Challenges she faced at the beginning of her reign

Question 1

What were Elizabeth’s main challenges?

Answer 1

-her right as Queen was challenged
-gender
-Roman Catholics->they didn’t recognise her fathers marriage to her mother so they deemed her a ‘bastard’
-she had to face dynastic challenges
-she inherited a realm ill at ease with itself->religious persecution that Mary had done had divided communities and traumatised English Protestants and their sympathisers
-the humiliating French capture of Calais in January 1558 punctured confidence in England’s military power and international prestige
-the economic recession dreadful harvests and devastating epidemics of the mid-1500s created uncertainties and shattered the lives of many ordinary people

Question 2

What did Elizabeth achieve despite these challenges?

Answer 2

-she confronted her Catholic enemies and imposed her will on the political scene and turned England into a strong Protestant, state presided over a glittering court system

Question 3

How was her dominant place in British history assured?

Answer 3

-her dominant place in British history is above all assured by the establishment and defence of the 1559 Protestant Settlement, English Prayer Book and the 39 Articles of religion (remains the basis of the Church of England today)

Question 4

What meant that the Church of England remained sufficiently flexible and moderate?

Answer 4

-her determination

Question 5

What could Elizabethan Parishioners take communion?

Answer 5

-standing, sitting or kneeling depending on the preferences of the community and it’s minister

Question 6

What did zealous Protestants try to attempt to introduce?

Answer 6

-she could have no trick with those zealous Protestants who attempted to introduce the more austere discipline of Calvinist Geneva into England

Question 7

What problems might she face?

Answer 7

-she was in house arrest
-loss of Calais
-relationship with France
-Spanish relations
-female ruler
-religion->she is Protestant and the country is Catholic when she takes the throne
-rebellion
-marriage pressure to help solve problems
-securing the succession (heir)
-shortage of money->cloth trade declining and debasement->left in £300,000 worth of debt due to Mary
-gaining favour with the government
-Scotland

Question 8

What problems did she have to overcome within the Privy Council?

Answer 8

-she had to decide on the composition of her Privy Council
-her choice of Councillors would be an early indication of the religious settlement and her style of government

Question 9

What problems did she have to overcome with Religious Settlement?

Answer 9

-she had to decide on the nature of the Religious Settlement she would introduce
-she could follow the English Catholicism or her father, the Protestantism of her brother, the Roman Catholicism of her sister or develop something of her own
-she had to take into account the fact that the Pope might excommunicate her at any moment as he would regard her as illegitimate

Question 10

What problems did she have to overcome with her succession?

Answer 10

-she was not regarded as the legitimate heir to the English throne by the Roman Catholics who supported her cousin Mary Queen of Scots->Mary also had the backing off Henry II of France

Question 11

What problems did she have to overcome with unrest in Ireland?

Answer 11

-Mary I’s attempts to colonise Ireland by introducing a system of English plantations was causing unrest
-Ireland was staunchly Catholic and refused to accept Henry VIII as Head of the Church

Question 12

What problems did she have to overcome with French troops in Scotland?

Answer 12

-in 1558 Scotland was ruled by the French regent and widow of James V, Mary Guise on behalf of her daughter Mary Queen of Scots (who was brought up in France)
-the traditional ‘Auld Alliance’ between Scotland and France and the presence of French troops in Scotland posed a threat to English security

Question 13

What problems would she have to overcome with keeping the alliance with the Catholic Habsburgs?

Answer 13

-traditional alliance with the Habsburg family (who ruled Spain, the Holy Roman Empire and the Spanish Netherlands) to preserve the balance of power in Europe
-the Habsburgs were staunchly Catholic->Elizabeth needed to work out how to keep the Habsburg alliance despite her own Protestantism

Question 14

What problems did she have to overcome with paying off the crown’s debts and restoring the royal finances?

Answer 14

-royal finances had been severely strained by the war with France
-Mary I had left a debt of £300,000 and had resorted to selling crown lands->only served to weaken the monarchy’s finances in the long run

Question 15

What problems would she have to overcome with ending war with France?

