6 Section 4: The Triumph of Elizabeth 1563-1603

### What was the function and structure of the Royal Court?

(different chambers/ Lord Chamberlain)

==Elizabethan Government 1563-1603==

Function- important in decision making, Liz sought advice on individual basis, place for patronage

__Structure__

* Presence Chamber- open area anyone w/ right status could have access
* Privy Chamber- more private + important, admission carefully granted
* Ceremonious aspects of courtly life became more important as reign progressed

### What was the function of the Privy Council?

==Elizabethan Government 1563-1603==

* Advise, adjudicate, administer
* issue proclamations, govern by state paper (signed letters + warrant)
* enforce laws + religious settlement
* manage crown finances

### Who were her key ministers in her Privy Council?

(key figures/ other groups in council- conservative, Protestant)

==Elizabethan Government 1563-1603==

* __William Cecil__ (Burghley) → dominated council
* E.Bedford + Sir Nicolas Bacon- close companions
* Some ministers w/ conservative views (usually aristocracy)
* Howard/ steadier conservatives (E.Sussex + Shrewsbury)
* __Robert Dudley__ (E.Leicester) joined Council *1562*
* Reshaping of Privy Council *1570s →* ↓ conservative aristocracy influence w/ execution of Norfolk
* *1570s* firmly protestant councillors appointed- Walsingham, Mildmay, Sidney, Thomas Smith + E.Warwick
* balanced by conservatives eg. Croft + Hatton

Overall effective council → breakdown following *1587* execution of MQS

### How did the Council break down during the *1580s?*

==Elizabethan Government 1563-1603==

* Death of key ministers esp. Dudley *Sep 1588*
* by 1597 only 11 ministers left
* Liz failed to make immediate replacements, relied on sons of former councillors (lacked fathers’ skills)
* Absence of senior noblemen on Council excluded important families
* Refused to let Cecil retires → diminished effectiveness
* appointed son Robert Cecil who took administrative burden
* promotion of Robert Cecil → angered E.Essex (Dudley’s stepson)

### What factional rivalries were there?

(how they were initially prevented, how they emerged, coup)

==Elizabethan Government 1563-1603==

* Initially structure of Liz’s gov prevented factional rivalries
* No single minister had complete control of patronage
* family connections could overcome religious differences
* Dudley + Cecil disagreed over Liz’s marriage but mostly cooperated w/ each other
* Factional rivalries emerged in later breakdown of Council in *1590s* w/ Robert Cecil + E.Essex → Essex ‘rebellion’ *1601*
* Essex ‘rebellion’ = response to declining influence → armed coup to bring down Cecil
* Cecil well-prepared → Essex forced to surrender
* Essex quickly tried and executed
* but Essex’s attitudes reflected wider discontent to Liz’s diminishing authority

### What was the function of parliament?

==Elizabethan Government 1563-1603==

* Law making- 438 acts passed under Liz’s parliament
* Granting taxation- most important function, all but two session were to grant revenue
* Giving advice- but Liz not interested in taking MP’s advice, parliament more useful to Privy Council members to gauge general opinion
* Less important under Liz; largely secondary feature for Liz’s political system

### What was mostly dealt with in these Parliament sessions? What areas of contention were there?

==Elizabethan Government 1563-1603==

* *1559* Religious settlement- legal status of Church established for whole of reign
* Majority called for raising revenue/ subsidies (all but two)
* Mary Queen of Scots
* Marriage/ succession
* Issues of monopolies *1579-9 + 1601*

### What was the royal prerogative and patronage system?

==Elizabethan Government 1563-1603==

__Royal prerogatives__

* form of Monarchial power
* right to call + dissolve parliament
* declare war + make peace
* appoint + dismiss ministers + judges
* determine monarch’s marriage/ name successor

__Patronage system__

* crown ensure HofC packed w/ own supporters
* creation of 62 borough seats → enabled Crown to oblige to aristocratic servants who in turn rewarded local supporters

### How was parliament managed?

==Elizabethan Government 1563-1603==

* W.Cecil played important role in preparing Crown’s legislative programme
* assisted Knolly's then Hatton from *1576*
* used own men to help manage Commons
* However parliament sometimes challenged Liz’s prerogatives esp. on issues of marriage
* Liz readily intervened on bills she disapproved- refused royal assent to over 60 bills

