The Situation on Elizabeth's Accession

Elizabeth's Strengths And Weaknesses As Monarch
1. Weaknesses
  1. So many problems
  2. Hadn't married
Problems Elizabeth Faced in 1558
1. Doubts About A Female Ruler
  1. Women were seen as weak
    1. Too Weak to Declare War
    2. Too Weak to lead armies into battle
  2. People believed women shouldnt rule
  3. Unnatural
  4. A Liabilty
  5. Authority of a man
  6. Shouldn't be allowed to rule their own country
  7. Less Intellectual than men
2. Threats From Abroad
  1. Threats From Spain
    1. Most Powerful and Wealthy Country In Europe at the time
    2. Empire was made up of territories in Europe, Central and South America
    3. Devoutly Catholic Country Committed to preventing the spread of Protestantism.
  2. Threats From Scotland
    1. Mary Queen Of Scots was living in France because she was married to heir of France throne.
    2. French Soldiers stationed in Scotland so England was in danger of a joint attack
    3. Both Catholic Countries - Scotland and France
  3. Threats From France
    1. MQS married to the eldest son of the French King
    2. England Allied with Spain because Mary 1 was married to King of Spain
    3. France was a Catholic country
    4. Many thought Mary should be Queen of England.
3. Religion
  1. Mistakes made by her Dad, sister and Brother
    1. Henry VIII bad decisions
      1. Made himself head of the English church
      2. Executed his friend Sir Thomas Moore
    2. Edward VI bad decisions
      1. The church of England became strongly Protestant
      2. Outbreaks of violence
    3. Mary bad decisions
      1. Married King Phillip of Spain
      2. Restored Catholic religion
      3. Led To Rebellion
      4. Many Protestants couldn't accept Catholic church
  2. Affected Relationships with other countries.
    1. France, Spain and Scotland were all Catholic countries in 1558
    2. Foreign prince candinates would all be Catholic
    3. Pope, Head of Catholic church would excommunicate her. he could also overthrow her
  3. Why religious compromise was so difficult
    1. Elizabeth couldn't restore authority and teachings of the Pope
    2. She was a Protestant
    3. Most people in England are Catholic
    4. Religious changes in the past have caused rebellions
    5. Most powerful countries in Europe are Catholic
    6. Elizabeth wanted the country to be united and didn't want to punish peple for their religious beliefs
    7. She needed a national church which most of her people could accept
4. Marriage And Succession
  1. Needed An Heir
  2. Expected To Marry Quickly
  3. Declined Robert Dudley
    1. He was already married
    2. Wife was found dead in suspicious circumstances
    3. Elizabeth found it impossible to marry him.
  4. Declined Archduke Charles
    1. Catholic
    2. His proposal was opposed by Protestants on the Privy Council In Parliament.
  5. Declined Francis, Duke Of Anjou
    1. Catholic
      1. Council and the country were divided about whether she should marry a Catholic and French Prince
    2. French Prince
    3. Last Chance Of Motherhood
5. Financial Weaknesses
  1. Debt Of £300,000
    1. Left From Her Father, Henry VIII, Her Sister, Mary 1 and Her Brother, Edward 1
  2. Exchequer - looked after crowns money
  3. Custom Duties
  4. Feudal Duels
6. Choosing Her Councillors
  1. People That Were Trustworthy.
  2. Confident
  3. Experienced
  4. Responsible
  5. Hard - Working
7. Peace and Prosperity
  1. Previous reigns had shown that, if there was a rebellion, people were more likely to join if they were hungry.
  2. Problems arose when harvests failed for consecutive years
    1. Resulting in 200,00 deaths either from starvation, illness or presumably both.
  3. Prices had been rising since the 16th century. many people were losing value in their wages.
  4. They wanted their countries to be prosperous because this meant their people would be more content and less reliable
Key Roles In Government
1. Queen
2. Nobles And Lords
3. The Gentry
4. Wealthy Merchants
5. Yeomen
6. Craftspeople, Labourers, servants, the poor
  1. Worked in trades such as textiles and leather
  2. Countryside - employed as Agriculture workers
Why Religion Was So Important
1. Mary burnt over 300 protestanats
2. Ordinary people had to give 10% of their wealth to the Catholic church in tithe
3. In King Henry VIII reign, over 70,000 people were executed
4. Catholic services were held in Latin
  1. People found it hard to be close to God if they couldn't hear what was being said in church.

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The Situation on Elizabeth's Accession

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	Created by Hannah Brenchley over 6 years ago