Elizabethan England Flashcards
1
Q
Inheritance?
A
- Elizabeth was a member of the tudor family
- Her father was Henry VIII and grandfather was Henry VII and both were great kings of england
- Her younger brother Edward VI and older sister mary were also tudor monarchs but neither had an heir
2
Q
Why did some people believe Elizabeth had a illegitimate claim to the throne?
A
- Her mother was anne boleyn, Henry VIII second wife
- Anne was beheaded and Henry annulled their marriage
- 16th century England was a highly patriarchal society
- People were worried that female monarchs could not lead their country into battle
3
Q
Why was debt an issue?
A
- Elizabeth became queen in 1558 and inherited a debt of £300,000. This caused her to raise taxes in order to pay back the debt.
- She took out new loans to fund an army and navy to defend England
4
Q
Religion in Elizabethan times?
A
- In the reformation, protestants challenged old catholic beliefs.
- Puritans - extreme protestants
- Catholics - very devoted to their religion
- Protestant - viewed religion as simple
5
Q
Religious divide?
A
- Elizabeth was protestant but disliked the extremism of puritans
- Most english people who lived in rural areas like the north and the west were still very catholic so would rebel against Elizabeth if she banned Catholic beliefs
- There were protestants and puritans in powerful positions, such as MPs and privy councillors who put pressure on Elizabeth to make england more protestant
6
Q
European religious divide?
A
- Two superpowers of France and Spain were strongly catholic and threatened to invade England if Elizabeth did not return to Catholicism
- Protestants in other countries needed Elizabeths support
7
Q
Elizabeth’s religious settlement?
A
- Elizabeth had to decide which religious laws the people of England needed to follow
- 1559 religious settlement included protestant features: Elizabeth head of church instead of Pope and all churches had to have an english bible.
And Catholic features: churches could be highly decorated and priests could wear vestments. - As a result of this Elizabeth’s settlement was known as the ‘middle way’ and everyone should attend church. Those who did not ‘recusants’ were fined
8
Q
Head of church?
A
Catholicism: Pope
Protestantism: Monarch
Puritanism: No one
9
Q
Who should run church?
A
Catholicism: Archbishops and Bishops
Protestantism: Archbishops and Bishops
Puritanism: Elected committees
10
Q
What language should bible be in?
A
Catholicism: Latin
Protestantism: English
Puritanism: English
11
Q
What should churches look like inside?
A
Catholicism: decorated
Protestantism: plain and simple
Puritanism: Plain and simple
12
Q
Should priests wear vestments
A
Catholicism: yes
Protestantism: no
Puritanism: No
13
Q
What got you into heaven?
A
Catholicism: Good deed
Protestantism: Belief in God
Puritanism: Belief in God
14
Q
Before 1580 how was opposition to the religious settlement limited?
A
- Most catholics remained loyal to the pope on the inside
- However followed Elizabeth’s laws and attended Protestant church services
- Known as church papists
- Elizabeth tolerated Catholics and did not enforce the fine for recusancy in Catholic areas
15
Q
After 1580 how did the threat from Catholics increase?
A
- 1580: The pope stated it would not be a sin for someone to kill Elizabeth, this increased the risk of assassination
- Catholics began to plot to make Mary Queen of Scots the catholic queen of england
- Philip of Spain began to plot an invasion of England
16
Q
How did Elizabeth’s government respond to stubborn Catholics?
A
- 1581: fine for recusancy increased by 10,000% to £20
- 1585: Elizabeth introduced the death penalty for anyone sheltering a Catholic priest
- 1593: Law passed that meant Catholics were banned from travelling more than 5 miles away from their homes
17
Q
To what lengths did Elizabeth’s government successfully crushed Catholic resistance?
A
- in 1588 there were 3 million Catholics in England
- by 1603 there were 40,000
-Threats still remained and in 1605, Catholics tried to kill James I in the gunpowder treason plot
18
Q
What was the royal court?
A
A group of nobles and privy councillors who surrounded the queen
19
Q
Life at court?
A
- Courtiers travelled with Elizabeth as she toured
- Entertainment at court projected an image of extravagance and wealth
- Elizabeth used a system of patronage to control the royal court
- Elizabeth granted positions of power meaning courtiers owed all their power to Elizabeth
- The system of patronage meant that power was based on personal relationships with the queen
20
Q
What was the privy council?
