Elizabethan England Flashcards
What is the Elizabethan Religious Settlement and when is it
In 1559, Elizabeth tried to follow a Middle Way in religion which both Catholics and Protestants could accept. They passed two Acts of Parliament- the Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity. Together these are known as the Religious Settlement
One thing catholics wanted in the Religious Settlement and one thing protestants wanted
Catholics- Images to be allowed in Church
Protestants- Control of the Pope ended
The Puritans Challenges to the Religious Settlement
Main problems were with the use of crucifixes and vestments. Elizabeth had to back down over the crucifix but the majority of priests consented about vestments
The Foreign Powers Challenges to the Religious Settlement
Leading Catholic powers in Europe like France and Spain were a threat ti Elizabeth’s settlement. Religious war broke out in France in 1562 and Spain’s military presence in Netherlands during the Dutch Revolt was a clear threat
Catholics Challenges to the Religious Settlement
The Pope instructed Catholics to not attend church services. Many of the English Nobility in the North of England were one of these catholics and it led to a revolt in Northern Earls
The Problem of Mary Queen of Scots
Many Catholics saw MQS as the legitimate monarch and she arrived in England in 1568 after the Protestant Scottish Nobles revolted on the suspicious death of her husband. Elizabeth kept Mary captive in England so she didn’t go abroad or to the Scottish Lords
Why was Mary Queen of Scots executed
Walsingham had provided clear evidence that she was involved in plotting against Elizabeth.
Rumours of an imminent attack from Spain reinforced the threat that Mary posed
Consequences of MQS execution
Elizabeth was upset but it showed her new harsh treatment of Catholics.
English Catholics angered as they lost their hope of a Catholic Monarch.
Gave Phillip 2 (Spain) another reason to want to remove Elizabeth
Drake and the raid on Cadiz and when it happened
In April 1587, Drake sailed into Cadiz Harbour and destroyed 30 Spanish ships and a large amount of their supplies. England know Spain were preparing an attack and this raid delayed their preparations by a year
Reasons for the defeat of the Armada
English cannons be reloaded more quickly on their ships.
Spanish supplies has rotting food and poor quality of cannon balls.
Unreliable communications between the Spanish.
English tactics- had 6x more firepower.
Soanish poor leadership and tactics.
Weather destroyed the Armada
Consequences of the Armada’s defeat
Great propaganda victory
Great boost to English pride
Durch rebels encouraged to renew their fight
Showed strength and skill of English Navy
Cost Spain deerly, financially and politically
Reasons for increase in poverty
Increased population
Rising food prices
More people forced to move to cities for work
International problems like the Dutch Revolt affected trade
The 3 policies toward the poor and when
1563 Statute of Artificers- to collect poor relief money, more harsh treatment of beggars.
1572 Vagabonds Act- to deter vagrancy. Beggars sent to Houses of Correction.
1576 Poor Relief Act- to help able bodied people find work. Elderly and sick given alms houses
Elizabeth’s problems in 1558
Legitimacy- her parents marriage was declared illegal by the pope so she is an illegitimate child, some Catholics may think
Gender- Christianity thought women should be under the authority of men, expected than men should rule and not women
Marriage+Children- she was single and childless so people expected her to create a throne for the next rule but marriage would cause her to lose power
Religion- country had gone through a long phase of strongly protestant until Marry killed many protestants to change England into Catholics so there were many Catholics and Protestants who disagreed to join together
Finance- when she became queen the crown was 300k in debt and she needed money to defend England and her own position
International- was at war with France
What was the plan of the Ridolfi plot and how did Elizabeth respond
To murder Elizabeth, launch a spanish invasion, put Mary on the throne, to marry Duke of Norfolk. Elizabeth executed Norfolk and sent Mary to prison
What was the plan of the Throckmorton plot and who uncovered it
To overthrow Elizabeth, restore Catholism and put Mary on the throne. Uncovered by Sir Francis Walsingham
What was the plan of the Babington plot and why was the outcome unfortunate
Elizabeth would be murdered, Duke of Guise would invade
England, Mary would be put on the throne. Elizabeth sentenced Mary to death and it was unfortunate because it showed the people that a queen can be killed
What three people were involved in all of the plots
Mary Queen of Scots
The Pope
Philip II (involved in two of them)
What are 3 reasons of colonising to Virginia
Become the roots of the British empire
Wouldn’t need to depend on Spain for resources, trade with others
Provided a base to attack Spanish colonies in New World
Who was Sir Walter Raleigh
An explorer who was given the job (by Elizabeth) to settle in lands in North America, which had already been failed twice before
What did Sir Walter do to plan the colonisation
He investigated and raised funds for the establishment of an English colony in Virginia, persuaded people to leave England, appointed a Governer for Virginia so Raleigh didn’t actually go himself, he convinced others to go
What were 3 reasons for the failure of the Virginia colonisation
The idyllic descriptions and reports of Virginia were far from reality
Left too late to reach Virginia to plant crops and many were ill
Colonists were inexperienced and relied on native Americans while they didn’t trust the English
What were the two main causes of the Northern Rebellion
The long-term cause of Elizabeth slowly chipping away at the independance of the Northerns.
The trigger cause was MQS coming to England as she had links to the throne and became part of plots
What was the outcome of the northern rebellion
The nobles of Northumberland and Westmorland were beheaded which removed two powerful Catholic nobles, who were replaced with Protestants loyal to Elizabeth. The outcome was Elizabeth’s increased power of the north
What happened during the northern rebellion
The Earls headed for Durham, took control of the Cathedral and celebrated mass. They then moved south. However, the supporting troops that were supposed to come from Spain never arrived. The revolt was crushed and approx. 450 rebels were executed
Campaign in netherlands
Elizabeth hoped to negotiate with Phillip II. England was not formally at war so Leicester weren’t given enough resources. Some of Dudley’s officers defected to the Spanish side. Dudley wanted to end Spanish rule while Elizabeth wanted Spanish rule with freedom
Consequences of the campaign in Netherland
Dudley could only disrupt Spanish forces in Netherlands under Duke of Parma, couldn’t defeat them.
Dudley did manage to stop Spanish from capturing a deep-water port (Ostend) on the English Channel. This denied the Spanish Armada the chance to link up with the Duke of Parma’s troops
Spectator sport- baiting
Involved watching animals fight to the death. Typically, dogs were encouraged to attack chained bears and bulls, and bets were made on the outcomes of fights
Spectator sport cock-fighting
Cockerels attacked each other using metal spurs and their beaks. In many small towns, special arenas were built for cock-fighting. Money was bet on the outcomes of the fight
Lower classes football
Men only. Aim was to score a goal, rules varied. No limit to numbers involved or the size of the pitch. Could be very violent, men often killed during matches
Two things about theatre
Morality and miracle plays.
All actors were men and they played female parts to
