Elizabethan Era Flashcards
What was the countryside hierarchy in the elizabethan era?
Queen Nobility Gentry Yeomen Tenant farmers Labouring poor Vagrants, homeless, unemployed etc
What was the town and city hierarchy in the elizabethan era?
Queen Merchants Professionals Skilled craftsmen Normal craftsmen Unskilled labour and unemployed
What was the divine right of kings/queens?
The ideology that the monarch of England was chosen by God to rule the country and has the right to do whatever they want.
What were features of Elizabeth’s government?
The Court was mainly made of Elizabeth’s friends and advisers and the nobility. They only really had influence, not power
The Privy Council was a group of around 19 courtiers and advisers who enforced the Queen’s decisions and monitored the JPs and Parliament.
Parliament was made of the House of Lords and House of Commons but they could only be called and dismissed by the Queen. They had power but were only called ten times throughout her reign.
There was one Lords Lieutenant in each county, each chosen by the monarch. They were important but not as important as the Privy Council unless they were also in the Pricy Council.
The JPs were important and respected but weren’t paid so had no extra power.
What were Elizabeth’s strengths and weaknesses when she became Queen?
Strengths: She was very intelligent and well educated; she spoke Latin, Greek, French and Italian so could communicate with foreign leaders; she had been a prisoner before so understood danger; she was confident and charismatic; she was a good talker and understood politics
Weaknesses: She never married so she didn’t have an heir; she was the result of an affair, so people doubted her legitimacy; she was a woman so was considered unfit to rule; she was ruthless and short-tempered; she took a long time to make decisions
What were the challenges to Elizabeth’s rule?
Money-she had inherited £30000 of debt from her father and had to work with parliament to figure out how to get income to defend her throne.
France- France had more money and people than England. They were a big threat and also made the Auld Alliance with Scotland. There was also a French port in Calais that was held by England and France was Catholic.
Scotland- Scotland was independent, bordered England and was a big threat. Because of the border there was lots of fighting there and French troops were placed there.
Mary Queen of Scots- She was considered the heir to the throne by many as she was Queen of Scotland and France. She was married to King Francis 2 of France and was Catholic.
Spain- Spain had stopped fighting France around the time Elizabeth became Queen and Elizabeth was worried they would gang up on her as they were Catholic and Elizabeth was Protestant. Also King Phillip 2 of Spain was married to Mary 1 before she died.
What were the main religious problems when Elizabeth became queen?
Elizabeth was Protestant but her precessor, her sister Mary, was Catholic. Elizabeth needed the support of both Protestants and Catholics so she needed to appeal to both. However both France and Spain were Catholic which could have meant they could attack
What was the middle way and how was it done?
The Middle way was Elizabeth’s approach of having a Protestant England that doesn’t annoy the Catholics. For example the Catholics recognize the Pope as the leader of the church and the Protestants believe the monarch should lead the church, so Elizabeth made herself the supreme governer of the church, not the leader. It wasn’t completely balanced though. Everyone had to go to protestant mass and if you didn’t you had to pay a fine of 12p per absence, which was what some people made in a week.
What were the successes and failures of Elizabeth’s religious settlement?
Successes:
The churches became protestant and 8000 priests took an oath swearing loyalty to Elizabeth. The Book of Common Prayer was deliberately vague so everyone could interpret it in their own way. The majority of people accepted the changes throughout most of England. Religious inspections decreased going from anually to every 3/4 years which allowed private beliefs to continue.
Failures:
Elizabeth had to appoint 27 new bishops after old ones stepped down. There was a shortage of qualified Protestant clergy and some places like Lancashire were still mainly Catholic. Some Puritans and other strict protestants got violently happy and 400 clergy members were fired
Who were the main threats to Elizabeths’s religious settlement?
The Puritans were strict Protestants who opposed anything outside of the Protestant faith. They would have disagreed with Elizabeth’s middle way as it appeased to Catholics.
The Popes themselves weren’t a threat at first until Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth in 1570, however there were many Catholic threats to Elizabeth before then. The Northern Earl revolt in 1969 was an example of a Catholic threat within Enland.
What was the Babington Plot and why was Mary Queen of Scots executed?
The Babington plot was a plot to kill Elizabeth and put Mary Queen of Scots on the throne. The Duke of Guise planned to send 60000 men to invade England and kill Elizabeth. Anthony Babington, a Catholic who had links to the French, wrote letters to Mary QoS to tell her about the plot, but Francis Walsingham intercepted them. Babington and his accomplices were hung drawn and quartered. Mary Queen of Scots was tried in October 1586 and given the death sentence, however it took a few months for Elizabeth to sign the warrant and Mary wasn’t executed until the 8th of February 1587.