Early Elizabethan England 2 Flashcards
Elizabeth’s government on accession.
Elizabeth became queen of England in 1558. She didn't possess complete power. She could not pass laws without parliament's approval, or raise taxes without parliament's agreement. >The court. >The Privy Council. >Justices of the Peace. >Parliament. >Lord Lieutenants.
Elizabeth’s government on accession - the court
> Made up of noblemen who acted as the monarch’s advisers and friends.
They advised the monarch and helped display her wealth and power.
Members of the court could also be members of the Privy Council.
Elizabeth’s government on accession - the Privy Council
> Members of the nobility who helped govern the country.
>They monitored parliament, Justices of the Peace and oversaw law and order and the security if the country.
Elizabeth’s government on accession - Parliament
> Advised Elizabeth’s government, made up of the House of Lords and the House of Commons.
The House of Lords was made up of noblemen and bishops.
The House of Commons was elected, though very few people could vote.
Parliament passed and approved laws and approved taxes (extraordinary taxation).
Elizabeth’s government on accession - Justices of the Peace
> Large landowners appointed by government, who kept law and order locally and heard court cases.
Elizabeth’s government on accession - lord lieutenants
> Noblemen, appointed by government, who governed English counties and raised the local militia.
Key term definition - extraordinary taxation
> Extra taxes required to pay for unexpected expenses, especially war.
Key term definition - militia
> A force of ordinary people (not professional soldiers) raised in an emergency.
Society on Elizabeth’s accession
> Elizabethan society was very rigid, based on inequality and a social hierarchy or structure where everyone knew their place.
The social hierarchy of the countryside
> 90%of the population of Elizabethan England lived in the countryside.
- Nobility - major landowners; often lords, dukes and earls.
- Gentry - Owned smaller estates.
- The Yeoman Farmers - owned a small amount of land.
- Tenant Farmers - rented land from yeoman farmers and gentry.
- The landless and labouring poor - people who didn’t own or rent land, and had to work or labour to provide for themselves and their families.
- Homeless and vagrants - moved from place to place looking for work.
The social hierarchy of towns
> 10% of the population of Elizabethan England lived in towns.
- Merchants - traders who were very wealthy.
- Professionals - lawyers, doctors and clergymen.
- Business owners - often highly skilled craftsmen, such as silversmiths, glovers, carpenters or tailors.
- Craftsmen - skilled employees, including apprentices.
- Unskilled labourers and the unemployed - people who had no regular work and could not provide for themselves and their family.
Society on Elizabeth’s accession - Obedience and Care.
> Wherever you were in Elizabehtan society, you owed respect and obedience to those above you and had a duty of care to those below.
Landowners ran their estates according to these ideas.
Ideally they would take care of their tenants, especially during times of hardship.
Households were run along similar lines to society:
-The husband and father was head of the household.
-His wife, children and any servants were expected to be obedient to him.
> This would be a feature of Elizabethan society.
Key term definition - legitimacy
> Refers to whether a monarch is lawfully entitled to rule.
Virgin Queen: legitimacy, gender and marriage.
> When Elizabeth became queen following the death of her older sister, Mar, she had to find a way of establishing her authority.
Virgin Queen: legitimacy, gender and marriage - problems when she became queen.
> Elizabeth was young (21yrs) and lacked experience.
Elizabeth’s government needed money.
Elizabeth’s legitimacy was in doubt as the pope had refused to recognise her mother’s marriage to Henry VIII.
Catholics refused to acknowledge Elizabeth’s right to rule England.
Elizabeth was Protestant. Her predecessor, Mary, was Catholic.
To pass laws Elizabeth needed the support of parliament.
Elizabeth was unmarried and it was unusual for a queen to rule in her own right, as Christian traditions suggested that women should follow men’s authority. Many people disapproved of the idea of a queen regnant (a queen who actually ruled).
Virgin Queen: legitimacy, gender and marriage - why did Catholics dislike Elizabeth?
> Many Catholics, especially in the north, disliked the way Henry had taken over the Church in 134 (the Act of Supremacy) and dissolved the monasteries.
They questioned Elizabeth’s legitimacy, claiming that she had no right to rule.
They preferred a Catholic monarch and there was a real risk of rebellion.
Why was Elizabeth’s legitimacy in doubt?
> Elizabeth’s father, Henry VIII, had divorced Catherine of Aragon and married Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth’s mother.
