GCSE Edexcel Elizabethan England (copy)

The Court

- made up of noblemen who acted as the monarch's advisers and friends

- they advised the monarch and helped display her wealth and power.

- members of the court could also be members of the

Privy Council.

Justices of the Peace

Large landowners; appointed by government, who kept law and order locally and heard court cases

Lord Lieutenants

Noblemen, appointed by government, who governed English counties and raised the local militia.

The Privy Council

- members of the nobility who helped govern the country.

- they monitored parliament and Justices of the Peace

- oversaw law and order and the security of the country.

Parliament

- advised Elizabeth's government, made up

of the House of Lords and the House of Commons.

- the house of Lords was made up of noblemen and bishops.

- the house of Commons was elected, though very few

people could vote.

- Parliament passed laws and approved taxes (extraordinary taxation)

When did Elizabeth become queen?

1558

Why was the power of Elizabeth limited?

Elizabeth did not possess complete power. She could not pass laws without parliament's approval, or raise taxes without parliament's agreement.

Elizabeth's character and strengths

- Highly intelligent and well educated (she spoke Latin, Greek, French and Italian)

- Understood the dangerous world of court politics as she had been imprisoned in the Tower of London in 1554 on suspicion of treason.

- Confident and charismatic (able to make great speeches which won over her subjects, although she also had a temper people feared)

Financial weaknesses in 1558

-The Crown was £300,000 in debt and had an annual income of only £286,667.

-Mary Tudor had sold off Crown lands to pay for wars with France, so the Crown's income from rents was falling.

-Elizabeth needed money to remain secure

on the throne, as she could use it to reward her supporters.

-Since the 1540s, the Crown has devalued the coinage, by reducing its silver and gold content, in order to make more money to fight wars against France. This resulted in inflation, as the value of currency fell.

How monarchs could raise money

• Rents and income from their own lands (Crown lands).

• Taxes from trade (known as customs duties).

• Special additional taxes, known as subsidies, which had to be agreed by parliament.

• Profits of justice (fines, property or lands from people convicted of crimes).

• Loans (sometimes loans were 'forced', meaning they were compulsory and never repaid).

The French Threat

- France was wealthier than England and had a bigger population.

- Elizabeth's cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, was married to the French king, Francis II.

- Mary had a strong claim to the English throne and English Catholics might rally to her if the French invaded.

Under the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis

England had lost Calais to France. This was England's last remaining territory on the continent and there was pressure on Elizabeth to regain it. However, war with

France would be expensive and dangerous.

France had ended its war with Spain

French military resources were no longer stretched by war with Spain, making a war with England more likely. There was also the possibility that France and Spain, both Catholic countries, would unite against Protestant England. Spain also had troops in the Netherlands, not far from England.

Why couldn't England afford to have a war with France, Scotland or Spain?

War was an expensive business and the Crown was in debt, England could not afford a war with France, Scotland or Spain, as this would be ruinously expensive and deepen the government's debts.

How Elizabeth dealt with the challenges from abroad

• She sought to avoid war with France by signing the Peace of Troyes (1564), which recognised once and for all the French claim to Calais.

• Elizabeth was able to deal with the threat posed by Scotland by placing Mary, Queen of Scots, who fled Scotland in 1568, in custody in England.

• By imprisoning Mary and making peace with France, Elizabeth had only one significant threat by

1569: Spain.

Why was religion important in Elizabethan England?

• Religion was central to life in England. Religious teaching and practices guided people's morals and behaviour as well as their understanding of the world. Birth, marriage and death were all marked by religious ceremonies.

• People believed that going to church, attending pilgrimages and confessing sins reduced time in

purgatory where the soul was purged of sin using 'spiritual fire' before reaching heaven.

Elizabeth's religious settlement

Tried to create a settlement which would satisfy all religious groups

The Act of Uniformity

Established the appearance of churches and how

religious services were to be held. It required everyone to attend church.

The Act of Supremacy

Elizabeth became Supreme Governor (Head) of the Church of England. All clergy and royal officials had to swear an oath of allegiance to her.

Ecclesiastical High Commission

Established to keep discipline within the Church and enforce Elizabeth's religious settlement. Disloyal clergy could be punished.

