Elizabethan England Key Topic 3 Flashcards
What were two features of Elizabethan schools?
-Education focused on practical skills or basic literacy as it prepared the children for their work.
-‘Ruling-class boys’ attended boarding schools where they learned etiquette required to be gentlemen.
What were two Elizabethan pastimes?
-Nobles employed musicians and organised musical evenings in their houses.
-Celebrating feast days offered an opportunity for dancing and drinking in the village which was popular.
What were two Elizabethan sports?
-All classes took part in hunting with upper classes hunting for deer and lower classes hunting for rabbit.
-Archery and fishing were popular among all classes with lower classes also doing wrestling, running and football.
What were two features of Elizabethan theatres?
-They were built with a circular footprint and were almost entirely open air, with no roof, and so open to the weather.
-The audience sat around the stage in three tiers with richer people sitting higher and poorer people standing in the pit.
What were some reasons for an increase in poverty in Elizabethan England?
-Bad harvests, inflation, dissolution of the monasteries, population growth, sheep farming, wages, enclosures, rack renting
How did bad harvests lead to an increase in poverty?
-Bad harvests caused by poor weather before E1’s reign and again in 1560s and 1570s.
-Less food grown, higher risk of starvation. Scarcity in food led to inflation of food prices so people spent more on food.
How did inflation lead to an increase in poverty?
-Bad harvests led to food prices increasing, so more money spent on food.
-People struggled to afford basic food as cost increased.
How did the dissolution of the monasteries lead to an increase in poverty?
-Monasteries gave food and shelter to the unemployed, sick and homeless. Henry VIII closed them in 1350s.
-Less help for the poor and many were left to wander roads, drifting between towns in search of work and support.
How did population growth lead to an increase in poverty?
-During E1’s reign, population of England and Wales increased by 35%.
-More people in the country who needed food and jobs, not enough jobs available and put a strain on England’s resources.
How did sheep farming lead to an increase in poverty?
-Lots of farmers switched to different methods of agriculture such as sheep farming which was more profitable due to the large wool industry and lack of labourers needed.
-This led to job losses as farmers no longer needed labourers to work on land and grow crops. Many lost their jobs, income and homes, also less land used to grow crops for food.
How did change in wages lead to an increase in poverty?
-Wages did not keep up with rising prices. More people wanted work so labour was cheaper and landowners cut wages to keep costs down.
-Those who had jobs were still worse off and struggled to afford basic food due to inflation.
How did enclosures lead to an increase in poverty?
-Large open fields which were public were divided into smaller pieces of land owned by individuals. Small farms were merged and tenant farmers were evicted.
-Without common land, villagers had nowhere for their animals to graze and could no longer use it, falling into poverty. The rent for tenant farmers also increased to where it was unaffordable and they were evicted.
How did rack renting lead to an increase in poverty?
-Many landowners tried to maximise income by increasing rent on land they rented to farmers.
-Farmers couldn’t afford increased rents so forced out of business and moving to bigger towns for work, falling into a life of poverty.
What were the two types of poor people Elizabethans believed there to be?
-‘Deserving poor’ who wanted to work but were unable to, eg too sick, too young, too old
-‘Idle poor’ who were seen as fit to work but did not
How did lots of Elizabethans see vagabonds?
-They believed vagabonds to be the ‘idle poor’. They were wandering beggars who, it was said, were fit to work but avoided it.
-Stories were told of them travelling in groups, robbing and stealing as well as begging in towns.
