Elizabethan England Flashcards
Where did Elizabeth live when she was young?
She lived in various residences. The most significant was Hatfield House.
What standard of education did Elizabeth receive?
She received an excellent standard of education. She learnt to speak many languages including Spanish, French and Italian.
What religion was Elizabeth?
Elizabeth was a protestant.
What was Elizabeth reported to have done when her father died?
She is reported to have wept uncontrollably.
What happened when Edward died?
Henry’s will was ignored because of pressure by the Duke of Northumberland.
Who replaced Edward on the throne?
Lady Jane Grey replaced Edward as the ruling Monarch because she was Protestant whereas Mary was a Catholic.
How did Mary treat Protestants?
She treated them in a disgraceful manner because she burnt 282 Protestants heretics at the stake.
What sort of relationship did Elizabeth and Mary have?
They had a tense relationship because firstly, Mary was a catholic and Elizabeth was a protestant. She hated Elizabeth’s youth and beauty. Elizabeth lied to Mary because she claimed that she was ill and couldn’t go to Whitehall Palace during Wyatt’s rebellion. Elizabeth was suspected of working with the rebels.
When did Elizabeth become Queen?
Elizabeth became Queen on 15th January 1559.
How long did Elizabeth reign for?
She reigned for more than 40 years.
What were some of the problems that Elizabeth at her accession?
She was a woman, she wanted to re-establish Protestantism as the main religion, she was unmarried and had no children and she needed to appoint her advisors.
What was the Royal Court?
The royal court was a mobile operation and was located wherever the Queen was.
What was it made up of?
It was made up of about 500 nobles, servants, advisors and officials.
What were Progresses?
Progresses were tours that Elizabeth would undergo whereby she would visit homes of the nobility.
How did people try to impress Elizabeth?
They tried to impress her in a number of different ways but one way that they tried to impress her was by putting on lavish banquets, performances and masquerades that would act as Propaganda to impress and glorify Elizabeth.
What was the system of Patronage?
The system of patronage was where Elizabeth gave particular men specific jobs in order to show favouritism and get them to vie for her attention.
What was the Privy Council?
The Privy Council was Elizabeth’s council of advisors however the Queen did not have to take their advice.
Who was one of Elizabeth’s most trusted privy councillors?
William Cecil.
Why did the Queen like Cecil?
She liked Cecil because he appeared loyal but he also knew how to manage the Queen.
How did she control her privy councillors?
She controlled them by sometimes showing affection and rewarding them however she could also show displeasure at other times as well. She played a game of divide and rule whereby the men would compete for her affection.
What was the role of Parliament during Elizabeth’s reign?
The role of Parliament was to discuss taxes to do with wars, armies and defeating rebellions.
How did Elizabeth view Parliament?
She viewed it as unnecessary and inconvenient. She decided when Parliament met and for how long. During Elizabeth’s reign, Parliament only had 13 sessions, 140 weeks in session, 3 meets per year, didn’t meet for 29 years and only 10% of MPs spoke.
How did MP’s feel about this?
They were angered by this and they became more confident in arguing against the Queen.
What powers did Elizabeth exert over Parliament?
She limited the influence of Parliament and she also used the force of her own personality. She charmed but also bullied MP’s and used speeches to do this.
What happened by the 1590’s?
By the 1590’s Elizabeth’s government was in crisis because of war, plague, poverty and harvest failures. Also, the patronage system was breaking down and failing as many of her councillors died. Dudley died in 1588, Walsingham died in 1590 and Hatton died in 1591. Due to this, Elizabeth became angry and depressed and people were sensing that she had reigned for too long.