Elizabethan England Flashcards
1.Who were England and Wales ruled by?
2. Who ruled the country?
3. What was the church’s situation?
4. What’s up with the monasteries?
5. What’s up with religion?
6. What was the population?
7. What was England’s most important industry?
8. Who lived in rural areas?
9. How many towns were there?
10. How were the roads?
11. How was education?
12. What spread new ideas and made books more available?
- The Tudor’s following the civil war
- Monarch, nobility and parliament
- Rich+powerful but lost political independence
- Were dissolved in the late 1930s
- Break with Rome caused tensions between Catholics and Protestants
- 2.7 mil at start of 16th century
- Wooden cloth
- 9/10 people
- A few. London mainly
- Communications were slow and roads were terrible
- Education was growing. New universities were founded
- The printing press
- What was Spain’s socioeconomic status?
2.Who ruled Spain? - Where did Spain build an empire?
- What did it have close ties to?
- Where else did it rule over?
- Relationship with England?
- Relationship with England?
- Religion in France?
- What was the France preoccupied with for much of Elizabeth’s reign?
- what was the problem with the Catholic Church?

- One of the wealthiest and powerful European countries
- King Philip II
- Central and South America
- Holy Roman Empire
- No countries part of Italy and Portugal
- Traditional ally but became England’s main enemy
- England’s traditional enemy. France had to pay a pension to England
- Roman Catholic Church remain strong but Protestant idea spread
- Religious wars
-  it was extremely powerful and wealthy but it was also corrupt
- The Reformation where the church in Western Europe split and those who protested became known as Protestants.
- Who was Scotland ruled by?
- What did Henry VIII spend huge amount of money on?
- Who was Scotland’s main ally?
- What spread in Scotland?
- What Queen was Scotland ruled by?
- Who was the ruler of Ireland?
- What religion were the Irish?
1.who were the Netherlands ruled by?
2. What was important for English economy?
3. What was religion?
- The Stuarts
- Invasion of Scotland in the 1540s
- France (Auld Alliance)
- Protestant reformation
- Mary Queen of Scots
- The English King
- Roman Catholic
1.Spanish Hapsburg
2. Cloth market at Antwerp
3. Protestant reformation
- What did Henry VIII have a reputation for?
- What was Anne Boleyn’s character?
- How did she die?
- Laziness, relied on chief advisors like Cromwell and Wolsey
- Charismatic, ambitious, arrogant, manipulative
- Accused of adultery, treason and witchcraft and executed
How did Elizabeth’s relationship with her parents shape her character?
-although she only met her father a few times, she had a deep admiration for him and wept uncontrollably when he died
-She wasn’t close with either of her parents and Catherine Parr acted as a mother figure to Elizabeth who influenced her Protestant views and the direction of her education
-And her father threw away his wives and many failed marriages so she realise that women were seen as baby making machines
How did Elizabeth relationship with her siblings develop her character?
-Her brother was manipulated by his ministers so she chose to be independent
-Mary locked her in the Tower of London under suspicion of Wanting to overthrow her As well as being jealous of her youth beauty and Protestant faith.
-This made her trust no one
What happened between Elizabeth and Thomas Seymour, and what was the significance of this?
There was intense flirtation between Elizabeth and Catherine’s husband, Thomas Seymour. Elizabeth was questioned as it was suggested that Thomas Seymour was plotting to overthrow Edward and marry Elizabeth. She managed to maintain her innocence but it took her to keep her distance and trust nobody
When did Mary become queen?
Why did Mary hate Elizabeth?
What did Mary do to Elizabeth?
July 1553
She hated Anne Boleyn for displacing her own mother and hated Elizabeth personally as the product of what she regarded a bigamous marriage. She also hated Elizabeth’s youth and beauty and her Protestant faith.
She was suspected of working secretly with rebels and Mary ordered her a rest and please to under the Tower of London for two months after that she was placed on house arrest
When was Elizabeth crowned queen?
What was her personality at her ascension?
Why did some people question her legitimacy?
January 1559
She was self reliant, determined and cautious and well educated
Some regarded Henry’s marriage with Anne Boleyn as illegitimate
Was were Elizabeth’s problems at her ascension?
✝️ she wanted to re-establish Protestantism as the official religion
💁♀️ she’s a woman
👧 she’s young and inexperienced
🇫🇷 England was at war with France with no allies
❓ people wondered whether she was legitimate
👶 she was unmarried & no children
🧑💼 she needed to decide who to appoint as advisors
💸 her people were living in poverty and liable to rebel
💰 The Government inherited massive debts from Mary
What was the royal court?
