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GCSE History > Elizabethan society in the Age of Exploration, 1558–88 > Flashcards

Elizabethan society in the Age of Exploration, 1558–88 Flashcards

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1
Q

What became more significant during Elizabeth’s reign?

A

during Elizabeth’s reign, education slowly became more important

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2
Q

Describe attitudes towards education in the Elizabethan era

A
  • Elizabethan England had no national system of education; the purpose of education was to help people prepare for their expected roles in life, so it was focused on practical skills & possibly basic literacy: only an estimated 15-20% of the population could read & write
  • very few children actually went to school & all schools had fees; the view was that only the rich needed to attend
  • people saw no need to provide a formal education for the vast majority of the population, especially the labouring classes
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3
Q

Describe the changing influences on education during the Elizabethan era

A
  • by the early 1500s, philosophers called Humanists were arguing that education was valuable & not merely a way of preparing people for a role in life; this meant educational opportunities gradually improved during Elizabeth’s reign
  • Protestants argued that people ought to be able to study the scriptures; this required people to be able to read, boosting literacy
  • the growth of the printing press meant books became less expensive, giving people more opportunities to read
  • the growth of trade in the Elizabethan era required ordinary people to be able to read, write & understand mathematics so they could record transactions properly; this encouraged more people to become literate
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4
Q

List the features of Elizabethan education

A
  • parish schools (up to age 10)
  • grammar schools (for boys aged 10 to 14)
  • petty schools (up to age 10)
  • universities (ages 14 to 15 onwards)
  • private tutors
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5
Q

Describe the features of parish schools

A
  • set up locally by the Church
  • run by the clergy
  • taught basic literacy to the children of yeoman farmers & craftsmen
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6
Q

Describe the features of grammar schools

A
  • provided an education independently of the Church & charged fees, although scholarships were available for poorer families
  • attended by the children of gentry, merchants, yeoman farmers & craftsmen
  • boys where taught the Bible, debating, Latin, French, Greek & philosophy
  • the sons of yeoman farmers & craftsmen were taught reading, writing & mathematics
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7
Q

Describe the features of petty schools

A
  • run privately from people’s homes
  • attended by children of the gentry, merchants, yeoman farmers & craftsmen
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8
Q

Describe the features of universities

A
  • in Elizabethan England there were two universities: Oxford & Cambridge
  • there you studied geometry, music, astronomy, philosophy, logic & rhetoric (persuasive writing used in law), medicine, law & divinity
  • the highest possible university qualification was the doctorate
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9
Q

Describe the features of private tuition

A

delivered education privately to members of the nobility, who often finished their education in the household of another noble family

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10
Q

How were girls educated in the Elizabethan era?

A
  • many girls received no formal education at all as it was felt that they would not need it
  • girls from better off families attended Dame Schools run by wealthy women in their homes
  • wealthy girls had private tutors
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11
Q

Describe the changes in education, 1558-88

A
  • new grammar schools meant children were now educated independently of the Church; scholarships allowed people from poorer backgrounds to receive an education
  • literacy improved, especially in the towns; this was the combined result of the printing press, parish schools & the need to read the scriptures
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12
Q

What type of activities were based on social class?

A

there were a number of leisure pursuits in Elizabethan England that were based on social class

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13
Q

What leisure pursuits were typically carried out by the nobility?

A
  • hunting
  • fishing
  • real tennis
  • bowls
  • fencing
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14
Q

Describe the features of hunting during the Elizabethan era

A
  • took place on horseback with hounds or with birds (hawking)
  • involved men & women
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15
Q

Describe the features of fishing during the Elizabethan era

A

done by men & women

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16
Q

Describe the features of ‘real’ tennis during the Elizabethan era

A
  • played indoors
  • men only
  • a cross between modern tennis & squash that was increasingly popular
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17
Q

Describe the features of bowls during the Elizabethan era

A
  • similar to the modern game
  • men only
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18
Q

Describe the features of fencing during the Elizabethan era

A
  • undertaken with blunted swords
  • men only
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19
Q

What leisure pursuits were typically carried out by farmers, craftsmen & the lower classes?

A
  • football
  • wrestling
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20
Q

Describe the features of football during the Elizabethan era

A
  • men only
  • the aim was to get the ball into the other side’s goal, although the rules varied
  • no limit on the numbers involved or the size of the pitch
  • could be very violent
  • men were often killed during matches
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21
Q

Describe the features of wrestling during the Elizabethan era

A

men of all classes took part in public wrestling matches with people gambling on the outcome

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22
Q

What were the ‘spectator sports’ in Elizabethan England?