The Royal Injunctions:

A set of instructions to reinforce the acts of Supremacy and Uniformity. Also stated that al clergy were required to keep a copy of the Bible in English and had to wear vestments.

Impact of the religious settlement

• 8000 clergy out of about 10000 accepted the religious settlement.

• Many Marian Bishops (Catholic Bishops appointed by Mary Tudor) opposed the settlement and had to be replaced.

• The majority of ordinary people accepted Elizabeth's religious settlement and attended the church services, even though many of them held on to Catholic beliefs.

Role of the Church of England in society

- Enforced Elizabeth's religious settlement of 1559.

- It preached the government's message - priests had to do this to be given a government's licence enabling them to preach.

-Visitations - bishops inspected churches and clergy to ensure they obeyed the religious settlement.

-Legitimised Elizabeth's rule - encouraged people to be loyal to Elizabeth.

Role of parish clergy in village life

• In all parishes the clergyman conducted church services including baptisms, weddings and funerals.

• The clergy offered spiritual and practical advice and guidance to people, especially when times were difficult (such as during a poor harvest).

• The clergy were funded by taxes or tithes

Mary's claim to the throne

Mary, Queen of Scots, was Henry VII's great-granddaughter and Elizabeth's second cousin. She was Catholic and had a legitimate claim to the English

throne. Mary was married to the French king, Francis II, and inherited the Scottish crown when she was only six days old. While Mary was in France, her mother, Mary of Guise, ruled Scotland.

Mary leaves Scotland

Francis II dies, marries Lord Darnley and produces an heir, he suspiciously dies, marries Earl of Bothwell, captured, made to give up throne and flees to England

Mary's imprisonment in England, 1568

Mary was held in [ngland in comfort but under guard while Elizabeth decided what to do with her. The Scottish rebels demanded that Mary be handed over and tried the murder of Darnley.

Elizabeth's options with Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1568-69

1. Help Mary regain her throne - this would anger Scottish nobility.

2. Hand Mary over to the Scottish lords - could anger France as she was Francis' former wife.

3. Allow Mary to go abroad - Mary could plot against her

4. Keep Mary in England - best option but could mean that Catholic plotters could try and overthrow her and replace her with Elizabeth

Why did Elizabeth not make Mary her heir?

Could upset English Protestants and result in civil war

Why did the Northern Earls rebel?

- wanted to make England catholic again

- earls had lost influence under Elizabeth

- elizabeth's refusal to name an heir, or to marry and have a child, created uncertainty

The Revolt of the Northern Earl's

Mary would marry the Duke of Norfolk, depose (remove) Elizabeth and become queen herself.

Why did the revolt fail?

• support from spain never arrived.

• many northern landowners remained loyal to Elizabeth.

• many landowners did not want to risk losing wealth by backing a failed revolt.

The revolt's significance

• It showed Mary could not be trusted - and she remained in prison.

• The pope excommunicated Elizabeth and called on loyal Catholics to depose her. This encouraged further Catholic plots against her.

• The loyalty of England's Catholics was now

in doubt.

• Elizabeth's control over the north of England was strengthened.

The Ridolfi Plot

1571, Lead by a catholic banker Roberto Ridolfi, who felt foreign support was needed. The plan was for the Netherlands to invade England at the time of another northern rebellion and put Mary Queen Of Scots on the throne who would marry Norfolk.

The significance of the Ridolfi plot

- After the Papal Bull and excommunication, Confirmed that Catholics home + abroad and Mary still posed a threat

- Reinforced threat to England from Spain

- Elizabeth tried to improve relationships with France (due to Spanish threat)

-Government began treating Catholics more severely

Papal Bull 1570

The Pope declared that Elizabeth was a heretic and, as such, she was excommunicated by way of a Papal Bull. The Bull released Catholics from any loyalty to Elizabeth and called upon them to remove her from the throne.

The Throckmorton plot, 1583

The French Duke of Guise plotted to invade England

and overthrow Elizabeth, free Mary and make England Catholic again.

• Philip II offered to help pay for the revolt and the pope approved of the conspiracy.

• Francis Throckmorton, a young Englishman, would pass letters between the plotters and Mary, Queen of 5cots.

The failure of the Throckmorton plot

• In November 1583, Walsingham's spies found

papers at Throckmorton's house that revealed

his part in the conspiracy.

