Elizabethan Society & Exploration Flashcards
All 29 cards in this deck
How were boys from wealthy noble families usually educated in Elizabethan England?
At home, by private tutors.
Who attended grammar schools in Elizabethan England, and what was taught there?
Boys from gentry and yeoman families, who were taught Latin and Greek.
Who was allowed to act in Elizabethan theatres?
Only men — boys played the roles of women.
True or false? Only wealthy people could attend plays at Elizabethan theatres.
False. Both rich and poor attended; tickets came at a range of prices and the poor stood in the pit.
How did population growth increase poverty in Elizabethan England?
The population rose by about a million, so there were not enough jobs and food prices rose faster than wages.
How did the dissolution of the monasteries in the 1530s contribute to Elizabethan poverty?
There was less help for the poor, who could no longer claim alms or find work in religious houses.
What was the legal distinction between the 'deserving' (impotent) poor and the 'idle' poor?
The deserving poor, such as the aged, sick and orphans, could not work and deserved relief; the idle poor could work but chose not to, and were punished.
What did the Act for the Relief of the Poor (1576) do?
It required Justices of the Peace to help the able-bodied poor find paid work, providing them with raw materials such as wool.
Give one way new technology made Elizabethan exploration possible.
Improved navigational instruments such as the cross staff and astrolabe let sailors work out their position at sea more accurately.
How did the growing wealth of the gentry and middle classes prompt exploration?
Their demand for luxury goods drove the search for new sources of wealth and new areas to trade with.
Give one reason Drake set out on his voyage of 1577–80.
To raid Spanish ships and settlements for gold and silver, with Elizabeth's secret backing.
Why was Drake's circumnavigation of the globe (completed 1580) significant?
He was the first Englishman to sail around the world, which encouraged others to explore and claim land for England.
What was Sir Walter Raleigh's role in the colonisation of Virginia?
He was granted a royal charter by Elizabeth in 1584 and organised and financed the expeditions that founded the Roanoke colony in 1585.
Give one reason the English attempted to colonise Virginia.
To provide a base from which English ships could attack Spanish treasure fleets in the Atlantic.
Give one reason Raleigh's first colony in Virginia failed.
The colonists fell into conflict with the Algonquian people, from whom they constantly demanded food and supplies.
True or false? Raleigh sent mainly experienced farmers to set up the first Virginia colony.
False. Most of the first colonists were soldiers and gentlemen, and few had farming skills, so successful agriculture was hard to begin.
What were petty schools in Elizabethan England?
Small fee-paying schools, often run from a teacher's home, where young children (up to about 10) learned to read and write before any grammar school.
How were girls from wealthy Elizabethan families usually educated?
At home, taught by private tutors; some better-off girls went to a dame school run by a woman in her home. Girls did not attend grammar schools.
What was baiting in Elizabethan England?
A spectator sport in which dogs were set on a chained bear or bull, with the crowd betting on the result.
Name one purpose-built theatre of early Elizabethan England.
Any one of: the Red Lion (1567), the Theatre (1576) or the Rose (1587). They were built for the growing audiences at new non-religious plays.
How did the Vagabonds Act (1572) punish vagrants?
A first offence meant a whipping and a hole burned through the ear. Persistent vagrants faced harsher punishment, and a third offence could bring the death penalty.
What change to poor relief did the Vagabonds Act (1572) introduce?
A compulsory national poor rate, a local tax to support the deserving poor, with Justices of the Peace keeping a register of the poor.
How did enclosure increase poverty in Elizabethan England?
Landowners fenced off common land for profitable farming, often sheep for wool, so poorer families lost land they relied on and many had to leave to look for work.
How did changes in ship design encourage longer voyages?
Galleons were faster, easier to steer and steadier at sea, with room for more stores and guns, so they could stay out on much longer journeys.
What land did Drake claim for Elizabeth during his circumnavigation (1577–80)?
Nova Albion, on the Pacific coast of North America near modern San Francisco.
Why did problems in the cloth trade push English merchants to look further afield?
Antwerp in the Spanish Netherlands was the main outlet for English woollen cloth. The Dutch Revolt and quarrels with Spain disrupted that trade, so merchants looked for new markets and goods elsewhere.
Give one way poor leadership weakened the first Virginia colony (1585–86).
Sir Richard Grenville, who commanded the fleet, was hot-tempered and quarrelled with Ralph Lane, the colony's governor, so the settlers lacked clear direction.
Why did the first Virginia colonists run short of food?
They arrived too late in the year to plant crops, and some of their supplies were ruined when seawater got into one of their ships.
How did the war with Spain contribute to the failure of the first Virginia colony?
From 1585 England was effectively at war with Spain, so ships were needed at home and few were free to resupply the colonists.