### How did parliamentary management + relations break down?

==Elizabethan Government 1563-1603==

* By *1593 ↓* parliamentary management
* Archbishop Whitgift wanted punitive acts sectaries (Protestant sects who rejected royal supremacy) but openly opposed by MPs esp. Raleigh
* *1593* imprisonment of Peter Wentworth after arguing named successor (seen as attack of prerogative)
* *1601* Liz + parliamentary relations completely broke down completely
* Crown officers lost control of HofC
* compromise acheived + session ended with Golden Speech *1601*
* delivered to MPs in council chamber
* final parliament speech- charismatic + effective in reconciling relations

### What issues were there with marriage and succession?

@@Foreign affairs@@

* continual point of tension between Liz + councillors/ parliament
* possible suitors: Robert Dudley not supported by Cecil, Philip of Spain (Catholic), archdukes Ferdinand/ Charles (Catholic), Prince of Sweden
* 1563 parliament called over marriage again → banishing Leicester from Presence Chamber + publicly rebuking Council members
* 1579 possible marriage to Anjou but nothing came of suggestion
* to retain influence in NL (France about to invade it)
* Political decision not to marry ‘Virgin Queen’
* Until very end of reign Liz refused to name successor
* w/ help of Cecil succession of James VI (MQS’s son) was arranged

### What problems did Mary Queen of Scots pose?

(problems, plots)

@@Foreign affairs@@

* Relations w/ MQS inextricably tied with religious/ succession issues
* Feld to England *1567* due to civil war following fialed marriages
* continual problems- English Catholics saw her as rightful monarch → focus of plots to overthrow Liz

### What plots was MQS involved in?

@@Foreign affairs@@

* *1571* Ridolfi plot- conspiracy of marriage btw MQS + D.Norfolk/ overthrow Liz → Cecil ensured execution of Norfolk for treason
* *1583* Throckmorton plot- Throckmorton (Catholic) plotted a Spanish backed invasion led by French DUke of Guise to assassinate Liz and put MQS on throne
* *1586* Babington plot- Mary complicit in plot to assassinate Liz but exposed by Walsingham’s code breaker → Cecil secured MQS’ execution

### What happened during Mary Queen of Scots’ trial and execution?

@@Foreign affairs@@

* Liz reluctant to press fro MQS’ execution → eventually MQS faced trial (councillors + judges feared regicide/ reluctant to try her)
* four month delay as Liz pronounced so Cecil secured execution through parliamentary pressure
* parliament petitioned for execution
* Liz signed death warrant later in *Feb 1587*
* MQS seen as martyr by English Catholics

### What were England’s relations with Spain like in the *1560s?* Why did they deteriorate?

@@Foreign affairs@@

* deteriorated towards the end due to
* Hawkins (British merchant) tried to break Spanish trading monopoly in Caribbean
* Philip wanted tighter political control of NL → Liz pressured by councillors to aid Dutch Protestants
* *Nov 1568* storm forced Spanish vessels, carrying money to pay Philip’s general (Alba) in NL, to seek shelter in English ports
* Liz impounded (seized) the money → Alba seized English ships/ property in NL
* Philip’s encouragement to Northern Rebellion + Ridolfi plots + Liz’s excommunication → all led to decaying relations

### What were England’s relations with Spain like from *1570-85?*

(relations with Netherlands- provinces, Portugal)

@@Foreign affairs@@

* *1572* Liz expelled sea beggars from English ports → landed in Dutch port + occupied it → full-scale revolt → *1576* all provinces of NL rose up against Spanish army → creation of Pacification of Ghent (called for expulsion of all foreign troops/ restoration of provinces autonomy)
* Provinces quarrelled w/ each other + France prepared to invade but Liz did not want this; even considered marriage to Anjou
* NL divided between Union of Utrecht (north + protestant)/ Union of Arras (south + Catholic)
* Spain made peace w/ Arras → new governor general Duke of Parma → reconquest of northern provinces
* Spanish power heightened by __annexation of Portugal__ __*1580*__
* Liz became more anti-Spanish eg. supporting Portuguese pretender Don Antonio
* By *1580* NL situation very bad for England
* Parma’s conquest gained momentum + rebel leader William of Orange assassinated in *1584*
* __T.Joinville__ *1584* Philip II + Fr Catholic League (Guises as his allies, connection to MQS)

