To solve these problems Elizabeth brought in two new acts. Firstly the Act of Supremacy 1559, this made Elizabeth Supreme Governor of the Church. It also gave Protestants freedom, something they didn't have in Mary's reign. This would have gained Elizabeth support from them. As well as this, the act provided communion in both kinds, keep Catholics and Protestants happy. It would seem Elizabeth was trying to make a religious settlement for both religions. This act passed through parliament easily, showing Elizabeth clearly had a lot of support behind her. Secondly the Act of Uniformity was brought in, in 1559. This was modeled on the second pray book of Edward VI, this act seemed to give more to the Protestants than the Catholics for example every church was to have an English prayer book. These solutions were a step forward, but some issues still remained, the Pope might not be entirely happy with these acts and Mary Queen of Scots was still a large threat. Also would everyone be happy? It was likely that there would still be a massive divide of religion in England.
Finance was also a major issue for Elizabeth. Money was important; it gave a country security and presented the idea of wealth and power - a good image. Without this Elizabeth and England would be weak. Elizabeth had inherited around £300,000 in debt from Mary, a huge sum of money. Mary had also sold lots of the crowns land, weakening the economy and causing problems in the long term. The economy was also in trouble, Mary had created a new book of rates to increase custom duties, this was a good idea, but failed to work due to the problem of inflation. The rates didn't match the rate of inflation. England's economy was also hit hard by the collapse of the cloth market; this was one of England's biggest trades and with the collapse of market trade lines with Antwerp how was England going to make any money! As well as this England was going through debasement, the lowering value of currency, this encouraged a lack of faith in the currency. The lack of finance also links to religion. If the Pope really did disagree with Elizabeth’s choice in religion he could call on the Catholic powers in Europe to lead a religious crusade, this crusade would need money, something Elizabeth didn't have. This could mean that England could be overthrown by foreign powers due to the country being in such high debt. By 1585 Elizabeth had managed to pay off Mary’s debt and build up a reserve of £300,00 by cutting back on expenditure - like ending the ongoing war with France and building no stately homes or palaces. Elizabeth also managed to end debasement, therefore putting faith back into the economy. However although this was a solution it took many years to put in place, in that time England's security could have been put under threat and with no money the country would have failed to defend itself and could have been lost to a foreign power. Finance was a serious problem for Elizabeth, it threatened the security of the country and lead to the weakening of the economy and therefore the people of England suffered.
In 1558 Elizabeth had to deal with several foreign affairs. Firstly in France, France was one of England's biggest enemies because of its size. France at the time was looking after Mary Queen of Scots and was a Roman Catholic country. This increases the seriousness of religion. Elizabeth needed to keep France happy so not to start another war, which England couldn't afford. Elizabeth also had to be aware that Mary Queen of Scots was a threat to her throne. As well as this France was still technically at war with England and Elizabeth did not want this war to start again. So to solve this Elizabeth signed the treaty of Cateau-Cambrasis, this gave France Calais for 10 years. This can be thought of as a success; it postponed war and saved money. Therefore this problem isn't as important. Spain and the Netherlands was also a threat. Elizabeth needed to keep friendly with the Habsburg family. The Netherlands was under Phillip II control, Elizabeth needed to maintain a good relationship as Antwerp was vital for the English textile trade. A solution to this was for Elizabeth to marry Phillip who had a key interest in her. Phillip also needs England to trade with therefore this entire problem would affect both party and was unlikely ever to happen as they both needed each other. We also know that Elizabeth had no real interest in Phillip and that marriage would have never have worked. Finally Scotland, Mary of Guise, mother of Mary Queen of Scots had put French troops in Scotland creating a threat to England and maybe a war that England couldn't fund. They also like France supported Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth’s safety was under threat as many people would kill Elizabeth to secure Mary becoming Queen of England. Therefore Elizabeth needed to marry and produce a Protestant heir otherwise Elizabeth may lose the allegiance of the people who looked to the future. The solution to these problems was discussed at the treaty of Edinburgh. The treaty made France agree to remove troops from Scotland and therefore the threat of war fell. This may have saved Elizabeth a lot of money in the long term and therefore thanks to this solution makes this problem less serious.
Additionally Elizabeth’s gender was a huge issue. Quite simply in Tudor England the common thought was that women should follow their husband. This presented Elizabeth with some difficulties. Firstly many people just didn't believe that she could do it, being a woman the people didn't expect a lot from her. The rule of a woman on her own was seen as unnatural, it was assumed that she would marry and then could be guided by her husband. Elizabeth’s councilors may have also have felt that they needed to advise the Queen more directly as she was ‘only’ a woman. Finally Elizabeth couldn't be the head of the church and couldn't go to war, as war was seen as a man’s job! However Elizabeth’s gender could be used as an advantage. Elizabeth could use her gender and femininity as a political tool for example like with Spain and the marriage proposal she could use this to her advantage biding herself time. She could also play the stereotype that women were ‘indecisive’ this brought her valuable time before making a difficult decisions. Finally Elizabeth overcame of the issue of religion by taking the title of Supreme Governor instead of the head of the church. This problem is probably the least serious, it seems her gender didn't hold her back but instead helped her to become a more successful Queen.
In conclusion I agree with the statement. Religion was the most serious problem facing Elizabeth in 1558. It was important that Elizabeth picked the right religion, if she didn't it could lead to an even bigger divide in England. It could lead to rebellions and maybe even a civil war. However no matter what she choose it would be impossible for her to keep everyone happy. I also think the acts didn't do enough, Elizabeth it seemed was trying to mix the two religions together and I think that neither Protestant nor Catholic really wanted this; they wanted to be totally independent from each. Religion was also a massive factor in finance, Elizabeth had to please people like the Pope otherwise England could end up in another war which would have cost thousands of pounds. Foreign affairs was also affected by religion, Mary Queen of Scots had lots of support abroad and unless Elizabeth settled religious difference between England and other countries she could find herself being overthrown or even murdered by the French for her crown. So overall Religion affected nearly every problem, if Elizabeth had made the wrong decision the country could have been thrown into another war and an even deeper debt.
by
konoluu (student)
