 Hello and welcome to our video summarizing all you need to know about Queen Elizabeth the first and the Elizabethan era My name is Barbara and in this video we'll examine life in Elizabethan times What did Queen Elizabeth's reign really mean for people at the time? So let's get started Now when it comes to Elizabethan times one thing to bear in mind is that there was a lot of poverty The number of people living in poverty in Elizabethan society was huge and it was an important problem Furthermore religious changes meant that there was less support for the poor So between 1536 and 1541 Henry the eighth her father had closed down England's monasteries and sold off most of their land And this was called the dissolution of monasteries and do check out our other video Summarizing Henry the eighth's life as well as his reign where we go into more detail about this However, of course, this had knock on consequence on also Queen Elizabeth and her time The monasteries had performed important social functions including providing support for many poor ill and disabled people and the dissolution of the Monasteries removed a valuable source of assistance for people's needs Now also population growth during Elizabethan times led to rising prices So in the 16th century Elizabeth's birth rate England's birth rate rather Increased and the death rate fell this led to a huge population growth during Elizabeth's Elizabeth's reign and the English Population grew from around three million people to at least four million people Also a most importantly food production did not keep a pace with the growth in population and as a result food prices rose and sometimes there were food shortages The prices for food and other goods rose much more quickly also than wages and standards of living fell for many workers as they struggle to afford the bare necessities So many were forced into poverty and because of the rapid population growth There was a huge competition for land and so rents increased and this trend was made the worst by changes in farming practices Hence poverty actually got worse in the 1590s and it reached a crisis point towards the end of Queen Elizabeth's reign In the late 1580s and 1590s England suffered several failed harvests Which led to food shortages and even higher food prices and this pushed even more people into extreme poverty in some areas People starved to death and so Queen Elizabeth's government introduced a series of poor laws to try and tackle this problem The government did become more involved in poor relief So traditionally the main source of support for the poor was charity So rich people made donations to hospitals monasteries and other organizations that helped the poor However, during Queen Elizabeth's reign the problem of poverty became so bad that these charitable donations by individuals were no longer enough And people began to realize the society as a whole would have to take more Responsibility for helping the poor so the government began to take actions to tackle this issue of poverty Now people believed that the poor could be slit into three categories So this is really important to understand So the categories were the helpless poor the deserving poor and the undeserving poor and this was also reflected in the poor laws So the helpless poor were classified as those Unable to support themselves including young orphans the elderly the sick and the disabled The deserving poor were classified as people who wanted to work But weren't able to find a job in the hometown or village and the undeserving poor Were classified as beggars criminals and people who refused to work and also migrant workers called Vega bonds Who left the homes and traveled around looking for work? Now the poor laws gave help to the helpless and deserving poor and so from the 1560s onwards the government brought in a series of poor laws to deal with this problem of poverty and Because voluntary donations were no longer sufficient to provide poor relief in the 1560s the government passed a poor law Which introduced a tax raise money for the poor known as a poor rate Also further poor laws were passed in 1597 and 1601 in response to the poverty crisis and under these laws the poor rate became a national system of compulsory Taxation and it was collected locally by an official called the overseer of the poor Now poor rates were used to provide hospitals and housing for the elderly sick and disabled and poor children were given Apprenticeships which usually lasted at least seven years and local authorities were expected to provide financial support Or work for the deserving poor and poor people could be sent to prison if they refuse to take on work Now those who were categorized as the undeserving poor were treated really harshly So under the poor laws of the 1590s the undeserving poor were to be publicly whipped and then forced to return to the home Parish and repeat offenders could be sent to prison Also the undeserving poor treated so harshly because it was seen as a threat to society many believed that poor criminals and vagabonds Encouraged northern rebellion in 1569 and in response to the rebellion the government introduced really harsh punishment for the undeserving poor in 1572 However, there was a golden age So despite the very high levels of poverty amongst the working class and the middle classes in Elizabethan England Also, Elizabeth's reign was ironically referred to as a golden age There was growing prosperity of the elite which contributed to flourishing in architecture the arts and education So bear in mind that the gentry really experienced a golden age They became richer during Elizabeth's reign and this is because the population growth and changes in farming practices Which we talked about why they were bad for the poor was actually good for the landowners And it was especially good for the gentry so the aristocracy Also the enclosures meant that land was farmed more efficiently and at the same time Rents were increasing in prices of agricultural products that grain were rising So those people who actually owned the land that these things were farmed on earned a lot more money from their land They had a really really extended period of prosperity and so Members of the nobility really saw the incomes increase and the growth of towns and the development of national and international trade Allowed some merchants to become very rich and they often use the money to buy even more land and become part of the gentry So some members of the elite built new houses So from the set fifteen seventies members of the gentry and nobility improved their homes or built new ones This was called the great Rebuilding and