elizabeth i: early development of economic, social and religious changes Flashcards
Why was there considerable fear for social instability when Elizabeth came to the throne?
- Bad harvests
- High mortality rates
- High taxation
- A significant cut in real wages
Why were central government only left with 2 ineffective methods for dealing with social issues?
Elizabeth’s first parliament had proposed various legislations to deal with the problems but none were passed into law.
What were the 2 methods the central government had to use?
- Instructions issued to JPs and other officials
- Royal proclamations
What did the issuing of royal proclamations demonstrate?
An admission of government incompetence, which is understanding as they were dealing with problems they hardly understood.
Why did the government struggle to implement social change?
There were no army of bureaucrats to traverse the country investigating wage rates in every district.
What was vagebondage?
People who wander from place to place without a home or job.
What were the different causes of poverty?
- Increase in population
- Real wages were lower than they had been in a century, with wage rates constantly falling behind price rises
- Harvest failures caused food shortages, especially in mid 1550s and 1590s.
Why was Cecil particularly concerned with the large numbers of homeless?
He saw it as a threat to law and order.
What were the 2 different types of poor?
- The ‘deserving’ ~ those who were actively seeking work or were too old, young or ill to work
- The ‘undeserving’ ~ those who society considered to be beggars or vagrants.
Who had provided most poor relief before the Reformation?
The Church, but reformation had destroyed most institutions.
When did parliamentary legislation begin to seriously come around to solving social problems?
Not until the 1570s.
What did Elizabeth do to stabilise the currency?
She announced early in her reign that debased coins were going to be withdrawn and replaced with soundly minted coins. This ensured only sound coins were in circulation and the government did not resort to debasement again.
Why was the stabilising of the currency good for Elizabeth and her government?
They could no longer be held responsible for the continuing rise in prices.
How title did returning Protestant exiles bestow upon Elizabeth?
‘English Deborah’ a reference from the Old Testament heroine. They believed she would protect the godly from the evils and superstition of Catholicism.
What issues stemmed from Elizabeth’s title of Deborah?
Many stemmed from her unwillingness to fulfil the role as she sometimes took a more conservative approach to religious matters.
How was Protestant emphasis reflected in the appointment of new bishops?
All but one of the Marian bishops refused to continue in office, and early appointments to bishops were moderates. Most new bishops were returning exiles.
Who did Elizabeth appoint as her first Archbishop of Canterbury?
Moderate Matthew Parker who had not been exiled during Mary’s reign, but Elizabeth still trusted as he had been her mother’s chaplain.
What parts of Protestantism did Elizabeth dislike?
- Clerical marriage
- She distrusted preaching
- Wanted to preserve musical culture of Cathedrals and university colleges
What was the queen’s view on the settlement?
That it was merely an act of State to define the relationship between Crown and Church, and to establish the doctrinal position.
What did some of E’s key advisers believe the settlement was?
The starting point for a process of spiritual renewal to bring about the establishment of a true English Church, seeing England as God’s elect nation.
What did the 1562 publication of An Apology of the Church of England by the Bishop of Salisbury argue?
That the Church of England was returning to the true position which had been abandoned many centuries earlier by the Church of Rome.
What did the 1563 Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion seek to define?
The difference between the Church of England and the Catholic Church.
What were the 39 articles supportive of?
A reformed doctrine, especially one of which emerging out of Switzerland.
Why did the leading members of the 39 articles have differed views of reform to the queen?
They were concerned about the remaining features of Catholic practice with the Church, but Elizabeth was not.
What assumption does the concept of the mid-Tudor crisis rest on>
The assumption that the reigns of Edward and Mary were insignificant compared to that of Henry VIII and later years of Elizabeth I.
What do some readings of the mid-Tudor crisis describe the years as?
Unproductive, uncreative, strife-ridden.
Which were the most significant historians who believed the mid-Tudor years were insignificant?
Albert Pollar and Stanley Bindoff.
What did historians Jennifer Loach and Robert Tittler argue about the mid-Tudor crisis?
That there were positive features, and those that were deemed negative had been present in the reigns of Elizabeth and Henry.
