elizabethan england

• elizabethan society

  90% of the population lived in the countryside

  highly religious

  owed respect to those above you in society
• religious division

  catholic

  • pope was head of the church
  • wore vestments
  • bible + church services in latin
  • highly decorative

  protestant

  • queen was head of the church
  • simple robes
  • bible + church services in english
  • simple decoration

  puritan

  • no head of the church
  • very simple clothing
  • bible + church services in english
  • no decoration
• religious settlement - success

  puritans saw it as a step towards religious reform

  catholics were happy with some features

  80% of priests signed the oath of supremecy
• religious settlement - challenges

  crucifix controversy - threatened to resign so elizabeth had to back down

  vestment controversy - didn't want to wear special clothing but refusal to wear it = dismissal

  27 catholic priests refused to sign the oath of supremacy

  1566, pope told catholics not to attend church services

  ⅓ of the nobility were strong recusants
• ridolfi plot

  1571

  pope, philip II and duke of alba all involved

  duke of norfolk led rebellion with spanish support

  william cecil uncovered the plot

  norfolk executed in 1572
• throckmorton plot


  1583

  phillip II provided financial support

  pope approved

  francis walsingham uncovereed the plot

  throckmorton was arrested and executed in 1584

  catholics placed under more suspicion
• babington plot


  1586

  put mary, queen of scots on the throne

  walsingham uncovered the plot

  mary, queen of scots put on trail and executed
• revolt of the northern earls

  1569

  wanted to restore catholicism and put mary, queen of scots on the throne

  treason laws became harsher

  450 involved in the rebellion and executed

  harsher treatment of catholics

  pope excommunicated elizabeth in 1570 - loyalty of english catholics was in doubt, pope or the queen?
• act of supremecy

  elizabeth was the supreme governor of the church

  all clergy to swear an oath of allegiance
• act of uniformity

  appearance of churches and all the services were the same

  all to use the book of common prayer
• royal injunctions

  enforced the religious settlement
• walsingham & his spy network

  secretary of state from 1573

  used specially trained agents

  had informants in every town and county

  used ciphers to catch plots

  only used torture to catholic priests in extreme cases
• drakes raid on cadiz

  sailed into the spanish harbour of cadiz

  30 spanish vessels were sunk

  attacks forced spain to defend themselves

  stopped spain preparing for the armada - delayed it by one year
• drakes circumnavigation of the globe

  landed in california and named a region Nova Albion - declared elizabeth as its queen

  brought back £400000

  elizabeth knighted him on the deck of the golden hind

  drake became a national hero which showed the strength of england's naval power
• reasons for the launch of the spanish armada

  religion

  • philip II wanted catholicism in england
  • supported plots against elizabeth
  • pope offered a reward if he was successful in the armada

  english actions

  • philip II angry about english support for the dutch rebels
  • execution of mary, queen of scots
  • francis drake's actions

  politics

  • treaty of nonsuch - placed england and spain at war
  • philip wanted to claim england - good for the spanish empire
• spanish armada failure


  english tactics

  • fireships - scattered the crest formation
  • easier to attack
  • galleons were easier to manoeuvre
  • their cannons fired more than spanish ones

  weather

  • wind which scattered the crest formation and made the spanish panic

  spanish problems

  • raid on cadiz had destroyed barrels and food rotted
  • poor communication - took 1 week for messages to be received
• consequences of the spanish armada

  england survived an attack against a more powerful enemy

  anglo-dutch alliance was strong

  highlighted the strength of the english navy

  gave england the confidence to trade more widely

  philip II did not give up which was the start of spanish decline
• colonisation of virginia + raleigh

  elizabeth gave raleigh a grant in 1584 to explore and settle lands in north america

  raleigh organised the trip and sent a fact finding mission

  he raised funds

  elizabeth gave raleigh a ship and gunpower worth £400 which encouraged other investors

  
  

  IMPORTANCE:

  • undermined spain - england rivalling the spanish empire
  • economic benefits - new markets to trade
• failure of the colonisation of virginia

  left england too late to plant crops

  became dependent for food

  colonists were ill

  colonists wanted to get rich quick and did not want to work for it

  reliant on the native americans

  native americans grew tired of their demands for food

  colonists did not cooperate

  not enough of the right people to make a successful colony

  wingina believed that the english had supernatural powers - illnesses were brought to the native americans
• grammar school

  boys (10-14)

  biggest change in education in elizabethan england

  attended by children of the gentry, merchants, yeomen, farmers, craftsmen
• petty schools

  up to age 10

  run privately from people's homes

  people went here before going to grammar school
• dame schools


  girls (not from poorer classes)

  run by local, educated women

  learnt to read and write

  education was focused on the home
• university - oxford & cambridge

  age 14+

  made up of different colleges

  1571 - elizabeth set us jesus college in oxford

  wanted to increase the number of protestant clergy so educated about it more
• vagabonds act

  1572

  wanted to deter vagrancy

  whipped and a hole drilled through each ear for the first time

  second time they were imprisoned

  third time they were given the death penalty

  poverty still was a huge problem and more vagrants turned up looking for work
• poor relief act

  1576

  distinguish between deserving and undeserving (idle poor)

  help the idle poor find work

  provided idle poor with raw materials to make things to sell

  if you refused, you were sent to a house of correction