Society in Elizabethan England Flashcards
What kind of Societal change /continuity took place under Elizabeth I ?
English society remained under aristocratic domination;
- Nobility became far more stable + peaceful than in previous times.
- After 1576 Elizabeth was careful not to create any more dukes. The highest peerage title ‘Duke’ carried inert dangers (as men who previously held the title Somerset, Northumberland etc were all met with bloody ends.
- The Gentry embraced a wide social range from influential knights to figures of national importance + landowners. The gentry class increased during Elizabeth’s reign + the proportions of people who were seriously wealthy also increased.
- There was a period during Elizabeth’s reign where the gap between the Very Rich and Poor widened which witnessed the beginning of a consumer goods society amongst prosperous members of professional classes.
Landed incomes increased especially after 1570 however the poorer sectors of society found themselves very vulnerable due to persistent declines in real wages. By the end of Elizabeth’s reign the population was roughly 4 million with the bulk still living on the countrysides, the only large city was London which acted as a huge magnet for migrants fro other parts of the country.
What were the reasons for Growing economic + social discontent during the 1590s?
There was a series of bad harvests with the worst years of deprivation being 1596 + 1597.
- Agricultural prices climbed to unprecedented levels but real wages slumped to their lowest levels since before the black death.
- 1597 and 1598 experienced serious outbreaks of the plague, spreading too many areas of the country. Authorities were concerned that vagrancy had reached unprecedented levels + food riots in London, Kent, Hampshire and Norfolk made government worried it would fuel rebellion (ie Ketts in 1549).
Explain the measures Elizabeth implemented to relieve poverty during her reign
- An Act of 1572 established the principle that local ratepayers should be required to pay a rate for the poor relief of their own poor people.
- The Poor Law Act of 1576 was the first act to attempt to create a national system of poor relief to be financed and administered locally. Under this act towns were required to make provision for the employment of ‘deserving’ poor.
- 2 Further Acts were passed in 1597 + 1598
The Act for the relief of the poor + The punishment of rogues;
An ‘overseer of the poor’ role was created which had the responsibility of calculating the amount of poor rate required for there parish + to collect it from property owners, supervise the parish poor house + 4 oversees are appointed which ensure the young have apprentice opportunities for the poor.
Under Elizabeth’s Poor Law Act of 1601 the parish became a designated institution required to raise the rates for, and to administer poor relief. Each parish was appointed an overseer of the poor who was able to ensure both the efficient collection of poor rates + the appropriate distribution of relief to the poor. It was the fired ever nationalised stem of poor relief in England.
Thus the Elizabethan government took it upon itself to hold responsibility for ensuring a minimum level of subsistence for the deserving poor + this was a legislative achievement that remained substantially until 1834.
Explain the distinction between the Deserving vs Undeserving poor
Deserving poor were those who actively sought work or were too old or young to do so the undeserving poor were considered beggars or vagrants.
The treatment of the undeserving poor remanded harsh + an extremely repressive + unenforceable act against vagrancy was passed in 1547 however was quickly repealed. The notion remained that the undeserving should be whipped + in 1572 an act added to the rage of punishments available to authorities. An act of 1597 laid down for the firs time that first time offenders should be whipped + then set back to the parish of their birth whereas repeat offenders could be executed.
Overall was there a lot of Social discontent + Rebellions under Elizabeth?
For the most part of the reign there was period of relative social order, the one significant rebellion in the north in 1569 had little to do with the economic or social aspirations of the poor as even during the 1590-s where a storm caused severe harvest failure, rising prices + outbreaks of plague created a desperate situation for many and social stability was held up.
The authorities deared vagabondance and reserved sereve treatment for those whom they considered undeserving poor and food riots took place in london, kent etc. The heavy handed response to these by authorities toward the ‘Oxfordshire rising’ of 1569 in reality want a rising at all but an ill-thought scheme by a tiny group of 4 men who were desperate due to experience of poverty to march on london.
Explain The Revolt of the Northern Earls/ Northern rebellion 1569-70 + the motivations behind the revolt
It was headed by Northern Nobility, the earls of Northumberland, Westmorland and genuine religious fervour among both leaders and ordinary participants.
However rebel leaders also had political motives. They considered themselves dishonoured as they’d been displaced from their traditional aristocratic role of controlling northern government.
Its also argued the rebellion was tied in with a courtly conspiracy - where It was proposed that the northfolk should arm mary queen of scots who should be restored to the Scottish throne - a plan which triggered a volcanic response from Elizabeth when she discovered it.
Explain how the Revolt of the Northern Earls progressed
The rebellion began November 9th, the Rebells marched on Durham + seized the citt on the 14rth, hearing mass in the cathedral ( a clear indivcation of the catholic character of the rebellion).
They then marched on york, camping fora time in Brahman Moor, however made no attempt to capture it, neither did they march South in an attempt to pressurise the government.
Instead they moved back toward Durha + besigned the crowns stronghold of Barnard castle which fell to the rebels on the 14th December. However when news came to Rebell leaders that a crown force was on their way North the earls abandoned their forced and fled over the border to Scotland
State the Key reasons for the failure of The Revolt of the Northern Earls
- Hopeless disorganisation, lack of clarity concerning the rebels objectives + Poor leadership
- The rebellion was geographically limited.
