Elizabethan England Topic Summaries
Government structure
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GCSE History: Elizabethan England (1558-1603)
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Elizabeth’s accession
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Government structure
Elizabeth’s accession
- - Social structure 1588 England
- - Elizabeth I’s background
- - Elizabeth I’s character strengths
- - The coronation of Elizabeth I
- - Elizabeth’s legitimacy and early challenges
- - Government structure
- - Life at court
- - The Privy Council
- - Profile: William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
- - Profile: Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury
- - Profile: Francis Walsingham
- - Profile: Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
- - Profile: Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
- - Profile: Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
- - Factions, allies, and rivalries in the Privy Council
- - The Puritans and Parliament
- - Propaganda and royal image
- - The question of marriage
- - The question of succession
- - Challenges at home and abroad
- - Essex’s rebellion
Elizabethan life and culture
- - The golden age
- - Growing prosperity and the rise of the gentry
- - The role of the theatre
- - Education
- - Family life
- - Sport, art, and other pastimes
- - Puritan opposition to ‘Merry England'
- - Persecution of witches
- - Socio-economic status
- - Reasons for increased poverty and vagabondage
- - Responses to poverty
Religious challenges and plots
Imperial ambitions
Conflict with Spain
Elizabeth’s accession
- - Social structure 1588 England
- - Elizabeth I’s background
- - Elizabeth I’s character strengths
- - The coronation of Elizabeth I
- - Elizabeth’s legitimacy and early challenges
- - Government structure
- - Life at court
- - The Privy Council
- - Profile: William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley
- - Profile: Robert Cecil, 1st Earl of Salisbury
- - Profile: Francis Walsingham
- - Profile: Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester
- - Profile: Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex
- - Profile: Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk
- - Factions, allies, and rivalries in the Privy Council
- - The Puritans and Parliament
- - Propaganda and royal image
- - The question of marriage
- - The question of succession
- - Challenges at home and abroad
- - Essex’s rebellion
Elizabethan life and culture
- - The golden age
- - Growing prosperity and the rise of the gentry
- - The role of the theatre
- - Education
- - Family life
- - Sport, art, and other pastimes
- - Puritan opposition to ‘Merry England'
- - Persecution of witches
- - Socio-economic status
- - Reasons for increased poverty and vagabondage
- - Responses to poverty
Religious challenges and plots
Imperial ambitions
Conflict with Spain
- Elizabeth I ruled as a monarch with significant authority but governed with advice from key institutions.
- The Privy Council advised the Queen on all matters including domestic and foreign policy.
- Parliament consisted of the House of Lords and the House of Commons. Their main role was to approve taxation and pass laws, but it could not meet without the Queen’s consent.
- Local government was run by Justices of the Peace who were responsible for maintaining order, collecting taxes, and enforcing laws, alongside sheriffs and Lords Lieutenant.
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