A
- The privy council was Elizabeth’s most trusted courtiers
- Met daily to offer Elizabeth advice on important issues
- Led by Elizabeth’s chief advisor and secretary of state
21
Q
William Cecil?
A
- Secretary of state
- 1587: Cecil manipulated Elizabeth into executing mary queen of scots
22
Q
What was the Essex Rebellion?
A
- Robert Devereux
- His success as a military commander earned him a place on the privy council
- His egotistical and rash behaviour led to him being executed
- 1598: Reached for his sword during an argument with Elizabeth
- 1599: Led a failed military expedition in Ireland
- 1600: Abandoned his soldiers in Ireland and forced his way into Elizabeth’s bed chamber
- 1601: Plotted an armed rebellion to removed Elizabeth and make James Of Scotland the king
- Death of Cecil lead to factional rivalry in the privy council and Essex struggled to respect Elizabeth’s authority because she was a woman
23
Q
Local Government?
A
- The queen and the privy council ran the government of England
- Each county was controlled by a Lord Lieutenant who was appointed by the queen, usually the most powerful noble in the county, kept queen and privy council informed and organised a local army to deal with rebellion
24
Q
What were Justices of the peace?
A
- Responsible for law and order
- Roughly 40 in each county
- Responsible for collecting taxes and fines, enforcing the poor law and judging court cases
- They were unpaid which led to corruption and bribery
25
Q
Role of Parliament?
A
- Posed a serious threat to Elizabeth’s authority
- Elizabeth Needed parliament’s consent to raise taxes which gave MP’s power to push for changes
26
Q
What did Puritan MP’s want Elizabeth to do?
A
- Used their positions to make speeches urging Elizabeth to: Marry a Protestant and name a protestant heir
- Remove archbishops and bishops and allow elected committees to control churches
- Stop priests wearing vestments
- Give MPs freedom of speech so they could discuss what they wanted
27
Q
What methods did Elizabeth use to control parliament?
A
- Only called parliament when she needed it: met 13 times in 45 years
- Privy councillors such as William Cecil sat in parliament and controlled debates
- Elizabeth limited MPs freedom of speech by banning discussion of religion and her marriage
- 1593: Imprisoned Peter Wentworth in the tower of London after he demanded she name a Protestant heir
- Puritan MP, John Stubbs had his hand chopped off in 1579 for criticising Elizabeth’s proposed marriage
28
Q
How did Elizabeth use propaganda to project a powerful image?
A
- Portraits of her demonstrated power and hid signs of weakness
- Went on regular progresses so she could be seen by ordinary people however never visited the north or west
29
Q
What were Jesuits?
A
- Jesuits were Catholic Priests who were specially trained to convert people back to catholicism
- Trained in special seminaries in Catholic countries like france spain and italy
- Their leader in England was Edward Campion
- Campion and 100 other jesuit priests were hidden by wealthy catholics
30
Q
Who was Francis Walsingham?
A
- A privy councillor
- Had hundreds of agents tracking down Jesuits and Catholic plotters
- Employed priest hunters to catch Catholic priests
- In 1581 Campion was captured by Walsingham’s agents and was hung, drawn and quartered
31
Q
Who was Mary Queen of Scots?
A
- Mary Queen of Scots was Elizabeth’s Catholic cousin
- Had been forced to flee from a protestant rebellion in Scotland
- Since 1568 she had been in prison in England
32
Q
Why was Mary a serious threat to Elizabeth’s power?
A
- Mary was Henry VIII’s great niece and Elizabeth’s cousin
- People believed her claim was more legitimate than Elizabeth’s
- She had a son - heir
- She was a figurehead for Catholic rebellion
- Mary had a powerful foreign support - Philip of Spain-, the french and the pope plotted with Catholic English to put Mary on the throne
33
Q
Why did Elizabeth not want to execute Mary?
A
- Mary was her cousin
- Elizabeth did not want to execute a fellow queen
34
Q
What was the throckmorton plot?
