elizabethan england 1568-1603 Flashcards
what year did elizabeth become queen?
1558 - 1603
who was elizabeth’s parents?
henry the 8th & Anne boleyn
who were elizabeth’s siblings?
mary & edward
evidence that henry the 8th was desperate for a male heir to the throne:
henry divorced his first wife -catherine of aragon
who had mary
henry then married anne boleyn who gave birth to elizabeth 1533
anne was executed
married jane seymour 1536 and she gave birth to edward, the male heir.
what happened to anne boleyn?
accused of committing adultery with serval men in court and was executed for treason in 1536
(elizabeth was nearly 3 years old)
what is the royal court?
a large group of advisers and other figures that surrounded the monarch
1000 people
what was elizabeth a member of from a young age?
the royal court - attend important events, mostly likely be married off to an important foreign figure to form an alliance, no role in decision-making
when did henry the 8th die?
1547 and edward aged 9 became king
when did edward die?
1553 and mary became queen
what was the tension between mary 1st and elizabeth before 1568?
mary was very paranoid about threats and rebellions
she saw elizabeth as a leader for her enemies and had her imprisoned in the tower of London in 1554 after she was accused of supporting a rebellion
many people wanted to replace mary with elizabeth
when did mary die?
1558 and elizabeth became queen
what was parliament?
had power in elizabethan england
made up of house of lords (lords, bishops and nobility) and house of commons
less powerful than modern UK Parliament but had influence over tax and passing laws
what was the privy council?
had power in elizabethan england
led by secretary of state
did day-to-day running of the country
members were elizabeth’s key advisors
called upon to deal with any issues, military and foreign affairs, religion and queen safety
if privy agreed on something it was hard for elizabeth to refuse it
who were the lord lieutenants?
had power in elizabethan england
administrative responsibility for areas of country
settled disputes and collecting taxes
responsible for raising a military if needed
most LL were also privy councillors
who were the JPs (justices of the peace)
had power in elizabethan england
selected from local gentry
role was to ensure that the laws passed by parliament were properly enforced
1 JP could send someone to prison but 1+ JP required to sentence a criminal to death
what was patronage?
elizabeth’s supporters and how they show their loyalty
what was progress?
when elizabeth made her way around the country for publicity
who was william cecil?
served as secretary of state twice and was a member of parliament
most trusted advisor
he encouraged elizabeth to take control of catholic Ireland and fight other catholic rivals in England and abroad
key role in developing poor laws
who was francis walsingham?
severed as secretary of state and was one of elizabeth’s closest advisors
known as the spymaster as he had eyes and ears everywhere
established force at sea and dealt with england’s biggest rivals (spain, France, Netherlands)
played a role in the execution of mary queen of scots
problems elizabeth faced when coming to the throne
her heir (mary):
when she came to the throne the current heir was her cousin mary, queen of scots
mary was a catholic and was once married to the king of France
1568 mary was exiled from scotland to england
catholics now had an alternate queen to fight for
- to avoid this elizabeth would have to marry and give birth
problems elizabeth faced when coming to the throne
succession:
elizabeths legitmacy was in doubt due to how henry divorce hs first wife to marry anne
henry the 8th had done all he could to ensure the future of the tudor line
but elizabeth had yet to have an heir
in 1562 the queen contracted smallpox and nearly died
parliament were keen for elizabeth to marry and have a child as soon as possible
problems elizabeth faced when coming to the throne
religion:
henry 8th broke from catholic church to get a diverse
edward continued to obtain a protestant faith
mary tried to reestablish catholicism
elizabeth was protestant but she didn’t want to make her enemies angry immediately
she allowed Catholics to follow their faith privately - some were still unhappy and believed she had no right as queen as they saw the marriage of anne boleyn and henry unofficial
problems elizabeth faced when coming to the throne
ireland:
elizabeth considered herself to be queen of Ireland
many disagreed
revolt of northern Ireland in 1559
elizabeth spent thousands and sent many soldiers to try and limit Irish rebellion but it didn’t seem to work in the long term
problems elizabeth faced when coming to the throne
taxation:
government needed money and to get this they used taxes
due to the poverty the taxes were very unpopular with the people of england, so this would be bad for a new monarch
problems elizabeth faced when coming to the throne
foreign policy:
elizabeth had to manage powerful, influential countries
france and spain were catholic and had support of the pope
saw england (protestant) as a target
netherlands was an area of disagreement
protestant population were at conflict with the spanish who ruled the area
arguments for marriage:
-marriage creates an alliance with a foreign country or wins support of powerful english family
-elizabeth could produce an heir to continue tudor line
-marriage and children stop mary of scots becoming queen
arguments against marriage:
-marrying a foreign prince could lead to england falling under their control
-englishman could create problems on who has authority
-unmarried means elizabeth keeps her independence and power (husband legally had authority over wife)
-giving birth is risky for women
-her sister marys marriage failed and didn’t produce an heir
robert dudley:
potential marriages
earl of leicester
queens childhood friend - no risk to throne
his wife died and there was a scandal to do with her death meaning marriage became impossible
dudley was a figure of the royal court and a privy councillor he had great power and influence in government - good match
francis, duke of anjou and alencon:
french king’s brother could lead to influence in France
brother was childless, francis was heir to throne
elizabeth was 46 and most assumed beyond having children, if she died childless england could fall under control of France
francis was catholic
many against marriage
how did parliament and the queen clash when it came to marriage?