A
  • baiting
  • cock-fighting
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23
Q

Describe the features of baiting during the Elizabethan era

A
  • involved watching animals fight to the death
  • typically, dogs were encouraged to attack chained bears & bulls
  • bets were made on the outcomes of fights
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24
Q

Describe the features of cock-fighting during the Elizabethan era

A
  • cockerels attacked each other using metal spurs & their beaks
  • in many small towns, special arenas were built for cock-fighting
  • money was bet on the outcomes of these fights
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25
Q

Describe the features of literature & theatre during the Elizabethan era

A
  • a lot of new literature was written during Elizabeth’s reign, although medieval literature, such as Chaucer’s Canterbury Tales, remained popular
  • Mystery Plays, popular with many Catholics, were replaced with new non-religious (secular) plays; these were shown in purpose-built theatres, such as the Red Lion, the Globe & the Rose
  • comedies, performed by teams of professional players funded by wealthy noblemen, were very popular; sponsors included the queen & the Earl of Leicester, & their performers were known as the Queen’s Men & Leicester’s Men
  • all social classes attended the theatre, so purpose-built theatres had to be built to accommodate growing audiences
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26
Q

Describe the features of music & dancing during the Elizabethan era

A
  • many Elizabethans played instruments, including lutes (similar to guitars), spinets & harpsichords (similar to pianos)
  • musical performances were popular; musicians were paid to play at official functions or public events; music was also played at fairs & markets, or on public occasions, in churches, taverns, barbers’ shops & on the streets; wealthy families employed their own musicians (always men) to play during meals & feasts; books of songs were also popular
  • music was also written to accompany plays performed in public theatres
  • dancing remained a popular pastime, as it brought together men & women, although the upper & lower classes did not dance together
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27
Q

Why did poverty and vagabondage increase in Elizabethan England?

A
  • Population growth
  • Bad harvests
  • Sheep farming
  • Enclosure
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28
Q

What spending was poverty during Elizabeth’s reign?

A
  • Spending more than 80% of your income on bread
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29
Q

What employment was considered poverty during Elizabeth’s reign?

A

Being unemployed or ill, so you could no longer provide for yourself or your family

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30
Q

What was poor relief?

A

Financial relief

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31
Q

Who were vagrants?

A

Homeless People that moved away from their parish without a settled home or regular work

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32
Q

What were many vagrants seen as?

A

Vagabonds

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33
Q

Who were vagabonds?

A

Idle and dishonest people who wondered from place to place, committing crimes

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34
Q

Which group of women were seen as poor?

A
  • Widows
  • Women abandoned
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35
Q

Which group of children were seen as poor?

A
  • Orphaned children
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36
Q

What percentage of poor were under 60 years old?

A

40%

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37
Q

Why was population growth a reason for poverty?

A
  • Population of England grew
  • Increased demand for food
  • Increased labour supply
  • Ordinary people could not provide for themselves or their families
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38
Q

By how much did the population grow?

A

3 million in 1551 to 4.2 million by 1601

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39
Q

What did demand for food cause?

A

Prices driving up

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40
Q

What did increased labour supply cause?

A

Prices driving down

41
Q

Why was increasing demand for land a reason for poverty?

A
  • As population increased, more people needed land
  • Drove up entry fees
  • People could not afford these
42
Q

What are entry fees?

A

Up-front sums paid at the start of land rental

43
Q

Why were growth of towns a reason for poverty?

A
  • Towns such as London and Norwich drove up rents
  • Food prices rose
44
Q

Why did food prices rise?

A

Food had to be brought in from rural areas to be sold

45
Q

Why were bad harvests a reason for poverty?

A
  • Hit subsistence farmers
  • Reduced food supply
  • Drove up prices
46
Q

Who were subsistence farmers?

A

Those who ate what they grew

47
Q

Why were economic recessions a reason for poverty?

A
  • Caused by trade embargos
  • Eg Spain over the Netherlands
  • Created unemployment and poverty
48
Q

Why was sheep farming a reason for poverty?

A

Growth of wool trade meant farmers preferred to rear sheep rather than grow food

49
Q

Why was enclosure a reason for poverty?

