Early Elizabethan England, 1558-88

England in 1558:
- Elizabeth I became queen in 1558.
- Government included the court, Privy Council, Parliament, Lord Lieutenants, and Justices of the Peace.
- Parliament's approval was needed for laws and taxes.
- Extraordinary taxation was used for unexpected expenses, especially war.
- The militia was a force of ordinary people raised in emergencies.
Society on Elizabeth’s Accession:
- Rigid social hierarchy.
- Emphasis on obedience to superiors and care for inferiors.
- Nobility, gentry, yeoman farmers, tenant farmers, and the landless/laboring poor in the countryside.
- Merchants, professionals, business owners, craftsmen, unskilled laborers, and the unemployed in towns.
Virgin Queen: Legitimacy, Gender and Marriage:
- Legitimacy was questioned by Catholics due to Henry VIII's divorce and Elizabeth's Protestant faith.
- Unmarried status was unusual for a ruling queen.
- Marriage considerations: potential for foreign wars, impact on royal finances, and need for an heir.
- The Crown was already £300000 in debt.
Virgin Queen: Character and Strengths:
- Portrayed herself as a strong, legitimate, popular monarch.
- Excellent grasp of politics and patronage.
- Confident and charismatic leader.
- Resilient and well-educated.
- Claimed divine right with growing conviction.

Challenges at Home: Financial Weaknesses:
- Crown was £300000 in debt with limited income.
- Debasement of coinage led to inflation.
- Actions Taken:
  - Hoarded income and cut household expenses.
  - Sold Crown lands.
  - Improved the quality of money by increasing the gold and silver content in the coinage.
Challenges Abroad: France, Scotland, and Spain:
- French threat due to wealth, population, and alliance with Scotland.
- Mary, Queen of Scots' claim to the English throne.
- Avoided war by signing the Peace of Troyes (1564).
- Imprisoned Mary, Queen of Scots, in England.

Religious Divisions in England in 1558:
- Catholics (old religion), Protestants (new religion), and Puritans (strict Protestants).
- Religion was central to life in England, guiding morals, behavior, and understanding of the world.
- Religious teaching and practices guided people’s morals and behavior as well as their understanding of the world.
Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement:
- Aimed to be inclusive and acceptable to both Protestants and Catholics.
- Included the Act of Supremacy, Act of Uniformity, Royal Injunctions, and Book of Common Prayer.
- Established an Ecclesiastical High Commission.
Church of England: Its Role in Society:
- Provided guidance for communities and enforced the religious settlement.
- Responsible for Church Courts and visitations.
- Legitimized Elizabeth’s rule and preached the government’s message.
- Tithes were a tax worth 10% of people’s income or goods produced.

The Puritan Challenge:
- Puritans wanted to purify the Christian religion by getting rid of anything not in the Bible.
- Sought simpler worship and opposed vestments and decorations in churches.
The Catholic Challenge at Home:
- The Catholic Church's Counter Reformation reversed the Protestant Reformation in Europe and stop its spread.
- Up to one-third of the nobility were recusants.
The Catholic Challenge Abroad:
- Catholic powers, including France and Spain, posed a threat to Elizabeth's rule.
- The pope had already excommunicated Elizabeth in 1570.
- Spain:
  - The English seized the Genoese loan in 1568.
  - By 1570, Spanish rule in the Netherlands was secure.

Mary’s Claim to the Throne and Arrival in England:
- Had a legitimate claim to the English throne.
- Fled to England after rebellion in Scotland.
- Was imprisoned to prevent her from stirring rebellion.
Mary vs Elizabeth:
- Her presence in England posed a threat to Elizabeth’s position.
- Elizabeth's options: help Mary regain her throne, hand her over to Scottish lords, allow her to go abroad, or keep her in England.
- Casket Letters Affair: love letters were brought in that showed she had plotted to murder Lord Darnley.

Plots and Revolts at Home:
- The Revolt of the Northern Earls (1569-70) aimed to restore Catholicism.
- Reasons for the Revolt:
  - The earls wanted to make England Catholic again.
  - The earls had lost much of their influence at court under Elizabeth.
  - Elizabeth’s refusal to name an heir, or to marry and have a child, created uncertainty.
- The Ridolfi Plot (1571) involved a plan to murder Elizabeth and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots.
  - Sir William Cecil discovered the plot.
- The Throckmorton Plot (1583) aimed to enable a French invasion to overthrow Elizabeth.
  - Government treated English Catholics with greater suspicion.
  - Francis Throckmorton was arrested and tortured.
- The Babington Plot (1586) was significant because by 1585, England and Spain were virtually at war.
  - Anthony Babington wrote to Mary in July 1586 about the conspiracy.
Walsingham’s Spies:
- Sir Francis Walsingham developed a network of spies and informers to uncover plots against Elizabeth.
- Walsingham used ciphers (codes) for all correspondence.
- Walsingham employed ‘agents provocateurs’ to encourage those who were seen as a threat to Elizabeth to plot against her.
The Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots:
- Executed in 1587 due to her involvement in plots against Elizabeth.
- The execution removed an important threat to Elizabeth, as Mary had been the focus of many Catholic plots to depose Elizabeth.

Spain: Political and Religious Rivalry:
- Philip II saw Protestantism as a threat.
- The Spanish Fury and the Pacification of Ghent
- The English response to the Spanish:
  - Elizabeth’s government decided to secretly help Dutch Protestants resist the Spanish.
  - English privateers, such as Sir Francis Drake, were encouraged to attack Spanish shipping and colonies in Latin America.