### What was the Treaty of Nonsuch? How did it affect relations between England and the Netherlands?

@@Foreign affairs@@

* __T.Nonsuch__ __*1585*__ alliance btw Liz + Dutch rebels → sent troops under Dudley
* troops badly paid/ ill-disciplined → alienated Dutch
* Dutch betrayed when two Englishofficer joined Parama
* English commanders fought with each other
* Bad relations btw Dudley + Dutch → resigned command in *Jan 1588*

### How did Elizabeth defeat the Spanish Armada?

(events, concequences)

@@Foreign affairs@@

* Organisation of expedition against England complex/ took over two years
* Sailing of Armada delayed by successful English attack of Cadiz harbour *Apr 1587*
* Set sail *22 July 1588* → objective to reach port in Spanish NL so Parma + army could board ship
* sighted off Cornwall *29th July →* engaged in battle on English Channel from *30 Jul- 6 Aug*
* Unfavourable winds → armada forced to return to Spanish hazardous routes → lost ships in storms
* Portrayed as major English victory

### What were England’s relations with Spain like from *1588*-*1604?*

(continued conflict, aims, strategies)

@@Foreign affairs@@

* Continued war, fought at sea, in Caribbean + in France/ Netherlands/ Ireland- connected to domestic revolt
* Aims: national security (Liz), religious survival (Cecil)
* Strategies: concentrate minimal resources in NL vs expansive naval campaign (self-financing- Hawkins)

### What were England’s relations with Spain at sea like from *1588*-*1604?*

(Cadiz, Ireland)

@@Foreign affairs@@

* *1595*- 3 attacks on mainland Spain + colonies
* short lived victory w/ occupation of Cadiz
* BUT no strategic follow up- attack on Panama fialed- Hawkins + Drake died at sea
* *1596-* Philip ordered fleet to invade England after Cadiz (but failed due to storm)
* *1597-* Essex despatched fleet against Spain to prevent possible Spanish attack on Ireland but driven back by winds (Spain could have reached IRE if not for winds)
* *1599-* feared invasion prompted by false intelligence → naval activity directed to prevent Spanish landings in IRE → little achieved at great cost

### What were England’s relations with Spain in the Netherlands like from *1588*-*1604?*

(North + South Netherlands)

@@Foreign affairs@@

* *1589-* highly capable Sir Francis Vere made commander of English forces + forged positive relations w/ Dutch leader Maurice of Nassau → territories lost to Duke of Parma recovered
* *1594* expelled all Spanish troops from northern Netherlands (but expensive to maintain troops)
* Northern Netherlands → independent state
* Southern Netherlands → under Spanish sovereignty but degree of autonomy (no major foreign power in NL anymore)

### How successful was Elizabeth’s foreign policy with Spain?

@@Foreign affairs@@

* Broadly successful despite many shortcoming and increasing expense
* Conflict w/ Spain long running + expensive but long term → enhanced Elizabeth’s reputation
* Some of her victories were not due to her skill but luck? (weather)

### What social changes were there? Any continuity?

(nobility, peerage, inequality, population)

Society in Elizabethan England

* created 18 peerages
* didn’t create any more dukes after 1572 as all were executed as traitors- Somerset, Northumberland, Suffolk + Norfolk
* Nobility more peaceable + less concerned with defence
* Peerage enhanced prestige w/ large building projects for royal progresses eg. Burghley + Wilton house (Liz only modified H8’s old buildings to save costs)
* Gentry ↑ size + wealth (wide range- knights → JPs → local landowners)
* Inequality widened- land incomes ↑ + real wages ↓ for poor
* Population 4m- most lived in countryside w/ London only large city (150k)

### How did Elizabeth implement poor relief?

(Poor Laws, treatment of underserving poor)

