History - Elizabethan England (c1568-1603)
The elziabethian era was full of adventure, intrige, exploration and power struggles.
At the centure of it, was the ‘Virgin Queen’, Elizabeth who rulled england between
1558 and 1603. She was the daughter of Henry viii and Anne Bolnye, his second
wife. She became the second queen of england at just 25 years old after her sister
and rival, Mary i died and no longer could be queen and neither could their brother
Edward vi due to his death. During her reign, the 16th century saw the most amount
of change to the religious status then before. Her main proirities were to settle the
nation and ensure England’s national security. She was very intelligent and had a
keen eye for politics were she would be harsh but fair and often giving in to the views
of the people; something that was very uncommon for previous tyrants and rulers to
do. Elizabeth was the queen of the people and eventhough she never married or had
children she was a very sucefssul ruler and gave the people of the nation a time of
more peace and expansion. She decided to put the security of the nation and the
people’s need before her own. Although she was a successful ruler, she never did
leave and hier to the throne, which became a problem after she died on the 24th of
March 1603.
Key themes
● Government
● Religion
● Economy and society
● Law and order
● Foreign affairs
Early rule of Queen Elizabeth 1:
In 1558, elizabeth inherited the thron as well as an unstable kingdom. The issues
with religion,an expensive war with france and disruptions from scotland were just
some of the problems elizabeth faced when the rule of england was given to her.
Strengths Weaknesses / chalenges
Money After several wars, elizabeth
was left in sever debt that her
sister left her. It was
somewhere around £250,000
which was a lot of money
during this era.
Family Elizabeth had both english
parents, Henry viii and Anne
Bolyne. This meant she was to
have less overseas influences
telling her what to do. As well,
she also got to witness the
distruction and horror her
father brother and sister
, caused when ruling. This gave
her an advantage as she was
able to learn from their
mistakes and improve
accordingly.
Gender The people feered that
elizabeth would be a weak and
pitiful ruler because she was a
women.At the time, is was
highly discouraged that a
women should rule; it was not
their place in society and a lot
of the most powerful nations
were run by men. Also, the
people worried that she might
marry a foreign prince which
allows them to take control of
England.
Popularity Some people took elizabeths However, some people, were
reign as a positive and a sign didnt like elizabeth due to her
of relief due to all the horror the gender and what trouble her
pervious monarchs caused. family caused.
They saw her as a fresh start.
Education Elizabeth was extremely smart
and used her intelligence to her
advantage in order to survive.
She could speak english,
french, flemish, italian as well
as many other languages. She
used her intelligence to out
smart others and make
england way more successful.
Invasion Mary queen of Scots
possessed as a big threat for
invasion. This was due to her
having a claim to the throne,
being catholic and being
married to the hier of the french
throne. The french were a huge
threat for Mary 1, elizabeth’s
sister, and were constantly at
war with one another.
Elizabeth’s key minesters and advisers:
Elizabeth was a group of trusted senior politicians and powerful noblemen who
advised her, called the privy council. They were there to provide her with support and
advise not to control her. Their role was to advise on domestic and foreign issues
such as how to handle challenges and threats, when to go to war, relations with
foreign ambassadors, and supervising the enforcement of the religious settlements
All of the 19 noblemen she picked were equal and trusted due to this being an
honnered role so only could appoint people she felt werent going to disobey her or
The elziabethian era was full of adventure, intrige, exploration and power struggles.
At the centure of it, was the ‘Virgin Queen’, Elizabeth who rulled england between
1558 and 1603. She was the daughter of Henry viii and Anne Bolnye, his second
wife. She became the second queen of england at just 25 years old after her sister
and rival, Mary i died and no longer could be queen and neither could their brother
Edward vi due to his death. During her reign, the 16th century saw the most amount
of change to the religious status then before. Her main proirities were to settle the
nation and ensure England’s national security. She was very intelligent and had a
keen eye for politics were she would be harsh but fair and often giving in to the views
of the people; something that was very uncommon for previous tyrants and rulers to
do. Elizabeth was the queen of the people and eventhough she never married or had
children she was a very sucefssul ruler and gave the people of the nation a time of
more peace and expansion. She decided to put the security of the nation and the
people’s need before her own. Although she was a successful ruler, she never did
leave and hier to the throne, which became a problem after she died on the 24th of
March 1603.
Key themes
● Government
● Religion
● Economy and society
● Law and order
● Foreign affairs
Early rule of Queen Elizabeth 1:
In 1558, elizabeth inherited the thron as well as an unstable kingdom. The issues
with religion,an expensive war with france and disruptions from scotland were just
some of the problems elizabeth faced when the rule of england was given to her.
Strengths Weaknesses / chalenges
Money After several wars, elizabeth
was left in sever debt that her
sister left her. It was
somewhere around £250,000
which was a lot of money
during this era.
Family Elizabeth had both english
parents, Henry viii and Anne
Bolyne. This meant she was to
have less overseas influences
telling her what to do. As well,
she also got to witness the
distruction and horror her
father brother and sister
, caused when ruling. This gave
her an advantage as she was
able to learn from their
mistakes and improve
accordingly.
Gender The people feered that
elizabeth would be a weak and
pitiful ruler because she was a
women.At the time, is was
highly discouraged that a
women should rule; it was not
their place in society and a lot
of the most powerful nations
were run by men. Also, the
people worried that she might
marry a foreign prince which
allows them to take control of
England.
Popularity Some people took elizabeths However, some people, were
reign as a positive and a sign didnt like elizabeth due to her
of relief due to all the horror the gender and what trouble her
pervious monarchs caused. family caused.
They saw her as a fresh start.
Education Elizabeth was extremely smart
and used her intelligence to her
advantage in order to survive.
She could speak english,
french, flemish, italian as well
as many other languages. She
used her intelligence to out
smart others and make
england way more successful.
Invasion Mary queen of Scots
possessed as a big threat for
invasion. This was due to her
having a claim to the throne,
being catholic and being
married to the hier of the french
throne. The french were a huge
threat for Mary 1, elizabeth’s
sister, and were constantly at
war with one another.
Elizabeth’s key minesters and advisers:
Elizabeth was a group of trusted senior politicians and powerful noblemen who
advised her, called the privy council. They were there to provide her with support and
advise not to control her. Their role was to advise on domestic and foreign issues
such as how to handle challenges and threats, when to go to war, relations with
foreign ambassadors, and supervising the enforcement of the religious settlements
All of the 19 noblemen she picked were equal and trusted due to this being an
honnered role so only could appoint people she felt werent going to disobey her or
