Society and Government and start of era Flashcards
What were the two key features of Elizabethan society?
- Hierachy
- Social contract
Name the rural hierachy (top to bottom):
- Monarch
- Nobility
- Gentry
- Yeomen
- Tenant farmers
- Landless/labouring poor
- Vagrants and homeless
How much of England’s population lived and worked in the countryside?
90%
What were the two largest cities in England at the time in terms of population? What were the populations?
London - 200,000
Norwich - 15,000
Name the hierachy in towns (top to bottom):
- Monarch
- Merchants
- Professionals
- Business Owners
- Skilled Craftsmen
- Unskilled workers/unemployed
How much of England’s exports were wool by 1563?
81%
How much did food prices rise by between 1558 and 1603?
75%
How much did manufactured goods prices rise by between 1558 and 1603?
45%
How much did the population increase by between 1558 and 1603?
3 million to 4.2 million
When did John Gresham set up the financial exchnage?
1567
What was the financial exchange known as after 1571?
Royal Exchange
From which city did London overtake as being a huge trade and financial centre?
Antwerp
What were set up to protect the value of labour?
Guilds
What were legal quays designed to do?
Collect taxes upon imports effectively
What did the statue of artificers attempt to do to protect the value of labour?
Made men stay in locality where they were born and do the same work as their fathers
How long were apprenticeships made to last?
7 years
What were Justices of Peace meant to do to worker’s wages?
Fix them
Give some examples of joint stick companies who had monopolies:
- East India Company
- Eastern Company
- Muscovy Company
What led to the new class of landowners under Henry VIII’s reign?
The dissolution of the monasteries and the sale of their land
What areas did Elizabeth have prerogative power over?
- Foreign policy
- Succession
- Royal Marriage
What were the parts of the government under Elizabeth’s reign?
- Monarch
- Court
- Privy Council
- Secretary of State
- Parliament
- Lords Lieutenant
- Justices of the Peace
What was the role of the monarch?
- Prerogative powers e.g.declare war and make peace
- make government policy
- call and dismiss parliament and agree to or reject any laws they voted for
- rule in some legal cases
- grant titles, lands, money and jobs
What was the role of the court?
- to entertain and advise the monarch
- to provide a public display of wealth and power
What was the role of the privy council?
- Debate current issues and adivse the monarch on government policy
- ensure monarch’s decisions were carried out
- oversee law and order, local government and security of England
- monitor JPs and the proceedings of parliament
What was the role of the Secretary of State?
- Advise monarch on matters important to the crown
- Conduct the roles as a privy councillor
What were the roles of parliament?
- grant extraordinary taxation
- pass laws (Acts of Parliament)
- offer advice to the monarch
What was the role of a lord lieutenant?
- Raise and train local militia
- Oversee county defences
- Oversee the enforcement of policies
- Participate in local government
What were the roles of the Justices of the Peace?
- Make sure all social and economic policies were carried out
- Hear county court cases every three months for more serious crimes
- Participate in the local government
What were the three main areas regarding Elizabeth’s legitimacy?
- Gender
- Parentage
- Character
What was legitimate about Elizabeth’s reign regarding gender?
- Mary I had ruled as a female monarch
What was illegitimate about Elizabeth’s reign regarding gender?
- Christian relgion taught that women should be under male authority
- Monarch’s were supposed to lead armies into battle
- Women were deemed to be physically, mentally and emotionally weaker and incapable of governing
- Mary I’s reign was a disaster
What made Mary I’s reign disastrous?
- had 300 burned for religion
- left England in much debt and poor finance
- rebellions occured against her
- lost war against France so morale was low
Who published a book claiming rule by females is contrary to the bible?
John Knox
What was legitimate about Elizabeth’s reign regarding parentage?
- She was the eldest living child of Henry
- Henry reversed claim that said she was illegitimate
- Elizabeth campaigned for Anne Boleyn to be remembered in a positive way
What was illegitimate about Elizabeth’s reign regarding parentage?
- Pope refused to grant Henry a divorce to enable him to marry Anne Boleyn
- Therefore, Catholics failed to acknowledge his divorce meaning Elizabeth was born out of wedlock
- Henry condemned Elizabeth’’s mother as a traitor as she also commited adultery with some senior figures
What was legitimate about Elizabeth’s reign regarding character?
- Highly intelligent and educated
- Spoke Latin, Greek, Italian and French
- Understood politics wellpartly due to imprisonment in the Tower of London
- Confident and charasmatic
- Good speech maker
- Could win over subjects
What was illegitimate about Elizabeth’s reign regarding character?
- Never married, so remained ‘Virgin Queen’
- Had a temper which people feared
- Took a long time to make decisions which infuriated her Privy Council
What was the crown’s debt by 1558?
£300,000
What was the annual crown income in 1558?
£286,000
What were the different parts to the Crown’s income?
- Rents and incomes from Crown Lands
- Taxes from trade
- Subsidies granted by parliament
- Profits of Justice
- Loans
What was the revenue by land at the start of Elizabeth’s reign? At the end?
£86,000 to £116,000
What proportion of the Crown’s income was by land revenue at the start of her reign? at the end?
30% to 19%
What was the net value of crown lands after they had been assigned and sold off to debtors?
£38,000
What did revenue from customs duties rise by in 1556-7 to 1558-9?
£54,000
How much did custom duties generate in the 1590s, barely keeping with inflation?
£91,000
What were set up to try to ensure taxes from trade could be monitored better?
Legal Quays
What was the issue with the fifteenth and tenth tax?
It had been fixed in the 14th century so only raised £30,000. It didn’t keep with inflation
What were subsidies raising at the start and end of Elizabeth’s reign?
£140,000 to £85,000
Why couldn’t more money be generated off subsidy tax and the fifteenth and tenth tax?
Would require the taxes being multplied or more frequent (subsidy) or altered by parliament(15th and 10th) which was very unpopular with the people
Why was little money generated off profits of justice?
Because if they were done more so, there would be an increase in crime
How much did Elizabeth owe Antwerp exchange and at what interest rate?
£100,000 at 14%
Why did Elizabeth raise as many money loans as possible at home?
Because she could restrict and control them (in terms of interest etc.) due to the 1571 ursury law reform
