Mobile Court The royal court was a mobile operation and moved to where the queen was

1. Mobile Court The royal court was a mobile operation and moved to where the queen was Lord Chamberlain was in charge of the court There were about 500 members which included nobles, advisors, officials and servants as a group they were called courtiers. In the age of Personal Monarch it was important to have access to the Queen for decision making The economical Elizabeth did not build any new houses as she was short of money. She enjoyed staying at Richmond, when in London she stayed at Whitehall palace. She enjoyed hunting at St James palace. There was also the Tower of London and Windsor castle to imprison anyone she wanted rid of. Progresses Elizabeth would travel with her court on tours of progresses, visiting the homes of nobility. They were a major public relations exercise which allowed Elizabeth to be seen by her subjects and build up relationships and flatter the nobles she chose to stay with. It wold involve 400 wagons piled high with clothes, linen documents and furnishings- including her bed. To her subjects she would appear a goddess parading in her finery. Progresses also served the purpose of allowing Elizabeth to live in luxury but not have to pay for it. Also progresses allowed her to leave the hot and often plague ridden cities and visit important nobles. Performance The court served a number of functions as well as being a social hub, providing the queen and the courtiers with a home and entertainment, it was a political nerve-centre. She would entertain foreign guests and give the impression of power giving great performances and banquets. In feast days the Queen would dine in public with much performance and ceremony including people marching behind her carrying her sceptres and sword of state. Patronage In Henry VIII time his private apartments were much of a power Hub but as Elizabeth was a woman her private apartments mainly involved women. Elizabeth dealt with this situation by using a system of patronage ( basically giving people she liked an important job and wage) She gave her male courtiers political roles and was equally careful to give key politicians places at court. Although it was a highly corrupt system it was very effective as people would compete to be in her favour to gain the best roles in court etc. The Privy Council Theprivy council co-ordinated financial departments, law courts and the star chamber. It issued instructions to local officials such as lord lieutenants and justices of peace. Members generally from the nobility, Gentry and the church, but Elizabeth could choose and dismiss whenever she wanted Elizabeth delegated well and the work of the privy increased while she was monarch but she did always attend the meetings. The key role of the Privy council was to advise and direct policy but the Queen was not obliged to take their advice. In fact, Elizabeth often demonstrated her right to ignore them. ELIZABETH’S COURT

2. CULTURE

3. REBELLIONS AND PLOTS

4. EXPLORATION AND EXPLORERS

5. ELIZABETH AND HER SUITORS

6. ELIZABETH AND THE PROBLEM OF RELIGION

7. ELIZABETH BEFORE BECOMING QUEEN

8. MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS

9. Causes of the Conflict: • The Spanish king was married to Elizabeth’s sister • Elizabeth had rejected the kings advances • Phillip hated Protestant England • Phillip believed Elizabeth shouldn’t have been Queen • Wanted to conquer England and restore Catholicism. • In the Netherlands there were mostly Protestants and they objected to Catholic rule. • England was disrupting Spain’s trade. • Unofficially England allowed rebels to board Spanish ships and steal their goods. • Resources: • Phillip had huge resources at his disposal. • Elizabeth was in comparison a weak competitor. • She had the plan in place to summon soldiers from different parts of the country. • She didn’t know where or when the Spanish would land so she had to spread her soldiers across the coast. • Elizabeth only had 35 ships she did manage to get 200 boats in the end not battle ships though. • Phillip had 130 ships at his disposal. • Spanish plans for invasion: • Plans were delayed by about a year when Drake raided Spanish ships damaging many of them. • He had prepared 130 ships with 2500 men to man them. • The paln was for the Armada to sail up the channel to meet the Spanish army coming from the Netherlands. • This army was under control of the Duke of Parma- they were going to meet up with the Armada and capture ports on the south coast. • The English Catholics were also expected to rebel against Elizabeth. • Leaders: • Phillip had appointed the Duke of Medina Sidonia to lead the Spanish attack. • The English fleet was expertly led by Lord Howard and several other men including Sir Francis Drake . • Consequences for Spain: • Philip humiliated, good propaganda opportunity for Elizabeth • Philip continued to stir Catholic support against Elizabeth • War put a strain on the economy • Importance of guns in sea battles-lasting tactic • Consequences for England: • England’s independence ensured • England becomes a major naval power • Importance of guns in sea battles-lasting tactic • Philip continued to stir Catholic support against Elizabeth • Elizabeth continued to help Dutch rebels • War put a strain on the economy • Fireships: • With the wind rising as the Spanish Armada set off from Calais, Drake had a master stroke. • He took some old English ships and stuffed them with explosives and flammable materials. Setting them out towards the Spanish ships. • No Spanish ships were actually burnt but it sent them of course and broke the well organised crescent. • This meant some of the Spanish were now heading too far north and had missed the Channel and their method of attack. • Ship Design: • Hawkins had spent a long time on the design of the ships. They were lighter, faster and more manoverable than the Spanish. • They used accurate and long ranging guns allowing them to attack while at a safe distance from the Spanish ships. • The Launch of the Armada: • Armada left Lisbon in May 1588. • The fleet quickly ran into storms , needing supplies and repairs the ships had to drop anchor. • They did successful sail to the English Channel in a crescent shape. • There were beacons on the coast to light when the Spanish were sited. • English followed the Cresent shapes successfully. Spanish Armada