elizabeth

• The Settlement


  • A Protestant Church that looks Catholic (no transubstantiation with stained glass windows)
  • A 'via media' (middle way)
  • She is the Supreme Governor and not the Supreme Head
• Catholics


  • Quiet until MQS arrives
  • The Papal Bull in 1570 - tells Catholics to try and assassinate Elizabeth
  • The Treason Act 1571 - makes it an act of treason to own a copy of the Papal Bull
  • Recusancy fines are increased to £20
• Plots and Rebellions (Catholics)


  • The Northern Rebellion is a failed attempt to make MQS queen. They say Mass at Durham Cathedral
  • The Ridolfi Plot 1571 - leads to the execution of the Duke of Norfolk in 1572
  • The Throckmoreton Plot in 1583
  • The Babington Plot in 1586 - leads to the execution of MQS in 1587
• Puritans


  • Puritans are very strict Protestants
  • Puritan MPs try to make changes in Parliament (Walter Strickland in 1571 and Anthony Cope in 1586)
  • Elizabeth has to put her Puritan Archbishop of Canterbury (Grindal) under house arrest for not banning prophesyings in 1575
  • Puritans publish pamphlets attacking Elizabeth (Martin Marprelates)
• Poverty


  • Poverty is increasing due to a rising population (4 million in 1601)
  • 20% of the population are under 5
  • 1572 Vagabonds Act - punishes vagrants. You can be whipped for being a vagrant
  • 1601 Poor Law - creates workhouses and alms houses. You have to pay tax to help the poor. Law until 1834
• Marriage and female rule


  • Elizabeth never marries
  • She creates a 'Cult of Glorina' around herself. She is married to England
  • She fancies Robert Dudley. He is too poor and probably murdered his first wife
  • Other candidates are not right. Philip II is Catholic
• Sir Francis Drake


  • He was the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe (Drake's Passage) between 1577-1580
  • He stole £400k from the Spanish on the voyage. Elizabeth knighted him
  • He was a slave trader (with John Hawkins) between 1562-1568 and sold 1200 slaves
  • He was a commander during the Spanish Armada. He designed the race built warships
• Sir Walter Rayleigh and America


  • Walter Rayleigh was an English explorer who established the first English colony in America, Roanoke
  • He was banished from court for getting Bess Throckmoreton pregnant in 1593
  • The English went to America to grow tobacco
• The gentry


  • People without a title who are becoming powerful
  • The Great Chain of Being - the idea that everyone has a set place in society- is ending
  • Members of the gentry had important roles, such as William Cecil
• The theatre


  • The theatre became more popular during her reign
  • 20000 people attended each week
  • The Globe theatre was in Southwark
  • People from all classes went to the theatre
• Golden Age


  • Building design - windows - Great Halls - no longer dark, gloomy castles
  • Trade - new products come from abroad like sugar, wine and spices
  • Fashion - new fashions, like the ruff
  • However, bear baiting was more popular than the theatre. Life expectancy was 35
• Parliament


  • Called only 13 times in 45 years
  • Has the power to grant Elizabeth money
  • MPs make demands of Elizabeth. For example, they tell her to get married after she nearly dies of smallpox in 1562
  • MPs force her to execute MQS in 1586
• Court and the Privy Council


  • Court: A mixture of politics and social life. The court is based at one of her palaces (Richmond, Hampton Court, Whitehall). It goes on procession in the summer. You can be talent spotted at court - Sir Christopher Hatton had nice legs and Eliz. Promoted him
  • Privy Council: Her team of 12-18 advisors. William Cecil is the main man on the Privy Council. Two members of the Privy Council are executed: Norfolk in 1572 and Essex in 1601
• Naval warfare


  • The English have 24 race built warships
  • The English have small accurate cannons called culverins
  • The Spanish have large galleons
  • The English use 9 fire-ships at the Spanish Armada to break the formation
• Spanish Armada 1588


  • England and Spain go to war when England intervenes in the Spanish Netherlands
  • The Spanish try to invade England with 130 ships
  • The English commanders are privateers (Drake); the Spanish commander gets sea sick (Sidonia)
  • The English defeat the Spanish at the Battle of Gravelines
  • God's wind: a storm forces the Spanish around Scotland and Ireland
• The Essex Rebellion


  • Essex is the stepson of Dudley. He joins the Privy Council in 1593
  • He claims he is sleeping with Elizabeth (plays cards with her)
  • He is a war hero (Cadiz 1596)
  • He is banished from the P.C. after being recalled from Ireland and bursting in on her without make up
  • The Essex Rebellion 1601 aims to overthrow Robert Cecil from the PC. It fails and Essex and 5 others are executed