(there were few rebels from outside Durham + the north. The rebell earls gained support from the equally conservative nobility in other parts of the north but there was little enthusiasm to get rid of Elizabeth. - Lack of expected foriegn support
- Deceive action by the queens authorities;
The crown’s acted sensibly in difficult circumstances when suppressing the revolt. At court, Ceil spent huge amounts of time commissioning + studying the map of Durham to help him make informed decisions + appropriate courses of action.
Overall how much of a threat was the Revolt of the Northern Earls?
Ultimately the plot was;
- Created by high Nobility in the North ( a conservative stronghold)
- There was reason to believe it was in the aim of deposing Elizabeth + having the Duke of Northfolk marry Mary Queen of Scotts + restore her to the Scottish throne - a plan which triggered a volcanic response from Elizabeth when she discovered it.
- The rebellion revealed the London governments lack of comprehension of the difficulties between north and south and the problems with managing localities and the issues with raising substantial forces to suppress rebellion
However;
- There was limited support in England from even concervatives to get rid of her.
- The rebells had Poor leadership + unity. A clear lack of vital foeign support and The rebellion was geographically limited.
What problems did Elizabeth face within England throughout her reign?
England under Elizabeth was far more unified than countries like France or Spain + also relatively much more peaceful.
- Elizabeth faced only 1 serious rebellion - The Revolt of the Northern Earls or 1569 which collapsed fairly quickly compared to the greater social disorder in Spain + outright civil war in France.
- However this does not entail the country was always peaceful. Ireland, Wales + Northern England all posed problems + they were server in cases due to the religious problems occurring across Europe
Explain Elizabeths relations/problems with Ireland throughout her reign
Elizabeth wanted Ireland subjected to a policy of ‘Englishness’ in both religious + secular matters. Irelands role in previous rebellions, the ongoing threat to England from Spain and the massacres of protestants like the St Bartholomew’s day mascaur was a huge concern for Elizabeth as Protestant queen.
- E was proclaimed supreme governor of the church of Ireland in 1560 but lacked power to impose protestantism on a predominantly Catholic population.
- Protestants were planted in Ireland as an attempt to dilute the strong catholic beliefs within Ireland + decrease the catholic threat.
- Frequent use of Martial Law led to bad relations with both the Galetic + the old English in Ireland which sparked rebellions. Rebellions broke out in the south against this English rule in 1569-1573 and 1579-1582.
- It was the 3rd Irish rebellion of the reign which was closely linked with the Spanish war which proved more challenging + too expensive for the english crown to suppress. It was centred in Ulster where a clan of chief High O’Neil created Earl by Elizabeth in 1585 rose up in rebellion in 1595 + the Spanish attempted to exploit the situation.
It was unsuccessful, however the fact the spanish had so clearly signalled there intentions caused unease amongst Elizabeth + her councillors which was made worse when the rebels were victorious at the Battle of Yellow Ford in August 1598.
As a result of the Battle of Yellow Tyronne + his allies were in control of much of Ireland ‘beyond the pale’ and it was believed hed establish an independent and Catholic Ireland that would look ad unite with Spain for support.
In desperation E, ordered the Earl of Essex to Ireland as Lord Lieutenant 1599 however it proved a large error due to the readiness of Essex to disobey the queens orders, as depite having a huge force instead of confronting Tyrone he made a truce with the force before denying the queens orders + returning to court. Essex actions meant as soon as the truce expired Tyrone moved south hoping to link with spanish armies. Tyronne seemed saved by the landing gof 3000 spanish troops in Kinsale in september 1601 however the english triumphed on christmas eve 1601 and tyrone wa forced to retreat to Ulster before eventually negotiating peace treaty with Mountjoy in march 1603 - only in the year of her death is Ireland subdued.
Explain Elizabeths relations/problems with Wales throughout her reign
By Elizabeth’s reign the Welsh border was no longer a problem + the integration of England + Wales continued, though much of Wales remained relatively poor.
- The structure of border administration, most importantly for the council of wales + the marches, remained in operation
- The welsh language disappeared as a medium of government however it was preserved as a medium of religion with the translation of both the book of common prayer + the bible into welsh. The publication of dictionaries + grammars in welsh also helped to preserve the language.
- Poverty did remain endemic + although many welsh gentry seemed to prosper under Elizabeth, the disproportionate number of welshman implicated in the Essex Rebellion suggests a significant level of discontent with the political situation towards the end of Elizabeth’s reign.
Explain Elizabeths relations/problems with the North of England throughout her reign
The situation was rather different in the far north of England.
So long as Scotland remained a separate + independent state, the possibility of border conflict remained. The continuation on the borders of lawless subculture which placed a large emphasis on causal violence and rustling of sheep and cattle related problems for the authorities in both countries.
On the English border administrative responsibility lay with the wardens of the three borders marches. Traditionally wardens were appointed from families of great northern magnates however Henry VIII had signalled a move away from this policy by appointing southerners, a strategy Elizabeth continued which led to nobles being without a local land base to control in scotland.
