (social hierarchy)
  • seen terrible marriages - her fathers marriages
• Elizabeths reign was from 1558 to 1603
• When Elizabeth became queen she inherited an unstable kingdom due to her sister's (Mary I) rule - England was divided by religion, poverty was increasing and foreign enemies were growing more powerful.
• Elizabeth was seen as popular - people saw her as a fresh start, she was intelligent (could speak multiple languages) and assertive
• Gender - people saw a female leader as weak + illegitimate and would not be able to make England powerful (at the time, Spain and France were ruled by Kings and both very powerful), she was 5"3, very thin and pale so not an impressive figure. she used fashion and the structure go the government to enforce power.
• Religion - Henry VIII has created the Church of England and broke away from the Roman Catholic Church. When Mary I became queen she restored catholicism and burned all protestants, so Elizabeth has to settle the situation and make her people content.
• Invasion - Mary, Queen of Scots was Elizabeth's cousin and saw herself as the rightful heir to the throne. Mary was a Catholic and was married to the heir of the French throne, they wanted ti rule England.
• Debt - Mary I had left £250,000 of debt which Elizabeth has to pay back
• What was the privy council for?

  advised Elizabeth on domestic and foreign issues, like when to go to war, relations with foreign ambassadors and supervising the enforcement of the Religious Settlement.
• William Cecil:

  • protestant
  • studied law at Cambridge
  • intelligent and hard-working
  • November 1558 - became Secretary of State
  • pragmatic (problem solver)
  • received the title Lord Burghley in 1571
• Sir Francis Walsingham:

  • puritan
  • studied law at Cambridge
  • very loyal to Elizabeth
  • multilingual - useful
  • advised Elizabeth on foreign affairs
  • led the secret service for Elizabeth
  • 1586 - uncovered the plot that led of Mary, Queen of Scots' execution
• Robert Dudley:

  • he was the Earl of Leicester
  • romance rumours between them
  • Master of the Horse - responsible for Elizabeth's safety
  • Puritan (clashed with Cecil)
  • potential murderer to wife Lettice (pushed her down stairs)
  • Privy councillor from 1562
• Sir Christopher Hatton:

  • studied law at Oxford
  • Elizabeth liked his dancing - promoted due to this, Queen's Bodyguard
  • loyal, kind, clever, hardworking
  • Protestant - hated puritans, sympathised with catholics
  • Lord Chancellor from 1587 - in charge of law
• Robert Cecil:

  • son of William Cecil
  • first Earl of Sailsbury
  • protestant
  • trained by his father
  • took over as secretary when Walsingham died
  • used Elizabeth's conflict with Devereux to communicate with James VI of Scotland - led to James inheriting the throne
• Robert Devereux:

  • Earl of Essex
  • son of Elizabeth's cousin, Lettice
  • popular with the people
  • ambitious yet arrogant
  • short-tempered
  • military hero - fought in France and Spain
  • good with foreign affairs
  • privy councillor from 1593
  • married Walsingham's daughter
  • disrespectful to Elizabeth and hated Robert + William Cecil
• benefits of the privy council:

  • intelligent - experienced with government
  • good decision makers
  • divide and rule (different opinions in religion)
• disadvantages of the privy council:

  • rivalries - Walsingham and Dudley against William Cecil
  • potential plots
  • potential for men to become too powerful
• divide and rule 


  different religious opinions in the privy council - prevents privy council from plotting against her (or over-throne)
• patronage 


  Elizabeth gave titles to nobles she liked - William Cecil was made Lord Burghley (she could take away their titles at any time)
• Elizabeth tightly controlled the parliament

  • only met when Elizabeth decided
  • parliament could only talk about what Elizabeth wanted to discuss
  • main use was to grant taxes - her main income
  • Elizabeth could close the parliament at any time
  • they only met 13 times in her 45 year reign (avg of 3 weeks per year)
  • privy council were ensured to help control proceedings in parliament
• Marriage issues:

  • Many MPs believed Elizabeth should name a suitor to produce an heir to secure the line of succession
  • BUT, she would lose power to her husband (social hierarchy) and she saw terrible marriages when she was young (her father's marriages)
• Religion issue:

  • Elizabeth was protestant and re-instated the Church of England
  • but to avoid conflict she allowed some catholic worship and traditions
  • puritan MPs did not agree and threatened to not grant her taxes
  • So, Elizabeth banned them from discussing religion again
• Freedom of Speech issue:

  in 1576 a puritan complained that they were not able to discuss whatever they liked - Elizabeth sent him to the Tower of London for a month
• progresses 


  queen visits different areas of the country, the people saw their queen and not just paintings - host had to pay for everything (financially ruinous)
• Suitors: Robert Dudley

  • he was the Earl of Leicester
  • close friends with Elizabeth
  • ambitious, good looking
  • rumour that he killed his previous wife - Elizabeth needed to protect her reputation as queen
• Suitors: King Phillip II of Spain

  • in the 1560s Phillip proposed to Elizabeth - rejected
  • catholic
  • previously married to Mary I (treated her badly)
  • MPs were not in favour - could cause religious unsettlement and a foreign influence on the government
• Religious Settlement:

  in 1559 Elizabeth passed 2 laws to ease religious tension - the Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity
• the Act of Supremacy:

  this made Elizabeth the Supreme Governor of the church (pope no longer the head of church) - denying this was considered treason

  Henry VIII did the same but called himself Head of the Church, Elizabeth didn't want the same name to imply she would be more tolerant
• the Act of Uniformity:

  everyone must attend a protestant service every Sunday + everyone was given a common prayer book (in English)
• Responses to the Religious Settlement:

  puritans - not strict enough, wanted all catholics gone

  protestants - content, appreciated Elizabeth's tolerant approach

  catholics - unhappy but could've been worse, however some threats

  pope - no longer head of religion in England
• to minimise catholic threat Elizabeth created 2 new laws:

  1. 1559 - those who refused to attend services were forced to pay a fine of a shilling a week (recusants)
  2. 1581 - catholics who still refused to attend Sunday service were forced to pay £20 per month (£1000s today)
• Papal Bull of excommunication:

  in 1570 the pope excommunicates Elizabeth meaning the pope has given permission to kill the queen and end her rule

  in 1580 the pope sends jesuits (catholics)
• 1581 - treason to attend catholic mass/transubstantiation (bread and wine = body and blood of Jesus)
• 1585 - treason to have a catholic priest in your home (priests killed) AND jesuits must leave England
• 1593 - catholics cannot travel more than 5 miles from their home
• the Northern Rebellion: 1569

  • Elizabeth denied Norfolk and Westmoreland's (Earls) proposal to Mary, Queen of Scots so they planned to get Mary out of imprisonment and in the throne
  • they gathered an army of 6,000 rebels and took Durham cathedral to hold a catholic mass (treason)
  • Elizabeth sent an army and killed 800 rebels
  • Norfolk was imprisoned and Westmoreland escaped to France
• the Ridolfi Plot: 1571

  • Roberto Ridolfi was an Italian banker who planned to assassinate Elizabeth and make Mary, Queen of Scots queen
  • he was helped by Mary, King Phillip II, Norfolk
  • Cecil uncovered their plan and Norfolk was named a traitor and executed
  • this proved to Elizabeth that catholics were becoming an issue
• the Throckmorton Plot: 1583

  • Francis Throckmorton planned for a French army to invade England and make Mary queen of England
  • the army was paid for by the Pope and King Phillip II of Spain
  • Throckmorton was arrested then executed and Mary was moved to Tutbury castle
  • Phillip II was very unhappy