Elizabeth

• Problems from 1558-66

  • Legitimacy
  • Gender and heir
  • Finances
  • French alliance with Scotland (Auld Alliance) and Mary Queen of Scots link to France (Half French and married to King of France)
  • Calais returned to France
  • Religious settlement
  • Puritan Challenge
  • Recusants fail to attend the new church. Worsens after 1566
  • Papacy's counter reformation/ Pope's Papal Bull for Catholics not to attend English Protestant churches
• Problems from 1566-88

  • Dutch rebelling against the Spanish (Dutch Revolt)
  • Dutch Rebelling and sheltering rebels (Sea Beggars)/Genoese Loan
  • Mary Queen of Scots in England
  • Revolt of the Northern Earls + Papal Bull
  • Further plots (Ridolfi 1571, Throckmorton Plot 1583, Babbington Plot 1586)
  • Execution of Mary Queen of Scots
  • Spain angered over Drake's piracy
  • England and Spain clash over Netherlands (non direct and direct action)
  • Spanish Armada attack
• Elizabethan timeline

  • 1558: Elizabeth crowned queen
  • 1559: Elizabeth's Religious settlement
  • 1563: Statute of Artificers
  • 1568: Mary Queen of Scots flees to England
  • 1569: Revolt of the Northern Earls
  • 1570: Pope excommunicates Elizabeth from Catholic Church
  • 1571: Ridolfi Plot
  • 1572: Vagabonds Act
  • 1576: Poor Relief Act
  • 1583: Throckmorton Plot
  • 1585: All Catholic priests ordered to leave country
  • 1586: Babington Plot
  • 1587: Mary Queen of Scots is executed
  • 1603: Death of Elizabeth
  • 1566: Dutch Revolt
  • 1568: Genoese Loan
  • 1576: Spanish Fury
  • 1576: Pacification of Ghent
  • 1577-80: Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe
  • 1580: Drake knighted
  • 1584: Treaty of Joinville
  • 1585: Treaty of Nonsuch
  • 1585: War begins with Spain
  • 1588: Spanish Armada attacks
  • 1601: Poor Law
• Elizabethan society

  • Clear social structure with nobility at the top, gentry, yeoman, tenant farmers, landless or labouring poor, and vagrants at the bottom
  • Importance of jobs based on the wealth it created in towns
• Elizabethan government

  • Monarch had divine right and could declare war, dismiss parliament, reject laws, and grant titles/positions
  • Secretary of State was Elizabeth's most trusted privy council member
  • Monarch and parliament - government could raise extraordinary taxes, some laws needed parliament approval, some things only monarch decided (Royal Prerogative)
• Elizabeth's character and strengths

  Intelligent with excellent grasp of politics, spoke multiple languages, understood court politics and betrayals, had a temper, persuasive and confident speaker, sometimes took a long time to make decisions
• Legitimacy

  To be a legitimate monarch, parents were expected to be married. Elizabeth's parents Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn had been married, but Henry had divorced his first wife Catherine of Aragon, which many Catholics did not accept, so Elizabeth was seen as illegitimate.
• Gender and marriage

  It was unusual to have a queen rather than a king, and religion taught men should have authority over women. Elizabeth's sister Mary I had been hated by many, so many did not want another queen in charge.
• Finances

  Elizabeth could raise money through land rents, taxes, subsidies, fines, and loans, but England was still £300,000 in debt, defending England was costly, and relying on parliament to raise taxes was risky.
• France and Scotland

  France had an alliance (Auld Alliance) with Scotland, Mary Queen of Scots (Elizabeth's cousin) had a claim to the English throne and was married to the French heir, and Mary's mother Mary of Guise had placed French troops near the English border in Scotland.
• France and Calais

  Elizabeth's sister Mary I had lost the port of Calais to the French, and Elizabeth wanted it back to demonstrate England's strength, but France and Spain were no longer at war and there was a possibility they may unite against England.
• Reformation

  The reforming of the church, changing it to Protestant, began in England as Henry VIII wanted a divorce but the Pope would not allow it, so Henry started his own Protestant Church.
• Protestantism vs Catholicism

