Elizabeth I economy Flashcards
What were the problems Elizabeth faced?
- consequences of coin debasement such as economic and social hardship, rise in population and bad harvests
- religious division in government and society
- Still at war with France
- Flu epidemic
- She was still mistrusted in government after the Wyatt’s rebellion leading to her legitimacy to be questioned
- Her determination may create public disagreement
- A desire by government for Elizabeth to marry and have heirs
What early economic issues did Elizabeth face?
- Bad harvests in 1555, 96 and 97 which increased grain prices
- Hack renting (landowners could charge what they liked and could stop the poor using the land to graze their animals)
- Sheep farming grew as labourers, spinners and weavers lost their jobs
- The wollen cloth industry collapsed
- Soldiers and sailors were unemployed
- No monasteries meant the poor couldn’t receive local help
- Rising populations strained jobs, food, houses and clothes
- Land enclosure
- Inflation
- Rural depopulation
- The impact of coin debasement
How did local governments try to deal with reduced labour supply and increased the bargaining power of survivors?
- Royal proclamations didn’t fully understand local issues
- parliament couldn’t effectively pass laws as they thought wages were high
- The council of the North wanted corporations in Hull and York to enforce a schedule of wage rates previously made in 1511 and 14 as they believed wages for labourers were too high
- The statue of artifices (1563) stated compulsory labour during harvests, JPs setting a minimum wage, a minimum 1 year period for workmen and 7 year apprentices had to stay
- Northampton, Buckinghamshire and Worcestershire tried to establish wage rates for various trades
What were the results of these local initiatives?
- It expanded employment
- Enabled economic growth
- re - established arable farming
- didn’t address the root cause of the problem
- JPs and governments found it difficult to manage
What problems did JPs face?
Poverty and vagabondage increased despite private benefactors that Cecil believed posed a threat to law and order
What problems did the poor face the most?
- consequences of rising populations
- decreased real wages
- harvest failures
How was poverty combatted?
- An ineffective act was passed in 1563
- National legislation continued to lag behind local initiatives and provisions such as in Norwich and Ipswich
- It failed to address the issues
How did Elizabeth attempt to solve debased coins?
- She withdrew debased coins and replaced them with soundly king ones
- Prices continued to rise failing to address the root cause of the issue
- It reduced government responsibility to prevent debasement in the future
What was the east India company?
It was set up in 1600 to trade with Asia, but it had less investment compared to the Dutch East India company and found it difficult to compete with them short - term
Why did trade with the Ottoman empire increase?
Due to the success of the 1558 Levant company
What was the Eastland company?
It was set up in 1579 to trade with the Baltic but its effects were limited
What was the Muscovy company?
It was incorporated in 1555 to trade with Russia and Northern Europe but failed to compete long - term with the Dutch
What was the biggest change in English trading patterns?
In the 1580s, the movement of the wool trade was moved from the south to the north of the Netherlands
What was Hawkins’ trade route?
He used Guinea as a starting point for his journey to America with hopes of gold as it was the center of African trade. In 1562, he made the first of three voyages to acquire Africans to sell in South America beginning the slave trade as their developing culture, history and population was replaced with poor wages and limited medical treatment leaving many to die. By the second expedition in 1564, the earl of Leicester invested and Elizabeth provided ships. The third expedition failed as ships were blocked in the Spanish ports of San Juan de Ulua port as selling of slaves and angered them and they defied the rules of the port
What are the successes of trade in the Elizabethan era?
- A wide range of foreign luxury goods entered the country
- Trade was further afield than at the start of the Tudor period
