S3.C18: Elizabeth Early Economy, & MQS Flashcards
Economy: What problems did Elizabeth inherit? How had previous governments dealt with this?
-All the economic issues of Mary’s reign, (bad harvest, purchasing power, and plague).
-1 in 10 had died because of the outbreak of Typhus under Mary.
-The Statute of Artificers in 1349, capped pay at pre-Black Death levels, setting a maximum wage.
-This was replicated in 1514 &1515.
-She therefore faced problems regarding wages, debasement, and enclosurement.
Economy: What reform was there for wages? Was it a success?
-In 1559, Elizabeth’s first Parliament met & discussed strategies to deal with the economic problems, including a bill to regulate wages. This was unsuccessful, as no bill was passed. Other means of dealing with wage inflation were localised & fairly ineffective.
-In 1560, Northamptonshire JPs raised wage rates above the 1514 level, as did Worcester and King’s Lynn. The Council of the North charged 113 laboureres with unlawfully high wages in York/Hull.
-In 1563, a Statute of Artificers was instituted to try & sort out some problems. It established rules like: compulsory labour (mainly at harvest), maximum wage rates by JPs in every county, and prohibition of following a craft w/o a 7 year apprenticeship.
Economy: Why was the 1563 Statute of Artificers successfull?
-It removed statutory wage caps, instead allowing JPs to fix wages in accordance to local conditions.
-It also became an offence to pay or demand more than the local rate.
-Introduction of apprenticeships was influential as it attempted to regulate industry & agriculture.
-The short term impact may have encouraged wages raises, by 1585 they had fallen.
-However, there were sometimes issues with enforcement.
Economy: What reform was there for debasement? Was it successful?
-1560-1, William Cecil & MP Sir Thomas Smith advised that debased coinage be called in & replaced with new coin, in particularly the silver coins.
-The coinage was successfully repealed (extending on what had been done by Mary), and replaced, but this had little impact of the problem of inflation.
-The value of the new coinage was weakened due to the continued issue of inflation, so this arguably had little impact.
-However, addressing debasement did positively reflect on Liz, in terms of internal/international prestige.
Economy: What reform was there for enclosurement? Was it successful?
-1563, Act for Maintaining Tillage.
-This stated that all land which had been under tillage for four years since 1548 must remain under tillage.
-This was quite successful, and meant that no land that had been used for arable farming could be enclosed and converted to pasture.
Economy: Why was poverty on the rise? What were the main causes?
-Increased population!!
-Real wages for the labouring poor were lower than they had been a century earlier, and wage rates consistently fell behind prices.
-Harvest failures created food shortages, especially in the mid-1550s and mid-1590s.
Economy: Why had the way in which relief was given changed? What Poor Relief Acts had been passed?
-Originally, the burden of poor relief had been on the church, but the Reformation meant that the Monasteries that had previously aided poor no longer existed.
-Acts were passed in 1552 & 1555, but they did very little to address the problem.
-Liz then passed a 1563 Act, but its impact was also limited. National legislation was consistently worse than local, like Norwich & Ipswich.
Economy: What policies did Liz employ to improve finances?
-Court salaries were pegged back.
-Expenditure was reduced by limiting more extravagant menus.
-Surplus royal palaces were sold.
-Gifts of crown land were restricted to favourites (like Dudley).
-When Cecil became Lord Treasurer in 1572, he started to ‘farm out’ the collection of duties to people who would pocket profit after paying government a fixed rent.
Economy: Were these financial policies successful?
-Marian debt of £227,000 was wiped out.
-Short-term borrowing and Forced Loans, were sometimes used as ordinary income and provided the necessary cash.
-However, underlying issues, of crown income simply being inadequate, were not addressed. They needed a form of parliamentary taxation for ordinary needs (as Mary’s gov had discussed in 1555).
-Also, the fact that it was down to the wealthy to impose this tax burden made it very unlikely to happen. Even Cecil ensured that his income was underassessed.
Religion: What were some contrasting views about the role of Elizabeth’s religious settlement?
-To Elizabeth, it was simply an act of State, that defined the relationship between the crown & the Church.
-Others felt that it represented a new starting point for England’s church, and it was the beginning of a true Churhc, which saw the English as God’s elect nation. This was the view of individuals like Cecil & Dudley.
-John Jewel, Bishop of Salisbury, argued in “An Apology of the Church of England” (1592), that the CofE was returning to the true position that the Catholic church had abandoned long before.
-1563, 39 Articles further defined the difference between the two churches, and was influenced by doctrine from places like Switzerland.
MQS: What would make MQS a problem?
-If she were in England.
-If she actively wanted to be Queen of England.
-If she had Catholic supporters in England.
-If she had support from foreign powers.
-If she was directly involved in plots against Liz.
-If she was being difficult to deal with.
MQS: Give some evidence that MQS was not a threat.
-Consistently shows she intends to be civil w/ Liz, “your faithful and affectionate good sister, Marie R.”
-MQS spent most of her time in England imprisoned, from 1568 until her death in 1587.
-Mary continually appealed to Liz in times of struggle (treated “not as a prisoner… but as some slave”), suggesting her reliance on E.
-A defensive league was formalised in 1585, giving James a pension of £4000 in exchange for accepeting his mother’s imprisonment, with the guarantee that it would not affect his claim. This suggests that a Protestant succession was secure, and there was no threat of Scottish involvement.
MQS: Give some evidence that MQS was a threat.
-Rebellions & plots were rife during her time in England, from 1569 Northern Rebellion, to 1571 Ridolfi Plot, to 1583 Throckmorton, and the 1586 Babington Plot.
-It was believed that Mary had played a role in the 1572 St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre.
-Bond of Association was established in 1584, making Mary responsible for any plots instiagted in her name.
-MQS continued presence in England was a constant point of disagreement between Liz and her council.
MQS: What happened in the Ridolfi Plot?
-Plot to kille Elizabeth & replace her with MQS, and led by Italian merchant, Ridolfi.
-They planned for an invasion from the Netherlands to coincide with another Northern Rebellion.
-They also had the support of the Spanish ambassador & the Pope.
-The plot was intercepted, and Mary was moved to Sheffield castle, guarded by George Talbot.
MQS: What happened in the Throckmorton plot?
-1583 Plot coordinated by Francis Throckmorton, involving William Allen, the Spanish Ambassador, and many Jesuits (also supposedly Mary).
-They placced to assassinate E and replace her with MQS.
-Once E had been killed, Henry, Duke of Guise, would lead a French invasion.
-Walsingham intercepted this, and Mary was put in Tutbury Castle, guarded by Sir Amias Paulet.
MQS: What was the Parry Plot?
-1585, William Parry, a double agent, organised a plot to kill Elizabeth.
-Parry was arrested for treason & hanged at Westminster.
MQS: What was the Babington Plot?
-1586, Anthony Babington planned to kill Elizabeth and replace her with Mary.
-He hid coded letters in Mary’s room, and Mary agreed to the plan.
-This was the plot where Walsingham finally had the evidence necessary to implicate Mary, and demand her execution.
