part 1: elizabeth & her court Flashcards
(18 cards)
1
Q
when did elizabeth come to the throne?
A
1558
2
Q
what were the problems elizabeth faced when she came to the throne?
A
- england was unstable
- divided by religion
- poverty was increasing
- foreign enemies growing more powerful
- inherited debts
3
Q
elizabeth’s strengths
A
- parents: both english so not influence by overseas
- intelligent: spoke french, flemish, italian, spanish and many others, one of most educated women of her generation
- popularity: popular, reign seen as a fresh start
4
Q
elizabeth’s challenges
A
- gender: some feared a female ruler would make england appear weak, france and spain most powerful countries and run by men
- religious conflict: henry viii had broken away from catholic church but mary restored catholicism, elizabeth had to settle situation
- mary queen of scots: had a claim to the throne
- money: came to huge amounts of debt, £250,000 debt left by mary
- illegitimacy: born out of wedlock so viewed as illegitimate and not the true heir to the throne
5
Q
describe the royal court
A
- heart of social and political life
- important people found there
- political power relied on access to the queen
- courtiers had to compete with each other for the queen’s attention and favour: could be a problem as people only wanted to win her favour
- more than 1000 people attended that could move with her
- consisted of privy councillors, judges and lord lieutenants
- those who attended were called courtiers
- centre of political power
6
Q
how did elizabeth use the court to rule?
A
- used to show her power
- impress nobles with her wealth
- she needed her nobles to control land
7
Q
describe progresses
A
- when royal court accompanied elizabeth around the country
- stayed at homes of wealthy nobles
- showed country how great she was
- led to competition around the houses
- led to a lot of rivalry
- used to maintain loyalty
8
Q
describe patronage
A
- system of power, wealth and responsibility
- giving people important positions of power and responsibility
- used to ensure loyalty and stability: they became dependent on elizabeth for some or all of income or status
- if nobles and gentry didn’t please her then she could take away positions, maintained loyalty
- gave titles and monopolies to reward them for their loyalty
- distributed widely ensuring political stability as all felt they had a chance to be rewarded
9
Q
describe performance
A
- entertainment at court
- involved jousting, hunting, dancing, music and acting
- elizabeth enjoyed plays
- allowed her to impress visitors and men coming to court
- could see how well educated she was and how cultured they were
10
Q
describe privy council
A
- trusted advisors
- group of powerful noblemen appointed by elizabeth
- advised her but didn’t control her
- chose a small group of 19 men to minimise conflict between them (mary had 50), easier to control
- also had to make sure no one member got too powerful or became disloyal
- initially met three times a week and as influence grew they met every day
- advised on domestic and foreign issues such as how to handle challenges and threats, when to go to war, relations with foreign ambassadors, and supervising the enforcement of the religious settlement
- responsible for day to day running of country
11
Q
sir william cecil
A
- most important minister
- received title lord burghley in 1571
- member of gentry
- moderate protestant
- intelligent and hardworking
- wanted to avoid war and unite the nation
- made lord treasurer in 1572
12
Q
robert dudley
A
- locked in tower of london as a child
- friends with elizabeth: caused jealousy amongst other advisors
- rumours they were having an affair
- responsible for elizabeth’s safety
- ambition
- puritan, unfair to catholics
13
Q
sir francis walsingham
A
- in charge of elizabeth’s secret service
- advised on foreign affairs
- spymaster
- uncovered babington plot that led to mary qos’ execution
- puritan
- loyal
14
Q
sir christopher hatton
A
- became gentleman of the privy chamber (high-ranking courtier who served the monarch in a private capacity)
- loyal, kind, clever
- helped elizabeth organise progresses
- moderate protestant
- hated puritans
- became lord chancellor in 1587
15
Q
role of privy council
A
- people management: organised work of justices of peace, in charge of lord treasurer, lord high admiral, lord chamberlain
- policy: council advised queen on important issues like religion and foreign policy
- pathway to the queen: secretary of state was in regular contact with queen, all letters to queen passed through this first
- problem solving: secretary of state expected to deal with day to day problems
- protection: council protected queen, used spies to uncover plots against her, crushed rebellions
- propaganda: helped create a positive image of queen
- parliament: helped control what happened in parliament, decided what could be debated
16
Q
justices of the peace
A
- selected from local gentry and main role was to ensure laws passed by parliament were properly enforced
- single JP had power to send somebody to prison, more than one had power to sentence death
- swore to treat everyone equally
17
Q
lord lieutenants
A
- appointed by queen to take administrative responsibility for a particular area of the country
- involved settling disputes and collecting taxes
- responsible for raising a military to fight for queen if needed
- position could lead to great power and influence
18
Q
describe her public image
A
- demonstrated wealth through her clothes
- coronation showed power and wealth with 10 days of celebrations
- wore makeup and wigs