• Throckmorton was arrested and tortured, confessed to his involvement and was executed in May 1584.

The Babington Plot (1586)

The Duke of Guise would invade England, murder Elizabeth and put Mary, Queen of Scots, on the throne. Philip II and the pope supported this.

Why was the Babington Plot significant?

• By 1585, England and Spain were virtually at war.

• Elizabeth's government became determined to crush the Catholic threat.

• The persecution of Catholics intensified. In 1585, 11000 Catholics were imprisoned or placed under house arrest. 31 priests were executed across the country in 1586.

• The plot led to the execution of Mary, ending any hope of replacing Elizabeth with a Catholic heir.

Why was Sir Francis Walsingham important?

- his actions provided intelligence that defeated plots

- intelligence unmasked the activities of Mary, Queen of Scots - put pressure on Elizabeth to execute her and led to Mary's execution in early 1587

- actions also deterred further plots against Elizabeth

Walsingham's spy network

Walsingham had a network of spies and informants in every town and even abroad

Agent provocateurs

Employed to encourage those who were seen as a threat to Elizabeth to plot against her. This justified their arrest and execution.

The Spanish Fury

By 1576, the Spanish government in the Netherlands found the war there unaffordable. A lack of funds meant Spanish troops went unpaid. This resulted in the Spanish Fury, when Spanish troops looted Antwerp.

The Pacification of Ghent

All 17 Dutch provinces joined an alliance against the Spanish, drawn up in a document called the Pacification of Ghent. It called for all Spanish troops to be expelled from the Netherlands.

The English response to the Spanish

Elizabeth's government decided to secretly help Dutch Protestants resist the Spanish. She gave Dutch Rebel ships safe passage in English ports, provided them financial support, and encouraged English privateers to attack Spanish colonies

Deteriorating relations between England and Spain

• Elizabeth, by knighting Drake, demonstrated her defiance of and hostility towards Spain's commercial

interests in Europe and the New World. Her actions showed her support of the financial losses suffered by the Spanish government as a result of English privateering.

• For Philip II, Drake and other privateers were little more than pirates who needed to be removed by war if necessary.

Privateering

• English merchants, financed by private investors, including Elizabeth herself, raided Spanish colonies

• In one raid alone, in 1572, Sir Francis Drake captured £40000 in Spanish silver.

• By 1580, loss of silver meant that the Spanish government in the Netherlands was bankrupt and could not afford to pay its soldiers.

Treaty of Nonsuch 1585

The treaty finally led to England providing the Dutch rebels in the Netherlands with a small military force that would aid the rebels in their fight against Spain.

Singeing of the King of Spain's beard 1587

• In March 1587, Elizabeth ordered Francis Drake to attack the Spanish navy. He attacked Cadiz, a major

Spanish naval port, destroying 30 ships and much of the fleet's supplies. This attack was called the 'singeing of the King of Spain's beard'.

• Drake then continued to attack Spanish coastal ports and treasure ships.

The importance of Drake's attacks on Cadiz and Spain

• The disruption Drake caused did not stop the Armada, but it delayed it by a year.

• This bought England more time to prepare for the eventual Spanish attack and invasion in 1588.

Why did Philip launch the Spanish Armada?

• Wanted to remove Elizabeth from the throne and replace her with a Catholic ruler

• Drake's actions in the New World threatened Spain

• Elizabeth's supported the Dutch rebels

Why was the Armada such a threat?

If the Armada succeeded, Elizabeth could lose her throne and possibly her life. For English Protestants a successful invasion meant the restoration of Catholicism in England and the persecution of Protestants.

Reasons for the English victory

- English ships were better armed and equipped. Cannons were mounted on smaller gun carriages than on Spanish ships. This meant they could be loaded and fired more quickly than the Spanish cannons. This damaged many Spanish ships.

- The weather. Gale force winds caused most of the destruction to the Spanish ships as they retreated home.

Many Spanish ships were destroyed off the west of Ireland.

- Spanish ships lacked supplies and provisions, including food, for a long voyage. The Spanish fleet was at sea for 10 weeks and by early August the food had rotted. This damaged Spanish morale and their ability to fight the English.

