Life in Elizabethan Times Flashcards

Question

Who was Shakespeare?

Answer 1

-One of the most famous playwrights of all time -His plays were performed at the Globe Theatre which was purpose-built -Wrote for the Lord Chamberlain's men Theatre company. Wrote 38 plays i.e. tragedies, comedies, histories.

Answer 2

-Supported Great Chain of Being -Based on themes encouraged by Elizabeth's government i.e. good triumphing over evil

Answer 3

-Sinful: The theatre was a place to indulge in alcohol and food -Immoral: Often prostitutes would be present in the crowd during the plays -Dangerous: Crime, including pickpocketing, was common at the theatre -Unhygienic: The theatre attracted large crowds where diseases easily spread -Ungodly: It was seen by some religious groups, such as Puritans, as a distraction from praying and studying the Bible

Answer 4

-England and Spain conflict led to Elizabethan merchants suffering -Spain's control of Netherlands affected the cloth trade, was fundamental part of England's economy -English merchants began to look to for new, undisturbed places to do trade. -Exploited trade of African enslaved people, laid the foundations for triangular trade between England, Africa, Americas

Answer 5

-Explorers reported back to England about the resources available in Americas i.e. precious metals and crops -Potential profits persuaded investors to voyage to Americas -Elizabeth hired privateers i.e. Francis Drake to steal wealth from Spain's American colonies -Much of central America remained unexplored, provided an opportunity to find further wealth

Answer 6

-Elizabethans had few opportunities to travel -Accounts of explorers i.e. Walter Raleigh inspired young men to voyage to Americas -Desired fame and wealth but many did not get this -Transatlantic voyages were very dangerous. Many died from diseases, mutiny or attacks

Answer 7

-Explorers wanted to find a new passage to Far East -Believed that a faster route existed around North America (North-West Passage, 1845), inspired Elizabethan explorers to study coastline of America -

Answer 8

-Explorers attempted to find direct trade routes to Asia i.e. Sir Martin Frobisher and Ralph Fitch. -Fitch encouraged Elizabeth to trade with Asia -1600, the East India Company was created to establish trade route. -New products brought to England, silk and spices. -Although trade with Asia was small, it prospered in the future

Answer 9

-England was not the only country to look to the Americas, most European countries also had voyages to America -Elizabethans went to America in search of: Wealth, Influence, Colonies -The Spanish and Portuguese had a lot of success in the “New World” they had established colonies, a reliable source of gold, made good trade connections

Answer 10

-Became a favourite of Elizabeth after suppressing an uprising in Munster

Answer 11

-1584, sent by Elizabeth to colonise land not already ruled by a Christian -In return he had to give her 1/5 of all the gold and silver he found in the colonised lands

Answer 12

-Travelled to America to colonise, attempted to set up a colony, Roanoke -John White later returned to find the colonists had disappeared, so it failed -Attempts colonise America were unsuccessful until reign of James VI

Answer 13

-Successful and significant member of Elizabeth's court, and was knighted in 1588 for his part in defeating Spanish Armada -Successful merchant -Influential in establishing first Royal Navy -Successful military leader -Believed to have first brought tobacco to England

Answer 14

-During a raiding trip to West Africa, captured 300 enslaved people -Took enslaved people to Caribbean -Traded enslaved people for sugar, leather, pearls -1564, with Elizabeth's support, returned to West Africa, enslaved further 400 people

Answer 15

-Resulted in goods being brought back from Americas i.e. tobacco and sugar -Encouraged others to be involved -England's role grew after Elizabethan times -By 18th century, England dominated the trade

Answer 16

A Favourite of Elizabeth, because he was: -A successful privateer, given permission by Elizabeth to raid enemy ships and cargo -A well-known explorer, 2nd to circumnavigate globe 1577-1580, knighted upon his return -A successful military leader His fireship tactic during the Spanish Armada helped to defeat the Spanish

Answer 17

Elizabeth had tasked Drake with capturing Spanish treasure and disrupting Spain's monopoly of the Americas

