Elizabethan society in the age of exploration Flashcards
Which European countries were the first to explore the world beyond Europe in the 1400’s?
Spain and Portugal - already had colonies in Africa, Americas and Asia by the time Elizabeth came to the throne.
Name two advances in technology that made longer journeys possible.
1590’s - John Davies invented the backstaff which made navigation easier.
1570’s - log and line helped sailors estimate their speed with more accuracy.
How did maps improve?
More detailed and reliable.
Name two reasons rivalry with Spain encouraged Elizabeth to explore.
English traders could no longer freely trade through Antwerp, encouraging them to look for new routes, especially Americas and Asia.
Elizabeth realised she needed to compete with Spain globally, not just within Eurpoe.
Name one way Elizabeth encouraged the development of England’s International trade.
Granted some merchants monopolies which gave them exclusive rights to trade in a specific part of the world.
Give an example of an English monopoly Elizabeth granted.
East India Company - given a monopoly on trade with Asia in 1600.
Who was John Hawkins?
A slave trader. Traded slaves captured in West Africa, made him very wealthy.
Who was Sir Walter Raleigh?
English explorer who attempted to develop colonies in modern day North America.
Name three reasons why Elizabeth wanted an English colony in the Americas.
Political: would challenge Spain’s dominance in the Americas and provide England with a base for attacking Spain’s treasure ships.
Financial : source of raw materials, opportunity for trade
To become less reliant on Spain and France.
Who was Sir Francis Drake?
A privateer.
What problems did Drake face when circumnavigating the globe?
Rough seas, pirates, the Spanish.
Why was Drake’s circumnavigation an achievement?
Only second man in History to achieve it.
First Englishman to do it.
Returned with £400,000 in treasure stolen from the Spanish. Elizabeth getting £200,000 of that.
When did Drake circumnavigate the globe?
1577-1580
What did a delayed departure of the expedition to Virginia mean?
That when they arrived they couldn’t grow new crops as the prime crop growing season had gone.
What problems did they face on the voyage?
Storms, leading to lots of supplies were lost.
Why were the Native American’s resistant?
Because the British were asking for too much food and draining their resources. As well as, lots of Wingina’s people were dying from disease, suspected from the British.
What was Wingina’s plan?
He planned with other tribe leaders to attack the settlers.
Why did the Wingina’s plan not take place?
The British found out and this caused further tension. The British could no longer trust the American’s anymore and therefore, left.
What did the settlers expect the Algonquin to do?
The farming work for them, because they didn’t have the skill to do it themselves. Wingina’s people thought they were being taken advantage of by the British.
What problem with the craftsmen, contributed to the voyages failure?
Craftsmen didn’t actually want to work.
How many settlers in 1585?
107
What did Elizabeth grant Raleigh in 1584?
Royal charter - authorising him to explore.
Why was Roanoke chosen?
Strategic benefits for launching raids on the Spanish.
Local indigenous people seemed friendly.
What was the result of the first attempted?
Failed and returned.
What was the result of the second attempted?
Disappeared.
What happened in the first attempted?
They were ill-prepared - set off too late in the season to plant crops.
Storms damaged supplies.
Abandoned it.
4 reasons 2nd colony failed.
- Elizabeth had bigger issues
- Poor choice of leaders
- Lack of right skills
- Relations with natives
What bigger issues did Elizabeth have?
War with Spain looking increasingly likely.
Elizabeth needed ships for Armada - meaning colony had limited ships for food replacements or more colonists.
Who did Elizabeth choose as a leader?
Richard Grenville
Why was Richard Grenville a poor choice?
Hot temper.
Alienated the Algonquin
What skills did the colonists lack?
Physical strength for manual labour.
Failed to take stone masons - permanent structures never completed.
Why were relations bad between English and Colonists?
Outbreak of disease.
British made tribe do all the work.
So, Wingina led an attack on colonists.
