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Summary AQA A Level History - Elizabeth I Notes
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High quality, detailed notes on Elizabeth I, made using a range of textbooks and resources. Contains everything needed for the exam.
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Elizabeth notesUpbringing
- - J. Ross - ‘Acquired abnormal experience of the impotence and disposability of married women’.
- Unusual → unmarried at the age of 25, as royal princesses (with the exception of Mary) were usually
married off early for political advantage.
- Relationships with her father, half-brother and half-sister were not always good. Life was in danger
twice through her links with Thomas Seymour and Thomas Wyatt.
- Childhood experiences may have taught her to be cautious when making decisions, but they didn’t
prepare her for running a country. And, when she became queen in 1558, she had a series of important
decisions to make.
Character and aims
- Academically intelligent with an excellent command of Latin, Greek, French and Italian.
- Similar character to her father.
- Spent the majority of her youth in country houses, away from the court. She had no dealings with
ambassadors or foreign princes and very few meetings with courtiers and administrators.
- Lived a precarious existence under Mary’s reign and, having been called upon by Wyatt and other
rebels to launch a coup d’etat, Elizabeth had continued to profess her loyalty to Mary while accepting
communication from the rebels.
- Developed a strategy of caution, revealing very little of her emotions and being patient to let events
unfold.
- W. MacCaffrey - ‘She was yet to learn the skills required for the exercise of rulership - making
decisions, giving commands and ensuring those commands were obeyed … Elizabeth’s experience
was very limited’.
- Williams (1995) - ‘The ability to choose first-rate advisors and a remarkable gift for winning the devotion
of the public’.
- Norman L Jones - ‘Elizabeth Tudor was a very conservative woman with well-developed ideas about
her place in the world’. ‘With a temper as fiery as her red hair, her personality led her to be cautious
and stubborn, sure of her authority and petulant in the face of change’.
Aims
- She was determined to preserve the prerogative powers of the Crown, which meant that she
insisted on taking the most important decisions.
- She wanted to consolidate her position.
- She also wanted to settle religious issues.
- She wanted to pursue a peaceful settlement with France.
What were the situations faced by the crown when Elizabeth came to power?
- At the age of 25 Elizabeth inherited a throne under considerable strain from bad harvests, coinage
debasement and the disruption of ancient traditions caused by religious upheaval.
- She was also under threat from France, who disputed her legitimacy as ruler of England. Yet the throne
Elizabeth inherited was supported by a firm administrative and legal foundation, and to the people
of England, she was rightful heir to the throne.
- C. Hibbert - ‘She had inherited an unhappy realm in which prices had risen faster than wages, the
coinage had been debased, and one bad harvest followed another. Foreign entanglements had proved
disastrously expensive and religious animosities had led to social strife’.
Problems facing Elizabeth in 1558
, - Had to decide on the composition of her Privy Council. Her choice of councillors would be an early
indication of the religious settlement and her style of government.
- Had to decide on the nature of the religious settlement she would introduce. She could follow the
English Catholicism of her father, the Protestantism of her brother, the Roman Catholicism of her sister
or develop something of her own. She also had to take into account that fact that the Pope might
excommunicate her at any moment, as he would regard her as illegitimate.
- Not regarded as legitimate heir to the English throne by the Roman Catholics, who supported her
cousin, Mary Queen of Scots. Mary also had the backing of Henry II of France.
- In 1558, Scotland was ruled by the French regent and widow of James V, Mary of Guise, on behalf of
her daughter, Mary Queen of Scots, who was being brought up in France. The traditional Auld
Alliance between Scotland and France and the presence of French troops in Scotland posed a
threat to English security.
- In 1558, England was still technically at war with France. Mary Tudor had sent forces to aid her
husband, Philip II of Spain, in his war against the French. During the course of this war England’s last
garrison on foreign soil, Calais, was captured. Elizabeth needed to make peace with France, but the
permanent loss of Calais would be seen as a humiliation.
- Royal finances had been severely strained by the war with France. Mary Tudor had left a debt of
£300,000 and had resorted to selling crown lands which only served to weaken the monarchy’s
finances in the long run.
- England had traditionally maintained an alliance with the Habsburg family - who ruled Spain, the
Holy Roman Empire, and the Spanish Netherlands - to preserve the balance of power in Europe.
However, the Habsburgs were staunchly Catholic. Elizabeth needed to work out how to keep the
Habsburg alliance despite her own Protestantism.
- Mary Tudor’s attempts to colonise Ireland by introducing a system of English plantations was causing
unrest. Ireland was staunchly Catholic and had refused to accept HVIII as Head of the Church.
- The majority of English people welcomed the accession of Elizabeth. She was young and seemed to
promise a new beginning after the setbacks of Mary’s reign. Some however feared weak rule from an
inexperienced woman. Stability in Tudor government seemed to require a strong, male monarch and
an undisputed heir.
- England was a weak country compared to France and Spain, both of whom were Catholic.
- In 1558, England was a country divided by religion. The majority of people, including many of the
gentry and nobility, were probably still Catholic. Protestantism was strong in London, the south east,
the universities and among the politically-active classes.
- In 1558, most people lived and worked in the countryside and made their livelihood from growing crops.
The country’s most important industry was the manufacture and export of woollen cloth. Both the
population and prices had been rising since the beginning of the century. Some landlords had
tried to increase their income by enclosing their land, leading to an increase in unemployment.
Poverty and unemployment were increasing, especially among the lower classes. The problem of
inflation was exacerbated by the bad harvests and flu epidemics (which killed up to 200,000 people)
of Mary’s reign.
What were the expectations of Elizabeth?
- The young Queen would have to find her way to heal the religious divisions that threatened the
domestic security of the kingdom.
- It was also expected that she would marry and produce an heir to maintain the stability of the
kingdom.
