Chapter 21: Society in Elizabethan England Flashcards
Society levels, poor relief, localities, rebellions
How did the nobility change?
- No new dukedoms from 1572
- House building - stately homes
- Less opportunities for military roles
How did the nobility stay the same?
- Landowners
- Political roles
- Senior military positions
How did the gentry change?
- Increase in number
- Increase in land incomes especially after 1570
How did the gentry stay the same?
- Wide social range
- In local government
- Served as MPs
How did the general population change?
- Increase in number of merchants and professionals in towns - gained political influence - could buy land and move up into gentry
- Widening gap between rich and poor
- Decreasing real wages
- Increase in landless poor
How did the general population stay the same?
- Mostly rural
- Low living standards
- Increase in population
What was the statute of artificers?
- 1563
- National attempt to sort out workers asking for higher wages
- Compulsory labour, ensure 7yr apprenticeship for craftsmen, wages set by JPs - no uniformity
What was the Act against vagrancy?
- 1547
- Vagrants whipped, able bodied unemployed poor branded
What was the first poor law?
- 1572
- Local ratepayers to pay a rate for poor relief - responsibility moved to local communities from the church
What was the second poor law?
- 1576
- Towns had to find employment for the deserving poor - attempt at national poor relief system
What was the third poor law?
- 1597/8
- Made a code for poor relief - overseers of the poor and a fixed poor rate
What was the final poor law?
- 1601
- Made a national system based on parishes
- Poor rate
- Relief administered by overseer
- Impotent poor cared for in poorhouse
- Able-bodied poor given work in houses of industry
- Idle poor and vagrants sent to houses of correction
- Pauper children apprenticed to a trade
What was the impact of the poor relief that was implemented?
- Harsh treatment of undeserving poor
- National system showed a more enlightened attitude to relief
- Helped by increase in donations from secular benefactors
What was the current situation in Wales?
- Well integrated into England - some linguistic and cultural differences
How was the Welsh border maintained?
- Council of Wales and marches continued to police the border
- Issues not a problem
How was the Welsh language impacted?
- No longer used in government
- Book of common prayer and bible translated into welsh
- Welsh dictionaries and grammars published
What was the general situation in Scotland?
- On reasonable terms with lords of congregation who had the most influence in scotland
- Borders still had a lawless subculture - casual violence, livestock smuggling
How was the Scottish border maintained?
- Wardens of the 3 border marches
- Were southerners to reduce the power of northern magnates
- Found control hard as they did not have a local land base
How was the north a challenge in Elizabeth’s reign?
- Northern rebellion 1569
What was the situation with Ireland?
- English government wanted control in Ireland - both secular and religious
- Elizabeth was protestant supreme governor
- Ireland was catholic and spoke gaelic and had different customs and laws - hard to enforce protestantism
How did relations with Ireland change and how did this impact England?
- Behaviour of English incomers to Ireland and the frequent use of martial law caused tensions
- The troubles were a financial drain on England and destroyed and impoverished a lot of Ireland causing a legacy of bitterness
What were key events with Ireland?
- 1569-73 - rebellion in south against England
- 1579-82 - rebellion linked to Spanish incursion - brutally stopped
- 1595 - Tyrone rebellion in Ulster - linked to anglo-Spanish war
- 1598 - Rebels win battle of yellow ford, Tyrone controlled most of Ireland
- 1599 - Essex sent, makes peace, expires as Essex leaves
- 1601 - 3000 Spanish troops land and support rebellion, rebels defeated by Mountjoy (new lord lieutenant)
- 160 - peace after elizabeth’s death
What rebellions occurred in Elizabeth’s reign?
- Northern rebellion 1569
- Essex rebellion 1601
- Oxfordshire rising 1596
What was the Oxfordshire rising?
- Led by Bartholomew Steer
- Due to starvation, disease, class based anger
- Gather weapons and march on London
- Quickly stopped by a military force