The pope refused to recognise this divorce.
When Anne Boleyn was executed in 1536, Henry excluded Elizabeth from succession, although he reversed this decision before his death.
Virgin Queen: legitimacy, gender and marriage - Key issues facing Elizabeth
> It was widely expected that Elizabeth would marry. However, this would reduce Elizabeth’s power, as her husband would be expected to govern the country and deal with parliament.
Elizabeth’s inexperience meant that she needed the support and advice of her Privy Council, especially her Secretary of State, Sir William Cecil.
Elizabeth could issue royal proclamations and had prerogative powers, enabling her to govern without parliament’s consent, especially in foreign policy. However, laws could only be passed with parliament’s approval as Acts of Parliament.
Virgin Queen: legitimacy, gender and marriage - The problems of marriage.
> If Elizabeth married a Protestant, this would anger Catholics.
If she married a Catholic, this would upset Protestants.
Marriage could involve England in expensive wars, damaging royal finances and requiring taxation. The Crown was already £300,000 in debt.
Yet marriage was important, as Elizabeth needed an heir. If she died without an heir, the throne would be vacant and this could lead to a civil war.
Virgin Queen: character and strengths
> Elizabeth was known as ‘the Virgin Queen’ because she remained unmarried.
Many people in the 16th century felt this meant she couldn’t rule alone.
However, Elizabeth had a number of strengths as a ruling monarch.
Elizabeth’s character and strengths
> Elizabeth was confident and charismatic - this enabled her to win over her subjects and command her support in parliament.
Elizabeth was resilient - she had spent time in the Tower accused of treason and facing possible execution. She could cope with the pressures of being a queen.
Elizabeth was well educated - she spoke Latin, Greek, French and Italian.
Elizabeth had an excellent grasp of politics - she understood the interests and ambitions of her subjects, and was able to use her powers of patronage effectively.
Although Elizabeth was Protestant, the number of Protestants in England was growing, making her position as queen more secure. She could claim divine right with growing conviction.
Virgin Queen: character and strengths - Reinventing the role
> Elizabeth was able to use strengths to reinvent herself as a different type of monarch.
She liked to demonstrate that, even though she was female, she was no ordinary woman.
She therefore argued that she did not need to marry and could govern England on her own.
Virgin Queen: character and strengths - Elizabethan propaganda
> Throughout her reign, Elizabeth was happy to portray herself as strong, legitimate, popular monarch and a ‘Virgin Queen’ - married only to England and not to a prince or king.
This is reflected in paintings such as the one of her coronation, which shows a confident but feminine monarch rightfully crowned queen.
Key term - Patronage definition
> The monarch could use the granting of lands, jobs and titles to reward her supporters.
People who received these positions could use them to become wealthy.
Key Term - Divine Right definition
> The idea that God alone appointed the monarch, meaning that to challenge the monarch was to challenge God.
Successful monarchs claimed divine providence (Godly approval) of their actions, reinforcing their legitimacy.
Less successful monarchs could face charges of Godly disapproval and find their legitimacy undermined.
Challenges at home: financial weaknesses in 1558
> There was a need to improve the quality of money to help England’s finances:
- The Crown was £300,000 in debt and had an annual income of only £286,667.
- Over £100,000 of Crown debts was owed to foreign moneylenders (the Antwerp Exchange), which charged a high interest rate at 14%.
- Mary Tudor had sold off Crown lands to pay for wars with France, so the Crowns income from rents was falling.
- Elizabeth needed money to remain secure on the throne, as she could use it to reward her supporters.
- Since the 1540s, the Crown had debased (devalued) the coinage, by reducing its silver and gold content, in order to make more money to fight was against France. This resulted in inflation, as the value of the currency fell (coins were worth less, so people charged more for what they sold).
What does the word ‘Crown’ refer to?
> The word ‘Crown’ refers to the government, which means the monarch and her advisers (Privy Councillors).
Challenges at home: financial weakness - How monarchs could raise money
> Rents and income from their own lands (Crown lands).
Taxes from trade (known as custom duties).
Special additional taxes, known as subsidies, which had to be agreed by parliament.
Profits of justice (fines, property or lands from people convicted of crimes).
Loans (sometimes loans were ‘forced’, meaning they were compulsory and never repaid).
What could Elizabeth do to solve her financial problems in 1558?
