Elizabethan England 1558-88 Flashcards
Who made up Elizabeth’s government?
-The court
-The privy council
-Parliament
-Justices of the Peace
-Lord lieutenants
Who were the court?
Noblemen who acted as the monarch’s advisers and friends
Who were the privy council?
Members of the nobility who helped govern the country
Who were the parliament?
They were made up of the House of Lords and the House of Commons and advised Elizabeth’s government
Who were the justices of the peace?
Large landowners appointed by government who kept law and order locally and heard court cases
Who were the lord lieutenants?
Noblemen appointed by government who governed english counties and raised the local milita
What is milita?
A force of ordinary people raised in an emergency
What is the social hierarchy of the countryside from least to most important?
-Homeless and vagrants
-Landless and labouring poor
-Tenant farmers
-Yeomen farmers
-Gentry
-Nobility
What is the social hierarchy of towns from least to most important?
-Unemployment
-Craftsmen
-Business owners
-Professionals
-Merchants
What are tenant farmers?
People who rented land from yeoman farmers and gentry
What are yeoman farmers?
People who owned a small amount of land
What are gentry?
People who owned smaller estates
What are merchants?
Traders who were very wealthy
Explain obedience and care in Elizabethan society.
You owed respect and obedience to those above you and had a duty of care to those below
What problems did Elizabeth face when she became queen?
-Young (21) and lacked experience
-Her government needed money
-Her legitimacy was in doubt as the pope didn’t recognise her mother’s marriage to Henry VIII
-Catholics refused to acknowledge her right to rule
-She was protestant
-She needed parliaments support to pass laws
-She was unmarried
How did Elizabeth face financial weakness?
-The Crown was £300,000 in debt
-Since the 1540s the crown devalued the coinage by reducing its silver and gold content in order to make more money to fight wars against France
-This resulted in inflation as the value of the currency fell
What challenges did Elizabeth face from abroad in 1558?
-The french threat
-The auid alliance
-France had ended its war with spain
What was the french threat in 1558?
-France was wealthier than england and had a bigger population
-Mary Queen of Scots was married to the heir to the french throne
-Mary had a strong claim to the english throne and english catholics might rally to her if the french invaded
What was the auid alliance?
-France’s alliance with Scotland threatened England
-Mary of Guise ruled Scotland on behalf of her daughter Mary Queen of Scot’s and kept French soldiers there who could attack England
-Scotland was further strengthened by the marriage of Francis II of France to Mary Queen of Scots in 1588
Why was France ending war with Spain a threat to Elizabeth?
Since France and Spain were both catholic countries it was possible they would unite against protestant England
What were catholic beliefs?
-Pope is head of the church
-Church is the intermediary between God and people and can forgive sins
-Transubstantiation (during mass bread and wine become actual body and blood of christ)
-7 Sacraments (ceremonies)
-Priests are celibate
What were catholic practices?
-Latin services
-Priests wear vestments
-Churches highly decorated
Who supported catholics?
The majority in north and west england
What were protestant beliefs?
-No pope
-Personal direct relationship with God via prayer and bible, only god can forgive sins
-The bread and wine simply represents the body and blood of Christ, there is no miracle
-2 sacraments (baptism and holy communion)
-Priests can marry
What were protestant practices?
-English services
-Priests wear simple vestments
-Churches plain and simple
Who supported protestants?
Mostly south-east england
What were puritan beliefs?
-No popes, cardinals, or bishops
-Personal direct relationship with God via prayer and bible, only god can forgive sins
-The bread and wine simply represents the body and blood of Christ, there is no miracle
-2 sacraments (baptism and holy communion)
-Priests can marry
What were puritan practices?
-English services
-Priests wear simple vestments
-Churches whitewashed with no decorations
Who supported puritants?
Found in London and East Anglia
What was the religious settlement of 1559?
It aimed to establish a form of religion that would be acceptable to both protestants and catholics
What were the key features of the religious settlement?
-The act of uniformity
-The royal injunctions
-The book of common prayer
-The act of supremacy
What is the act of supremacy?
Elizabeth became supreme governor of the church of England and all clergy and royal officials had to swear an oath of allegiance to her
What was the royal injunctions?
-A set of instructions to the clergy that reinforced the acts of supremacy and uniformity
-It included instructions on how people should worship God and how religious services were to be conducted
What was the book of common prayer?
It introduced a set church service to be used in all churches, the clergy had to follow the prayer book wording during services or be punished
What was the act of uniformity?
