Elizabethan England: life in Elizabethan times

Question 1

Explain the Great Chain Of Being

Answer 1

• the idea that everything in the universe has a rigid heirarchy
• God was at the top followed by the monarch
• at the bottom were workers and animals

Question 2

Explain why the gentry grew

Answer 2

• Dissolution of monasteries made more land available to buy,
• Increasing wealth, trade, exploration, population growth and rising prices helped genries make their fortune (money was used to establish estates and build grand houses)
• Tudor suspicion of the “old” nobility, nobles were seen as a threat and thus given less titles and were exclded from government

Question 3

What were the Sumptuary Laws?

Answer 3

• called the Statutes of Apparel
• passed in 1574
• these laws strictly controlled what people were allowed to wear based on their social rank

Question 4

name some Elizabethan fashions for men

Answer 4

• hat
• beard
• ruff (which increased in size during the reign)
• cloak
• sword
• shoes
• silk stockings
• doublet (silk/satin long-sleeved shirt with ruffles)
• jerkin (colourful velvet jacket with embroidery)

Question 5

name some Elizabethan fashions for women

Answer 5

• small hat
• heavy white make-up
• blackened teeth
• ruff
• undergown, gown and overgown (silk or satin)
• shoes
• farthingale (petticoat with wooden hoops)

Question 6

change in population

Answer 6

3.2 to 4.1 million during Elizabeth’s reign

(1588 - 1603)

Question 7

discoveries

Answer 7

potato

tomato

tobacco

Question 8

inventions

Answer 8

gunpowder

printing press

compass

Question 9

growth in literature

Answer 9

• the Bible was written in English
• more varied subjects of books published (philisophy, cookery, medicine)
• more education and grammar schools
• men who could read went fron 1/10 to 1/4
• women who could read went from 1% to 10%

Question 10

growth in general architechture

Answer 10

• chimmneys were added (allowing larger houses as rooms could be more easily heated up)
• glass came along (a symbol of status as it was expensive), it allowed light into homes
• more privacy as there were separate rooms

Question 11

growth in manor houses

Answer 11

• many new extravagant houses built to impress Elizabeth on her progresses
• no longer needed defense systems, they became more decorative
• influcence bu Italian Renaissance, focusing on symmmentry and size
• often built in “E” shapes (possibly in honour of the Queen )

Question 12

why was London the centre of Elizabethan life?

Answer 12

• the largest population (went from 70,000 to 200,000 during the reign)
• it was the capital
• had may foreigners that brought in new ideas and culture
• it was the centre of international trade and govenment

Question 13

what was theatre like at the beginning of the reign?

Answer 13

• no permanent theatres
• actors were seen as vagabonds and dishonest as they travelled around
• they often performed on temporary platforms or open spaces
• Puritan saw such peformances as dishonest and a distraction from God

Question 14

how did theatre come about?

Answer 14

1572 - a law was passed requiring all bands of actors to be liscensed, this encouraged companies to organise themselves

1576 - the first theatre opened in London, called “The Theatre”

other theatres opened in 1577, 1587, 1596

The Globe opened in 1599

Question 15

descibe the feature of an Elizabethan theatre

Answer 15

covered gallery - covered viewing area which cost about 2-3 pennies (could seat up to 2,000 people)

“groundlings” - uncovered circular pits in the centre (1 penny) and was filled by the poorest people, it was noisy, smelly and exposed to the weather

Lord’s room - a seating area reserved for the richest

“tiring house” - a hectic area were actors would dress and collect props

the stage - often had a trapdoor or special effects and entrances and had a door at the back wall

Question 16

theatre plays

Answer 16

many plays were made to contain subtle political messages and propaganda

• many plays also flattered Elizabeth and supported her position
• they were carefully censored
• for example Shakespeare’s Richard III presented the Tudors in a positive light (saviours of England) while making Richard III seem like and evil monster

Question 17

why did poverty increase because of war?

Answer 17

• war left many out-of-work soldiers and sailors
• wars meant increase taxes which hit the poor hardest

Question 18

how did population and travel increase poverty?

Answer 18

• rise in population lead to more workers bur wages stayed the same, thus food prices rose
• discovery of the “New World” lead to more silver in curculation in Europe so they current currency lost value and prices rose

Question 19

how did the rich contribute to increasing poverty?