  • Protestantism: No Pope, Bible and church services in English, people have own direct relationship with God, priests not special and no special robes, plain churches
  • Catholicism: Pope is head of Church, Bible and services in Latin, need to talk to Church to have sins forgiven, priests are special and wear special robes, highly decorated churches
• Religious division in England 1558

  Although Elizabeth was Protestant, most of the country was Catholic, and many Catholics wouldn't accept her as queen as they saw her as illegitimate.
• Clergy problem (Religious divide)

  In 1558 most bishops were Catholic and wouldn't want to change religion, and many Catholic bishops were involved in parliament, which was needed to agree a change in religion and would try to resist.
• Geographical divisions (religious divisions)

  The north of England was strongly Catholic, while the south, especially around London, was Protestant.
• Puritans (Religious divisions)

  Puritans were dedicated Protestants who wanted to purify religion and remove all traces of Catholicism, and did not believe a monarch should be the head of the Church.
• Elizabeth's Religious Settlement 1559

  Elizabeth needed to find a compromise that both Catholics and Protestants could accept. She ruled out Puritan ideas as too extreme and instead passed the Act of Supremacy making her the head of the Church, the Act of Uniformity ordering common prayer and church attendance, and the Royal Injunctions giving instructions on how to carry out the settlement.
• Impact of the Religious Settlement on the clergy

  8000 out of 10,000 priests took the Oath of Supremacy, but only 1 Catholic bishop out of 28 did, so they had to be replaced.
• Impact of the Religious Settlement on the people

  The new prayer book helped keep both Catholics and Protestants happy, those who did not attend were called Recusants, and some Protestants became violent in their enthusiasm for the changes.
• Enforcing the Religious Settlement

  Protestant bishops visited churches ensuring the settlement was followed, resulting in 400 clergy being fired, and some inspectors destroyed Catholic decorations and statues, but Elizabeth did not want beliefs investigated too closely.
• Crucifix controversy

  Puritans did not like the crucifix as it was an unneeded Catholic symbol, but Elizabeth gave in to the Puritans as the Puritan bishops threatened to resign and she couldn't replace them.
• Puritans were angry at the settlement as it had catholic parts to it
• Elizabeth's enthusiasm for the changes in the religious settlement and destroyed catholic statues of saints
• Enforcing the Religious Settlement

  1. Protestant bishops visited churches ensuring Settlement was followed

  2. First visits resulted in 400 clergy being fired as not following Settlement

  3. Some of those doing the inspection destroyed the Catholic decorations and statues that were actually allowed under the settlement

  4. Elizabeth was clear she did not want people's beliefs being investigated too closely however as she didn't want to cause the Catholics to get angry

  5. The visits check the preaching licenses of the clergy but also professionals
• Challenges to the Religious Settlement

  • Crucifix controversy
  • Vestment controversy
• Crucifix

  Symbol of the cross that Jesus died on
• Puritans did not like the cross as it was an unneeded object. Catholics would not want them removed
• Elizabeth gave into the Puritans

  As the Puritan bishops threatened to resign and she couldn't replace them
• Vestments

  Fancy robes worn by priests
• Puritans believed priests shouldn't wear fancy robes
• Catholics believed priests should wear special robes
• Elizabeth didn't back down on the vestment issue
• Book of Advertisements set out what priests must wear
• 37 refused to attend the exhibition demonstrating what priests must wear and lost their jobs
• The Papacy (The Pope) encouraged Catholics to wage war against Protestants (Known as the Counter-Reformation) and instructed Catholics not to attend the Protestant Church services
• Elizabeth didn't punish harshly those Catholic Recusants who didn't attend, if she killed those who refused they could become martyrs and get sympathy
• Protestantism was trying to break out in France

  Elizabeth agreed to help the French rebels in the hope of gaining their support
• Elizabeth's hopes failed when the French Protestants and Catholics made peace
• Elizabeth now had to officially accept England had lost Calais (Treaty of Troyes) to avoid a backlash from Catholic France