A
-1583
- Young, Catholic noble, Throckmorton
- Plotted with French to invade England and put Mary on the throne
- Supported by Philip Of Spain and the Pope
- Walsingham’s spies uncovered the plot
- Throckmorton was tortured and executed
- Elizabeth refused to execute Mary
35
Q
What was the Babington plot?
A
-1586
- Young Catholic noble, Babington
- Plotted with Philip of Spain and French to invade England and put Mary on the throne
- Babington communicated with Mary by hiding coded letters in beer barrels that went into Mary’s prison
- Walsingham discovered system and waited until he had enough evidence to prove Mary’s involvement
36
Q
Execution of Mary queen of scots?
A
- Cecil and Walsingham manipulated Elizabeth into signing Mary’s death warrant
- Mary was beheaded
- Elizabeth was furious and refused to talk to Cecil for a year
37
Q
Why were the Spanish Armada launched?
A
- 1580s
- Anglo-Spanish war lead to launch in 1588
38
Q
Causes of rivalry with Spain?
A
- Elizabeth refused to marry Philip of Spain at start of her reign
- Privateers such as Francis Drake stole gold from Spanish treasure ships
- Philip supported Catholic plots against Elizabeth
- 1585, Elizabeth agreed to send 7,000 protestant rebels fighting Phlip’s army
- 1587, execution of Mary angered Philip
39
Q
Purpose of Spanish Armada?
A
- Invasion of 130 ships
- planned to sail to Netherlands and pick up 20,000 soldiers before invading England and attempting to reintroduce Catholicism
- Never landed in England and only 80 ships made it back to Spain
40
Q
Why did Armada fail?
A
- Leader of Armada, Duke of Medinia Sidonia, had no experience of sailing and got sea-sick
- Army was a week late which left Armada vulnerable to attack
- English used fireships to break Armada’s crescent shape
- English ships were smaller and more manoeuvrable than Spanish
- Driven north by storm and forced to return to Spain via Scotland and Ireland
- Over 40 ships were shipwrecked off the coast of Scotland and Ireland
- Philip sent two more Armadas to England in the 1590s but they were both wrecked by a storm
41
Q
What were the Gentry’s houses like?
A
- New country houses, sometimes with over 50 rooms
- Glazed windows and finely decorated chimneys
42
Q
What did the gentry eat and drink?
A
- Hosted feasts where expensive food was carried by waiters on silver plates
- Rich and varied diets, exotic meats such as swan and pheasant, fish such as salmon, sweets such as sugar and marzipan
43
Q
How did the gentry make a living?
A
- Did not work
- Earned all their money from renting out their land
44
Q
What were the houses of the middling sort like?
A
- Around ten rooms over 2 floors
- Had windows and chimneys, but were less decorated than in the gentry houses
45
Q
What did the middling sort eat and drink?
A
- Could afford to eat a good diet of meat, fruit, bread and beer
- However could not afford the luxuries of the Gentry
46
Q
How did the middling sort make a living?
A
- Merchants, small business owners or independent farmers
47
Q
What were the houses of the poor like?
A
- Small, one room houses with no chimney or glazed windows
48
Q
What did the poor eat and drink?
A
- Bread, however, this relied on a good harvest
- Vegetables from garden could be made into pottage
49
Q
How did labouring poor make a living?
A
- Travelled around looking for seasonal work on farms
50
Q
How did the gentry find partners?
A
- Chosen by parents
- Could choose who they married
51
Q
Elizabethan family life?
A
- Patriarchy, wives expected to obey husbands
- Domestic violence disapproved of
52
Q
Sex outside marriage?
A
- Forbidden by church
- Most couples got married immediately if they found out they were pregnant
53
Q
Divorce?
A
- Very difficult
- People encouraged to re marry if partner died
54
Q
Same sex marriage?
A
- Banned by church
- Homosexual relationships had to be kept secret
55
Q
Children?
A
- Often many woman had lots of children as infant mortality rates were high so families tended to be quite small
- Gentry paid for their sons to go to school from age 7
- Poorer families, children worked in home or on farm as soon as they were old enough
- At age 12-13 girls and boys left family homes to work as servants or apprentices
56
Q
Wider family?
A
- Did not have strong bonds
- Most families didn’t live with grandparents or uncles and aunts
- Many people moved away from home so they did not live close by to their extended family
- Turned to neighbours if they needed help not family
57
Q
Poverty?
