The Impact Of Social, Economic And Religious Developments In The Early Years Of Elizabeths Rule Flashcards
What does Penry Williams blame for the poor social and economic situation that Elizabeth inherited?
He blames bad harvests, epidemics, and war.
What happened to the population figure at the start of Elizabeth’s reign?
High levels of mortality
Why did wages cause problems?
A cut in real wages meant there was a fear for social stability.
What was the Statute of Artificers?
A national attempt to sort out the problem with wages. It established a number of rules: compulsory labour, especially at harvest time; a minimum period of one year for the hire of workmen during which they couldn’t leave their masters or be dismissed without good cause; a prohibition on anyone following a craft unless they served a seven year apprentice and a setting of maximum wage rates by JPs in every county
Why did the poorer social groups suffer so badly during the early part of Elizabeth’s reign?
Increase in population, wages for the labouring poor were low (decreasing below the rise of prices) and harvest failures. The continuation of private benefactors wasn’t enough.
What was the difference between the ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ poor?
Deserving poor were deemed entitled to receive some form of limited assistance to alleviate their condition; they included the old, widows and those with disabilities which prevented them from securing employment. Undeserving poor were entitled to be punished.
In which year did the national government start to deal with the issue of the poor in a meaningful way?
In the 1570s, parliamentary legislation began seriously to get to grips with the problem
What was Elizabeth’s policy towards the currency?
A scheme was announced for the withdrawal of debased coins and their replacement by soundly minted coins. It ensured that only sound coins were in circulation and the government didn’t go back to debasement during the rest of the century. This meant that the government could no longer be responsible for the rising prices.
Crisis in society?
Both elites and lower classes had been affected. Elites were affected by the emergence of the gentry from the ranks of the feudal aristocracy. By the middle of the century the new structure had been strengthened by the sale of monastic and other Church land. Among the lower orders, there had been considerable change over the same period. The servile, feudal peasantry had disappeared, to be replaced by a new hierarchy of yeomen, husbandmen, cottagers and labourers. The lower orders were freer and more prosperous with increasing signs of commercialism and competition at all levels of society. The middle of the sixteenth century showed signs of social stability. However the government and the elites expected and feared outbreaks of popular rioting caused by bad harvests, local enclosure or unpopular taxation. Nonetheless, there appears to be a considerable degree of cooperation between social groups.
Crisis in authority?
In 1549, a range of misfortunes were created: there was a weak and insolvent government, over-stretching its resources by trying to fight a war on two fronts; the government was trying to introduce drastic religious reforms; social and economic policies aroused the hostility of the elites and non elites; currency debasement and increasing population levels doubled prices since the beginning of the century and a run of good growing seasons was brought to an end by a wet summer, and the harvest in 1549 was poor.
Religious crisis?
It was felt that there was a greater degree of religious compromise in England than the rest of the continent, which wasn’t a result of religion itself. This compromise was among the elites and apathy or indifference among the population. It is said that religion has had an influence on the political, economic and social changes. Religion had its immediate consequences in politics and foreign policy, but not necessarily a crisis. Historians such as David Loades argues that Catholicism had wide popular support among the lower orders in both towns and countryside and that, if Mary lived longer, England would probably remained Roman Catholic. Historians like Penry Williams think there was less animosity between Protestants and Catholics than previously thought. There were extremists on both sides, but the vast majority of people are seen as being very moderate on their outlook and prepared to take on any doctrine introduced by the ruling regime. The period between 1547 and 1570 is one of marked toleration. Some historians even take Marian religious repression as mild compared to the persecution on the continent.
Political crisis?
Worries about the strong continuation of the Tudor dynasty were groundless because:
The overhaul of government under the first two monarchs had achieved a firm basis because the permanent machinery of state had continued after 1547. The main benefit of this government was under Elizabeth when she turned the Privy Council into a versatile and effective institution.
Ruling elites provided loyalty and support to the legitimate monarchy. There was no crisis in the elites, even in the rebellion of the Northern Earls of 1569. They rallied around the monarch in times of crisis.
The rivalry between political factions under Edward IV were no more severe than they were under Henry VIII. One contemporary, Sir Robert Naunton, described Elizabeth as ‘ruling by faction’ meaning she could skilfully manipulate the competing groups and bend them to her will.
There was no political crisis, even at the fall of Somerset in 1549. The most dangerous moment was in 1553 at the death of Edward IV, when Northumberland tried to bar Mary from the succession. The elites were solid in their support for the legitimate descent and the incident passed without crisis.
Political leadership was often inept and indecisive between 1547-58. The administration continued to function without a check and some useful measures of bureaucratic reform was passed despite this. When Mary died on 1558, the Crown was offered peacefully to Elizabeth; a tribute to the strength and continuity of Tudor government.
