Early Problems

• When did Henry VIII become Supreme head of the Church?

  1534
• How much was the Crown Debt?

  £300,000
• Who did the 'Crown' refer to?

  Monarch and Privy Council
• How much of the Crown Debts were owed to foreign moneylenders?

  £100,000
• Mary I had sold Crown Lands to pay for wars with France.
• Elizabeth needed money to remain secure on the throne to reward supporters.
• Since the 1540s, the crown had devalued coinage, leading to inflation.
• France and Spain were wealthier and had a bigger population than England.
• Auld Alliance - French soldiers in Scotland - MQS and Francis II married. Catholics could rally MQS if French invaded.
• Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis - England lost Calais to France, their last European territory. There was pressure on Elizabeth to regain it.
• France and Spain were no longer at war, and could unite because of their shared religion.
• Spain had troops in the Netherlands (near England).
• Elizabeth signed the Peace of Troyes in 1564, recognising the French claim to Calais and avoiding war.
• England was in debt so could not afford war with others.