A
- End of Elizabeth’s reign saw a sharp increase in poverty
- By 1580s, 30% of the population lived in poverty
58
Q
What were Vagrants?
A
- unemployed people who roamed from town to town looking for work
59
Q
Why were middling sort and gentry worried about vagrancy?
A
- Worried that vagrants would commit crime
- Worried that vagrants would spread plague
60
Q
Why did poverty increase during Elizabeth’s reign?
A
- Increase in population, 2.4 million - 4.1 million
- Inflation, increased demand lead to increased prices
- Failed harvests, 1595-1596-1597
- Sheep farming, English cloth was fashionable so sheep farming became very profitable
61
Q
What were the punishments for vagrants?
A
- Government introduced harsh punishments to deter people from becoming vagrants
- Caught for first time meant they were whipped and burned at the ear with a hot iron
- Caught for second time meant they could be hanged
- This approach did not work as it did not deal with the causes of poverty
62
Q
What was the poor law?
A
- Treated some poor people with more compassion
-1601 - Lasted over 200 years
- Paid for by a tax named the poor rate and managed by the justices of the peace
63
Q
Who were the deserving poor?
A
- People who wanted to work but couldn’t
- Elderly, children, disabled
- Treated with compassion
- Benefits
- Materials for work
- Apprenticeships for young people
64
Q
Who were the undeserving poor?
A
- People who could work but didn’t
- Criminals, Lazy people
- Threatened with whippings and hard labour
65
Q
What sports were popular pastimes in Elizabethan England?
A
- Football was the most popular sport, Played on streets between huge teams from different villages
- Bear Baiting, spectators bet on a pack of dogs which attacked a tied up bear
66
Q
What festivities were enjoyed?
A
- Saints’ days - villages held parish ales which were festivals of drinking, eating and dancing that lasted several days
- Christmas - eating, drinking and carol singing, lasted 12 days
- May Day - people danced around maypoles and watched plays
- Harvest home - celebrated once all crops had been harvested at the end of august
67
Q
The alehouse?
A
- Most common pastime for labouring poor and middling sort was going to alehouse to drink beer with friends
- Places of gambling and prostitution
68
Q
Why did pastimes under Elizabeth decrease?
A
- Parish ales stopped in many areas
- Alehouses closed
- Maypoles were pulled down
69
Q
How did Puritan ministers clamp down on pastimes?
A
- They preached sermons attacking festivities such as parish ales
- Persuaded Justices of the Peace to ban maypoles and introduce licenses for selling ale
70
Q
Why did Puritan ministers attack popular pastimes?
A
- Protecting the Sabbath - Should be reserved for prayer not drinking and dancing
- Stopping Pagan practices - Traditions such as May Day were pagan not Christian
- Preventing violent disorder- Crowds at celebrations often became drunk and violent
- Preventing sex outside of marriage - Believed that drinking and dancing at festivals often led to the sin
71
Q
Where did people believe witches gained their powers from?
A
- Relationships with the devil
72
Q
What did Elizabethans believe witches could do?
A
- Perform magic to cure illness, control actions of others or recover stolen goods
73
Q
What were familiars?
A
- Small animals such as cats and toads that assisted witches with their evil acts
74
Q
What was the law against witches?
A
- 1563
- Death by hanging for using witchcraft to kill
- Prison for damage to property
75
Q
Cases of witchcraft?
A
- Number of cases increased in later years of Elizabeth’s reign - 166 cases in the 1580s
- 172 cases alone in Essex during Elizabeth’s reign
76
Q
Why do historians believe witches were persecuted?
A
- Tensions between villagers - Power for the Powerless, Lots of unexplainable terrible things happened
- Attacks on women - 90% of those accused of witchcraft were women - A way to deal with women who had no husband to control them
- Puritans - Puritan ministers encouraged persecution to get rid of magical beliefs - Essex which was a place highly accused of witchcraft was a also a highly puritan area
77
Q
Growth of theatres?
A
- No theatres when Elizabeth became queen in 1558
- Actors toured the country, performing at alehouses and parish ales
- Government began arresting actors for being vagrants so they set up theatre companies
- The theatre companies built theatres in London to perform plays written by playwrights
78
Q
What did Puritan ministers think of theatres?