Answer 19

• trade monopolies made the rich richer and the poor poorer as the rich could control prices
• rack-renting led to spirraling rents and lots of evictions (landlords became greedy)
• enclosure meant raditionally open fields were combined and enclosed with hedges to allow arable (crop) land to turn into more profitable sheep farming (required less labour), this removed common land on which the porr grazed their animals (thus loss of food source)
• dissolutionof monasteries took away the best source fo charity for the poor (providing shelter, food and medical care)

Question 20

when were the harvest fails?

Answer 20

in 1550s and 1590s

Question 21

types of poor in Elizabethan times

Answer 21

“impotent poor”- were unable to provide for themselves

• they deserved help and support

(either too young, old or ill)

“idle poor” - were seen as major threat to the social order,

• people thought there was enough work for everyone but they didn’t want to work
• seen as dishonest, vagabonds and “sturdy beggars”
• didn’t deserve help and support

Question 22

Thomas Harman on the poor

Answer 22

published a book in 1567 about tricks different types of beggars would use to cheat people out of money:

“ruffler” - looked like an army officer but stole money

“abraham men” - pretended to be mad

“anglers” - used long sticks to steal clothes off washing lines

Question 23

Statue of Artificers

Answer 23

1563 - put wage limits on skilled workers to try to slow down the rate of inflation

Question 24

what was the 1576 legislation?

Answer 24

it set a third class of poor:

those who were able bodied but unable to find work

Question 25

Poor Law and Act for the Relief of the Poor

Answer 25

1597 - poor law

1601 - Act for the Relief of the Poor

everyone had to pay towards a local poor rate, people who refused to pay it would be fine/imprisoned

• poor rate hepled set up work houses and the payment of the relief of the “deserving poor”
• “overseers of the poor” had to ensure orphans had apprentiships
• almhouses set up to provide for the old and ill to live in or could recieve money, food and clothing as “outdoor relief”

- begging was strictly forbidden (punished by whipping)

Question 26

gove examples fo local measures for the poor

Answer 26

IPSWICH:

1569- introduced a liscencing system

• one of the first towns to open a hospital for the old and sick who could not afford treatment
• youth trading system

NORWICH:

1570 - conducted a survey finding that 80% of the population lived in poverty

• to help pay for the poor Norwich raised taxes for rich citizens

Question 27

failure of the Poor Law

Answer 27

1601 - 1660: only 7% of money devoted to the poor relief was through taxation (still mostly donations)

• poor ate only collected in dire emergency
• still punished anyone deemed “idle poor”
• house of corrections were too much like prisons (more punishmnet than aid)
• poverty continued to increase

Question 28

arguments against the Golden Age

Answer 28

• blood sports like dog fighting still remianed popular
• cruel torture and punishments continued to be used
• small minority lived in luxury whilst most people were very poor
• life expectancy was low and many minor illnesses were lethal

Question 29

advantages of exploration

Answer 29

• new goods and luxuries from the “new world” (such as spices, silks, cottons and silver)
• discovery of the West Indies, Canada, South America, Africa and India
• brought prestige for England
• made up for trading difficulties elsewhere
• alternate and wuicker trade routes

Question 30

privateers

Answer 30

privately owned ships, financed by merchants and even the Queen.

• they were like private pirates, they stole goods and money from spanish trading ships
• the Queen allowed this to happen as it brought in money and hindered the Spanish who had a monopoly on the New World goods
• Sir Francis Drake made a fortune and name for himself through being a privateer

Question 31

circumnavigations

Answer 31

• travels all the way around the circumference of the earth
• Francis Drake being the first englishman to circumnavigate the globe in 1577-1580

Question 32

Sir Francis Drake

Answer 32

• puritan
• 1572: captured £40,000 worth of Spaish silver attacking treasure ships from Mexico and Peru
• circumnavgated the globe from 1577-1580
• April 1581: knighted by Elizabeth on his ship (Golden Hind) despite King Philip II’s displeasure
• 1587: attacked Cadiz and delayed preparations for the Spanish Armada

Question 33

John Hawkins

Answer 33

• navigator and slave trader
• redesigned English ships
• developed a new type of fighting galleon which was faster, lighter and better able to withstand harsh weather conditions
• Elizabeth appointed him as a vice-admiral fighting against the Spanish Armada

Question 34

Walter Raleigh

Answer 34

• lead privateering expeditions against the Spanish
• wanted to establish colonies for Elizabeth in North America (the area was thought to have an inexhaustible supply of wine, oil, sugar and would reduce England’s trading dependence upon Europe)
• 1584: he obtained a royal charter to set up a colony on Roanoke island but both expeditions faild to achieve colonisation
• brought potatoes and tobacco back to Britain, (already known via the Spanish)