- Raise taxes to boost the Crown’s income:
- The queen could convene parliament and ask for subsidies (special additional taxes).
- Additional taxes would be unpopular with ordinary people, increasing the risk of unrest. - Improve the quality of money by increasing the gold and silver content in the coinage:
- In 1560, Thomas Gresham, the Crown’s financial adviser, suggested this to William Cecil, but the Crown was slow to respond.
- Any ‘new’ coinage would be traded alongside older, less valuable coins. People would struggle to exchange older coins for new ones.
Challenges at home: financial weakness - the effects of Elizabeth’s policies.
> In site of Elizabeth’s careful management of Crown finances, there was limited reform.
Parliamentary grants were raised locally, with many landowners acting as Lord Lieutenants and Justices of the Peace, pocketing some of the proceeds before the rest was sent to the Crown.
This meant that ordinary people faced a heavier financial burden while the wealthy benefitted.
Challenges at home: financial weakness - what Elizabeth did
> She didn’t raise taxes but instead hoarded her income and cut her household expenses by half.
Like her predecessors, she sold Crown lands, raising £120,000.
By 1574, the queen could claim that the Crown was out of debt for the first time since 1558.
Challenges abroad: France, Scotland and Spain.
> When she became queen in 1558, Elizabeth faced a number of challenges form France, Scotland and , to a lesser extent, Spain and its influence in the Netherlands.
Challenges from abroad facing Elizabeth in 1558
> The French threat: France was wealthier than England and had a bigger population. Elizabeth’s cousin, MQoS, was married to the French king, Francis II. Mary had a strong claim to the English throne and English Catholics might rally to her if the French invaded.
Under the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis England had lost Calais to France. This was England’s last remaining territory on the continent and there was pressure on Elizabeth to regain it. However, war with France would be expensive.
The Auld Alliance: France’s alliance with Scotland threatened England. Mary of Guise (James V’s widow), who ruled Scotland on behalf of her daughter MQoS kept French soldiers there, who could attack England. The relationship between France and Scotland was further strengthened by the marriage of Francis II and MQoS in 1559.
War was an expensive business and the Crown was in debt. England could not afford a war with France, Scotland or Spain, as this would be ruinously expensive and deepen the government’s debts.
France had ended its war with Spain. French military resources were no longer stretched by war with Spain, making a war with England more likely. There was also the possibility that France and Spain, both Catholic countries, would unite against Protestant England. Spain also had troops in the Netherlands, not far from England.
Challenges abroad: France, Scotland and Spain - how Elizabeth dealt with the challenges from abroad
> Elizabeth did her best to avoid upsetting Europe’s most powerful countries:
- She sought to avoid war with France by signing the Peace of Troyes (1564), which recognised once and for all the French claim to Calais.
- Elizabeth was able to deal with the threat posed by Scotland by placing MQoS who fled Scotland in 1568, in custody in England.
- By imprisoning Mary and making peace with France, Elizabeth only had one significant threat by 1969: Spain.
Religious divisions in England in 1558
> Elizabeth was a Protestant queen taking over a country that was still largely Catholic,
Religious divisions in England in 1558 - why was religion important in Elizabethan England?
> Religion was central to life in England. Religious teaching and practices guided people’s morals and behaviour as well as their understanding of the world. Birth, marriage and death were all marked by religious ceremonies.
People believed that going to church, attending pilgrimages, and confessing sins reduced time in purgatory where the soul was purged of sin using ‘spiritual fire’ before reaching heaven.
Religious festivals (holy days), such as St Swithin’s Day (15th July) and Lammas Day (2nd August), marked the agricultural year and were seen as essential to a good harvest.
Religious divisions in England and Europe in the 16th century
> Protestants tended to be found in northern Europe, especially in Netherlands, Scandinavia and Germany.
Since the 1530s, many Protestants fleeing persecution in Europe had landed in England, settling in London, East Anglia and Kent. The number of English Protestants was growing.
Some Protestants became Puritans - people who wanted to purify the Christian religion by getting rid of anything not in the Bible.
The north of England, especially Durham, Yorkshire and Lancashire, remained largely Catholic.
The Reformation divided the Christian Church between Catholics and Protestants from 1517.
Elizabeth’s religious settlement
> Elizabeth’s religious settlement (1559) aimed to establish a form of religion that would be acceptable to both Protestants and Catholics.
