Elizabethan England

Was Elizabethan England a 'Golden Age'?
1. About Elizabeth
  1. Was the 5th and last Tudor Monarch
  2. Lasted from 1558-1601
  3. Her reign followed her sister Mary's who was a Catholic monarch
    1. Elizabeth was a Protestant
  4. James the IV of Scotland followed Elizabeth as James the I of England
  5. Elizabeth made skilled use of portraints and speeches to show her reign as a golden age
  6. Anderw Wilson in his book,The Elizabethans (2011) represents the age of Elizabeth as one of great change,with new schools,music and ships sailing off to new lands,
  7. The Oxford Illustrated History of Britain by contrast states: 'Elizabeth has attained a posthumous reputation far in excess of her actual achievements' citing hjer own propaganda, her sheer longevity,the coincidence of the Shakespearian movement,and the lucky defeat of the Armarda as the reasons for this
2. Not everyone enjoyed a good quality of life
  1. The population increased by roughly 35%
  2. Enclosure meant many farmers faced difficult times
    1. Enclosure is when a large open field farmed by villagers is replaced with smaller individual fields farmed by one person
  3. 1572 Vagabonds Act meant that any beggars or homeless people should be punished,imprisoned or put to death
  4. 1601 Poor Act
    1. It stated that a parish or town had to look after its poor and beggars by providing food and clothing or they could be sent to a workhouse which was more common
3. Key cultural developments
  1. The development of Grammar schools meant more children went to school than before
  2. Literacy levels increased from 20% to 30% for men over the 1530's
  3. The first theatres were built
    1. The first built was the Red Lion in Whitechapel in 1567
    2. Shakespeare was the most notable playwright and queues of 2000 people might wait to see a play
      1. John Donne and Christopher Marlowe were other notable writers
  4. Sir Thomas Gresham established the first stock exchange called the Royal Exchange in 1565
    1. It was the first in England and one of the first in Europe
4. Religion was unsettled and much debated
  1. In Mary's reign almost 300 people had been burned for their beliefs
  2. Elizabeth started her reign with religious stability with the Acts of Uniformity and Supremacy
  3. Everyone had to attend church on Sunday and Holy days or be fined
  4. 1569 The revolt of the Northern Earls leads rebels to take Durham Cathedral and celebrate Mass
  5. 1570 The Pope excommunicates Elizabeth
  6. 1587 Execution of Mary Queen of Scots
  7. 1585 All Catholic priests are ordered to leave the country
  8. 1586 The Babington Plot to assassinate Elizabeth
  9. 200 priests and laymen were executed under Elizabeth
  10. Puritan style religion develops,focused on preaching,with less ceremony
5. Key Words
  1. Enclosure
    1. When a large open field farmed by villagers is replaced by smaller individual fields farmed by one person
  2. Vagabond
    1. Homeless people without jobs who roamed the countryside
  3. New World
    1. North and South America which were only known to Europeans after 1492
  4. Puritan
    1. Radical Protestants who wanted to purify religion
  5. Ex-communication
    1. A very severe punishment imposed by the Pope expelling people from the Catholic Church
  6. Recusant
    1. A Catholic who refused to attend a Protestant Church
  7. Militia
    1. A military force of ordinary people raised in an emergency
  8. Triangle of Trade
    1. Trade route from Britain to Africa and then to the Americas

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Elizabethan England

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	Created by Chloe Mernagh almost 5 years ago