England In 1558

Question 1

What we’re the court

Answer 1

Made up of noblemen who acted as the monarchs advisors and friends.
Helped display wealth and power

Question 2

Who were the Privy council

Answer 2

Members of the nobility who helped govern the country
Monitored parliament, Justices of Peace and the security of the country

Question 3

Who were the parliament

Answer 3

Advised Elizabeth’s government
Made up of the House of Lords and Commons
House of Lords made up of noblemen and bishops , House of Commons elected
Parliament passed laws and approved taxes

Question 4

What percentage were the people who lived in the countryside

Answer 4

90%

Question 5

What we’re the percentage of people who lived in towns

Answer 5

10%

Question 6

Who were the people tbag lived in the countryside

Answer 6

The noblity- major land owners (lords)
Gentry-owned smaller estates
Landless and labouring poor-don’t own or rent land and have to work to provide
Homeless and vagrants- moved from place to place looking for work

Question 7

Who were the people who lived in towns

Answer 7

Merchants-traders who were wealthy
Professionals- lawyers,doctors,clergyme
Unskilled labourers and unemployed-had no regular work and couldn’t provide for thee selves or family

Question 8

What we’re the problems elizabeth faced when becoming queen

Answer 8

Gender
Legitamacy
Marriage

Question 9

What we’re the problems elizabeth faced regarding her gender

Answer 9

She was a woman. Patriarchal society.
Dismissed as monarch due to widely held belief that womens position is considered as more maternal
For example bearing children and cultivating home- governing nation is not
Violence and chaos of Mary I reign had reinforced the publics belief that women couldn’t rule successfully
France and Spain two most powerful nations- ruled by men

Question 10

What we’re the problems elizabeth faced regarding legitamacy

Answer 10

In 1533 Henry V11 divorced his first wife Catherine of Aragon and married Anne Boleyn. Divorce was forbidden in the Catholic Church so the Pope refused to recognise this divorce
This led to many catholics believeing Henry’s marriage to Anne as not valid and their daughter Elizabeth was illegitimate- catholics called her heretic
This led to many plots being carried out to assassinate her- babington,Throckmorton and ridolfi plot

Question 11

What were the problems Elizabeth faced regarding marriage

Answer 11

Women couldn’t rule effectively-pressure for Elizabeth to find a husband who could fulfill the position
Concerns about succession-if Elizabeth died without heir there would be risk of civil war with different groups competing for throne (catholics protestants)
If she married a European prince or king this could give a foreign country too much control over England

Question 12

Why was marriage a problem for Elizabeth

Answer 12

If Elizabeth married catholic that would anger Protestant and vice Versa
Marriage could Involve England in expensive wars damaging royal finances and requiring taxation
Crown already 300000 in debt and Mary 1 leaving 250000 in debt

Question 13

What we’re the strengths to Elizabeth regarding her character

Answer 13

Elizabeth was confident and charismatic person. This enabled her to win over her subjects and command support in parliament despite her gender
She was resilient-she had spent time in the Tower accused of treason and facing possible execution. She could cope with the pressures of being queen

Question 14

What we’re the strengths elizabeth had regarding her education

Answer 14

She was extremely well educated- spoke 4 languages- Latin Greek french and Italian
Had an excellent grasp of politics she understood the interests and ambitions of her subjects and was able to use her powers of patronage effectively- increased her popularity

Question 15

What was Elizabeth ssreenthgs regarding propogabda

Answer 15

Elizabeth able to use strengths to re invent herself as a different type of monarch
Even thought she was female she was no ordinary woman/ she didn’t need to marry and could govern England on her own
Throughout reign E was happy to portray herself as a strong monarch and a “Virgin Queen”- married to only England and no prince or king this was substantially reflected in paintings

Question 16

What we’re the challenges at home for Elizabeth (financial weakness)

Answer 16

Under King Edward V1 huge sums of money had been spent on wars in Scotland.
Mary 1 had left E 250000 in debt leaving England in financial ruin and letting the English economy suffer
Since the 1540s the crown had debased the coinage by reducing its silver content in order to make more money to fight wars against France- resulted in inflation th value of currency fell- the poor and those living in urban areas were hit hardest by it

Question 17

What was financial weakness in 1558 (2)

Answer 17

The crown was 300000 in debt with an annual income of only 286667
Over 100000 of the crowns debts were owed to foreign moneylenders which charged a high interest rate of 14%

Question 18

What could’ve Elizabeth done to solve her financial problem

Answer 18

She could’ve convened parliament and asked for subsides
Additional taxes hoever would’ve been unpopular with ordinary people increasing the risk of unrests
In 1560 Thomas Gresham suggested to improve the quality of money by increasing the gold and silver content in coinage but the crown was slow to respond
Any “new” coinage would be traded alongside older less valuable coins. People would struggle to exchange older coins for new ones

Question 19

What did Elizabeth do to solve the financial problem

Answer 19

She did not raise taxes but instead hoarded her income and cut her household expenses by half
Life her predecessors she sold crown lands raising 120000
By 1574 the queen could claim that the Crown was out of debt for the first time since 1558

Question 20

What weee the effects of Elizabeth’s policies with debts

Answer 20

In spite of Elizabeth’s careful management of Crown finances, there was limited reform. Parliamentary grants were raised locally with many landowners actinf as Lord Lieutenants and Justices Of Peace pocketing some of the proceeds before the rest was sent to the Crown. This means that ordinary people faced a heavier financial burden while the wealthy benefitted

Question 21

What was the french threat

Answer 21

France was wealthier than England and had a bigger population. Es cousin MQ Of S was married to the heir of the French throne. Mary had a strong claim to the English throne and the English Catholics migjt rally to her if the french invaded
Under the treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis England had lost Calais to France. This was englands last remaining territory on the continent and there was pressure in Elizabeth to regain it. However war in France would be expensive and dangerous and England was already in extreme financial ruin

Question 22

What else was the french threat

Answer 22

France had recently ended their war with Spain which meant that french military resources were no longer stretched by war with Spain making a war with England more likely. There was also the possibility that France and Spain botj catholic nations would unite against Protestant England. Spain also had troops in Netherlands not far from England making an invasion smoother

Question 23

What was the Scottish threat

Answer 23

The Auld Alliance signed in 1295 threatened England. Mary of Guise who ruled Scotland on behalf of her daughter MQ of S kept french soldiers there who could attack England. The relationship between France and scotland was further strengthened by the marriage of Francis (heir to french throne) to MQ of S
Francis became king Francis 11 of France in 1559

Question 24

How did Elizabeth deal with challenges from abroad

Answer 24

She sought to avoid war with france by signing the Peace of Troyes (1564) which recognised once and for all French’s claim to Calais
E was able to deal with the threat posed by scotland by placing M Q of S who fled Scotland in 1568 in custody in England. This prevented many potential attacks