1.2 What Problems did Elizabeth have?

What Problems Did Elizabeth Have at the Beginning of her reign?

Key points to remember

As a women and unmarried, Elizabeth faced questions over the Tudor succession
England was poor and had lost wars under Elizabeth’s sister- Mary
Problem of religion – Edward VI was protestant, Mary I a Catholic – the country was divided

Elizabeth was 25 when she became queen. Following on from the unpopular Mary, Elizabeth had a number of problems STIRRING up trouble in the country – REMEMBER STIR

Succession – Henry VIII had had three children but two of them – Mary and Edward had had no heirs. It would be up to Elizabeth to provide the next generation of Tudors. Elizabeth was still not married and many became concerned when in 1562 Elizabeth contracted smallpox –a disease that killed many. Parliament and others started putting on pressure for Elizabeth to marry to avoid possible fighting over the succession.

To make matters worse, many Catholics favoured Elizabeth’s cousin the catholic Mary Queen of Scots and wanted to see Elizabeth replaced by Mary.

Taxation – The government needed money and this meant that taxes needed to be raised. This was always unpopular. In addition, by Elizabeth’s reign there were many more people living in poverty, it would be dangerous to raise taxes too much.

Ireland – Elizabeth was technically Queen of Ireland, though most of the lords in Ireland felt they should be independent of her control. A revolt in 1559 was one of many in her reign, Elizabeth spent a lot of money and men in Ireland. It was one of the main sources of conflict later on in her reign between her and the Earl of Essex

Religion – Because Elizabeth’s father Henry VIII had broken from the Catholic church, England was divided between those who wished to stay Protestant and those who wanted to return to be Catholic. Elizabeth’s brother Edward VI had made the country Protestant, while Elizabeth’s Sister Mary I had made it Catholic again. Elizabeth herself was a Protestant, but she was not going to make the mistakes of her siblings by alienating some of her subjects by siding too much with one side of the religious argument. Extreme Protestants called Puritans were gaining popularity in her reign, while extreme Catholics operated in secret, many wishing for the Queen to be replaced by a Catholic monarch. Religion also effected relations with foreign countries. France and Spain were both Catholic and the Pope saw England as a target to converting back to Catholicism. Elizabeth would later get involved in the Netherlands, helping the Protestants there gain independence from Catholic Spain.