Answer 18

-Drake had a hatred of Spain -Worked with John Hawkins on slave trading voyage 1567-1568 -Spanish ships attacked them, killed 325 of Hawkins' sailors -Circumnavigating the world would show the strength of English sailors

Answer 19

-By 1578 Anglo-Spanish relations were at lowest - If Drake successfully navigated across the globe, it would be a powerful political victory for England -Philip II of Spain recognised England as a threat

Answer 20

-When news of Drake's attempt to circumnavigate the world reached England, it attracted a significant number of private investors -When he returned to England in 1580, Drake had captured £400,000 of Spanish treasure. -He became a very rich man

Answer 21

-Drake would become the second person in history to circumnavigate the world - Upon his return in 1580, he became a national hero

Answer 22

-Elizabeth encouraged other explorers to claim land not owned by a Christian leader -They didn't respect the indigenous people who already lived on the land -Drake found and area of Northern California when his ship docked for emergency repairs. -Called it Nova Albion and claimed it in the name of Elizabeth

Answer 23

-Drake's voyage reached Vancouver -he collected a significant amount of evidence on the Americas which he passed on to other explorers

Answer 24

-Showed that England's ships and sailors were the best in the world -Helped combat fear of Spain -Showed England's determination, returned with only 1 of 5 ships that set sail 1577: Golden Hind

Answer 25

-Drakes privateering and stealing in Americas angered Philip -Worsened when Elizabeth knighted Drake on deck of Golden Hind, 4th April 1581 -Added to previous tensions between Spain and England

Answer 26

Voyages had a significant impact on England: -Increased the country’s wealth -They showed England to be a powerful naval force -Introduced new technology to the English navy -Contributed towards the progression of English ships

Answer 27

-Galleons were larger than previous trading ships -Could carry more food supplies for voyages held more cargo for return journey to England -16th-century galleons had a lower bow and stern than previous designs -improved the galleon's stability in stormy conditions

Answer 28

Galleons utilised different types of sails: -Square sails create speed -Lateen sails improved ability to manoeuvre the ship More sails and masts made galleons faster and more accurate

Answer 29

-Designers placed cannons along the whole length of the galleon -This allowed sailors to protect themselves better from pirates or Spanish privateers

Answer 30

-A better understanding of science developed in the 16th century -This enabled a development in naval technology and improved navigation

Answer 31

-Devices that used position of stars to help sailors know where their ship was located in the ocean -Astrolabes were circular, quadrants were quarter circles

Answer 32

-Created by cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1569 -Used parallel longitude and latitude lines to draw location of countries -gave explorers more accurate knowledge of where land masses were located -Previous maps had any mistakes, people hand drew incorrectly

Answer 33

-Henry VII focused on the threat of rebellions and wanted to contain this threat -He limited the right of nobles to have armies, which created unemployment -When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, this resulted in the loss of employment, eviction for anyone working there - Henry VIII's wars with France created taxes -Debasement during Edward VI’s reign hurt trade and jobs This resulted in the collapse of the cloth trade

Answer 34

-Henry VIII and Edward VI attempted to deal with the problem through punishments -1495: Beggars were punished by being put in stocks or sent back to their hometowns -1531: Beggars (without a licence) were whipped in public, if caught a second time, they would have a hole burned in their ear. If they were caught for a third time they were hanged

Answer 35

-Poor harvests 1594 to 1598 resulted in food shortages, death from starvation -The introduction of new farming system called enclosure meant that less land was used for growing crops, fewer workers were needed -The population in England grew from 2.8 to 4 million during Elizabeth’s reign -Inflation was high, poor harvests resulted in food prices increasing -There was an outbreak of flu in 1556, killed approximately 200,000. reduced the amount of workers growing food

Answer 36

-Increase in poor people in towns and cities -Conflict in countryside between villagers and landowners -Fear and punishment of vagrants and idle poor

