Elizabethan

1558

1558

Elizabeth crowned queen

Portraits

• portraits always painted to create her image as strong, powerful and young

• propoganda

• weren’t accurate (hid that she had chickenpox or an signs of age)

• helped share her image and people kept a portrait of her to show loyalty

1559, religious problems

• fear of excommunication

• fear that Mary QoS may want claim to the thrown

• King Phillip 2nd of Spain

The religious settlement

Act of supremacy

Act of uniformity

Royal injunctions

1559 Act of supremacy

• Made Elizabeth head of church (supreme governor) and above the pope

• All important officials had to swear an oath to Elizabeth as head of church or they would be imprisoned (refuse 3 times = execution)

• High commissioner ensure changes put in place

1559 Act of uniformity

• Protestant book of common prayer to be used in all churches

• Bible in English

• Decorations allowed in church

• Clergy had to wear vestments and allowed to marry

• Recusants had to pay 1 shilling fine for every absence

Recusants

People who refused to go to church (compulsory Sunday church)

Puritan view on via media (middle way)

• Puritans weren’t happy as they believed churches should be simple; no decorations

• Also didn’t believe in hierarchy in church

1559 royal injunctions

• Clergy had to teach royal supremacy and reject pope’s authority

• Also had to identify Recusants and ensure local JPs fined them

The act of exchange 1559

Allowed Elizabeth to take buildings and land from the church and force bishops to lend her land - made the gentry and nobility loyal to her as she would reward them with favourable leases on these lands

The Episcopacy

Elizabeth appointed protestant bishops in churches to replace catholic bishops that refused to take the Oath of Supremacy

1563, 39 articles of faith

Laid down the beliefs of the Church of England

1568 Mary queen of Scot’s arrives in England

• Mary forced to leave France after death of king Francis 2nd her first husband

• Had to flee Scotland after unsuccessful attempt to reclaim Scottish throne as well as the death of her second husband lord Darnley

• scotland also protestant

1569 revolt of the northern earls

• 2 influential Catholic earls (Charles Neville and Thomas Percy) planned to overthrow Elizabeth and replace her with Mary QoS who would marry the Duke of Norfolk (Elizabeth’s cousin)

• Elizabeth sent an army to crush the revolt and the rebels fled to Scotland

1570 pope excommunicates Elizabeth in the papal bull

• called upon catholics to remove Elizabeth from throne

• Gave catholics permission to plot against her

1571, ridolfi plot

• Roberto Ridolfi led a plot that indirectly included Mary QOS, the Duke of Norfolk, Phillip 2nd and the pope

• Spanish army invasion and would kill Elizabeth; then Mary QOS would marry Duke of Norfolk and become queen

• Discovered by William Cecil and spy master Sir Francis Walsingham

1583, throckmorton plot

• Jesuit priest, Francis Throckmorton, was a messenger between Mary QOS and the Spanish Ambassador

• French forces, funded by Spanish and Papal money, invade England

• Discovered by Elizabeth’s secret service

1584, Bond of Association

If the queen were murdered, parliament would punish the murderers

1585, Spain

Spain declared war and began to build a naval fleet

1586, Babington plot

• Anthony Babington planned to overthrow Elizabeth with help of Spanish and replace her with Mary

• Discovered by Walsingham who found letters written in code between Mary and Babington about progress of the plot

• Mary directly involved

February 1587

Mary Queen of Scots executed

Privy Council

• Sir William Cecil - Secretary of State and closest advisor to Elizabeth

• Robert Dudley - Earl of Leicester (rumoured to have affairs with queen)

• Sir Christopher Hatton - lord chancellor

• Sir Francis Walsingham - in charge of the secret service and uncovered most plots against Elizabeth

• Cecil and Dudley were rival as Elizabeth’s most trusted advisor

lord lieutenant

• nobility/wealthy landowners

• reported to the privy council about their area and supervised JPs

Justices of peace

• gentry

• administrated poor relief and the job gave them power and status (not paid but felt it was their duty)

Parish constable

farmers/tradesmen who were appointed several duties and were unpaid for a year

Parliament

• parliament only met when when queen called it (parliament only met 13 times during Elizabeth’s reign and asked for money in all of them)

• queen only called parliament for: pass acts, get advise or support or when she needed money

Freedom of speech

MPs had freedom of speech but weren’t allowed to discuss her personal life, religion, foreign policy

Housing: Nobility

they had the latest features: walls covered in tapestries and paintings, remodelled houses from medieval designs for Queen’s progresses, great hall made to eat in, sleep in, and entertain in

Housing: Gentry

• they copied nobels and also renovated their homes with glass windows, stairs and upper floors

• now had separate quarters for servants

Housing: Poor

• floor made of earth and timber walls with a thatched roof and basic furnishing

Fashion: Nobility

• men: outfits made of expensive materials such as silk, linen and velvet

• women: expensive jewellery which advertised their wealth

Fashion: Gentry

• fashion used as a demonstration of power, status and social standing

• adopted fashion sense from nobility

• their outfits were the same as nobility but without the expensive jewellery and threads

