Elizabethan England Flashcards
Who was Elizabeth I’s parents?
-Anne Boleyn and Henry VIII.
What were the 2 key reasons why Elizabeth was thought to be illegitimate?
1) Henry VIII had converted from Catholic into Protestant in order to divorce Katherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn and because Catholics didn’t believe in divorce, they thought Elizabeth was illegitimate as she was born out of wedlock and the divorce wasn’t valid.
2) She was an unmarried woman with no succession- many were sceptical as Mary I had a disastrous reign before her. Also a woman leading her country to war wasn’t unheard of and England was at war with France
Why was Elizabeth’s mother a problem to her reign?
- Anne Boleyn was accused of being a witch and was accused of also being promiscuous as she was labelled ‘the great whore’.
- She was also blamed for disrupting relationship with Spain for she made Henry VIII divorce Catherine of Aragon who was a princess from Spain-> she made Henry turn from Catholic to Protestant.
When was Elizabeth crowned and what problems did she face? List 6 problems.
- In 1558.
- The problems she faced were that
1) She had no succession to the throne and many people then prefered Mary Queen Of Scots who was a strong Catholic who was married to the Prince of France whereas Elizabeth had been raised as Protestant.
2) Religious divide as the country had been Catholic for thousands of years yet Elizabeth was Protestant and now there was a religious divide.
3) Relationship with the other countries as defending the country was a monarch’s most important duty & France & Spain were heavy superpowers who were strong Catholics( as Mary was married to the Prince of France, they could overthrow England).
4) Poverty due to unemployment, bad harvests and high prices lead to inflation which could lead to bursts of rebellion yet that was out of her control.
5) The threat of invasion as England was at war with France and England was left with a costly debt oh £300,000 and there was no evidence suggesting they would win.
6) Her councillors- she had to be fair and not biased for her Privy Councils were her advisors and would give her opinions and help on politics and problems so she would be in heavy scrutiny by the public if she chooses to be biased or open minded.
One of Elizabeth’s first decisions was choosing her councillors. What did she do?
- William Cecil became her Secretary of State which was the most important advisor. He was cautious, loyal and knew everything that was going on.
- She reduced her nu of councillors from 50 to 20.
- Robert Dudley who was notoriously her favourite was not placed on council for 4 years.
- Kept 10 counsellors from Mary’s reign.
- Maintained privacy as her most important decisions were made with 5-6 heavily trusted councillors.
How did Elizabeth deal with her finances? What were the diadvantages.
- Inflation meant that goods were expensive and the economy was already swimming in heavy poverty and loss as due to bad harvests, many couldn’t afford to make a living and were struggling to feed their family.
- Elizabeth took it upon herself and reduced the costs of her government and her household.
- She also had to get the Exchequers to balance the book but to do that, she needed sufficient rent from the royal lands so she sold off her Royal grounds to make £600,000, paying off her debt.
Disadv:
- Decreasing her lavish life meant that she wasn’t looked upon as powerful of a supreme as she had wanted herself to look like to other countries- tarnished England’s reputation.
- made Elizabeth look cheap and vulnerable to not be able to control her people.
Describe the pros and cons leading up to the decision Elizabeth made with France.
- The economy was already in heavy debt and Eliz knew she was fighting France because of Mary and there was nothing to suggest England would win. Moreover, a defeat would get the reign off to a disastrous start.
- England could not afford to send aid to Phillip II for farming counties were unable to spare men for fighting due to lots of famine and poverty.
- However, she could keep fighting against France as the winning would prove her legitimacy and show English power despite being a woman.
- Calais may be regained.
- Making peace would make her look weak.
What did Elizabeth do with France?
She made peace with the Treaty of Cateau Cambresis in 1558 and they ended the war but meant Callais was lost forever.
-She then spent further £100,000 on military defence at the start of the reign just incase France went back on their word but there was peace for many years.
How were Catholic beliefs drastically different to Protestant and Puritan beliefs? List the differences in belief for head of church and decoration and music.
1) Head Of Church:
Catholic: wanted to keep the Pope in Rome as Head of the Church & have archbishops and bishops to help Pope run church whereas
Protestant thought King or Queen was the head of Church &
Puritans believed God was the head of the church.
2) Decoration and music:
Cath- liked richly decorated interiors to glorify God and wanted it to be elaborate and expensive as possible.
Pros: felt uncomfortable with so many images- going against the teaching of Jesus.
Puri: extravagance of the church was not written in Bible and they had plain churches.
How were Catholic beliefs drastically different to Protestant and Puritan beliefs? List the differences in belief for Clergy and Bible and church services.