Answer 37

-Untrustworthy beggars -The able-bodied -The idle poor

Answer 38

-Book published 1567 by Thomas Harman -Helped Elizabethans to identify untrustworthy beggars, i.e.: -The Counterfeit Crank -The Baretop Trickster -Tom O’Bedlam -The Clapper Dudgeons

Answer 39

Elizabethans believed that many people in poverty deserved their help and charity -The genuine sick -The disabled -The unemployed -Orphans -The old

Answer 40

1563 -Aimed to ensure all Elizabethans contributed to poor relief

Answer 41

-Made local officials and society accountable for providing poor relief -People who refused to pay poor relief faced imprisonment - Justices of the Peace (JPs) who did not collect poor relief were fined £20

Answer 42

-Rising prices of goods in England affected all areas of society -Some people could not afford to contribute towards poor relief

Answer 43

1572 -Aimed to reduce levels of vagrancy in towns and cities

Answer 44

-Created a national system to monitor and help the poor -Each area of England had to pay the same poor rate -JPs kept a register of who was poor -Finding work for the unemployed was the responsibility of local officials

Answer 45

-Punishments for vagrants increased -Physical punishments included drilling holes in vagabonds' ears -If arrested three times, vagrants faced the death penalty

Answer 46

1576 -Aimed to distinguish the genuine poor that needed help from those who did not want or accept government poor relief

Answer 47

-Gave practical support for the poor -JPs provided the able-bodied poor with raw materials to create goods for sale

Answer 48

-Government punished the poor if they refused to use government materials -The poor rate paid for special prisons called houses of correction

Answer 49

Most people viewed poverty negatively They were seen to be poor because they: -Refused to work -Were lazy -Were criminals Therefore the poor were often punished and treated harshly

Answer 50

-A more Christian approach was being taken; Charities were created to help the poor, sick or disabled -Almshouses were created e.g. Archbishop Whitgift created an almshouse in Croydon to help the local people -The problems with agriculture demonstrated that the poor were not responsible for their poverty

Answer 51

-Bridewell Palace was used as a homeless shelter -Bedlam Hospital was created to help those with mental health illnesses -Orphanages were opened to children without parents

Answer 52

Not very: -Many hospitals, shelters and orphanages created had poor conditions -The amount of poverty in London increased due to more poor people moving from the countryside to the city

Answer 53

-1515: York Corporation issued licences for beggars -They had to wear a badge -1528: York created the role of Master Beggar, managed the beggars of York -Houses of Correction were created for those who refused to work

Answer 54

-Despite intervention, the problem of beggars failed to improve -So York started to remove beggars from the city, returning them to their hometowns

Answer 55

-1570: Norwich separated poor into ‘idle poor’ and the ‘unfortunate poor’ -The ‘idle poor’ were given jobs such as sewing or knitting -‘unfortunate poor’ were given food and support

Answer 56

-The methods in Norwich were effective: identified those who needed help and provided them with care -This reduced poverty in Norwich -The rich were taxed to help pay for the care of the ‘unfortunate poor’

Answer 57

-1569: Licensing of beggars was introduced -Hospitals were opened to help the sick and old who were too poor to afford help -The youth were provided with training schemes to help them learn a trade -Ipswich also created Houses of Correction to help the unemployed

Answer 58

-Licences helped to control and monitor beggars in Ipswich -Although hospitals helped to heal the poor, there were not enough hospitals in Ipswich to solve the problem

Answer 59

In 1601 the first-ever Poor Law was introduced -The wealthy were forced to pay taxes to help support the deserving poor -The undeserving poor were still treated harshly

Answer 60

They were made to work, and in return, they were paid with food and drink

Answer 61

Given food and homes where they were cared for

Answer 62

They were whipped and sent to a House of Correction to work

Answer 63

-Helped those who were genuinely poor by providing them with food and a home -Begging decreased in some areas of England -The 1601 Poor Law continued to be in effect until the nineteenth century

Answer 64

-It was inconsistent in different areas of the country -Some Justices of the Peace (JPs) were corrupt, as some JPs did not provide help to everyone who needed it -Without a home, some beggars were sent from one place to another