The impact of economic.social and religious developments in the early years of E's rule

Question 1

What type of Christianity was the Elizabethan settlement of 1559 clearly?

Answer 1

Protestant

Question 2

By December 1559 how many Marian bishops refused to consecrate the new Archbishop of Canterbury (Matthew Parker - moderate views, trusted by E)?

Answer 2

All but one refused therefore refused to continue to hold office

Question 3

What happened to the Marian bishops as a result?

Who was an example?

Answer 3

Their positions were filled by Protestants exiled under Mary, such as Edmund Grindal, who became Bishop of London in 1560.

Question 4

In what ways was Elizabeth more conservative than her strongly Protestant supporters?

Answer 4

She disapproved of clergy marriage, distrusted preaching and favoured the musical culture of the cathedrals.

Question 5

Why were leading protestants not satisfied with religious settlement?

Answer 5

It didn’t go far enough in reforming the remaining features of Catholic practice, structures, disciplinary procedures, services and clerical dress.

The Church in England was becoming Calvinist in doctrine but only ‘half reformed’ in its structures.

Question 6

Why was there a bad economic situation at the time of E’s accession?

Answer 6

A combination of bad harvests, high mortality rates, high taxation and for many a significant cut in real wages meant there was considerable fear about social stability.

Question 7

What had other monarchs done to stop the decline in real wages?

Answer 7

Mary tried to eradicate grain hording.

Henry VIII’s council of the north charged people for giving too high wages, 1514.

Question 8

Why was Elizabeth’s attempt to stop declining real wages a failure? :

Whose real wages rose?
Who was responsible for dealing with the problem?

Answer 8

1st parliament in early 1559 attempted to solve the problems = no outcome.

Real wages of labourers and craftsmen dropped while real wages of Gentry rose.

It was left to local government.

Question 9

What did the Council of the North try to do about wages?

Answer 9

Tried to get the corporations of York and Hull to enforce a schedule of wage rates.

Question 10

What was the Statue of Artificers (1563) and what rules did it establish?

Answer 10

It was a national attempt,

Rules established:

Compulsory labour at harvest time.

Maximum wage rates set by JPs in every county,

Ban on anyone unless they had served a 7-year apprenticeship.

Question 11

What did the government lack when trying to solve initial problems?

Answer 11

Powers of enforcement - there was no army of bureaucrats to investigate wage rates in every district.

It was even difficult for JPs to manage within their own counties

Question 12

What problems remained widespread in late-Tudor England?

Answer 12

Poverty and vagabondage (people who wander from pace to place without a home or job)

Question 13

What were some of the causes of poverty?

Answer 13

Increase in population.

Real wages for the labouring poor were lower than earlier in the century.

Wage rates falling behind rises in prices.

Harvest failures created food shortages (particularly mid-50’s and mid 90’s).

Old and infirm suffered particularly badly.

Question 14

How had other monarchs attempted to solve the problems of poverty?

Answer 14

Mary considered poor laws with local government responsible.

Somerset = enclosure commission.

Northumberland considered poor laws with punishments for undeserving poor.

Question 15

Why did Elizabeth fail in dealing with poverty?

Answer 15

She solved other problems such as employment with statue of artifices and the poor law of 1563 was ineffective.

Relied to heavily on local government.

Question 16

What is the ‘deserving’ poor?

Answer 16

The deserving included the old, widows and those whose disabilities prevented them from securing employment

Question 17

What had the reformation destroyed in terms of relief?

Answer 17

Most of the institutions providing poor relief :

Hospitals, education, homeless shelters.

Alternative forms of relief were now necessary

Question 18

What attempts did parliament make to deal with the poor problem in the 1560’s?
What was the problem with it?

Answer 18

Poor law act was passed in 1563 but its impact was limited and ineffective - only really benefitted Norwich and Ipswich.

Not until the 1570’s that Parliament began to seriously understand the problem.

Question 19

What were the government more successful in, in terms of economy?
Who started this before Elizabeth?

Answer 19

Restoring currency - Mary and Northumberland had sought to re-stabilise it but it Elizabeth who was able to do so.

Question 20

What did Elizabeth continue which Northumberland started?

What did Mary do which helped finance too?

Answer 20

Northumberland recalled coinage and replaced it with soundly minted coins.

Mary also moved the chamber to the exchequer which improved finances.

Elizabeth continued soundly minted coinage.

Question 21

What were the effects of the new coinage system?

Answer 21

Government did not resort to debasement for the rest of the century.

Prices continued to rise but the government could no longer be held responsible.

Question 22

What were the 3 main socioeconomic problems and were they a success?

Answer 22

Real wage decline = failure.

Poverty = failure.

Debasement problems = success.

Question 23

What was the fundamental paradox of Elizabeth’s reign? (religion)

Answer 23

Her most enthusiastic and loyal supporters were strict and more radical Protestants.

Elizabeth was more sceptical and sometimes conservative approach to religious matters.

Question 24

Which act defined the character of the settlement over the next four years?

Answer 24

1563 of the Thirty-Nine-Articles of Religion

Question 25

What was the thirty-Nine-Articles of Religion of 1563?

What did it define the difference between?

Answer 25

Defined the difference between the Church of England and the Catholic Church.

They were broadly supportive of reformed doctrine, but they attempted to adopt a broad and comprehensive approach to essential beliefs

Question 26

What assumption does the ‘mid-Tudor crisis’ rests on?

Answer 26

Rests on the assumption that the reign of Edward and Mary were limited in successes when compared with the solid achievements of the reigns of Henry VIII and later years of Elizabeth.