these building projects enabled members of the elite to really show off their wealth new houses often had many large Windows as glass is very expensive So using a lot of it was a sign of prosperity and large landscaped gardens were also a really popular way to display wealth and the great Rebuilding improved living standards for the wealthy because the new homes were much more comfortable The large windows made them lighter and bigger chimneys and fireplaces meant that they were better heated Also art literature and education really flourished because we're seen as really fashionable So the nobility and gentry had money to spend on elaborate decorations for their homes Support roots miniatures which are tiny portraits tapestries and boydery were all really popular at this time And it was also fashionable to take an interest in literature So some people collected large libraries and members of the elite supported the work of poets and playwrights And of course William Shakespeare is the biggest playwright at the time who really profited from this trend and elite support for Playwright and acting companies contributed to the flourishing of Elizabethan theater and more people could afford to give the children an education Now when it came to family life Families were seen at the as at the heart of Elizabethan society and They were usually positive and loving environments and family life taught children important moral and reinforced Elizabethan social structures So family of our life was something that Queen Elizabeth really really placed an emphasis on Now Elizabethan families were usually asked to be loving and foster close relationship with family members and Elizabethan family life was interestingly quite hierarchical So some members of the family had more authorities than others So the father was the head of the family the mother assisted him and the children obeyed the father and do bear in mind that This is the time when women weren't allowed to own any properties So the father would be the person who essentially owned all the property including the mother and the women in his family Because they were seen as part of his property Now when it came to wider kinship extended family This was also important and kin formed part of a family's social life and could be called upon to provide financial help So having important or rich ancestors was also a source of pride and status Noble families would often hang portraits or miniatures of the king and Ancestors in the home and kin also produced useful political and social connections particularly in wealthy families And so children's education other households will sometimes arrange using wider family connections Also when it came to family life, of course marriage is a really important aspect of it So in Elizabethan England marriage was a way of increasing one family's wealth of social status and husbands usually owned All of their wife's money and property once they were married and also the woman and the wife became part of the husband's property once married For members of the nobility and gentry the right marriage could enhance and advance a man's career at court or in government and Marriage however was not always about money or status some Elizabethans married for love A husband was also seen as a head of the household as I've mentioned earlier And he was responsible for providing an income from his family And he was expected to care for his wife and children and the wife's main role was surround the household and looked after her Children and husband and if the husbands went away women were often left in charge of all household staff and servants in richer families And in some poor families the wives did have to work and women could help the husbands with Farm work and sometimes to con separate jobs such as midwives and shops assistants Children also often left home to learn new skills So first see childbirth was extremely dangerous in Elizabethan times and many women died given birth and infant mortality rates So this is the number of childhood children who die was really high especially amongst the poor Now Elizabethans expect to parents to love and take care of the children particularly those who survived and parents were also Responsible for teaching children morals and social expectations Now richer Elizabethan children were often sent away from the family home Some went to school But many became skilled apprentices and children of the nobility were often sent to noble households to train for nighthoods Now most poor and middle-class children stayed at home for work But some were servants in other households or did an apprenticeship and a poorer of families Life was often a struggle for both parents who had to work hard to feed and clothe the children Now when it came to education during Queen Elizabeth's reign People increasingly began to recognize the importance of education and children often received a really basic education at home Now most parents probably taught the children how to behave correctly and gave them a basic religious education And from the age of six all children had to go to Sunday school where they learned things like the Lord's Prayer The Ten Commandments and the Creed which is a basic statement of the Christian faith And from a young age boys were trained in simple work skills whilst girls helped the mothers in household activities and Some children from noble households were taught at home by a private tutor whilst others were sent to live with another Noble family and educated there Now more children did start attending schools however, only a small minority of children in Elizabethan England went to school and Education however still remained really important for many careers particularly white-collar trades like government administration work Now there were different types of schools The first were known as petty schools, which are small local schools that provided a very basic education Many were run by the local parish priests and others were attached to grammar schools or set up by private individuals These schools taught basic reading and writing as well as a little maths There wasn't a set curriculum although lessons usually had a very strong religious focus and the schools didn't usually have any books Instead the main teaching aid was a horn book, which is a wooden board that showed the alphabet and the Lord's Prayer Most pupils were boys although some petty schools admitted a few girls and there was no fixed age for pupils to start school But they usually started around six and stayed until they could read and write the other types of schools were grammar schools and Whilst grammar schools had existed for