A mobile operation consisting of about 500 nobles, advisors, officials and servants who all live together and competed for power and influence. she encourage loyalty by giving them duties at court (patronage). There was also lavish banquets, masques, plays and tournaments
What were progresses?
What was their purpose?
Elizabeth will travel with a quote on toes called progresses, visiting the homes of the nobility. Her journeys covered the south east, Midlands and East Anglia.
They allowed Elizabeth to be seen with her subjects regularly, to build up a relationship with her people, and to flatter nobles she chose to stay with. Also allowed her residences to be cleaned
What would a progress include?
What did they also serve as?
Up to 400 wagons piled high with clothes linen documents and furnishings
Propaganda
What was life like in Elizabeth’s court?
Social hub. Lavish, banquets, elaborate, masks, musical performances, plays and tournaments. ( these acted as subtle propaganda and had to be approved)
How did Elizabeth ensure that the remained a political centre, and that Elizabeth remained at the heart of the system?
She showed favouritism by giving particular men important jobs. She managed this by giving male courtiers political roles, and was careful to give politicians places in court. The jobs were highly sought after because they brought not only wealth, but also prestige for the individual. It cause intense competition and rivalries, But also made them loyal to Elizabeth 
What was the Privy Council?
Coordinated financial departments, law courts such as the Star chamber, and regional bodies such as the council of the North. Issued instructions to local officials, such as Lord Lieutenants and justices of peace.
How were members of the privy council chosen?
How often did they meet?
From the nobility, gentry or church.
Almost every day
DO PAGE 19 IN ELIZABETH BOOK
FILL IN THE NAMES
How did Elizabeth choose the members of her privy council?
She appointed 19 members, which was far more manageable and efficient than Mary’s 40 members, and halfway drawn from Mary’s Council to maintain experience, and avoid alienating, important individuals, while the other half of brand-new allowing loyal followers, and men of ability. Also no strong Catholics
SIR WILLIAM CECIL, LORD BURGHLEY
1. When and what group was he part of?
2. What was his religion and where did he study?
3. What were two of his characteristics?
4. What was his previous experience?
5. What promotion did he get in November 1558?
6. What was his opinions on policies?
7. What did Elizabeth admire about him?
8. When was he given the title Lord Berkeley?
9. When did he die? And who was he replaced by?
- Lincolnshire gentry
- Moderate Protestant who studied law at Cambridge
- Enormously intelligent, and very hard-working.
- Past MP and member of Edward’s council
- Secretary of State
- A stabiliser. He wanted to avoid war and unite the nation through moderate policies like Elizabeth.
- He wasn’t afraid to speak his mind, she relied heavily on him
- 1571, and Lord Treasurer in 1572
- 1598, by his son Robert
SIR FRANCIS WALSINGHAM
1. When was he born and which group was he from?
2. Where did he study?
3. What was his religion?
4. How loyal was he to Elizabeth?
5. When did he enter parliament?
6. What were his skills and experiences?
7. Where was he appointed in 1573 and when was knighted?
8. What was one of his cons?
9. What was he good at?
10. When did he die?
- From Norfolk gentry
- Law at Cambridge university
- Fervent Puritan. Fled into exile in Mary Tudors reign in studied at Padua University in Italy.
- Fiercely loyal to Elizabeth
- 1558
- Ability at languages and foreign contract made him useful to Elizabeth. 7. The privy council. 1577
- Could be blunt, frequently clashed with Cecil but was Dudley’s ally
- Superb organiser. Was in charge of the Secret Service and highly efficient spy master.
- 1590
ROBERT DUDLEY, EARL OF LEICESTER
1. When and who was he born to?
2. What did Mary do to him?
3. How did he know Elizabeth?
4. What were the rumours between them?
5. What were his jobs?
6. What was one of his good trait?
7. What were his views?
8. When was he given his title and when did he die?
1.1533. Younger son of the disgraced Duke of Northumberland, who had been executed at the beginning of bloody Mary’s reign.
2. Locked up in Tower of London
3. Childhood friend and favourite
4. Good looking and relationship
5. Member of court, master of house
6. Highly ambitious, became privy counsellor in 1562.
7. Radical and puritan, clashed with Cecil about succession, religion, and foreign policy
8. 1564. 1588.
