Flashcards
Society in Elizabethan England
Cards in this deck (18)
- 1The nobility- Become more peaceable
- Less concerned with defence
- Sought to enhance their prestige by engaging in massive building projects to receive the Queen on her royal progresses - 2The gentry- Encompassed a wide social range from knights to local landowners
- County gentlemen and esquires who dominated local government
- Grew in size under Elizabeth and proportion who were wealthy increased - 3The class gap- The gap between the rich and poor widened
- Beginnings of a consumer society amongst prosperous members of the landed, mercantile and professional classes
- Poorest section of society found themselves vulnerable to enclosure and persistent decline in real wages - 4Poverty and poor relief- Later years of Elizabeth's reign saw further measures to relieve poverty:
- Act 1572 established principle that local ratepayers should be required to pay a rate for the relief of their own poor
- Poor Law Act 1576, first act to attempt to create a national system of poor relief to be financed and administered locally, towns required to make provision for the employment of deserving poor
- Elizabethan Poor Law Act 1601, parish designated as institution required to raise the rates for and administrate poor relief, each parish was to appoint an overseer of the poor - 5Treatment of the 'underserving' poor- Seen as lazy
- Treatment remained harsh
- Extremely repressive and unenforceable Act against vagrancy 1547 but it was quickly repealed
- Notion remained that the underserving poor should be whipped
- 1572 Act added branding to range of punishments available
- 1597 Act was passed which allowed first time offenders to be whipped and sent back to parish of birth and repeat offenders could be executed - 6How far was Elizabeth in control of her realm?- Compared to France or Spain, England was a much more united state and generally more peaceful
- There was confidence in social order and peace - 7Elizabeth and Ireland- Elizabeth believed Ireland should be subjected to policy of 'Englishness' in both religious and secular matters
- She lacked the power to enforce Protestantism on a population that was largely Catholic, mostly Gaelic in language and whose laws differed greatly - 8Rebellions in Ireland- Broke out in south of Ireland against English rule 1569-1573 and 1579-1582
- Relations were further soured by the brutal response of Lord Deputy of Ireland to the latter
- Most significant was the 3rd rebellion, dangerous to Elizabeth as it was heavily linked to on-going conflict with Spain - 9Rebellion under the Earl of Tyrone- Centered on Ulster
- Spanish tried to exploit the situation by including and Irish contingent of the Armada of 1596, this failed but caused unease
- Made worse when the rebels victorious at the Battle of Yellow Ford 1598 - 10Elizabeth's response to Tyrone- Looked like Tyrone would be successful in establishing an independent, Catholic Ireland that would then turn to Spain
- Elizabeth turned to Earl of Essex and sent him to Ireland as Lord Lieutenant 1559
- Essex was ready to defy the Queen's orders: chose to make a truce and return to Court rather than confront Tyrone - 11The defeat of Tyrone- As soon as the truce ended Tyrone moved to south-west of Cork hoping to link up with a Spanish army
- Seemed that Tyrone would be saved by the landing of 3000 Spanish troops September 1601
- English triumphed in Battle of Kinsale Christmas Eve 1601
- Tyrone retreated back to Ulster and negotiated a peace - 12Wales- Border security was no longer a significant problem:
- Structure of the border administration, most importantly the Council of Wales and the Marches, remained in operation
- Welsh language disappeared in government but was preserved in religion
- Poverty remained endemic across Wales, disproportionate number of Welshmen implicated in the Essex rebellion suggests discontent at the end of her reign - 13The North of England- Remained troublesome, as long as Scotland remained an independent country the possibility of border conflict remained
- Traditionally border administration was placed in the hands of the great Northern families but Henry VIII moved away from this and Elizabeth continued it - 14The problem in the North- Using Nobles from the South was unsuccessful in administrating the border
- Elizabeth often had to use the second-rank of nobility as border wardens
- Border security became an issue after 1569 rebellion as some of the leaders escaped to Scotland
- 1578-1585 when grip on power of Protestant Lords in Scotland was weak, governing borders was a key issue - 15The Council of the North- Key body in regards to the maintenance of law and order in North
- After rebellion in 1569 it was reconstituted in 1572 and placed under the control of the Earl of Huntingdon
- He was a strong Puritan, a distinct advantage as Catholics were seen as potential enemies - 16Social discontent- North was relatively peaceful, even 1569 rebellion had little to do with social and economic aspirations of the poor
- Mid 1590s: severe harvest failure, rising prices and outbreaks of plague however social stability still held up
- Food riots took place in London, Kent, Hampshire and Norfolk
- Authorities reacted harshly to the 'Oxfordshire Rising' 1596, reflection of the government's fear of social discontent even though the threat was not significant - 17Culture and learning- Considerable flourishing in many aspects of culture
- Art: Formal portraits remained important, trend continued down into gentry and merchant classes, golden age for architecture
- Literature/Theatre: emergence of highly literate and often sophisticated viewing and reading public, Shakespeare, sometimes plays had a direct political connection (Richard III)
- Music: flourished in many forms, Renaissance convention laid down that courtiers should be skilled musically, many towns had official bands that performed on formal occasions - 18Intellectual and educational developments- Renaissance thinking and writing continued to develop
- Clear that many could read and not write
- More opportunities to learn to read
- Reformation provided incentive as both Catholics and Protestants wanted to read the Bible
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- A2 History (Elizabeth) Flashcards on Society in Elizabethan England, created by Sofia Curtis on 04/06/2017.
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- Sofia Curtis
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