3.6 Elizabeth I's Early Economic, Social and Religious Issues Flashcards
What social and economic issues did Elizabeth face at the start of her reign?
There was increased amounts of poverty due to famines, inflation and the debasement of the coinage.
There had been substantial cuts in real wages.
Justices of the Peace struggled to enforce laws as there were too many people.
Influenza outbreaks were rampant.
What did the Statute of Artificers 1563 do?
This sought to fix prices and impose maximum workers wages.
Assigned local magistrates in charge of managing wages in agriculture.
Established a compulsory 7 year apprenticeship for craftsmen.
Was the Statute of Artificers 1563 effective?
Partially.
The Statute helped some Northern counties such as Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire and Yorkshire enforce lower wages.
However the rules were hard to enforce and JPs struggled in their respective regions.
What was the Poor Law Act 1563?
This act laid down fines for those who refused to donate to the impotent poor.
Was the Poor Law Act 1563 effective?
It’s effective was limited.
Although it was revolutionary for the time, as this was the first time the impotent poor had been distinguished from the idle poor, the problem of poverty had not been solved.
JPs struggled to enforce donations.
The religious split had led to a dying in donation culture.
Who were the impotent poor?
The deserving poor. Those who were disabled, old or too ill to work.
Who were the idle poor?
The undeserving poor. Those who were too lazy to work.
This includes vagabonds.
How did Elizabeth deal with the debasement of the coinage?
Elizabeth put plans forward to replace all debased coins with soundly minted coins.
How effective were Elizabeth’s plans to deal with the debasement of the coinage?
Somewhat effective as the coinage system was re-minted.
However, households exploited the system by hoarding the good coinage and paying off debt with debased coins.
What did the 1559 Act of Supremacy do?
- The papal supremacy put in place by Mary was rejected.
- The Heresy Laws were repealed
- Henry VIII’s reformation laws were restored
- Elizabeth became Supreme Governor rather than Supreme Head of the Church
- Clergymen and church officials were forced to take an oath of supremacy
What did the Act of Uniformity 1559 do?
This specified the use of an English Book of Common Prayer, which was based off of Cranmer’s 2nd book.
How did the 1559 Prayer Book differ to the 1552 Prayer Book?
This time both Catholic and Protestant interpretations of Eucharist were accepted.
The black rubric was excluded which denied the presence of God during Eucharist.
What did the 1559 Royal Injunctions do?
The first injunction emphasised the suppression of superstition.
Pilgrimages and candles were removed.
Eucharist would now be taken at the common table, rather than the alter.
Parish churches were required to have an English Bible.
What did the 1559 Act of Exchange do?
This gave Elizabeth the right to trade Church property for non-spiritual land in the Church’s possession. (take land from the church).
Forced Bishops to pay rent.
The exchange was pasted to increase the Crown’s money.
What did the 39 Articles do in 1563?
They refused to accept teaching that the majority of Protestants disagreed with, including transubstantiation or the sacrifice of mass.
They were basically a revised version of the 42 Articles, which were written by Cranmer.
