KT1: QUEEN, GOVERNMENT AND RELIGION (1558-1569)

Question 1

What were the levels of hierarchy in Elizabethan society?

Answer 1

-God
-monarch
-nobility
-gentry
-merchants
-yeoman and tenant farmers
-labouring poor
-vagrants

Question 2

Describe 2 features of Elizabethan society (4 marks)

Answer 2

• 1feature of Elizabethan society was the social hierarchy. For example tenant farmers were lower in society whereas the nobility was higher because they owned more land and were more wealthy.
• Another feature of Elizabethan society was religious turmoil. For example, as different Tudor monarchs changed the official religion of the country beginning with Henry VIII’s establishment of the Church of England in 1534, treason and heresy became linked and many were executed because of their religion which had previously been legal.

Question 3

What were the key components of Elizabethan government?

Answer 3

-monarch
-secretary of state
-court
-privy council
-parliament
-lords lieutenant
-justices of the peace

Question 4

Monarch: roles and responsibilities

Answer 4

-declare war and make peace
-royal prerogative (some issues could only be ruled on by monarch)
-appoint advisors and grant titles/land
-call/dismiss parliament

Question 5

Secretary of state: roles and responsibilities

Answer 5

-oversaw privy council
-advised monarch on issues most important to the crown

Question 6

Court: roles and responsibilities

Answer 6

-made up of members of the nobility (key servants, advisors and friends)
-entertain and serve monarch
-public display of wealth and power of monarch
-had influence with monarch rather than actual power

Question 7

Privy council: roles and responsibilities

Answer 7

-made up of leading courtiers and advisors as well as nobles and very senior government officials
-debate current issues
-advise on policy
-oversaw law and order
-monitor parliament and JP

Question 8

Parliament: roles and responsibilities

Answer 8

-called by monarch (Elizabeth only called parliament 10 times during her reign)
-influence on making laws and tax
-pass laws
-offer advice to monarch

Question 9

Lords lieutenant: roles and responsibilities

Answer 9

-raise and train local militia (army/soldiers)
-oversee country defences
-involved in the running of local government

Question 10

Justices of the Peace: roles and responsibilities

Answer 10

-kept law and order in local areas
-reported to privy council
-heard county court cases every 3 months for serious crimes

Question 11

What were Elizabeth’s problems upon becoming queen in 1558?

Answer 11

-legitimacy
-marriage and heir
-gender
-challenges at home
-challenges from abroad
-financial issues

Question 12

Why was legitimacy one of Elizabeth’s problems in 1558?

Answer 12

-Elizabeth was the child of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn
-Catholics would’ve seen Elizabeth as illegitimate as Henry had to divorce Catherine of Aragon to marry Boleyn and divorce is forbidden in the Catholic church

Question 13

Why did Elizabeth face financial issues in 1558?

Answer 13

-Mary I had fought and lost a war against France so England was £300,000 in debt
-England was suffering high levels of inflation

Question 14

What issues did Elizabeth face around gender, marriage and producing an heir?

Answer 14

-Elizabeth was seen as weak because she was a female
-She was expected to act as a figurehead without any real power. People thought that her male advisors should take control.
-She was expected to marry and produce an heir.
-Choosing a husband could create political problems as if she chose a member of the English nobility this would create anger and resentment among those who weren’t chosen however if she married a foreign monarch this could give a foreign country too much power over England. Marriage could also restrict her control.

Question 15

Why did Elizabeth face challenges at home and abroad?

Answer 15

-threat from english catholics as Elizabeth was protestant but the country was previously catholic under Mary I
-tensions with European powers such as Spain due to religious differences
-tensions with France due to war fought by Mary I

Question 16

What were the 3 components of the religious settlement (+ when were they passed)?

Answer 16

-act of supremacy (1559)
-act of uniformity (1559)
-royal injunctions (1559)

Question 17

What was the act of supremacy?

Answer 17

-made Elizabeth supreme governor of the CofE
-all clergy and royal officials had to swear an oath of allegiance to the queen

Question 18

What was the act of uniformity?

Answer 18

-established what churches should look like
(-eg: moderate decoration, all services and bibles were in english etc)

Question 19

What were the royal injunctions?

Answer 19

-a set of instructions on how to reinforce the acts of supremacy and uniformity
-included instructions on how people should worship God

Question 20

Puritan challenge to the religious settlement

Answer 20

-puritans thought that the religious settlement wasn’t extreme enough (they wanted to remove all traces of catholicism from the english church)
-the vestment controversy (puritans didn’t believe that priests should wear any special clothing)

Question 21

Catholic challenge to the religious settlement

Answer 21

-reluctant to compromise as they had previously enjoyed religious freedom under Mary I
-large proportion of the nobility was catholic

Question 22

What did Elizabeth do to minimise the threat posed by english catholics?

Answer 22

-1559: those who refused to attend CofE services (recusants) were forced to pay a fine of a shilling a week for not attending church on Sundays or holy days
-1581: catholics who were still refusing to attend services in the Protestant Church were forced to pay an even bigger fine of £20 per month, the equivalent of thousands of pounds in today’s money. In addition, anyone found to have persuaded someone to convert to Catholicism was guilty of treason and could be put to death

Question 23

Why was threat from puritans not a big issue for Elizabeth?

Answer 23

-puritans were a minority
-the puritans would never plot with the catholic powers of france and spain to overthrow her

Question 24

Why was Mary Queen of Scots a threat to Elizabeth?

Answer 24

-Mary Queen of Scots was a catholic alternative
-Elizabeth was seen as illegitimate by catholics where as Mary Queen of Scots was legitimate
-Mary Queen of Scots had a strong claim to the throne