Early Elizabethan problems

Question 1

Religion/Relglious Division

Answer 1

• In 1558, England was deeply divided between Catholic and Protestant.
• Made worse by changing policies
• Pressure from returning Puritans to make the church stricter
• Continued popularity of the Catholic faith among ordinary and elite alike.

Question 2

Stability/Creating peace and prosperity

Answer 2

-Poverty and unemployment had been growing among the poorest classes.
-There was a growing problem with vagabondage
-The market for selling English wool had collapsed by the early 1500s
-Prices rising after early 1500s
-Tenants farmers facing higher rents.

Question 3

Choosing suitable advisors

Answer 3

-Elizabeth inherited Bloody Mary’s mainly Catholic ministers
-She would need to decide on suitable members of parliament to run government and justices of the peace to enforce law and order.

Question 4

Succession/Heir

Answer 4

-In 1558, Mary QOS declared that she was the rightful Queen of England. Many catholics supported her claim.
There was a risk that powerful Catholic countries in Europe (France and Spain) might support Mary’s claim to the throne.

Question 5

Challenges from abroad

Answer 5

-England was much weaker than its powerful European neighbours.
-France and england at war in 1558-which saw england lose its last territory,Calais in 1558.
-France controlled Scotland because MaryQOS was married to Francis II of France.

Question 6

Misogyny/Doubts on whether a queen could rule successfully

Answer 6

-Women belonged to their fathers(or their brothers if their father died),and when to their husbands. They could not own property of their own.
-Women were regarded as weak,unstable and inferior to men.

Question 7

Legitimacy

Answer 7

There was a the Catholic pope might excommunicate Elizabeth for being illegitimate.