Elizabeth's reign, successes and flaws

The good, the bad and the downright ugly summary of Elizabeth I :P **

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  • Created by: Steph
  • Created on: 20-05-10 08:34

How successful was Elizabeth I with beggars and th

In some ways, we can say she was a success because:

  • Elizabeth introduced the 1601 Poor Law that sorted out the problems- it punished the beggars who fake disabilities or were just lazy.
  • Each Parish was responsible for dealing with their ‘deserving poor’.
  • An enormous problem that Elizabeth I did well to make progress with.

However, in other ways she was a failure because:

  • Elizabeth’s ‘new’ law was nothing new - many felt it wasn’t harsh enough.
  • Elizabeth didn’t solve the problem –and her policy was unfair making a whole city responsible for looking after lazy and faking people!
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How successful was Elizabeth I with Mary Queen of

Successes?

  • Had the courage to deal with the problem.
  • Didn’t just execute her – carefully waited until there was evidence against her, and only then put her to death.
  • Mary Queen of Scots threatened Elizabeth as she was the focus of Catholic Plots. Elizabeth stopped this!

Flaws?

  • Elizabeth unfairly executed MQS – the evidence probably never existed.
  • Elizabeth only executed Mary as the religious settlement was a failure – it was therefore Elizabeth’s mistake.
  • Mary was never really any threat! It was only because Elizabeth had never bothered to get married (another mistake).
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How successful was Elizabeth I with Philip II and

Successes?

  • Fantastic success with the Spanish Armada .
  • Phillip never managed to defeat Elizabeth, and England was made safe and secure from the Spanish threat.
  • England under Elizabeth never gave into Spain – success.

Flaws?

  • Elizabeth was just lucky!
  • She never sorted out the religious problems – a better Queen would have done this and avoided all the expense of the Armada.
  • The armada failed because of the weather and poor planning on Philip’s behalf.
  • Spain was always a threat to England – this should have been avoided!
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How Successful was Elizabeth I with Religion?

Successes?

  • Largely avoided trouble – she attempted to offer a fair balance.
  • Very clever policy – meaning both Catholics and Protestants supported her.
  • Stopped the ever changing nature of Tudor Religion.

Flaws?

  • She constantly faced danger and problems due to her religious solution (e.g Armada, MQS).
  • Her policy meant that those who strongly believed in their religion (eg. Puritans) were dangerous.
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