SIR CHRISTOPHER HATTON
1. When was he born and which group was he born to?
2. Where and what did he study?
3. How did Elizabeth notice him and what were his jobs?
4. What were his characteristics and what did he help with?
5. What religion?
6. What role did he get in 1587?
7. When did he die?
- Northamptonshire gentry
- Law at Oxford
- Impressed by his dancing at court. Gentleman of the Privy Chamber and the captain of the Queens Bodyguard.
- Loyal, kind, clever, hardworking. Progresses
- Moderate Protestant. hated puritans. sympathised with Catholics.
- Lord chancellor
- 1591
How did Elizabeth view parliament?
How often did they meet up throughout her reign?
How did Elizabeth establish her authority?
Inconvenient necessity ( she needed the money)
13
She had the right to reject an act of parliament, and had her prerogative
What were the 13 main businesses enacted by parliament?
- What and when was restored at the beginning of her reign?
- What was approved in 1563?
- What was approved in 1566?
- Who were laws passed against in 1571 and what was approved?
- Why did MPs meet in 1572?
- When did MPs agree to taxes even though…?
- What were taxes approved for in 1581 and what laws were passed?
8.what laws were passed from 1584-1585? - Why did MPs grant taxes in 86-87?
- What happened in 1589?
- What happened in 1593?
- What laws were passed in 97-98?
- What about 1601?
- Supremacy of Protestant church in 1559
- Taxes to fund wars against France and Scotland.
- Taxes agreed to pay for an army to France
- Against pope and traitors. Taxes agreed to help defeat rebellion in the North.
- To discuss the Queen safety after discovery of Catholic plot.
- 15/76 though country was at peace.
- Anti-Catholic laws passed, taxes approved to pay for army to Ireland
- Laws against Catholic priests.
- War against Spain.
- Approved taxes to pay cost of defeating Spanish Armada.
- Taxes granted for war against Spain and more anti-Catholic laws.
- More taxes and laws passed regarding the poor
- Texas agreed to pay for war against Spain and pay for army in Ireland.
Why did MPs become more bold with arguing with the Queen?
They were better educated than in the past, with over half of them having university education.
They were meant to have special privileges, allowing freedom of speech and freedom from arrest
What issues did MPs complain about?
Who in particular voiced their opposition?
Elizabeth’s marital status, trading monopolies and religious grievances
Puritans
How did Elizabeth use her powers to limit the influence of parliament?
💁♀️PERSONALITY. She attended parliament when necessary and used speeches to charm and bully members
🎤She appointed speaker, who controlled what topics were discussed
🛑 She could block measures proposed by MPs with her royal veto. She could dissolve Parliament whenever she wanted
Why was Elizabeth’s government in decline by the 1590s?
🏴England was damaged by war, plague, increased poverty and repeated harvest failures
☠️ Dudley in 1588, Walsingham in 1590, Hatton in 1591 and Cecil in 1598 When Dudley died she locked herself in her room for days and Cecil ordered the door to be broken down
😠She became angry, depressed, short tempered, losing popularity and gaining sharp criticism. She reigned too long and hindered reform
What was the causes of the Essex rebellion?
Robert Cecil (Lord Burghley’s son) and Robert Devereux (Dudley’s step son) were rivals in the Privy Council
Cecil rose to power after being trained by his dad and Walsingham in spycraft
Devereux grew jealous and angered the queen by marrying without her permission and insulting her when she refused to promote one of his supporters. She punched him.
Devereux made peace with Tyrone against Her orders, when asked to stop Tyrone’s rebellion. She promoted Cecil
He burst into her bedchamber before she was wigged and gowned. He was banned from Court and placed under house arrest and lost all his jobs and monopoly on sweet wines.
What were the events of the Essex rebellion?
He gathered ~300 supporters. Rumours of treason and rebellion spread and Essex refused to appear in front of Elizabeth and the Privy council
He held 4 members hostage when they came to question him and proceeded to March to London Center to capture the Queen
What were the consequences of the Essex rebellion?
What did this show about Elizabeth’s reign?
-Londoners we’re unimpressed and most supporters deserted him when offered a pardon
-Essex’s route was blocked so he returned home, where his house was surrounded by guards so he had to surrender
- he was executed at Tower of London on 25 February 1601
It showed that her powers were fading
What were the ideas about women and queens?
They were weak and not suited intellectually or temperamentally.
They didn’t have physical strength, assertiveness and decisiveness
Queens were the wives of kings. Kind, religious and maternal
What were examples of capable women leaders at the time?
How could Elizabeth’s gender be used to her advantage?
Isabella of Castile ruled Spain well and Marie de Guise ruled Scotland in place of her daughter.