A
- Opposed theatres because plays encouraged unholy behaviour and distracted ordinary people from prayer and bible reading
79
Q
What did the London city authorities think of theatres?
A
- Opposed theatres because they feared crowds of spectators would spread the plague or commit crims
80
Q
What did the Queen believe of theatres?
A
- Enjoyed the theatre and invited Shakespeare to perform at the royal court
81
Q
What did the ordinary people think of theatres?
A
- Loved the theatre as it provided cheap entertainment
82
Q
What was the Algonquian?
A
- One of the largest Native American peoples
83
Q
Who ruled the Algonquian?
A
- United by a common language
- Each village ruled over by a different chief
- Wingina was the chief of an Algonquian village called Secotan
84
Q
How did the Algonquian make a living?
A
- Everyone worked hard to produce food to make sure there was enough to go around
- Women and girls grew crops such as sweetcorns, beans and squash
- Boys and men hunted and fished
- Villages traded with other villages for goods such as copper and pearls
85
Q
What did the Algonquian believe?
A
- Did not believe in individual Gods but instead a great spirit inhabited the entire universe
- Celebrated the changing of season with festivities that reflected their reliance on the natural world
86
Q
What was the Mughal empire?
A
- Wealthiest and Most powerful empire in India
87
Q
Who ruled the Mughal empire?
A
- The Mughal emperor in the 16th century was Akbar the Great
- Expanded his empire to include over 100 million people
88
Q
What did the Mughals believe?
A
- Akbar the great was a muslim, but most in his empire were Hindus or Sikhs
- Akbar tolerated other religions and encouraged discussions between them
89
Q
How did the Mughals make a living?
A
- Most Indians were peasant farmers due to India’s fertile land
- Many people lived in poverty as they had to give a third of their crops to the emperor each year as taxes
- Wealthy Mughals could afford luxury goods such as spices, cotton cloth, jewels and perfume
- Traded with Portuguese merchants who sailed from Europe
90
Q
What was Roanoke?
A
- First British colony in North America, but it failed
91
Q
What motivated Walter Raleigh to establish Roanoke?
A
- Hoped to find gold and silver
- Hoped his new colony would earn him patronage from the Queen
- Wanted to challenge power of Catholic Spain
- Elizabeth gave him permission to take land in North America
92
Q
What occurred in Roanoke?
A
- 1587 - 117 English settlers arrived on Roanoke Island after losing most of their supplies
- Relied on nearby village, Seconta led by Wigina, for supplies
- At first relations were good
- Wigina decided to attack
- Other Algonquian helped the settlers, Manteo taught the English the Algonquian language and helped them kill Wigina
- Some settlers returned to Britain for more supplies but when boats returned in 1590 the colony was deserted
93
Q
Why did the Colony fail?
A
- Settlers lost supplies and seeds on journey
- Settlers had poor relationship with Algonquian
- Boats bringing new supplies were delayed by Spanish Armada
94
Q
What did the English adventurers achieve?
A
- Brought back new products such as potatoes and tobacco
- Gained valuable knowledge allowing for future colonies such as Jamestown to succeed
95
Q
Trade with the East?
A
- Increased in last few years of Elizabeth’s reign
96
Q
What motivated journeys to the east?
A
- Wealth - Increased wealth of gentry created a demand for luxury goods such as spices, cotton cloth, jewels and perfumes
- Spain - Although Portuguese merchants imported luxury goods from India, Portugal was invaded by Spain in 1580
- Royal Support - Elizabeth supported trade with East by writing letters to be carried to the Mughal Empire
97
Q
How was the EIC formed?
A
- Ralph Fitch’s expedition - In the 1580s, Ralph Fitch travelled to India by land and saw the wealth of the Mughal Empire
- Dutch success - 1599, Dutch fleet returned to The Netherlands with many spices
- East India Company - 1600, group of merchants set up a company to trade with India called the East India company
- The first voyage - 1602, East India Company successfully set up a factory on the island of Java and brought back spices and other goods
98
Q
What did the English adventurers achieve?
A
- Trade brought new goods such as spices and cottons
- English gained valuable knowledge of India
- The EIC became the most powerful country in the world by 1800, controlling half of the world’s trade and eventually ruling most of India
