1_History

How effectively did Elizabeth deal with the problems she faced in 1558?
1. Elizabeth I
  1. There was a danger that England would fall int.o a war of religion
    1. At first she tried to follow a 'middle way' between Protestants and Catholics.
      1. This failed. The Pope excommunicated her in 1570.
      2. When Mary Queen of Scots came to England in 1568 there were a number of Catholic plots. The plotters wanted to depose or assassinate Protestant Elizabeth and replace her with Catholic Mary.
      3. The 'middle way' failed. Elizabeth became more anti-Catholic as her reign went on.
      4. 162 Catholics were executed between 1577 and 1603.
  2. Poverty was especially high in the countryside, caused by harvest failures and rising prices.
    1. She passed the Poor Law (1601).
    2. Her Poor Law was not really successful. People were still starving and poor relief was very hit or miss.
    3. Part of the 1601 Law said that poor parents and children were responsible for each other, so elderly parents were expected to live with their children for example.
    4. However, everyone in need was looked after at the expense of the parish, which was the basic unit of poor law administration.
    5. There were 15,000 parishes throughout England and Wales, each based on a parish church. However, no mechanism was introduced to enforce any of the measures stated by the 1601 Act and the operation of the poor law was inconsistent.
  3. Elizabeth inherited a recent defeat in a war against France and the loss of Calais in 1558.
    1. She defeated the Armada.
    2. The Armada was a spectacular victory, but Spain kept on trying to invade.
  4. No-one knew who would be the next ruler or if Elizabeth would 'give up' some her power and marry in order to produce an heir.
    1. She refused to marry anyone, but it meant no children.
      1. Her refusal to marry meant that England would not have to have a foreign king. Even if she had married an English nobleman, such as Lord Dudley, whom she loved, it might have made other nobles jealous, and caused rebellions.
    2. She resolved to stay single, but her nearest relative was the Catholic Mary Queen of Scots so the succession continued to be a problem.
  5. The monarchs before her were Edward, who was a child, and Mary, whose reign was full of problems.
    1. She developed a strong image, used good advisers and kept Parliament in check.
    2. She did start to lose her grip on power towards the end, but her reign is mostly seen as a period of strength and stability

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