centuries There was a huge expansion of them in Queen Elizabeth's reign and there was a foundation about a hundred new grammar schools There was no state education system at this time instead most schools were mainly set up by very wealthy individuals It was also very rare for girls to attend grammar schools Most pupils were boys from upper and middle classes and some schools offered free places to very bright boys from poorer backgrounds But few of them were able to attend because their parents needed them to work at home Also children usually started grammar school at around the age of seven and lessons focused mainly on Latin and classical literature Such as from ancient Greece or Rome and a few schools also taught Greek Also the number of university students increased So when they left grammar schools some boys went on to study at one of two English universities Oxford and Cambridge and the growing Prosperity of the upper middle class has meant the number of university students increased during Queen Elizabeth's reign Also university courses were conducted almost entirely in Latin So students studied advanced written and spoken Latin before moving on to study arithmetic music Greek astronomy geometry and philosophy and after completing an undergraduate degree students did specialise in law theology or medicine Now when it came to popular culture some Elizabethan pastimes like tennis fencing football and theatre are still popular today and Hunting and sports were a really important part of court life So Elizabeth and her courtiers often hunted deer and other wild animals as well as being a form of entertainment Hunting was an important source of food at court and the Queen was skilled at Hawking Spending many hours with her trained Falcons as they hunted and only the rich could afford to train Falcons Queen Elizabeth's courtiers and other nobles practiced fencing from a young age Tennis and bowling was so important and very popular and the sports needed expensive equipment And they were only played by the rich Now most ordinary people worked six days a week and went to church on a Sunday So they had very little leisure time However, there were several festival days in the calendar including midsummer's day and ascension day and on these days People are free to enjoy sports feasting and other pastimes Football was also popular sport and often people between two villages competed in these football tournaments and an unlimited number of players could take part and there were few rules games often descended into long and violence fights Blood sports like cock fighting and bull fighting or bear baiting were also really popular The theatre also became extremely popular under Queen Elizabeth's reign So there were no permanent theatres in England at the start of her reign instead actors traveled around in bands Performing in village squares or in courtyards The first theatres were built in London in 1570 They included the theatre and the curtain They were usually round open-air buildings with a red stage and they stretched out into the audience Now the theatre interestingly appealed to both the rich and the poor Powerful audience members known as groundlings stood around the stage whilst richer people sat under the cover around the theatre's walls Queen Elizabeth herself really enjoyed plays and often had them performed a court She supported her favorite performers and even set up an acting company the Queen's Men Members of the elite including some privy councillors also supported theatre companies and the London authorities and the Puritans Did oppose the theatre because they saw it as a source of crime and immorality and as a result many theatres were built Just outside the city of London in Sardauk Now Queen Elizabeth and the Elizabethans at large were very superstitious and they grew increasingly hostile towards witches and the idea of witches Now Queen Elizabeth banned Catholic rituals like charms, blessings and exorcisms Which were used to cleanse someone of the devil and evil spirits and this made some Elizabethans feel really vulnerable In 1592 Queen Elizabeth passed the Witchcraft Act which made all acts of witchcraft a crime Accused witches were given a trial at court and witches found guilty of causing death were to be hanged And less serious offences like providing herbal remedies carried a prison sentence of a year Those accused of witchcraft were usually older women who didn't fit into society These included mothers with illegitimate children, spinsters who were unmarried women and women who were rude or outspoken And formal accusations against witches reached their height at the end of the 16th century So between 1570 and 1609 263 people were accused of being witches but only 64 were executed Now Elizabethan sailors also played a really important role in Elizabethan England So Queen Elizabeth's reign was also a really exciting time for sailors There were lots of developments in navigation and shipbuilding which were finally opening up the oceans and enabling explorers to discover the world beyond Europe The English were really slow however to take an interest in expropriation Now the Portuguese and the Spanish were interestingly the first to explore the world beyond Europe And in the 1400s the fleets began to set out on voyages of discovery to Africa, the Americas and Asia By the time Queen Elizabeth became Queen in 1558 both Portugal and Spain had established many colonies in the Americas However it was only from the 1560s that English sailors began to take an interest in global exploration and set out on their own voyages of discovery Now explorers were attracted by economic opportunities So firstly Spanish trade with these colonies was seen as really profitable And this therefore attracted English privateers, men with their own ships, who hoped to profit from trading with Spain's colonies and raiding Spanish settlements and ships John Hawkins was the first English privateer to join the Atlantic slave trade and in the 1560s he made three slave trading voyages He bought slaves from West Africa and sold them to Spanish colonies The Spanish didn't want the English to trade with these colonies so his actions fueled a lot of tensions between England and Spain Now Hawkins first two voyages were really profitable but on his last expedition he was confronted by Spanish ships in the battle of San Juan de Ulua And most of his fleet was destroyed and from the 1570s English merchants also looked for routes to Asia like the Northwest Passage around the top of America In 1591 James Lancaster sailed to India around the Cape of Good Hope which is the southern tip of Africa And after this the East India