It let her charm and manipulate, avoid situations she disliked and decisions she didn’t want to make. Created cult of personality
What book hurt Elizabeth’s pride?
The First Blast of the Monstrous Trumpet against Women
Scottish Protestant John Knox wrote this attacking female rulers. Although about Bloody Mary and Marie de guise, the timing was bad- published in her ascension year. He could have been a religious ally, but was a threat
Why did everyone expect marriage to be one of Elizabeth’s first priorities?
She was already 25 years old, which was old to still be unmarried, she had not married because of her awkward position during her father and sibling’s reign, she was the last of Henry VIII‘s children, so if she died without an heir, the Tudor Dynasty would die too.
What were the pros and cons of Elizabeth getting married?
PROS
-foreign marriage would make a powerful alliance
-Needs to provide an heir to carry on the Tudor line
CONS
-having a husband would limit her personal freedom (she would have to share power with her husband)
-Most suitable candidates were catholic, but she was Protestant
-A foreign marriage might make enemies of other countries who feel rejected
-Mary’s marriage caused rebellion
-Taking an English husband will unbalance the different groups at court and cause problems
-her fathers marriages ended up badly
Who were two of her foreign suitors?
Prince Eric of Sweden
-Not a serious choice
-Sweden wasn’t important enough
King Philip of Spain
-Keen to regain King of England title
-was Catholic but his family was traditional allies with England
-Philip and Mary had been disastrous, providing no children, involving England, in costly foreign wars that led to the lost of Calais
Charles of Austria
-was unwilling to live in England
Who were three of her English suitors?
Earl of Arundel
Sir William Pickering
Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester (most serious, contender, childhood friends and many historians believed they loved each other romantically)
Why couldn’t Dudley and Elizabeth marry?
He was already married at the time and his wife Amy died in mysterious circumstances. Although her death was ruled accidental, there were suspicions that she had been murdered, so they could pursue a relationship, which meant a marriage between Dudley and Elizabeth would have been scandalous. He waited years for her, and then got married without her permission to her cousin, the countess of Essex.
Who was Elizabeth’s last serious suitor?
Duke of Alençon, the king of France’s younger brother. Though he was 20 years, younger, a catholic, and severely deformed the two seemed fond of each other, and Elizabeth affectionately called him her frog.
The privy council were divided Cecil was in favour, but Walsingham and Dudley were opposed. However, due to the Saint Bartholomews day massacre in 1572 when thousands of Protestants were murdered, the French were very unpopular in England and a marriage was out of the question.
Why was it bad if the Queen died suddenly?
How did the succession crisis resolve itself?
She didn’t name an air claiming that it would be dangerous to name a second person. This is what she told after she contracted smallpox in October 1562.
Most of the eligible contenders had died, and the obvious was Scottish king. James VI son of Mary Queen of Scots.
What influence to the English renaissance?
Renaissance was taking place all over Europe, originally in Italy. Humanism was a popular idea in Europe. The gentry became more important and had disposable income. Would they wanted to spend in order to impress others in and promotion. This meant artists, builders, musicians and writers did well as there was high demand.
How did England become better educated?
The invention of the printing press meant ideas could be spread at greater speed and new grammar schools and university colleges were set up. The curriculum broadened in England became better educated. Literature flourished, through poetry, pros and drama and affordable stories called chapbooks were sold by Street pedlars.
What did…
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Wiiam Cn
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Frs Bn
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Do?
MUSICIANS
Orlando Gibbons
Thomas Tallis
William Byrd
ARTIST
Nicholas Hilliard
MATHEMATICIANS / ASTROLOGERS
John Dee
John Napier (discovered logarithms)
HISTORIANS
William Camden
Richard Hakluyt
(Wrote based on sources)
SCIENTISTS / DOCTORS
Francis Bacon (experiments needed to test science)
William Harvey (blood circulates around the body)
William Gilbert (experimented with electricity)
Why did the gentry class grown massively?
• Tudor suspicion of nobility- tudors marginalised the nobles who they saw as a threat by granting few new titles, and excluding them from government they dominated the House of Commons and gained power through work as justices of the peace
• Monasteries owned a quarter of all land in England, after the dissolution of the monasteries, more land was available to buy
• increasing wealth-growth in trade and exploration together with population growth, rising prices and inclusion help with many gentry families to make fortune, used to establish estate, build grand houses and educate themselves
What were the sumptuary laws?
Laws that controlled the clothes people were allowed to wear, depending on their social rank, passed in 1574