It dictated the appearance of churches and how religious services were to be held, it required everyone to attend church
What was the role of the church of england in society?
-Preached the governments message (Elizabeth’s religious and political message)
-Enforced Elizabeth’s religious settlement of 1559
-Legitimised Elizabeth’s rule
-Provided guidance for people going through hardship and uncertainty
-Visitations that made sure churches followed religious settlement
-Responsible for church courts that dealt with marriage, slander, etc
What was the nature of the catholic threat at home?
-Counter Reformation in Europe attempts to reverse the spread of Protestantism
-Catholic hostility towards Protestants
-The pope instructs English Catholics not to attend Church of England services
-One third of the English nobility and a large part of the gentry are recusants
-This leads to the revolt of the Northern Earls (1569-70)
Catholic challenge from France
-In 1562 when religious war began Elizabeth backed French Protestants hoping to take back Calais in return, this failed as the French Protestants made peace with the Catholics later that year
The papacy
-Counter reformation meant the pope was prepared to end Protestant rule in England
-Pope disapproved of the steps Elizabeth had taken to suppress Catholicism following the revolt of the Northern Earls
-The pope had already excommunicated Elizabeth in 1570, this could only encourage Catholic powers to attack England
Catholic challenge from Spain
- in 1566 the Dutch rebelled against Spanish occupation. Elizabeth outwardly condemned the dutch rebels and many made their way to England. Spanish atrocities in the Netherlands put Elizabeth under pressure to shelter rebels, who had attacked Spanish ships in the Channel.
-Spain was further angered by England’s seizure of the Genoese Loan in 1568. The Italian city of Genoa lent gold to Spanish government. Ships carrying the loan sheltered in english ports where Elizabeth seized it, arguing it belonged to Italian bankers, not Spain.
-By 1570, Spanish rule in the Netherlands was secure. The Privy Council now feared a Spanish Invasion, as Spanish troops were in the Spanish Netherlands which were close to England.
-The presence of Mary Queen of Scots, as an alternative Catholic monarch encouraged the Spanish government to plot against Elizabeth.
Mary’s claim to the throne
-She was Henry VII’s great grand-daughter and Elizabeth’s second cousin, descended from Margaret Tudor, was a Catholic
The Casket Letters Affair
-A meeting set up in York to hear the case against Mary between October 1568 and January 1569
-Scottish lords brought love letters with them, written by Mary to the Earl of Bothwell, that showed she had plotted to murder Lord Darnley
-Mary said she could not be tried because she was an anointed monarch, and would not offer a plea unless Elizabeth guaranteed a verdict of innocent
-The conference did not reach any conclusions so Mary remains captive in England
Revolt of the Northern Earls
-The earls wanted to make England Catholic again and had lost much of their influence at court under Elizabeth
-The main rebels were the Earl of Westmorland, Duke of Norfolk, Earl of Northumberland
-The Plan was for Mary to marry the Duke of Norfolk, remove Elizabeth and become queen herself
-Dudley told Elizabeth of the plot leading to Norfolk’s arrest and imprisonment in the tower
-Westmorland and Northumberland took control of Durham Cathedral and began to move south
-The plot failed as support from spain never arrived and many land owners didn’t want to risk losing wealth gained from the dissolution of the monasteries
-The significance of this is that Mary cousins be trusted, Elizabeth’s control over the north of England strengthened, the pope excommunicated Elizabeth
Ridolfi Plot
-The Earl of Huntingdon led the council of the north and implemented laws against catholics that angered them, resulting in the plot
-Ridolfi was was a spy for the pope and in 1571 he plotted to murder Elizabeth, start a spanish invasion, and put Mary on the throne
-Ridolfi travelled to the Netherlands which was Spanish controlled in March 1571 to discuss the plot with the pope
-Cecil discovered the plot and was able to prove Norfolk was guilty of high treason, Ridolfi remained abroad and never returned to england
-Norfolk was executed in June 1572 but Elizabeth was reluctant to punish Mary
-This was significant as it confirmed English Catholics remained a threat to Elizabeth, reinforced the threat from Spain
Throckmorton Plot
-French Duke of Guise plotted to overthrow Elizabeth, free Mary and make England Catholic
-Phillip II offered to help pay for the revolt and the pope approved of the plot
-Throckmorton would pass letters between plotters and Mary
-Walsingham discovered the plot and his spies found papers at Throckmorton’s house that revealed his part in the plot
-Throckmorton is as arrested and tortured, he confessed to his involvement and was executed in May 1584
-The significance of this is that it revealed the extent and threat posed by foreign catholic powers
