Topic overview
What you need to know
Elizabeth I's reign combined political stability and cultural confidence with religious division, poverty, plots, war with Spain and expanding exploration.
Exam tip
Use contextual knowledge to evaluate interpretations, and connect events at a historic site to the wider political and religious setting.
Core knowledge
Key facts for Elizabethan England, c1568–1603
Religious Settlement
The 1559 laws establishing a Protestant Church of England while retaining some traditional forms.
Privy Council
Elizabeth's small group of leading advisers who helped govern and implement royal policy.
Mary, Queen of Scots
Elizabeth's Catholic cousin and a focus for plots, imprisoned in England and executed in 1587.
Northern Rebellion
The 1569 Catholic uprising by northern earls that aimed to restore Catholic influence and free Mary.
Spanish Armada
Philip II's 1588 fleet intended to support an invasion of England; it was defeated and dispersed.
Poor Laws
Measures that distinguished between types of poor people and made local parishes responsible for relief.
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Mark the notes complete, then test what you can recall.