Last Years

Question 1

overview

Answer 1

By 1588, Elizabeth was at the height of her power. She had eliminated MQS and defeated Phillip of Spain. This lessened the Catholic threat at home and abroad. The theatre and the arts were also flourishing. However, she still did not have an heir, there were social and economic difficulties and many of the people on whom she had relied on died or were unable to help her as before due to age or rebellion. She also faced rebellion, plots and religious discontent

Question 2

deaths of her key courtiers

Answer 2

Lei - died 1588
Wal - died 1590
Cecil - died 1589 but was ill from the 1590s

Question 3

the political condition by 1603

Answer 3

Though England enjoyed broadly effective government during most of Elizabeth’s reign, there was a decline in royal authority and the quality of administration during the 1590s, due to issues over succession and factionalism. The crisis involving the Earl of Essex which led to his execution for treason in 1601 is proof of the difficulties which royal authority faced. However, despite the Essex Rebellion, a broad political unity had been achieved by 1603. All English people apart from a small minority of militant Catholics were loyal to the crown

Question 4

Financial situation

Answer 4

Privateering did create some success for the crown - the capture of the Spanish treasure ship the Madine De Dois in 1592. There was no strategic success for expeditions and it took resources away from the land and away from the land war in the Netherlands. The cost of financing and maintaining a force in the Netherlands was high. There was an economic depression in the 1590s due to the loss of trade with Spain and poor harvests. She spent twice as much as she gained which caused grievances with parliament as she constantly asked for money. She has to sell valuable crown lands and monopolies(an unpopular policy) this kept her from bankruptcy

Question 5

society

Answer 5

Food riots - not large scale
Though England remained a socially divided society with huge differences in living standards. There were contrainsts which prevented society from breaking down completely for example the poor laws passed in 1598 and 1601. These limited the worst effects of poverty at least as far as the deserving poor were concerned.

Question 6

religion by 1603

Answer 6

Compared with the beginning of her reign, the level of popular catholicism had declined. English Catholics were divided between a majority who tried to accommodate their loyalties with both the crown and faith and a minority who followed the papal bull. Many identified with the Church of England, Puritanism had failed and the majority of Puritans had become assimilated within the Anglican mainstream. Separatism had disappeared and there was a broad consensus surrounding the Church of England which ensured some degree of religious unity.

Question 7

the golden age

Answer 7

Between 1588 and 1603 England enjoyed a great deal of unity which enabled playwrights and artists to develop and flourish. Often this type of culture didn’t just appeal to the well-off but the lower classes as well such as Shakespeare performances. The patronage of the queen, courtiers, nobility and gentry ensured that all arts thrived. Members of the council even wrote poetry such as Walter Raleigh. Many of the arts celebrated the virgin queen - plays, paintings and literature became propaganda for Liz, who was coined ‘Gloriana’. 30 grammar schools were established in Elizabeth’s reign and an increasing number of noblemen attended Oxbridge to perfect their cultural education

Question 8

Elizabeth’s Role in the Golden Age

Answer 8

She encourages her courtiers to favour art, music, literature and the theatre. Noblemen were encouraged to come to London to join the arts. She encouraged outdoor events such as riding and encouraged tournaments. She was a skilled musician and could play several instruments. She spent money on music -£1,500 per year. William Byrd and Thomas Tallis were employed at the Chapel Royal. She and Robert Dudley had their own company of actors. She encouraged entertainment at court in the evening with performances and poems. Liz enjoyed shakespeare’s plays at the end of her reign and he performed Twelfth Night at court.

Question 9

colonisation and trade - problem of trade

Answer 9

1. The value of internal trade considerably exceeded that of foreign trade. The biggest development in internal trade was the growth in the shipping of coal from the Tyre to Thomes to meet the growing demands of the London Market, though some coal was exported across the North Sea - which developed trade with France
2. A wide range of foreign luxury goods were imported during Elizabeth’s reign. This suggests that goods were becoming affordable for a wide range of the population
3. Cloth trade with the Netherlands, while remaining important declined as part of the economy that trade was developed based on the North German part of Enden
4. Through attempts to establish new overseas markets did take place, for example in Russia, these remained economically marginal

Question 10

attempts to expand trade

Answer 10

The main centre of African trade was Guinea and it was Guinea that became used as the starting point for John Hawkins’s move into the Americas. In the process, he invented the English slave trade, he made 3 expeditions in 1562, acquiring slaves in Africa that he then transported and sold in South America. His first two expeditions proved to be financially successful although he succeeded in irritating the Spanish authorities. By the time of the second expedition in 1564, Hawkins secured investment from prominent courtiers including the Earl of Lei, as well as support from the queen who supplied ships for a price. The 3rd attracted royal support but went wrong when Hawkins’s fleet was blockaded in the San Juan de Ulva port in Mexico, although some of the gold did get back to England. Hawkins’s activities antagonised further the already strained Anglo-Spanish relationships. The fact that the queen was prepared to become involved suggests that she was willing in return for profits to run the risk of antagonising Philip II

Question 11

main changes to English trading patterns

Answer 11

There were two main changes to English Trading Patterns in the 1580s. First, the main markets for English wool moved from the southern to the northern Netherlands and there was an increase in trade with the ottoman empire. England however remained backward in the exploitation of trading opportunities in Elizabeth’s reign.