Answer 15

-in 1558 England was still technically at war with France->Mary I had sent forces to aid her husband Philip II of Spain in his war with France
-during the course of this war England’s last garrison of foreign soil (Calais) was captured
-Elizabeth needed to make peace with France but the permanent loss of Calais would be seen as a humiliation

Question 16

What problems would she have to overcome with her being viewed as an inexperienced queen?

Answer 16

-the majority of English people welcomed the accession of Elizabeth
-she was young and seemed to promise new beginnings after the setbacks of Mary’s reign
-some feared weak rule from an inexperienced woman->stability in the Tudor government seemed to require a strong male monarch and an undisputed heir

Question 17

What problems with religious divisions would she have to overcome?

Answer 17

-in 1558 England was a country divided by religion
-the majority of people including many of the gentry and nobility were probably still Catholic->they believed that services should be in Latin and that churches should be highly decorated->some believed that the Pope was the only true Head of the Catholic Church->some had accepted the monarch being the Head of the Church

Question 18

Where was Protestantism strong?

Answer 18

-in London, the South East. the Universities and among the politically active classes->they believed that the monarch should be in charge of the country’s religion, services to be in English and that churches should be plain

Question 19

What problems would she have to overcome with the Marian exiles?

Answer 19

-a much smaller group of extreme Protestants had fled to Protestant strongholds in Europe (800) (eg Geneva) during Mary’s reign->they had been inspired by the teachings of John Calvin->they returned to England in 1558 expecting to be offered influential governmental posts and to oversee the establishment of a Calvinist or Puritan Church of England

Question 20

What problems would she have to overcome with threats from abroad?

Answer 20

-England was a weak country compared to France and Spain (both were Catholic)

Question 21

What problems would she have to overcome with Spain?

Answer 21

-Philip II of Spain had been married to Mary I and intended to propose to Elizabeth->if England became Protestant he might organise a Catholic crusade against it->threat to Elizabeth

Question 22

What problems would she have to overcome with Scotland and France?

Answer 22

-the most pressing threat to security in 1558 came from Scotland which was under French control
-Mary Queen of Scots declared that she not Elizabeth was the legitimate Queen of England->her claim to the throne was also supported by some Catholics in England->raising the prospect of civil war->threats to her reign

Question 23

What problems would she have to overcome with the loss of Calais?

Answer 23

-many Englishmen saw the loss of Calais as a stain on the country’s honour
-possession of Calais was symbolic of the time when English kings saw themselves as Kings of France
-if Elizabeth accepted it’s loss England’s status in Europe and by implication the prestige of the monarchy might be reduced further

Question 24

What did most people make their livelihood from in 1558?

Answer 24

-in 1558 most people lived and worked in the countryside and made their livelihood from growing crops

Question 25

What was the most important industry in 1558?

Answer 25

-the manufacture and export of woollen cloth

Question 26

What was the main issue with a rise in prices and unemployment?

Answer 26

-both the population and prices had been rising since the beginning of the century->some landlords tried to increase their income by enclosing their land->led to increased unemployment

Question 27

What was a result of trade with Antwerp collapsing?

Answer 27

-in the late 1550s trade with Antwerp (the main market for English cloth abroad) had collapsed->thousands of spinners and weavers out of work
-in the countryside tenants faced higher rents as landlords tried to keep rents in line with prices->while in towns workers saw the value of their wages decrease

Question 28

How was poverty and unemployment made worse?

Answer 28

-poverty and unemployment was increasing especially among the lower classes
-the problem of inflation was made worse by the bad harvests and flu epidemics (killed over 200,000 people) of Mary’s reign

Question 29

What made it hard to generate wealth?

Answer 29

-an atmosphere of gloom and pessimism made it hard to generate the wealth necessary for a prosperous economy->made worse by repeated debasement of the coinage

Question 30

What problems would she have to overcome with debasement?

Answer 30

-melting down coins and reminting them with a lower gold content benefited the crown financially->it increased the amount of money in circulation->caused a loss of confidence in England’s currency which harmed trade