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Topic 24- The Last Years of Elizabeth: - Coggle Diagram
Topic 24- The Last Years of Elizabeth:
A. Political condition of England by 1603:
though england enjoyed broadly effective government during most of E1's reign, there was a decline in royal authority and the quality of administration during the 1590s
one of the reasons for this revolved around anxieties over the succession, another problem was the growing problems in the privy council and factions
crisis involving Essex in 1601 is indicative of the difficulties which royal authority faced
despite essex rebellion a broad political unity had been achieved by 1603
all English people apart from a small minority of militant catholics were broadly loyal to the crown
on the other hand the queen reigned for too long; her reputation had been tarnished by the events in the later years of her reign and she seemed out of touch with the aspirations of a younger generation who looked forward to the accession of a king
B. The economic condition of England by 1603
in some respects england had experienced considerable economic continuity during the 16th C
however by the beginning of the 17th C it was evident that some of the economic circumstances which would later in the century lead to commercial domination were in place, even if in an early form- e.g. the setting up of trading companies to challenge the domination of of Spanish, Portuguese and dutch and the beginnings of an interest in the Americas
the importance of such factors should not be exaggerated though, the organisation of English capitalism was crude in comparison with the commercial sophistication of the dutch
regardless of this, cottage industries such as nail making, hosiery, soap manufacturing and brewing flourished and total production clearly substantially during the course of the 16th C
suggests that domestic demand was thriving- it was however only through theft, multiple employments and hard work that many people were able to avoid poverty at the end of 16th C
C. The State of Society in England by 1603:
england remained socially divided with huge differences In living standards between wealthy few and poor majority, but there were constraints which prevented society breaking down completely
crucially, most of the time the majority of the population could be fed, and there was only one subsistence crisis in the 1590s when it is known that there were deaths from starvation
the experience of the bitter years of poverty and harvest failure 1594-1597 did help to shape the reform of the poor law enacted in 1598 and 1601
these limited the worst effects of poverty, at least for the deserving poor
in contrast with many continental societies, the nobility were subjected to taxation in England
The State of Religion in England by 1603:
at the time of her death E1 could look upon a religious situation which was favourable
compared with the beginning of her reign, catholocism had became less popular and English catholics were fundamentally divided between a majority which tried to accommodate conflicting loyalties to crown and faith and a minority which identified wholeheartedly with the bull of excommunication and sought a catholic succession
the CofE had become an institution which the majority could identify, albeit in a rather loose way
puritanism as a dynamic movement had faded and the majority of puritans had become assimilated within the Anglican mainstreams
separatism was never a numerically strong movement, and had virtually disappeared by E1's death
there was a broad consensus surrounding the CofE which ensured a substantial degree of religious unity