Elizabeth society in the Age of Exploration, 1558-88 Flashcards
What did education did poor children receive?
No formal education so learned from the families, working on the land, or in the home to earn a wage for the family
What sort of education did well off boys receive?
- Petty schools, ages 4-8 (3 Rs)
- Grammar school, ages 8-14
What education did well off girls receive?
Dame schools or educated at home by mothers (3Rs, music, dancing)
What sort of education did noble boys receive?
- Private tutor until early teens (Latin, Greek, French, History)
- University (Oxbridge) from 14 or 15
- Went to Inns of Court in London to train as lawyers
What sort of education did noble girls receive?
- Private tutor until early teens
- Sent to noble household to complete their education
- Made social contacts and perfected the skills expected of them as a noble woman
What sports did the nobility play?
- Hunting
- Hawking
- Fishing
- Fencing
- Real tennis
What sports did working people play?
Football - could get very violent and had no rules
What spectator sports were there?
- Bear-baiting
- Cock-fighting
- Gambling
What was theatre like?
- Very popular with all classes
- New plays and purpose built theatres
- Protestantism led to development of new plays
Why did poverty and vagabondage increase?
- Population
- Food prices
- Sheep farming and enclosure meant less people were employed in farms
- People forced to move to cities for work
- Dutch Revolt affected trade
What were attitudes to the poor like?
- Some sympathy for impotent or deserving poor
- Able-bodied or idle poor treated more harshly
What was the aim of the Statute of Artificers 1563?
To collect poor relief money
What was the aim of the Vagabonds Act 1572?
To deter vagrancy
What was the aim of the Poor Relief Act 1576?
To help able bodied people find work
What effect did government action have on the poor?
- Some success but poverty remained a problem
- Laws recognised that unemployment was a problem that needed to be solved
How did economics prompt exploration?
- Wars with Spain and Netherlands disrupted wool and cloth trade - English needed new markets
- New World was full of riches
- Slave trade
- North-West Passage
How did new technology prompt exploration?
- Quadrant/Astrolabe - new navigation
- Mercator map more accurate, printing meant it was used by more people
- Ship design - Galleons were faster with more power and storage
How did politics prompt exploration?
- Rivalry with Spain for naval dominance
- Drake targeting Spanish ships
- Financial rewards - increased power and control
Why did Drake circumnavigate the globe (1577-80)?
- Wasn’t actually intentional
- Wanted to raid Spanish colonies and look for opportunities for English colonisation and trade
What was the significance of Drake’s circumnavigation of the globe (1577-80)?
- 4 ships lost but Drake survived
- Made £500 mil
- Drake became rich and famous
- Boost to English morale
- English reputation enhanced
- Gathered info about the Americas
- Meeting with Native Americans
- Damaged relationship with Spain
What did Walter Raleigh do?
Investigate and organise the colonisation of Virginia
Why was Raleigh significant?
- Fact finding expedition made contact
- Manteo and Wanchese studied
- Raleigh persuaded men to leave England and make the voyage
- Raised funds by convincing merchants to invest
What did Raleigh have to consider before the voyage?
- 300 skilled workers
- Sufficient food and water
- Get there on time to sow crops
- Needed big, well-armed ships in case of attack
What were the two attempts to colonise Virginia?
- 1585-6
- Infamous ‘lost colony’ of 1587-90
Why did the Virginia Colony fail?
- Left too late to plant crops
- Problems with Native Americans
- Wrong mix of people
- Vital supplies were damaged
- Difficulty hunting due to spoiled gunpowder
What happened in Roanoke at the beginning?
- Began in 1587
- Manteo was Lord Roanoke, John White in charge
- They experienced many problems, including hostility from Native tribes
What happened when John White returned to Roanoke in 1590?
Found colony deserted with the word Croatoan carved into a post
