Economic change + social impact

Question 1

Debasement of the coinage

Answer 1

-Plans made to reissue the coinage, but this never happened until Elizabeth’s reign.
-Debasement—> inflation increased.

Question 2

Crown land

Answer 2

-Rents on crown lands were re-evaluated.
-Raised to £40000 per annum

Question 3

Walter Mildmay + financial reforms

Answer 3

1554:
-Mary chooses to implement his reforms: the court of exchequer took over the Court of First Fruits and Tenths and the Court of Augmentations.

Question 4

Crown debtors

Answer 4

-The exchequer successfully pursued crown debtors, some whose debts had been ongoing for 40 years.
E.G. Sir Thomas Egerton owed £7497

Question 5

Book of Rates

Answer 5

1558:
-A new book of rates which fixed the level of duty to be paid on certain products was introduced.
-Werre much needed as the last time the levels were last fixed were 1507.
-Custom revenues rose from £29315 in 1556-57 to £82797 in 1558-59.

Question 6

Increase in population

Answer 6

-Increases the demand for products and leads to high inflation.

Question 7

Harvest failures

Answer 7

1555-6
-Resulted in unprecedented rises in grain + widespread famine.
-Caused by heavy rain

Question 8

Sweating sickness (influenza) + typhus epidemics

Answer 8

1556-8:
-Typhus epidemics were followed by an outbreak of influenza—> killed 1 in 10 people.
-Resulted in the increasing population to drop by 5% between 56-61
-The highest death toll since the Black Death.

Question 9

Workers wages

Answer 9

-By 1559- agricultural workers wages dropped by 59% compared to what they had been 50 years earlier.

Question 10

Poor relief

Answer 10

1556-58:
-Saw the govt becoming more proactive.
-Huge mortality rates from the influenza epidemic during these years.
-Series of harvest failures + taxation were high in order to pay the wars against France.