Fashion: Poor

• had simple clothing and normally had limited amount of clothes

impotent poor

people unable to work due to age or some other restriction (in need of poor relief)

able-bodied poor

those capable of working and unwilling to find a job

poor relief

a series of acts to help regulate the relief of poor (was kept unchanged for 200 years)

1598, Act for the relief of the poor

• work found for able-bodied poor

• poor children taught trade/craft

• compulsory poor rate

1601, Act for the relief of the poor

• made 1598, poor law permanent

• government realisation that they had responsibility to help poor

causes of poverty

• rising population (2.7 million in 1540s, 4.1 million in 1601)

• inflation

• bad harvests (especially in 1596-7 which increased inflation)

Popular entertainment: Rich

• Hunting

• Archery

• Dancing

• Music

Popular entertainment: Poor

• Hawking

• Dancing

• Bowls and football

• Playing cards

Cruel sport

• bullbaiting

• cockfighting

Development of Theatres

• Strolling players would tour the country and perform plays in front of townsfolk

• wealthy landowners often had private showings (indicates popularity)

• authorities feared spread of disease and criminal activity

• 1572, law passed banning strolling players to perform without a license

• 1576, actor James Burbage built 1st theatre called ‘the theatre’ and was successful so more theatres built

1572 strolling players

a law passed banning strolling players from performing without a license

Actors in theatre

• all male actors so had to be multi-functional

• had to sing, dance and play intruments

Playwrites

• ‘golden age’ of English drama

• Christopher Marlowe - wrote a famous play that taught audience not to sin or mingle wit devil

• William shakespeare - wrote a variety of genres unlike other playwriters

• Queen was passionate lover of theatre and became a patron

Support for theatre

• cheap so attracted all classes

• queen passionate lover and became patron

• Nobels frequently went and new plays became a part of the social calendar

opposition of theatre

• authorities concerned about maintaining law, order and spread of disease

• puritans found theatre the work of the devil as it distracted from prayer and encouraged sinful behaviour

Reasons for the armada

• Dutch revolution in Netherland

• English attacks in Spanish Main (1577, Francis Drake stole £140,000 worth treasure in Spanish Main)

• Mary QoS’s execution (last hope of a catholic monarch in England gone)

1566, war in Netherlands

• Dutch Protestants in the Netherlands rose in rebellion against Catholic rule from Spain

• 1567, Philip of Spain sent 10,000 troops to Netherlands (burnt over 1,000 Protestants to death)

Elizabeth’s reaction

• before 1585: gave unofficial support (supplied them with weapons and money)

• after assassination of William the silent 1584: singed a treaty with Dutch protestants to protect and help them (Treaty of Nonsuch)

The Spanish Armada: plan

• planned to sail to calais and pick up Parma’s troops from Netherlands

• cross to Kent in barges

• march to London along with British catholics

• Elizabeth surrenders and Catholicism restored

April 1587

Drake attacked Spanish fleet at Cadiz which delayed armada by a year

February 1588

Admiral in charge of armada died and replaced with Duke of Medina

The Spanish Armada: reality

• Spainish set sail to Calais in a crescent formation but Parma’s army delayed and vulnerable

• 7th august, English set alight to 8 old ships and drifted them to where Spanish had anchored which forced them to break crescent formation

• 8th august, The battle of Gravelines: 3 Spanish ships lost, 1000 Spaniards killed and no English ships lost, only 50 English killed (turning point)

• 9th august, wind changed direction and Spanish sailed into North Sea around Scotland and Ireland and lost fleet in storms

• only 67 ships returned to Spain

results of the armada

• war with Spain continued for a decade

• English continued to support Dutch protestants against Spain

• English sailors continued to attack Spanish Main and steal treasure

Vestments controversy, 1566

• Archbishop of Canterbury issued rules on how to conduct services and the wearing of vestments

• many puritan priests refused as believed to be similar to catholic outfits (threatened Elizabeth’s position as Supreme Governor)

• Puritan priests that refused rules were removed from their position (37 puritan priests lost their jobs for refusing vestments)

1579, John Stubbs Pamphlet

Puritan Stubbs wrote a pamphlet which criticised the queen for marriage talks with Duke of Anjou (Catholic, French king’s brother)

He was imprisoned for 18 months and had his hand cut off

1571, Walter Strickland proposed a bill

Puritan MP Strickland proposed a bill asking to ban vestments, a new common prayer book and more

Elizabeth closed parliament before Strickland could have his ideas discussed and the bill was not heard of again

1576, Peter Wentworth complained MPs not given Freedom of Speech

• Puritan MP Wentworth complained MPs not allowed to discuss what they wanted in parliament and accused queen of abusing her power

• He was imprisoned in the Tower of London for a month and Elizabeth closed parliament down

• Elizabeth issued instructions that Parliament not allowed to discuss religious matters without her permission