Causes of the crisis

• Elizabeth’s grandfather Henry VII had banned private armies, leaving many soldiers without work
• Elizabeth’s father Henry VIII had closed all the catholic monasteries so many people who worked for the church were evicted
• More landowners began to keep sheep on their land instead of renting it out to grow crops
• A new system of farming called enclosure meant fewer workers were needed and there was less common land
• Jobless and homeless left for the cities
• London population grew from 60000 in 1500 to 200000 in 1600
• Population doubled during Elizabeth’s reign
• Food prices went up by 500%
• Harvests after 1560 grew steadily worse due to climate change
• Landlords increased rent
• A flu in 1556 killed 200000 including many workers who produced food