'Mid Tudor Crisis' Elizabethan Later Years (1588-1603)

Chapter 11

Timeline

• 1588 (July) Defeat of Spanish Armada
• 1591 (August) Sir Robert Cecil becomes a Privy Councillor
• 1593 (June) Plague in London
• 1595 (June) Riots by apprentices + others in London
• 1596 (July) Cecil made principal private secretary to the queen ; Very poor harvest - food riots in Kent

              (November) Oxforshire Rising

• 1598 (August) Lord Burghley dies aged 77

              Tyrone defeats English troops

• 1599 (March) Essex to Ireland

              (September) Essex back from Ireland without permission

• 1601 (February) Essex's Rebellion ; Execution of Essex
• 1603 (March) Surrender of Tyrone ; Elizabeth dies

War with Spain

• She avoided the war
• Financial implications
• Potential defeat by Europe's premier power
• Drained resources
• War weariness was common
• James I made peace with Spain

War + English Politics

• Debate about the Centimation of the war in the Privy Council
• Burghly + Robert Cecil = determined to keep the Netherlands secure
• The rivalry: Burghley + Essex (very intense) (every decision was affected)
• Essex: Success in 1596 at Cadiz + national hero + very popular with younger sons of the gentry
• Elizabeth: was not really using policies during the war; relied on advisors

The Armada's impact on England

• Elizabeth managed to postpone a conflict deemed as inevitable
• Opportunities for the display of valor + military skill + English navel improvement
• Philip 99 became bankrupt in 1596
• She feared financial trouble
• Uneasiness in the atmosphere
• Money was consumed at a fast rate

The Dr Lopez Case

• In 1594 a plot by Dr Lopez to supposedly poison the queen was uncovered
• He was a Portuguese Jew who was supposedly in league with Spain

Issues of Succession

• Spanish princess Isabella's claim to the throne
• …