Clergy:
- Catholic: they do not get married and wear richly decorated robes called vestments.
- Protestant:
- Allowed clergy to get married,
- wear plain,simple slightly elaborated surplice.
- Puritans:
- plain black gowns.
Church services:
-Cath: Bible in Latin and read only by priests.
- Mass, where the bread is body of Jesus and wine, is blood.
Protestant: Bible in English so everyone can read, Church and services in English with Holy Communion.
-Service: bread and wine remains bread and win.
Puritans believed Jesus was spiritual, not physically there.
What was the new Church of England liked? Give features of the new church and how they impacted people
- Looked catholic but worshipped Protestant.
- Elizabeth was ‘Supreme Governor’.
- Bishops ran church.
- Ornaments and decorations were allowed, singing of hymns continued.
- Bible and Church service in England.
- Bread and wine were offered but reasons of it remained vague.
- Mass secretly took place later in Elizabeth’s gov knew but did nothing except turn a ‘blind eye’.
- Clergy wore a surplice and Catholic priests were allowed to get married.
- All preachers have to have a license.
Why was the Church of England so important?
It had a big impact in scoiety as religious beliefs were incredibly important for it was a matter of literal life and death for people believed that following the correct path and leading a good life would lead to eternal salvation.
Why was the religious divide such a crucial problem for Elizabeth?
- England had been Catholic for thousands of years and had been reverted back to Catholicism during Mary’s reign and she gave the most imprtant positions in the country and on the Privvy Council, but Mary’s reign was not successful as she had burned nearly 3000 Protestants for their faith- she had been unpopular.
- Sizeable group of Protestants but country was mainly dominated by Catholics and we can see religious divide overshadowing legitimacy as the greatest doubters of her legitimacy were Catholic who had not approved of Henry VIII’s divorce.
How could situations be altered if Elizabeth became Protestant or Catholic.
Catholic- influence of the Pope as he would be appealed as the Pope is highly regarded and could ex-communicate her or turn her people against her if she went against his beliefs.
-Improve relationships with other countries such as Spain and France
Protestant:
- more familiar.
- she could claim herself as legitimate.
- Mary I burned 3000 Protestant.
- Catholics claim her as illegitimate.
Why was appointing her Privvy Coucil immediately such a problem when she became Queen?
Privvy coucil is the most important part of her gov and she wanted to get unbiased advice so she could have a wider insight on her people who were split bu religion.
- Wanted to unite her people.
- Her advisors would ultimately contrust her important decisions to be made further during the reign.
- Privvy Coucil was highly regarded and the people she would pick would determine what type of impression she wanted to make on her people.
How were Puritans a religious threat to Elizabeth and how? What was Elizabeth’s respone?
They wanted:
- clergy to wear black gowns.
- do not like Bishops running the Church.
- no Supreme Governor.
- Churches looked too Catholic.
Puritans were a minority and some were wealthy landowners and some were MPs- they tried to make laws in parliament to make church less Catholic and some became bishops and priests in the new church.
Elizabeth refused to make changes for Puritans and put some in prison.
How were Catholics a religious threat to Elizabeth and how? What was Elizabeth’s respone?
They wanted:
- Pope to be Head Of The Church.
- Want clergy to wear vestments.
- attend Catholic mass as without it- they won’t go to heaven.
- No queen as she illegitimate.
Most of the leading countries of Europe are Catholic and the nobles and heriarchy are made up of Catholic.
They did mass in secret places, at first the Pope did not excommunicate her( he did in 1570 lolz where she was refused as a Christian).
Eliz: turned a bind eye, allowed clergy to wear ornate gowns and kept candles and crucifixes in her private chapel.
What is a recusant? What is a Chaplain?
Recusant- someone who refuses to go the church ( and had to pay a large fine).
Chaplain- a secret Catholic priest.
When did Mary Queen of Scots arrive
Mary arrived in England in 1568
List the key events in Mary’s life with dates.
1558- she married Francis II.
1559- Francis and Mary became King & Queen Of Scotland.
1559- Protestant lords took control of Scotland.
1561- Francis died and Mary returned to Scotland.
1565- Mary married Lord Darley, who was involved in the murder of her secretary, Rizio.
1566- James VI was born.
1567- Darley was an unstable alcoholic who was murdered.
1567- Mary married Earl of Bothwell who was said to be involved in the murder of her previous husband.
1567- Mary was forced to abdicate- she was imprisoned in Scotland.
1568- She bribed her gaolers and escape & fled to Scotland.