Company was set up in 1600 to trade with Asia and of course the East India Company eventually evolved And it took over India and what is modern day Pakistan and this really was the beginning of this period of colonization Now new technology also made longer journeys possible so firstly as Portuguese and Spanish organics for the seas they developed better navigational techniques They learned how to navigate by the position of the stars or the sun using an instrument called a sea astralo In 1561 a key Spanish book called The Art of Navigation by Marion Quartz was translated into English and this gave the English sailors detailed information about how to navigate across the Atlantic using a sea astralo From the 1570s the English built larger longer ships and these were better suited to long ocean voyages as they were faster, more stable and easier to navigate They could also carry longer cargoes making the voyages more profitable and one of the most significant sailors of the Elizabethan era was Sir Francis Drake He is best remembered for sailing all the way around the world which was a tremendous feat at the time He was the second man ever to sail around the world and he was John Hawkins' cousin who travelled with him on two of his slave trading expeditions So between 1577 and 1580 Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the world, in other words he sailed all the way once around the world He probably interestingly wasn't trying to sail the world, it seems that he was sent by Elizabeth to explore the coast of South America looking for opportunities for English colonialism and trade He also explored the South American coastline raiding many Spanish settlements as he went along And in the Pacific he captured two very valuable Spanish treasure ships and in order to get this treasure safely home he had to return by different route The Spanish were blocking the way that he had to come Instead Sir Francis Drake therefore, given that he was blocked, sailed west across the Pacific to Indonesia and he then made his way across the Indian Ocean Went round the Cape of Good Hope and back to England He was finally knighted by Elizabeth on his ship the Golden Hind and this royal recognition and the wealth that Drake brought back encouraged more English sailors to go on long distance journeys Now Sir Francis Drake was involved in many other important naval expeditions, so for instance in 1587 he led a raid on the Spanish port of Cadiz and in 1588 he played a really important role in the defeat of the Spanish Shimada He unfortunately died of disease in 1596 while trying to conquer Spanish colonies of the Americas And however his circumnavigation was a huge achievement and his expedition was the only second successful global circumnavigation, the first was done by an English sailor So Sir Francis Drake and his crew had overcome some major challenges in order to complete this expedition Now one of the major challenges of course was how difficult it was to navigate across vast oceans So Elizabethan sailors knew how to use the sun and stars to work out how far north or south of the equator they were so their latitude But they couldn't really measure how far east or west they had travelled which is their longitude Now many of the places also that Sir Francis Drake visited had never been explored by European sailors before There were no detailed maps or charts to help him navigate, he was an explorer in the truest sense of the term Also he faced a threat of death from disease, though many sailors who had died of disease during long journeys and one of Drake's ships had to be abandoned after crossing the Atlantic because so many of the crew had died Bad weather also blew ships off course and even sunk them and storms destroyed one of Sir Francis Drake's ships as it attempted to sail around the bottom of South America and forced another to return back to England However after his circumnavigation England tried to challenge Spain's dominant as an imperial power by establishing a colony in North America but creating permanent settlements turned out to be really difficult Now came in Water Rally and his attempts to colonise Virginia which were unsuccessful So Walter Rally was a member of the Gentry and he was from a place called Devon His family were involved with international exploration and Walter Rally himself first visited America in 1578 and from the early 1580s Rally had a really powerful position at the court as one of Queen Elizabeth's favourites Now in 1584 Queen Elizabeth gave him permission to explore and colonise unclaimed territories and she wanted him to establish a colony on the Atlantic coast of North America And in 1585 Rally sent 108 settlers to establish a permanent colony on Renauke Island in Virginia and Rally did rename this colony after Elizabeth known as the Virgin Queen However the settlers or the planters soon ran low on supplies and when Sir Francis Drake visited Renauke in 1586 most of them abandoned the colony and returned to England with him A second group of planters reached Renauke in 1587 they were expecting supplies from England in 1588 but the fleet was delayed by the Spanish Armada And when the supply ships did finally reach Renauke in 1590 all the planters had disappeared they were never found and Renauke became known as the Lost Colony Now Rally was partly responsible for the colony's failures his funds were too limited and the whole project was poorly planned However other factors like bad luck and a lack of supplies also played an important part Now Walter Rally's careers did have its ups and its major downs so despite the failure of the Renauke colony Sir Walter Rally remained one of Elizabeth's favourites However in 1592 he was disgraced when Elizabeth found out that he had secretly married one of her ladies in waiting and as punishment he was banished from court and briefly imprisoned And this wasn't however the end of his career after his release he continued to play an important role in politics and he became a member of parliament and was still involved with the Royal Navy So that's all if you found this video useful please do head over to our website which is www.firstrate tutors.com There you will find history model answers and exam papers that you can use to enhance your SEO writing skills in this and indeed any other area of history As well as learn how to get top marks in your exam. Do make sure you come back to our channel for parts 4 and 5 when it comes to Queen Elizabeth's reign And there we will delve into lots of detail relating to troubles that Queen Elizabeth herself faced at home and abroad and also Elizabeth's war with Spain Thank you so much for listening