Question 12

what was set up to widen England’s trading interests

Answer 12

A number of trading companies were set up to widen England’s trading interests with varying degrees of success.

Question 13

Trading companies set up

Answer 13

1. The muscovy trading company had been incorporated in 1555 to trade with Russia and Northern Europe, though it failed in the long term to compete effectively with the Dutch
2. The East land company was set up in 1579 to trade in the Baltic but had a similar effect
3. The Levant Company was founded in 1581 as the Turkish company enjoyed success in its attempt to develop trade with the ottoman empire
4. The East India Company was set up in 1600 to trade with Asia, but it had less investment compared with the Dutch East Indian Company and therefore found it difficult to compete in the short term
   By the end of Elizabeth’s reign, these were still relatively modest organisations. All companies apart from one were joint stock companies owned by their shareholders in a model of organisation which would prove essential to future capitalist developments

Question 14

Exploration and Colonisation

Answer 14

The extension of trade to Mainland North America and the attempt to form a colony in Virginia assumed greater significance. The suggestion that England should start colonising N.A. originated with the entrepreneur and explorer Humphrey Gilbert. The process was encouraged by Hakluyt in a Discourse of Western Planting published in 1584, H. was closely linked to Walter Raleigh and Raleigh presented it to the queen. Raleigh gained support from a number of prominent investors including Walsingham and in 1585 he received a patent from the queen to colonise Virginia. Unfortunately, the attempts at colonisation were disastrous due to poor organisation, ill luck and reluctance by the queen to give the matter priority when she was faced with war with Spain. Permanent English colonisation of Virginia had to wait until the reign of James I

Question 15

prosperity and depression factors

Answer 15

Prosperity and Land
Prosperity and Trade
Urban Prosperity
Depression
The Economic Condition of the regions

Question 16

prosperity and land

Answer 16

Land wonders benefitted from the economic trends present in Elizabethan England. Landed incomes rose and many landowners acquired a range of material possessions which would not have been possible in previous generations, They also benefitted from the sale of church land under Henry VIII and Edward VI. There was a building boom in the Elizabethan era. Farmers also benefitted from the rise in prices. William Harisson, in his description of England published in 1577, noted the improvements in living standards enjoyed by farmers at least those based in the south-east of England. There was an overall increase in all aspects of agricultural production although bad harvests interrupted this trend.

Question 17

prosperity and trade

Answer 17

Economic historians argue that trade was buoyant in Elizabethan England which is evidenced by shipbuilding which took place at the time. In later years, historians began to argue that there was no prosperity this is evidenced by the argument that English financial institutions were much less sophisticated than their counterparts in the Netherlands.

Question 18

urban prosperity

Answer 18

Some old-established towns, for example, Stamford and Winchester did decline during Elizabeth’s reign. Urban decay was associated with corporate boroughs that had been heavily dependent on the cloth industry as this had migrated to more rural areas. On the other hand, the condition of some other old-established towns such as York continued to improve, and new urban settlements like Manchester and Plymouth also developed. The towns which did well either had a broad range of manufacturing industries or were incorporated towns where the industry was able to develop without hindrances from regulations. The impact of the growth of London was also felt in other towns and cities and had a detrimental effect. On the other hand, some places like New Castle upon Tyne benefitted from supplying London’s economic needs.

Question 19

depression

Answer 19

Not all shared in this prosperity. For many real wages fell and this was a major problem at times of harvest failure. According to evidence collected by David Palliser, 9 of the 44 harvests of the reigh were poor. The impact was particularly bad when there were successive bad harvests. This made the experience of 1594 - 1597 when there were four successive poor harvests catastrophic for some people. By 1596, real wages had collapsed to less than half the level which they had been nine years earlier. Conditions were worse in the far north. Newcastle reported burying 25 homeless people who were presumed to have starved.

Question 20

the economic condition of the regions

Answer 20

From taxation records, the weakest part of the country was the south-east. The poorest were those in the North and West Midlands, this is reflected in the income levels amongst different social groups