after elizabeth’s near-death experience in 1562, parliament were worried about the heir
so in 1566 they started to talk about this issue with the queen, however it wasn’t taken well and elizabeth banned parliament from discussing it
the rebels
duke of norfolk:
was queens second cousin and leading english nobleman
raised as a protestant despite being from catholic family
catholic background led to people distrusting him
made lord lieutenant of north
the rebels
earl of northumberland:
father executed for leading a rebellion against henry 8th
not allowed to inherit his father’s title until the reign of mary 1
first rebellion: northern rebellion 1569
many people in northern england retained their catholic beliefs and supported mary queen of scots, replacing elizabeth on the throne
elizabeth stopped mary marrying the duke of norfolk - he left royal court and headed north
led by westmorland and northumberland
started a rebellion against elizabeth, taking control of durham cathedral and doing illegal mass, then marched with 4600 men
elizabeth struggled to raise an army but the earl of essex helped and the rebels disbanded
the rebels
earl of westmorland:
catholic who became powerful under mary 1 rule
lost influence when elizabeth was crowned
remained powerful in the north
partof the northern rebellion
second rebellion: the ridolfi plot 1571
norfolk was in the tower of london for 10 months, when released he was on house arrest
he became involved with another plot led by Robert ridolfi
in 1570 the pope ordered Catholics not to obey the queen
the plan was for the Netherlands to invade england at the same time as another northern rebellion
the queen would be killed and replaced by mary queen of scots
letters were discovered and norfolk confessed his involvement and was executed 1572
who was the earl of essex?
father was a member of the royal court who helped put down the northern rebellion in 1569
in 1595 essex was made a privy councillor by the queen
queen gave him a monopoly on sweet wine in England (making him lots of money)
had rivalry with robert cecil
what happened between the earl of essex and the queen?
1598 they had an argument during a privy councillor meeting about Ireland
essex turned his back on the queen and she hit him on his head and essex nearly drew his sword, but was stopped
elizabeth put him on house arrest
what happened with essex in ireland and when he returned to england?
in 1599 elizabeth made essex the lord lieutenant of Ireland
his job was to crush the Ireland rebellion, but he failed and made a truce with the leader, completely against the queen’s orders
knighted some members of his army but he also was forbidden to do
when essex returned he rushed to the queen’s royal quarters and caught her without her wig
lost his sweet wine monopoly (leaving him in debt)
determined to remove his long-term rival robert cecil so he gathered supporters in 1601
essex’s rebellion and his execution:
-essex took 4 privy councillors hostage and marched with 200 followers to London
-robert cecil responded and labeled essex as a traitor and many rebels abandoned the march
-essex returned home to see the hostages released
-essex and the remaining supporters were arrested
-essex was put on trial for treason
-executed 1601 in private due to the information he gave
why did plots against elizabeth fail?
spies
network of spies headed by walsingham meant that few plots got beyond the early stages
what was the great chain of being before elizabethans?
god at the top
> angles and people in heaven
> human beings
> animals and plants
what was the great chain of being after elizabethans?
monarch at top
> followed by nobility
> the gentry
> the peasants
what was the wealthier two groups in the elizabethan society?
nobility - most respected members of society, highest was duke, average income £6000 per year, protection against toucher, large amounts of land,
gentry - landlords of the countryside, £10 to £200 per year, some were JPs
what was it like to be wealthy?
built fine houses in the countryside - symmetrical, courtyards, oak panelling, glass windows classical chimneys
show through food - meat and wine, banquets
fashion - women wear fine clothes with white faces, showing they don’t work outside (achieved via lead white face paint) - elaborate ruffs
who performed at theatres?
lord chamberlain’s men and admiral’s men
men only, no women performing
funded by patron
some keyfigures to do with theatre in elizabethan england:
william shakespeare - wrote 38 plays
richard burbage - one of the most celebrated actors and owned a theatre
what was behaviour like at theatres?
push and shoving
heckling