A
  • Land divided into fields
  • given to farmers for profit
  • Denied use of land for everyone
  • Therefore people unable to provide for families
50
Q

Why did monasteries stopping support cause problems for the poor?

A
  • They had provided help for the poor until their dissolution under Henry VIII in the 1530s
  • Now those struggling had no support
51
Q

What did enclosure cause people to become?

A
  • Itinerants
  • Vagrants
52
Q

What was a key point of change during the Elizabethan era?

A

the Elizabethan government responded to the problem of poverty in different ways &, over time, attitudes towards the poor changed

53
Q

Why did attitudes change towards the poor during Elizabethan times?

A
  • the fear that poverty led to disorder & was a potential cause of rebellion
  • the cost of dealing with the poor, especially the poor rates
  • population changes & enclosure meant the poor were an increasingly visible presence in Elizabethan England
  • changing economic circumstances, including problems with the wool trade, bad harvests & enclosure, forced the authorities (Crown, parliament & Justices of the Peace) to develop a more constructive attitude towards poverty
54
Q

Explain Elizabethan attitudes towards the poor & poverty

A

many Elizabethans distinguished between:
- the deserving or impotent poor (the old & the sick) who could not help themselves
- the idle poor (those who could work but chose not to do so)
it was felt the poor should be given every opportunity to better themselves; those who refused to do so should be punished; many Elizabethans remained suspicious of the poor & demonised them as counterfeits & criminals; vagrants & vagabonds who deceived or threatened the public were dealt with severely: they could be whipped, imprisoned, enslaved or even hanged if caught begging

55
Q

List the policies towards the poor in Elizabethan times

A
  • poor rate
  • charity
  • Statute of Artificers, 1563
  • 1576 Poor Relief Act
  • 1572 Vagabonds Act
56
Q

What is ‘continuity’?

A
  • a type of change
  • these measures existed before Elizabeth’s reign & continued throughout Tudor times
57
Q

What is ‘progressive’?

A
  • a type of change
  • government’s response to increased unemployment caused by fails in the wool trade
58
Q

What is ‘repressive’?

A
  • a type of change
  • change that targeted vagrants
  • parliament felt vagrants posed a threat to public order & had to be deterred through harsh punishment
  • yet, the Act also recognised the need to help the poor by providing them with work
59
Q

What actions (policies) are examples of ‘continuity’?

A
  • poor rate
  • charity
60
Q

What actions (policies) are examples of ‘progressive’?

A
  • Statute of Artificers, 1563
  • 1576 Poor Relief Act
61
Q

What actions (policies) are examples of ‘repressive’?

A

1572 Vagabonds Act

62
Q

Describe the features of poor rate

A
  • a local tax organised by Justices of the Peace (JPs), with the proceeds spent on improving the lives of the poor
  • the poor were given money or things to make & sell
63
Q

Describe the features of charity

A

often funded by local wealthy people, who gave their name to the charitable foundation e.g. Lady Cecil’s Bequest of Poor Tradesmen, Romford

64
Q

Describe the features of the Statute of Artificers, 1563

A
  • those refusing to pay the poor rates could be put in prison
  • officials who failed to organise poor relief could pay a penalty of up to £20
65
Q

Describe the features of the 1576 Poor Relief Act

A
  • JPs were required to provide the poor with wool & raw materials, to enable them to make & sell things
  • the poor who refused to do so were sent to a special prison known as the house of correction
66
Q

Describe the features of the 1572 Vagabonds Act

A

vagrants were:
- whipped & a hole drilled through each ear as a mark of shame, to warn others of their vagrancy
- imprisoned if arrested again for vagrancy
- given the death penalty for a third offence
the Act introduced a national poor rate, to provide support, including money & work, for the impotent poor; Justices of the Peace had to keep a register of the poor; those in authority (JPs, parish councils, etc.) were tasked with finding work for the able bodied poor

67
Q

What occurred globally during Elizabeth’s reign?