Society in Elizabethan England

* *1563* Statue of Artificers- fixed wages, compulsory labour
* *1570s-* Norwich poor relief scheme used as basis for legislation
* *1572* Vagabonds Act- local communities paid for relief of their own poor (tax) instead of Church
* *1576* Poor Law- 1st national system of poor relief system to provide work for those willing to work
* *1601* Poor Law
* compulsory nationwide Poor Rate system (local tax levied by parish to finance support of poor)
* almshouses were established to look after impotent poor
* begging was banned
* Treatment of undersving poor remained harsh- *1547* Vgarancy Act repealed but notion of whipping remained; 1572 branding; 1597 repeat offenders executed

### How did Elizabeth implement poor relief?

Society in Elizabethan England

* first 30 years of reign saw stability + prosperity
* BUT rising population → growing poverty
* end of reign wide-ranging laws passed to support poor
* first steps towards a welfare state
* but still more relief money coming from private charity
* these laws remained in lace for next 200 years

### What problems were there in Ireland?

(problems in the regions)

Society in Elizabethan England

* *1560* Liz made Supreme Governor of Church
* Lacked power to impose Protestantism since maj of pop was Catholic + customary laws/ land ownership differed hugely
* martial law (military authority for political control) → bad relations w/ Gaelic Irish + Old English
* Rebellions *1569-73 + 1579-82*
* *1579* linked to Spanish incursion → brutal Lord Grey (Deputy of Ireland)

### What was the Tyrone’s Rebellion?

(Ireland- Nine Year’s War)

Society in Elizabethan England

1594-1603 (Nine Year’s War)

E.Tyrone (O’Neill)- wanted break from Tudor rule and gain control of Ulster (12 Irish Counties)- increasing Tudor control

* *1594* Battle of the Ford of Biscuits- Irish raid on English supply column
* *Aug 1598* Battle of Yellow Ford = IRE victorious → Liz’s control no longer extended beyond the Pale
* *1599* E.Essex sent as Lord Lieutenant but forced to make peace w/ Tyrone + attempted to link w/ Spanish army in Cork
* Replaced by Lord Mountjoy- triumphed in 1601 despite Tyrone having 3k+ Spanish troops
* Tyrone retreated to Ulster + negotiated peace *1603* after Liz’s death
* → unreliable Tyrone entrusted to rule IRE under James
* → destroyed/ impoverished by conflict, costly

### What problems were there in Wales?

(problems in the regions)

Society in Elizabethan England

* integration of Wales + England continued despite poverty + cultural differences
* Council of Wales and Marches in operation
* Welsh language no longer medium of gov but used for religion (Book of Common Prayer translated)
* Endemic poverty → disproportionate numbers in Essex rebellion

What problems were there in Scotland and the North?

(problems in the regions)

Society in Elizabethan England

* Lawless subculture on borders as Scotland was an independent state
* Wardens of Three Border Marches (appointed southerners like H8 + unlike predecessors who appointed Northern magnates) → lacked local landed base to control border clans or northern landed families
* some warden from 2nd rank of northern landowners eg. Jogn Forster but not effective + expolied office for financial gain
* Murder in *1585* border incident dealt skilfully- James VI received pension of £4k + hints about succession

### What was the Northern Rebellion?

(causes, threat, outcomes)

Society in Elizabethan England

*1569-70*

__Causes__

Reilgious (linked to poltical)

* Northern Earls (Northumberland + Westmorland) displaced role of controlling northern government
* Arrangements for D.Norfolk (Westmorland’s bro in law) to marry MQS
* Earls were strong Catholics and wanted to depose Liz

__Threat__

* Nov- seized Durham + heard Mass in cathedral

__Not a threat__

* Disorganised- poor planning + leadership/ lack of foreign support
* Failed to gain further support as they advanced south
* Dec- news of E.Sussex raising army → rebels disbanded + fled back north

__Outcomes__

* harsh response- 800 rebels mass executed
* E.Northumberland later caught and executed

### What was the Oxfordshire Rising?

(causes, threat, outcomes)

Society in Elizabethan England

*1596*

* Causes
* economic
* time of bad harvest + disease outbreaks → famine + poverty
* Small group of impoverished men aimed to protest against enclosures but plan escalated to seizing weapons + killing landowners
* Only four men gathered at Enslow Hill- failed to garner any mass support
* quickly arrested → tried and executed

### What was trade like?

(Hawkins, internal trade, foreign trade- new links, patterns, wool markets, companies)

