Elizabeth- Social-economic

• The Marian Debt was £300,000, when Elizabeth became Queen
• When Elizabeth became Queen, there were large population rises
• Purveyance was buying products at a lower price
• monopolies are when you have exclusive rights to sell a product
• £106,000 was owed to Antwerp with an exchange rate of 14% from Mary's reign
• To cope with the Marian debt, Elizabeth cuts spendings, froze salaries, monoplies. This led to unrest against monopolies in the short term
• There was 75% inflation between 1558 and 1563
• Population rises from 3 million to 4.1 million between 1561 and 1601
• there were £330,000 in savings by 1574
• Cost of War

  • used purveyance to purchase cheap cannons
  • nobility gave loans totalling to £330,000
  • sold crown lands for £600,000
• The War in the Netherlands cost £2 million
• Elizabeth was effective at removing debt and paying for war
• Elizabeth was not effective at ending inflation, long term problems with loans, no rent from land
• In the 1601 Elizabethan Poor Law, stated that the wealthy were taxed to pay for the poor.
• The cost of war was only a problem towards the end of her reign, and it only added to the problem of inflation and purveyance
• The Marian debt caused problems as it meant that it was difficult to build up a surplus.
• Elizabeth was unsuccessful in ending inflation
• In 1587, Parliament attacked purveyance
• Ordinary revenue came from crown lands and recusancy fines
• the income from crown lands increased from £86,000 to £111,000
• Parliamentary taxation was when Elizabeth asked parliament for money. She was usually granted less than what she asked for and wealthy landowners did not always pay fully.
• Large profits were made from the slave trade as you didn't have to buy slaves but could capture them.
• 1580s= the Levant Company is established, which is trade within the mediterranean
• Elizabeth aimed to increase overseas trade
• Poverty grew due to poor harvests, population rises and enclosure
• The 1563 Statute of Artificers stated that everyone had to work on land and there were Houses of Work for the unemployed.
• Acts produced in 1563-1601 to deal with poverty. Govt showed more support for the poor towards the end, but taxation was not always uniform
• 1572 Poor relief Act= compulsory contributions to the poor rate. Begging without a license led to whipping
• 1598 Act for relief of the poor= begging is forbidden. JPs appoint officials to give materials to employ the able-bodied
• 1601 Poor Act= made the 1598 act permanent. Government provided for the poor.