england in 1558

Question 1

what is the court

Answer 1

made up of noblemen who acted as the monarchs advisers and friends. they advised the monarch and helped display her wealth and power. members of the court could also be members of the privy council

Question 2

what is the justice of the peace

Answer 2

large landowners appointed by government, who kept law and order locally and heard court cases

Question 3

what is lord lieutenants

Answer 3

noblemen appointed by government, who governed English counties and raised the local militia

Question 4

what is the privy council

Answer 4

members of the nobility who helped govern the country. they monitored parliament, justices of the peace and oversaw law and order and the security of the country

Question 5

what is parliament

Answer 5

advised Elizabeth’s government, made up of the house of lords and the house of commons. the house of lords was made up noblemen and bishops. the house of commons was elected though very few people could vote. parliament passed laws and approved taxes

Question 6

what is extraordinary taxation

Answer 6

extra taxes required to pay for unexpected expenses, especially a war

Question 7

what is a militia

Answer 7

a force of ordinary people raised in an emergency

Question 8

what percent of the English population lived in the country side

Answer 8

90%

Question 9

what did the nobility own

Answer 9

major landowners, often lords, dukes, earls

Question 10

what did the gentry own

Answer 10

owned smaller estates

Question 11

what did the yeoman farmers own

Answer 11

owned a small amount of land

Question 12

what did the tenant farmers own

Answer 12

rented land from the yeoman farmers and gentry

Question 13

what did the landless and labouring poor

Answer 13

people who didn’t own or rent land, and had to work or labour to provide for themselves and their families

Question 14

what did the homeless and vagrants own

Answer 14

moved from place to place looking for work

Question 15

what percent of the English population lived in a town

Answer 15

10%

Question 16

who were the merchants

Answer 16

traders who were very wealthy

Question 17

who were the professionals

Answer 17

lawyers, doctors and clergymen

Question 18

who were the business owners

Answer 18

often higher skilled craftsmen, such as silversmiths, glovers, carpenters , tailors

Question 19

who were the craftsmen

Answer 19

skilled employees, including apprentices

Question 20

who were the unskilled labourers and the employed

Answer 20

people who had no regular work and couldn’t provide for their families and themselves

Question 21

what were 7 problems Elizabeth face when queen

Answer 21

• her government needed money
• her legitimacy was questioned
• Catholics refused to acknowledge her right to rule England
• she was protestant but Mary her predecessor was catholic
• was unmarried
• to pass laws needed support of parliament
• young

Question 22

what is legitimacy

Answer 22

refers to whether a monarch is lawfully entitled to rule

Question 23

what are 5 of Elizabeth’s character and strengths

Answer 23

• confident and charismatic
• well educated (spoke Latin, Greek, French, Italian)
• excellent grasp of politics
• made her position more secure as there was a growing number of protestants so she could claim divine right
• she was resilient

Question 24

what was the debt of the crown in 1558

Answer 24

£300,000

Question 25

what was the annual income of the crown in 1558

Answer 25

£286,667

Question 26

why did mary tudor sell of the crown lands and what impact did this have

Answer 26

to pay for wars with france this meant that the crowns income from rents was falling

Question 27

why did elizabeth need money

Answer 27

to remain secure on the throne as she could use it to reward her supporters

Question 28

what year did the crown get devalued and what did this mean

Answer 28

1540’s and it resulted in inflation as the value of the currency fell

Question 29

what are the 5 ways monarchs could raise money

Answer 29

• rents and income from their own lands (crown lands)
• taxes from trade
• special additional taxes known as subsides, which had to be agreed by parliament
• profits of justice (fines, property,lands from people convicted of crimes)
• loans

Question 30

what is one negative and one positive if Elizabeth raised taxes to boost the crowns income

Answer 30

the positive is that the queen could convene parliament and ask for subsides but the negative is that additional taxes would be unpopular with the ordinary people, increasing the risk of unset

Question 31

what is one negative and one positive about if Elizabeth improved the quality of money by increasing the gold and silver content in the coinage

Answer 31

the positive is that in 1560, Thomas Gresham, the crown’s financial advisor, suggested this to William Cecil, but the crown was slow to respond but the negative is that any new coinage would be traded alongside older, less valuable coins. people would struggle to exchange the older coins for a new ones

Question 32

what did she end up doing to solve her financial problems in 1558

Answer 32

she didn’t raise taxes but instead hoarded her income and cut her household expenses by half and also like her predecessors she sold the crown raising £120,000

Question 33

what happened to the crown by 1574

Answer 33

the queen could claim that the crown was out of debt for the first time since 1558

Question 34

what are the five challenges Elizabeth faced from abroad in 1558

Answer 34

• the french threat
• the auld alliance
• war was an expensive business
• france has ended its war with spain
• under the treaty of the cateau-cambresis

Question 35

why was the French threat a challenge from abroad

Answer 35

France was wealthier than England and had a bigger population. Elizabeth’s cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, was married to the French king, Francis the second. Mary had a strong claim to the English throne and English Catholics might rally to her if the French invaded

Question 36

whywas the Auld Alliance a challenge from abroad

Answer 36

France’s alliance with Scotland threatened England. Mary of Guise (James the fifth’s widow), who ruled Scotland on behalf of her daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots, kept French soldiers there, who could attack England. the relationship between France and Scotland strengthened by marriage of Francis the second (king of France) to Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1559

Question 37

why was the war was an expensive business and the crown a challenge from abroad

Answer 37

england couldn’t afford a war with France, Scotland or Spain as this would be ruinously expensive and deepen the governments debt’s

Question 38

why was the France had ended its war with Spain a challenge from abroad

Answer 38

French military resources were no longer stretched by war with Spain, making a war with england more likely. there was also the possibility that France and Spain, both catholic countries, would unite against protestant england. Spain also had troops in the Netherlands not far from england

Question 39

why was under treaty of cateau-cambresis a challenge from abroad

Answer 39

england had lost Calais to France. this was england’s last remaining territory on the continent and there was pressure on Elizabeth to regain it. however, war with France would be expensive and dangerous

Question 40

how did Elizabeth deal with the challenges from abroad

Answer 40

• she sought to avoid war with France by signing the Peace of Troyes in 1564, which recognized once and for all the French claim to Calais
• Elizabeth was able to deal with the threat posed by Scotland by placing Mary , Queen of Scots, who fled Scotland in 1568, in custody in england
• by imprisoning Mary and making peace with France, Elizabeth had only one significant threat by 1569 which was Spain