^^Economic development in Elizabethan England^^

* Internal trade >> foreign trade
* shipping coal from Tyne to Thames

\+ 3 expeditions by John Hawkins (invented English slave trade)

* *1562* expeditions to Guinea + Africa → sold African slaves in South America


* *1563* 3rd expeditions failed due to Spanish blockade in Mexico → Hawkins trade activities worsened relations w/ Spain

\+ *1580s* trading pattern changes- English wool market moved from south → northern NL (Amsterdam)

\+ Broadening of overseas market- trade w/ Ottoman empire, trade links with India

\+ Formation of trading companies

* Muscovy Company to Northern Europe failed to compete with Dutch


* Levant Company success in developing trade w/ Ottoman


* East India Company less investment hard to compete with Dutch East India company

### Were there any achievements in exploration and colonisation?

^^Economic development in Elizabethan England^^

*1585* Raleigh received patent to colonise ‘Virginia’

* expedition to Roanoke Island
* disastrous- poor organisation, failed to make permanent settlements, war w/ Spain given priority

What evidence was there for prosperity?

^^Economic development in Elizabethan England^^

(Society)

* ↑ landed income + material possession for land owners
* overall increase in agricultural production (despite bad harvests)
* farmers benefited from ↑ in agricultural prices
* Development of new cities eg. Manchester + Plymouth
* Newcastle upon Tyne benefited from growth of London (coal)
* Statute of Artificers *1563*- fixed wages, compulsory labour

### What evidence was there for depression?

^^Economic development in Elizabethan England^^

(Society)

* Urban decay of cities which relied on cloth industry
* Many real wages fell by 1596 collapsed to less than half
* Population growth in second half of 16th Century- pressure for jobs
* *1590s* particular depression
* successive bad harvests → famine
* disease outbreaks
* Far north suffered more eg. starvation

### What was Puritanism?

%%Religious developments%%

* English Protestant who regarded Elizabethan Reformation of the Church as incomplete
* Sought to simplify and regulate forms of worship

### How did the Puritans contribute to religious developments?

(Vestiarian controversy, 2 Admonitions to Parliament)

%%Religious developments%%

__Vestiarian Controversy__

* *1563* Thomas Sampson dismissed for refusal to wear vestment
* *1556* Dismissed 37 clergy who refused to clergy who refused to sign Parker’s (Archbishop of Canterbury) ‘Advertisements’
* *1571*- Strickland wanted to ban clergy vestments in Parliament

2 Admonitions to Parliament (John Field) 1572


1. Attacked book of Common Prayer; abolition of bishops
2. Described Presbyterian system of Church gov (Calvinist) eg. ministers equal status

→ Arrested + imprisoned

→ parliament couldn’t discuss religion

→ puritan printing presses destroyed

Other pamphlets produced against church

### How did the Puritans contribute to religious developments?

(Three Articles prophesyings, Radical Puritans)

%%Religious developments%%

‘Three Articles’

* Cambridge academic Cartwright + vice-chancellor Whitgift → 1583 Whitgift’s 3 articles w/ support of Liz


1. acknowledge royal supremacy
2. accept prayer book as not contrary to word of God
3. Accept 39 articles as not contrary to word of God → Cartwright barred from preaching

__Prophesyings__

* 1577- Liz banned prophesyings
* meetings that didn’t follow approach to prayer

→ Archbishop Grindal asked to ban but refused → 200 priests dismissed

__Radical Puritans (Separists) 1580s__

* Wanted independent church congregations
* significant congregation in Norwich under Robert Browne → exiled to Netherlands → returned w/ help of Burghley (1585)
* Extrem puritians wanted to set up own church → *1593 Act against Seditious Sectaries*- gave authorities power to imprison + even execute suspected separatists

### The Decline of Puritans

%%Religious developments%%

death of key individuals

* Cope’s ‘Bill and Book’ failed (called for no bishops)
* John Fields died 1589 → no further synod held
* Marprelate tracts hurt reputations (satirical attacks about bishops)
* Leicester, Mildmay + Walsingham died from 1588-90
* Defeat of Armada 1588 ↓ perceived threat of Catholicism
* 1595 Lambeth Articles reasserted Calvinist CofE doctrine