Consequences of the English victory for England

- Elizabeth's authority enhanced.

- English navy strengthened.

- Protestant cause stronger in England.

Consequences of the English victory for Spain

• The defeat of the Armada was a major military and financial setback for King Philip II of Spain.

• However, Spain's war with England continued for the rest of Elizabeth's reign.

• Spanish prestige was broken. Other countries became more willing to challenge Spain's power. This led to the gradual decline of the Spanish Empire.

Attitudes towards education

- Elizabethan England had no national system of education. The purpose of education was to help people prepare for their expected roles in life, so

it was focused on practical skills and possibly basic literacy - only an estimated 15-20% of the population

could read and write.

- The view was that only the rich needed

to attend. People saw no need to provide a formal education for the vast majority of the population.

Changing influences on education

• Protestants argued that people ought to be able to

study the scriptures. This required people to be able

to read, boosting literacy.

• The growth of the printing press meant books became

less expensive, giving people more opportunities to

read.

• The growth of trade in the Elizabethan era required

ordinary people to be able to read, write and understand mathematics so they could record

transactions properly. This encouraged more people

to become literate.

Literature and the theatre

• A lot of new literature was written during Elizabeth's reign, although medieval literature remained popular.

• All social classes attended the theatre, so purpose-built theatres had to be built to accommodate growing audiences.

What types of people were poor?

- Widows or women abandoned by their husbands and their families - women were paid very little

- The sick and the elderly - were uncapable of work

- Orphaned children - 40% of the poor were under 16 years old

- People on low wages

- Itinerants, vagrants and vagabonds - homeless people who moved from their parishes looking for work - oftened involved in crimes and worried those in authority

Reasons for poverty in Elizabethan England

- The population of England increased from 3 million to 4.2 million from 1551 to 1601.

- Enclosure. Land was divided into fields for animal husbandry and/or arable farming and given to farmers who farmed for profit.

- Sheep farming. Growth of wool trade meant many farmers preferred to rear sheep than grow food.

Changing attitudes towards the poor

• the fear that poverty led to disorder and was a potential cause of rebellion

• the cost of dealing with the poor

2 types of poor

• the deserving or impotent poor (the old and the sick) who could not help themselves

• the idle poor (those who could work but chose not to do so).

1572 Vagabonds Act

Vagrants were:

• whipped and a hole drilled through each ear as a mark of shame, to warn others of their vagrancy

• imprisoned if arrested again for vagrancy

• given the death penalty for a third offence.

Poor rate

A local tax organised by Justices of the Peace (JPs), with the proceeds spent on improving the lives of the poor.

Reasons for exploration

- The development of maps

- Expanding trade

- Adventure

Why did Drake circumnavigate the globe?

• He was attacking Spain. Drake did not aim to sail around the world. His main purpose was to raid Spanish colonies in the Pacific, as relations with Spain were declining at this time.

• Revenge. The Spanish had attacked Drake's fleet and most of his men had been killed.

• Profit. Loot, booty and trade meant there were huge profits to be made from Drake's proposed journey to the Americas and beyond, so people were willing to invest in the expedition, including Elizabeth.

The significance of Drake's circumnavigation of the globe

- England's reputation as a sea faring power increased.

- English ships began to trade elsewhere.

- Encouraged further trade and exploration, especially to the New World, where colonies were established in New England.

Sir Walter Raleigh

• In 1584, Elizabeth gave Raleigh a grant to explore and settle lands in North America.

• Raleigh needed to raise huge amounts of money and encourage potential English colonists to leave their homes and settle in a land many knew little about.

Why was Virginia colonised?

- Trade. The colony could produce crops, sugar cane and tobacco that could be brought back to England.

- England would be less dependent on Spain, France and Italy for imported goods.

- Welcoming and friendly natives.

The failure of Virginia

- Lack of food. First colonists left England too late to reach Virginia in time to plant crops. One of their five ships let in seawater, ruining the food it was carrying.

- Native American attack. In 1586, angered by the diseases they had brought, Algonquian Chief Winginia led an attack on the colonists.

- The war with Spain. From 1585, England was effectively at war with Spain. The threat from the Armada meant that few ships were available to visit or

resupply the colonists. The colonists were increasingly isolated and vulnerable to attack.