- Even before she became queen there were signs that finding a suitor might not be so
straightforward.
- The Spanish Ambassador, Feria, said of Elizabeth that she was determined to be governed by
no one. This might help her overcome faction, but would cause her ministers grave concerns
when she procrastinated over the question of marriage.
, - During the 1560s there were persistent rumours that Elizabeth was about to marry Robert
Dudley, and even that she was expecting his child. Elizabeth did not marry Dudley and for the
remainder of her reign Parliament frequently requested her to choose a husband to ensure the
succession. On several occasions marriage with foreign princes was discussed.
Key points
- The main issues facing Elizabeth in 1558 were religion, marriage and the succession, foreign
policy and the economy. They were to dominate policy throughout her reign.
- The main problems facing the country in 1558 included loss of prestige in Europe, religious strife,
competing nobles, inflation, and unrest in Ireland.
- Popular expectation of Elizabeth was high in 1558. It would be hard for her to solve all the problems
and meet these expectations.
- The support of the politically-active classes was crucial to the success of government policy, but
there was a lot of disagreement over which policies Elizabeth should follow.
Consolidating power
- Her path to power was eased by the acceptance of her succession by Mary’s key councillors.
Within a few days, 9 of Mary’s councillors had assured Elizabeth of their loyalty. Therefore, there would
be no attempt to deny Elizabeth’s succession by devout Catholics who had never accepted the validity
of HVIII’s marriage to Anne Boleyn.
- Cecil was appointed principal secretary, a post which he held until his death in 1598. Elizabeth
also made some other household appointments. Cecil was also given the title of Lord Burghley in 1571.
- Her coronation took place quickly, in January 1559.
- She gained a measure of international confirmation through the proposed marriage between Philip II
of Spain, which came to nothing. However, it did show that Philip was unwilling to disrupt the
smoothness of her ascension.
Privy Council
- Perhaps the most pressing task facing Elizabeth upon hearing the news of her sister’s death, was
choosing a Privy Council.
- She would have to retain some of those members who served Mary, but ensure that the majority were
loyal to her. The chosen members would send strong signals to the nation about the kind of religious
settlement Elizabeth would seek, which meant this was not a simple or straightforward task.
- Without hesitation she appointed Sir William Cecil as secretary of state: not only was he experienced
because he had served under Edward’s government, but he had worked with Elizabeth at Hatfield
House during Mary’s reign, and they had an excellent working relationship. Cecil was politically
astute and religiously adaptable, therefore he was not a controversial choice.
- Elizabeth dismissed two-thirds of Mary’s Council, almost all of them her personal retainers or
staunch Catholics. Only ten of the former Queen’s Council remained, including the great regional
magnates of the north, Derby and Shrewsbury and experienced politicians Arundel, Winchester and
Pembroke.
- The new Councillors were a mixture of blood relations on the Boleyn side, Protestant peers and
members of her own household.
- Her Council was small compared with Mary’s, but the balance was held in favour of men with specific
experience or training. It was a body designed for administrative efficiency and knowledgeable
counsel.
- The return of the Edwardians was obvious and strong indications that Elizabeth would seek to undo her
sister’s religious reforms were made clear.
Coronation
, - The coronation was the first opportunity for Elizabeth’s public to receive her in a procession from the
Tower to Westminster.
- An enormous £16,000 (8% of the royal income) was spent on the coronation, an exorbitant amount for
a cash strapped crown.
- She was given a Bible in English, was welcomed as ‘Deborah – the judge and restorer of Israel’
but the Mass was held in private to avoid any visual statements of faith.
- Elizabeth made the most of the opportunity with the public. She stopped off on her carriage to hear
prepared oration and received small bunches of flowers from even the humblest of subjects, which she
kept in her carriage until she reached Westminster. She was met with cheers and cries of delight.
- Elizabeth would use similar processions throughout her reign to make herself an ‘accessible’
monarch.
Loyalty
- Portraits
- Used portraits as a form of propaganda, to create a public image of herself as a powerful queen
or to celebrate her achievements.
- Symbolic rather than true representations, such as the Rainbow Portrait.
- After 1563 only official government portraits were allowed and after 1596 any unseemly
portraits were destroyed.
- Displayed by nobles, in their houses, to show loyalty.
- Most people would only see the portrait on coins and medals.
- Progresses
- Elizabeth went on progresses to visit and develop her relationship with nobles to ensure loyalty.
- It was a way of saving money as the nobles had to pay the costs of her visit.
- Staged routes were organised so as many ordinary people as possible could see her. This
allowed Elizabeth to develop a relationship with them and create a positive popular image.
- Never travelled west of Bristol or north of Stafford where loyalty and control were uncertain.
- Elizabeth held carefully planned parades in London on significant dates or festivals as
demonstrations of loyalty.
- Patronage
- Involved handing out titles, offices or monopolies, which gave men a source of income.
Elizabeth had a lot of these offices to give away, including high positions in the Church. Royal
patronage was distributed at court.
- Elizabeth’s use of patronage helped to secure loyalty. Those who received patronage became
dependent on Elizabeth for some or all of their income and status, so they were likely to be loyal
to her.
- Elizabeth distributed patronage very widely. This helped to ensure political stability - all
members of the elite felt they had a chance to be rewarded by the queen, so were unlikely to
rebel.
Government
A mid-Tudor crisis?
For Against
- Considerable dynastic problems → EVI - Northumberland’s policy of financial
succeeded as a minor and died before retrenchment and appeasement of England’s
reaching his majority or producing an heir. MI traditional enemies.
seized the throne in what many historians - Government never lost control, even in 1549
regard as the only successful rebellion during → may be because the rebellions had limited
the period but died after 5 years and didn’t aims and didn’t intend to overthrow
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