### What was the impact of the Act of Supremacy on Catholics?

Catholicism

%%Religious development%%

__Positive__

* Fines for recusants (not attending services) rarely demanded
* Liz care for compliance > faith
* most survived as ‘church papists’- outwardly conformed but conservative
* private chaplains to Catholic nobility

__Negative__

* removal of Catholic imagery from Parish churches
* abolition of ‘mystery plays’ linked to transubstantiation
* minority → bishops who refused Oath of Supremacy 1559 → Spain + NL
* Intellectuals exiled to Spain + Netherlands

### What penal laws were there?

Catholicism

%%Religious development%%

__Causes__

* 1567 Pope told Catholics not to attend Anglican services
* 1569 Northern Rebellion
* 1570 Catholics called to depose Liz

__Laws__

* 1571 Act- publication of papal bulls treasonable
* 1581 Act- recusants had to pay £20 fine/month
* 1584 Bond of Association (after Throckmorton) - any person who made attempt on Liz’s life would be executed
* 1585 Act against Jesuits and Seminary Priests- treasonable + death penalty → 123 convicted + executed 1586-1603
* 1587- 2/3 estate seized if defaulted on fines for recusancy

### Catholic missions and the decline of Catholicism

Catholicism

%%Religious development%%

__Catholic Missions__

* 1568 seminary college for priests founded in NL to train missionaries
* 1572
* Jesuits looked to re-Catholicise England- high intelligence + organisation skills eg. Edmund Campion- executed 1581

__Decline__

* Priests were in the South but North had Catholic majority → failed to mobilise
* Divisions over leadership
* Became more like private chaplains to nobility

### What was art, literature and music like during the ‘Golden Age’?

The ‘Golden Age’ of Elizabethan culture

__Art__ 

* English paintings heavily influenced by Flemish models
* Formal portraiture remained important 
* Portrait miniatures most culturally important under Liz
* Liz reluctant to commission new buildings, instead courtiers funded extravagant building projects 
* Smythson- first named English architect 

__Literature__ 

* ↑ educational opportunities → highly literate, sophisticated viewing + reading public 
* Viewing public- plays eg. Shakespeare
* Foxe’s ‘Book of Martyrs' wide readership amongst ‘godly’ Puritans
* Sidney + Spenser- influential writers

__Music__

* Liz responsible for saving musical culture of English cathedrals 
* Greatest composers for CofE- Tallis + Byrd (but catholic)
* Secular music flourished esp. at court
* Morley created ‘The Triumph of Gloriana’ to honour Liz 
* Music important to reinforce ‘Gloriana’ myth 
* More popular level both instrumental music and song flourished

### What was the ==political== condition of England by 1603?

The last years of Elizabeth

* Death of mosts trusted + able councillors
* Dudley 1588, Hatton 1591, Cecil 1598
* Liz refused to let Cecil retire → decline in quality of work
* allowed his son Robert Cecil to take over → angered Essex → factional rivalries
* 1590s decline of royal authority + quality of administration
* problems over succession, minister + problems in Privy Council + factions
* Despite Essex Rebellion → broad political unity by 1603
* Apart form small militant catholic minority, all English people loyal to the crown
* However Liz reigned too long → reputation tarnished by events of reign’s last years
* Out of touch with younger generation

### What was the ^^economic^^ and social condition of England by 1603?

(trade, tax, harvest)

The last years of Elizabeth

Trade

* Trading companies set up to challenge domination of Spanish, Portuguese, Dutch
* organisation of English capitalism poor compared to Dutch

Tax

* decline in yield
* no attempt to revise system = lack of money
* abuse of monopolies required by war w/ Spain
* nobility subject to taxation

Harvest

* only one subsistence crisis in 1590s
* harvest failures of 1594-7 → reform of poor laws 1598 + 1601

### What was the %%religious%% condition of England by 1603?

The last years of Elizabeth

* favourable relgious situations
* compared to beginning of reign level of popular Catholicism declined
* English catholics fundamentally divided between those who tried to accommodate loyalties to Crown + those who wanted Catholic succession
* CofE became institution majority could identify with (loosely)
* Puritanism as movement faded → majority assimilated w/ Anglican movement
* Separatism virtually dissapeared
* Broad consensus surrounding CofE → ensured substantial degrees of religious unity