A

during Elizabeth’s reign, English sailors & traders began to explore & develop trading links across the globe

68
Q

List the reasons for exploration during the Elizabethan Age

A
  • expanding trade
  • adventure
  • new technology
  • the development of standardised maps
  • improvements in ship design
  • private investment
69
Q

Explain the significance of expanding trade

A
  • trade was expanding quickly in the New World
  • English merchants needed new trading opportunities, as war with Spain & in the Netherlands had severely damaged the wool & cloth trades
  • it was vital to find new markets & new products to sell
70
Q

Explain the significance of adventure

A
  • some young Elizabethan men, such as Francis Drake, undertook voyages of discovery & exploration
  • the published accounts of these voyages, though often inaccurate, persuaded others to venture into the unknown in the belief that treasure & riches could be found & fortunes made
71
Q

Explain the significance of new technology

A
  • navigation was becoming increasingly more precise
  • the development of nautical devices, such as quadrants & astrolabes, made voyages safer, direct & faster, leading to more exploration & trade
72
Q

Explain the significance of the development of standardised maps

A

the development of standardised maps, such as the Mercator Map of 1569, gave sailors & traders greater confidence that they were going in the right direction, reducing risk & encouraging further voyages

73
Q

Explain the significance of improvements in ship design

A
  • ships or galleons had bigger sails, were faster & more manoeuverable, as well as possessing greater firepower to protect themselves from attack by pirates
  • they also were more stable & could take on more supplies, encouraging longer voyages & exploration
74
Q

Explain the significance of private investment

A
  • private investors, including Elizabeth I & her courtiers, funded many of the voyages of discovery
  • although it was risky, the rewards could be enormous
  • this increased the incomes of both the Crown & the nobility
75
Q

Where in the world did the triangular trade involve?

A

the triangular trade was between West Africa, the New World & Europe

76
Q

Describe the features of the triangular trade

A
  • the trader & explorer John Hawkins discovered that iron goods & guns could be sold in West Africa to buy slaves, which could be sold in the New World in exchange for rum, spices & tobacco, which would then be sold in Europe
  • other merchants & traders across England copied this lucrative triangular trade
77
Q

When did Drake’s circumnavigation of the globe take place?

A

between December 1577 & September 1580, after which the queen knighted him

78
Q

Why did Drake circumnavigate the globe?

A
  • he was attacking Spain; Drake did not aim to sail around the world; his main purpose was to raid Spanish colonies in the Pacific, as relations with Spain were declining at this time
  • revenge; the Spanish had attacked Drake’s fleet as St Juan de Ulua & most of his men had been killed
  • profit; loot, booty & trade meant there were huge profits to be made from Drake’s proposed journey to the Americas & beyond, so people were willing to invest in the expedition, including Elizabeth I
79
Q

List (the significance) features of Drake’s circumnavigation of the globe

A
  • England’s reputation as sea faring power increased
  • English ships began to trade elsewhere: in China, West Africa & India
  • declining relations with Spain
80
Q

Explain England’s reputation as a sea faring power

A
  • in spite of the fact that only one of Drake’s five ships, the Golden Hind, survived the voyage, England’s reputation as a sea faring power increased
  • England increasingly saw her navy as her best means of defence, protecting & extending her trading interests
  • Drake’s expedition had resulted in Nova Albion, an area near San Francisco, being claimed as English territory with Elizabeth as its queen; this encouraged further trade & exploration, especially to the New World, where colonies were established in New England
81
Q

Explain the declining relations with Spain, spurred on by Drake’s circumnavigation

A
  • Drake’s voyage meant that England claimed the right to rule much of North America
  • this brought England into conflict with the Pope, who had awarded North America to Spain, & with Spain itself, which had already conquered Mexico & Peru, & had established trading posts along the Eastern Pacific coast
  • for Philip II, the knighting of Drake on the Golden Hind by Elizabeth I was the final insult that made war between the two countries inevitable
82
Q

What is the significance of Sir Walter Raleigh?

A

in 1584-85, Sir Walter Raleigh organised, but did not participate in, a failed expedition to colonise Virginia on the east coast of North America

83
Q

Who was Sir Walter Raleigh?

A
  • a noblemen & a courtier, he became an explorer during Elizabeth’s reign
  • in 1584, Elizabeth gave Raleigh a grant to explore & settle lands in North America
  • Raleigh needed to raise huge amounts of money & encourage potential English colonists to leave their homes & settle in a land many knew little about
  • Raleigh did not lead the colonists, but he was significant because he raised funds for the project & persuaded people to leave England & settle in Virginia
84
Q

Narrate the colonisation of Virgina

A

1) 1584: Raleigh plans new colonisation of North America & sends a team to explore Virginia & report back to him
2) 1585: English colonisation of Virginia begins; 107 men set out for Roanoke, Virginia
3) 1586: the surviving colonists abandon the colony, after struggling to feed themselves & facing hostile Native Americans, & go back to England
4) 1587: new English colonists return to Virginia & set up a colony at Roanoke
5) 1590: English sailors arrive at Roanoke & discover that it has been abandoned & all of its colonists have disappeared

85
Q

Why was Virginia colonised?

