Elizabethan Society In The Age Of Exploration Flashcards
-Why was Education so important?
Education at home?
- Elizabethans saw education as an important part of life and as a means to rise up the social ladder.
- Education was a luxury for most people and those who attended schools were mainly boys from wealthier families.
Educated at home: Sons and daughters of the nobility were educated at home. Sons of tradesmen would learn their trade from their fathers.
Sons of tradesmen would learn their trade from their fathers.
Give 2 features of Elizabethan education
One feature of Elizabethan education was that girls of nobility were educated at home or they could be educated in petty schools that were for ages 4-7, mostly boys but some girls as well.
Another feature of Elizabeth England was that 72 new grammar schools opened as education became more available to all classes and therefore by the end of Elizabeth’s reign, 30% of men and 10% of women were able to read and write.
Education in schools. List 2 facts.
Schools:
1) Petty schools for ages 4-7, mostly boys but also a few girls
2) Grammar schools for boys aged 7-15. Had to pay but some scholarships were available. They learnt Latin, Greek, Maths and Scriptures.
What were some of the sports the gentlemen played and what did the poorer people play? List 4
- Gentlemen: Fencing, tennis, bowls, archery, hunting
- Poorer people: Wrestling, running, football, poaching
What were some of the pastimes of the gentlemen and the poorer people? List 4 for each
Gentlemen: Smoking tobacco, hunting deer, horse-riding, playing music
Poorer people: Going to inns/taverns, gambling, bear-baiting, cock-fighting,
cards, dice, singing songs, telling stories
Give some names of theatres (4)
List some facts.
Some opinions about the theatre? (3)
What did Elizabeth do about Wandering bands of actors?
The Theatre, the Curtain, The Rose, The Globe
Theatre became popular in the Elizabethan England among all classes and attracted people from all sections of society. The theatre was cheap entertainment and the richer people sat on the seats and even stage whereas the peasants stood as groundlings in the pits.
- Many thought theatres kept people away from the church, enabled the plague to spread, encourage thieves to congregate and caused people to miss work.
- Wandering bands of actors were banned from touring the country by the Acts of Parliament in 1572 as Elizabeth’s advisors thought that rebellion and the spread of disease could be caused by the players.
How did Education change over time?
3) 72 new grammar schools opened for sons of gentry, merchants and craftspeople
4) By 1600, 30% of men and 10% of women could read or write.
1) Increased in numbers going to uni to study divinity, philosophy and geometry.
2) Scholarships for poorer student to go to grammar school.
5) Only 1/3 of those who went to Oxford or Cambridge were from nobility or gentry.
Reasons for increasing poverty? (5)
1) The enclosure of common land for sheep – led to farmers losing jobs and moving to town and some farmers could not afford to pay increased rents and they too moved into town.
2) The decline in the wool trade due to Spanish control of the Netherlands.
3) Inflation linked to Henry VIII’s debasement of the coinage and people demanded higher prices as a result as they did not trust the value of the new money.
4) Closure of the monasteries meant poorest people had nowhere to go after the dissolution.
5) Increasing population put pressure on resources and there wasn’t enough jobs to help.
Changing attitudes to the poor? (3)
- Rich was expected to help the poor with jobs or charity, but increasing numbers meant that they could not cope.
- Fear of disease (plague), crime and disorder linked to the poor; the poor and the vagabonds could also cause a rebellion.
- Puritans believed that idleness was a sin and should be punished severely and vagabonds made no attempt to find work.
Changing policies to the poor?
- Vagabonds Act 1572 - harsh, whipping, burning through ear,
- Execution Act for Relief of Poor 1592 – more lenient and said that towns had to find work for able-bodied poor and those who refused to work would be sent to the Houses of Correction.
Factors which led to exploration (4)
- Rivalry with Spain in New World.
- New technology in ships, such as the development of charts showing longitude and latitude
- Looking for new markets for wool trade, as the Spanish had control over trade in the Netherlands.
- spreading Protestant religion.
New technology on ships? (4)
1) New sea charts showing parallels of latitude and longitude,
2) astrolabe- showed sailors to determine a position with greater precision.
3) improvements in compasses,
3) new ships called galleons which were stronger, bigger and faster and could fascillitate journeys across the North Atlatinc
4) English sailors used more rapid firing guns which give them an adv against Spanish
2 key reasons to expand trade?
- Collapse of wool trade due to Spanish control of the Netherlands.
- Desire for new/precious items, eg spices, silver, gold, silk, tobacco
Reasons for Drake’s circumnavigation?
To capture Spanish gold, silver and treasure,
- to find new trade routes, to find new lands for England and Elizabeth.
- to weaken power of Spain.
- make a profit for himself and his backers including Elizabeth.
Significance of Drake’s circumnavigation? (5)
- He was the first saior to circumnavigate the world during 1577-80
- increased rivarly with Spain as he attatcked the Cacafuego, stealing silver and coins.
- He brought back treasure worth £140,000 which helped Elizabeth to pay off the national debt.
- Claimed new lands (Nova Albion)
- He estabalished trading ports East Indies and brought back lots of spices.
