A new queen in a divided land

In 1558 the twenty-five-year-old Elizabeth I became Queen of England, succeeding her Catholic half-sister Mary I. She would reign for 45 years, until her death in 1603.

Elizabeth inherited serious problems:

• a country bitterly divided between Catholics and Protestants;
• an unmarried queen whose right to rule some Catholics questioned;
• debt, poverty and hostile Catholic powers abroad (France and Spain).

Key idea: Elizabeth's great challenge was to bring stability — above all by settling the religious question that had torn England apart under her father, brother and sister.

The Religious Settlement of 1559

Elizabeth's answer was a "middle way" (via media) — a broadly Protestant church that tried to keep as many people as possible content. Parliament passed two great laws in 1559:

Elizabeth called herself Supreme Governor (not "Supreme Head") to avoid offending those who thought a woman could not head the Church. The Settlement created a lasting Protestant Church of England.

What did she call herself?

Rebellion and excommunication

Not everyone accepted Elizabeth's Protestant settlement. The greatest danger came from Catholics at home and abroad:

• 1569 — the Northern Rebellion (the Rebellion of the Northern Earls): powerful Catholic nobles rose against Elizabeth, hoping to put Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne. It was crushed.
• 1570 — the Papal bull Regnans in Excelsis: the Pope excommunicated Elizabeth and released Catholics from obedience to her, making every English Catholic a potential traitor.

After 1570 the government treated Catholicism as a political threat. Missionary priests who came to England could be executed for treason.

The rival queen

Mary, Queen of Scots was Elizabeth's Catholic cousin and, to many Catholics, the rightful queen of England. Driven out of Scotland, she fled to England in 1568 — and Elizabeth kept her imprisoned for nearly twenty years.

• Mary became the focus of Catholic plots against Elizabeth.
• The Babington Plot (1586) aimed to murder Elizabeth and put Mary on the throne. Coded letters proved Mary's guilt.
• Mary was tried, condemned, and executed at Fotheringhay Castle in February 1587.

Elizabeth hesitated for years before signing the death warrant: executing an anointed queen was a huge and dangerous step — and it gave Philip II of Spain a further reason to attack England.

When did Mary flee?

The Babington Plot and Mary's end

Elizabeth's spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, ran a network of agents to uncover Catholic plots. The Babington Plot of 1586 was his greatest catch.

• Anthony Babington and others plotted to assassinate Elizabeth and free Mary.
• Walsingham intercepted and decoded their secret letters — including one in which Mary approved the plan.
• This gave the evidence to try Mary, and she was executed at Fotheringhay in February 1587.

Consequence: with Mary gone, Catholic hopes of a peaceful succession died — and Philip II of Spain now prepared to invade England by force.

Why was Mary executed?

The Spanish Armada, 1588

In 1588 the Catholic king Philip II of Spain sent a huge fleet — the Armada — of around 130 ships to invade England, overthrow Elizabeth and restore Catholicism.

• English fireships broke up the Armada as it anchored near Calais.
• Beaten in battle, the Spanish fleet was then scattered by storms as it fled around Scotland and Ireland — the "Protestant wind".
• The defeat was a huge boost to English confidence and to Elizabeth's prestige.

How the Armada was beaten

The year of the Armada

An age of exploration

The Elizabethan age was a great era of sea voyages, trade and privateering. English "sea dogs" raided Spanish treasure ships and reached across the globe:

• Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe (1577–1580) — the first Englishman to sail all the way around the world, returning laden with Spanish treasure.
• Sir Walter Raleigh was linked to attempts to colonise Virginia / Roanoke in the 1580s, though these early settlements failed.

Exploration brought wealth and prestige — but Drake's raids on Spanish ships also worsened relations with Spain and helped push Philip II towards launching the Armada.

Event ↔ significance

Tap an event on the left, then tap its significance on the right.

The golden age of theatre

Elizabethan England is often called a "golden age" of culture — above all in the theatre, which grew hugely popular with rich and poor alike.

• Purpose-built playhouses opened in London; the famous Globe theatre was built in 1599.
• William Shakespeare was writing and performing his greatest plays in this period.
• Theatre was enjoyed by all classes — "groundlings" stood in the yard while the wealthy sat in galleries.

Not everyone approved: Puritans attacked the theatres as sinful and a source of disorder and disease. But the crown protected the players, and drama flourished.

The playhouse and the playwright

Poverty and the Poor Laws

Behind the "golden age" lay a darker reality: poverty grew sharply in Elizabethan England, driven by a rising population, rising prices, unemployment and bad harvests.

Elizabethans divided the poor into two groups:

• the "deserving" (impotent) poor — the old, the sick and the disabled, who could not work and deserved help;
• the "undeserving" (idle) poor — sturdy beggars and vagabonds, who could work but chose not to, and were punished.

This thinking was codified in the Elizabethan Poor Law of 1601, which made each parish responsible for its own poor, funded by a local poor rate (tax).

The year of the Poor Law

The Essex Rebellion, 1601

Elizabeth's last years were troubled. Her one-time favourite, the Earl of Essex, fell from favour after failing in Ireland. In 1601 he staged a rebellion in London, hoping to seize power.

• The rising quickly collapsed — Londoners did not join him.
• Essex was arrested, tried for treason and executed in 1601.

The Essex Rebellion showed tensions at court and the strains of Elizabeth's ageing rule — but her government held firm to the end.

Name the sea dog

Timeline: 1558 → 1603

Put the events in order

Tap the events in the correct time order, from earliest to latest.

Sources and interpretations

In the exam you handle sources and interpretations about Elizabethan England. Two quick habits win marks:

• Ask who made it and why (provenance). A portrait of Elizabeth was often deliberate propaganda — glorifying the queen as powerful, wise and eternally youthful.
• Use your own knowledge to judge it. Support or challenge a source with facts you know (dates, events, the Settlement, the Armada).

Interpretations differ: some historians stress a glittering "golden age", others emphasise poverty, harsh laws and religious persecution. Knowing that interpretations vary — and why — is exactly what the exam rewards.

Thinking like a historian

The reign in one line

If you remember nothing else, hold onto this summary of Elizabeth's 45-year reign:

Elizabeth's achievement was stability: a lasting Protestant church, a throne defended against Mary and Spain, and a flowering of culture — even as poverty and hard laws revealed the age's darker side.

The essentials to remember

You've covered the whole Eduqas Elizabethan Age 1558-1603 British study in depth. Press Finish to see your score.