A

1) trade: explorers & colonists would be able to barter ironware, woollen cloth & hunting knifes in return for animal skins, gold & other commodities that could be sold at a profit; the colony could also produce crops, sugar cane & tobacco that could be brought back to England
2) England would be less dependent on Spain, France & Italy for imported goods if it could produce them in Virginia
3) Welcoming & friendly natives, including two Algonquian Indians who travelled back to England, encouraged the English to go there
4) Raleigh was able to persuade investors that the trip would be profitable; people, including members of the nobility & the gentry, were prepared to invest in the expedition
5) colonising Virginia would provide a base to attack Spanish settlements & colonies; this would provide considerable loot & booty; it would also demonstrate to the Indian tribes that the English were a better alternative to the Spanish as rulers
6) a successful colony in Virginia would make it easier to fund other ventures, opening up the New World to English settlement

86
Q

Who went to Virginia?

A
  • Raleigh did not lead the expedition, but a party of 107 colonists, almost all men, did set out for Roanoke, Virginia in 1585
  • the group, led by Richard Grenville, was mostly made up of soldiers & sailors, although there were some craftsmen, landowners, merchants & farmers
87
Q

What did the colonists take along & why?

A
  • food, & salt for preserving it; for the voyage & afterwards
  • fresh water; for the voyage
  • tools & equipment, including ploughs & seeds; to farm & build forts & homes
  • weapons to protect themselves from attack
88
Q

List the reasons why the colonisation of Virginia failed

A
  • lack of food
  • poor leadership
  • lack of skills & experience
  • Native American attack
  • the war with Spain
89
Q

Describe the severity of the lack of food

A
  • first colonists left England too late to reach Virginia in time to plant crops
  • one of their five ships let in seawater ruining the food it was carrying
90
Q

Describe the poor leadership

A
  • the leader of the first expedition, Richard Grenville was hot headed & did not get on with Ralph Lane, governor of the colony
  • the leader of the second expedition, John White, abandoned the colony in 1587
91
Q

Describe the lack of skills & experience

A
  • both expeditions lacked the experience & skill sets needed to make the expedition a success
  • this meant both expeditions were doomed from the start
92
Q

Describe the Native American attack

A
  • in 1586, angered by the diseases they had brought, Algonquien Chief Winginia led an attack on the colonists
  • other Indian tribes, suspicious of the English & angered by their demands for food, also attacked between 1585 & 1586
93
Q

Describe the war with Spain

A

from 1585, England was effectively at war with Spain

94
Q

How did lack of food lead to the failure of the colony?

A
  • unable to provide for themselves, those participating in the first expedition simply abandoned the colony in 1586
  • the second “lost” colony may also have struggled to feed itself, making the colonists dependent on local Indian tribes
95
Q

How did poor leadership lead to the failure of the colony?

A
  • poor leadership meant that those involved in both expeditions had little direction or purpose
  • this may explain the subsequent decision to abandon the first colony in 1586, as well as the fact the second colony was found abandoned in 1590
96
Q

How did lack of skills & experience lead to the failure of the colony?

A
  • merchants & landowners lacked physical capacity for manual work
  • a lack of stonemasons meant that a stone fort was never built, leaving the colony vulnerable to Indian attack
  • soldiers could defend the expedition but lacked the ability to farm the land
97
Q

How did the Native American attack lead to the failure of the colony?

A
  • Winginia’s attack was beaten off but led to a crisis within the first expedition, forcing the colonists to abandon Roanoke
  • it is possible a second expedition was wiped out by an Indian attack led by Chief Powhtan
  • alternatively, an attack may have led to some of the settlers becoming slaves or being assimilated into local Indian tribes
98
Q

How did the war with Spain lead to the failure of the colony?

A
  • the threat from the Armada meant that few ships were available to visit or resupply the colonists
  • the colonists were increasingly isolated & vulnerable to attack
99
Q

Explain the significance of the attempted colonisation of Virginia

A
  • the colony was a failure but it did serve as a template for future settlements, including that at Jamestown in 1607
  • by the end of the 17th century, 13 colonies, each with their own system of government, had been established along the eastern seaboard of the New World

GCSE History (7 decks)

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