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How serious were the problems faced by Elizabeth in 1558 (Enemies abroad,…
How serious were the problems faced by Elizabeth in 1558
Succession
As she had no heir there was competition and hostility to become the next monarch
This created uncertainty and instability
Elizabeth had no children and no husband
Serious
If a nobleman was picked, it would cause jealousy and anger
If she picked a foreign prince then they would be catholic which would anger protestants
Search for husband was impossible
Less serious
She allowed herself to be courted by potential husbands
Lack of successor was turned into a strength
Was not an urgent issue
Councillors
She needed trustworthy advisers who would stick with her
She needed to avoid offending people by showing favouritism
She needed the most powerful nobles happy by picking them for key jobs
She had to satisy both Catholics and Protestants by not picking to many of one religion
She needed a balancing act when choosing her council
Less serious
She dealt with this by selecting very wisely
Appointed William Cecil as her Secretary of State
This was only a short term issue
Serious problem
This would make powerful catholics very unhappy
Difficult for Elizabeth to find people who she knew would be trustworthy
Elizabeth had to get rid of many councillors who served Mary I
Money
Government was worried about the levels of poverty
Elizabeth could have asked Parliament for higher taxes but it was too risky
England was in debt by £300,000 due to war
Less serious
Harvest in 1557 was good and harvest in 1558 was excellent
Crown was likely to receive more money in taxes and rent
Government was able to borrow money
Serious
Elizabeth had to borrow £100,000 to resupply the army
There was no obvious way to deal with the poverty
It was a problem that was going to continue
Legitimacy
In the eyes of Catholics, the marriage was not permitted
Elizabeth was regarded as an illegitimate child by the Catholic Church
Pope Clement VII had refused to grant Henry VII a divorce
Less serious
After religious settlement, only minority of people were Catholics
Not a major issue for most people
This an issue only for Catholics
Serious
This was a long term problem
It was not going to go away quickly
Elizabeth could not do anything about this
Doubts
Role of women was to look after children
When Elizabeth took over, many people doubted her ability to rule
Women were regarded as inferior to men
Less serious
Mary Queen of Scots was the alternative option
This was terrible as she was a Catholic, a women and married to the king of France
Alternatives were even worse
Serious
England was nearly bankrupt and had enemies
Mary's leadership was to blame
People were worried because of the reign of Mary
Enemies abroad
England was fighting France alongside Spain
Spain was strongly Catholic and would be unhappy if Protestantism was restored
France had a stronger army than England
Scotland was a separate country
England were already at war with France
Catholics in France and Scotland thought Mary QOS should rule England
Elizabeth had threats of attack from Spain, France and Scotland
Less serious
This would unite English people
This was less of an issue than most people assumed
Short term solution but signing a peace treaty
Serious
It was a long term problem
Imminent threat of invasion from France
Urgent problem as money was being spent on war with France
Religion
From Protestant to a more extreme protestantism
From Protestant to extreme Catholic
Went from Catholic to Protestant
Divisions created unhappiness
England was a divided country
Serious
No clear solution
A middle way would not please anyone
Urgent issue
Less serious
Made religious situation less problematic
Elizabeth was prepared to be flexible