Situation before the Tudors. Outside the glittering court circles, the merchants led comparatively quiet lives. Elizabethan explorers undertook lengthy expeditions to discover new worlds. 3. Some companies, such as the Goldsmiths’ Company, could charge a considerable premium for an apprenticeship indenture. Why you need to protect your intellectual property, Shakespeare and gender: the ‘woman’s part’, Women playing Shakespeare: The first female Desdemona and beyond, Amusements and pastimes in Elizabethan England, The social structure in Elizabethan England, Crime and punishment in Elizabethan England, Paintings of London in the friendship album of Michael van Meer, c. 1614-1615, Strachey's 'A true reportory of the wreck' in Bermuda, Engravings of Native Americans and Picts in Harriot's, Book promoting the colonisation of Ireland, 1610, Map of Ireland and engraving of wild Irishman and woman, Galleries, Reading Rooms, shop and catering opening times vary. The keys to this political enigma are to be found in the tortuous path that led Princess Elizabeth to her coronation at the age of 25. The quickest route to such honour, and influence, and power, and wealth, was via the court, and the best way of succeeding there was to attract the Queen’s attention. It came, at first, and cynically, in the shape of begging licences, limited to an area, such as a parish, and a period, between six months and two years. The Clothworkers controlled the finishing processes of cloth, the Ironworkers supplied iron bars for the building trade, and iron rims for wheels. Elizabethan explorers undertook lengthy expeditions to discover new worlds. Wool had been England’s main export for centuries. In his Firste Fruites (1578), John Florio describes the many English merchants who traffic their goods throughout the world. They monopolised the profitable spice trade. (They still flourish, and still wield enormous influence in the City.) Although Roanoke failed, it prepared the way for the successful settlement of Virginia. Its aim was to separate the ‘poor, aged and impotent [i.e. Choose Yes please to open the survey in a new browser window or tab, and then complete it when you are ready. Usage terms STC 23401.5 Used by permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. The ordinance was issued in response to the 1348–1350 outbreak of the Black Death in England, when an estimated 30–40% of the population had died. The Muscovy Company, incorporated in 1555 as the first English joint-stock company, pushed south to Astrakhan, and on to Persia, trading English cloth for oriental silks and spices arriving via the Silk Road. Appalling social conditions prompted an uprising of 1,000 apprentices in London. Liza Picard considers some of the consequences of these expeditions: overseas colonies, imported goods and the slave trade. Lower-class citizens often did labour-intensive, dirty and/or low paying jobs, while the wealthy nobles maintained a healthy abhorrence of work and depended on low-born servants to complete the menial day-to-day tasks. Choose Yes please to open the survey in a new browser window or tab, and then complete it when you are ready. There were nearly a hundred companies in London, of which 12 were ‘Great companies’, controlling between them almost everything that was bought and sold in London, from pins – the Haberdashers – to wine – the Vintners. United Kingdom - United Kingdom - England in the 15th century: Central to all social change in the 15th century was change in the economy. Small families employed one or two serving men and servant maids. There is little evidence that serfs and day labourers, for example, received the same. The career opportunities available to a person in Elizabethan times often depended on the class the person was born into. There were places in educated families for ‘governors’ – tutors – but not for governesses: daughters were taught by their mothers. An alternative route might lie round the north of Russia. For those who had not managed to climb on to the livery company ladder, finding a job was more complicated. … Liza Picard considers some of the consequences of these expeditions: overseas colonies, imported goods and the slave trade. Ireland in 1500 was shaped by the Norman conquest, initiated by Anglo-Norman barons in the 12th century.Many of the native Gaelic Irish had been expelled from various parts of the country (mainly the east and southeast) and replaced with English peasants and labourers. No account of Elizabethan exploration is complete without mentioning Hakluyt. There was of course no common currency. In 1500 there was around 2.5 million people in England. Then he headed across the Indian Ocean, round the Cape of Good Hope, up the coast of Africa and home. By 1600 they had contacts on the east African coast, Macao, India, Ceylon and ‘the Spice Islands’, Sumatra and Java, with other islands in the East Indian archipelago, as well as the southern end of the Burmese peninsula and Japan. disabled]’ people, whom the state could and should help, from the thriftless and work-shy, whom the state would not help. Hand-coloured map of Virginia, one of earliest English colonies established under James I. The Carpenters regulated the building trade as all new buildings used timber. Public Domain in most countries other than the UK. Other nations, particularly the Portuguese, had circumnavigated the world before him, but Drake’s achievement – in his tiny, indomitable ship, only 70 feet long and 19 feet wide – was still astounding. From 1598 the Dutch, and occasionally the English, attacked the Spanish/Portuguese far eastern empire as part of their campaign against Spain, with a view to capturing the spice trade. ... Smith's Elizabethan expansiveness became boasting within a generation, and by 1850 was labeled "lying." Many an aspiring young man mortgaged his family estates in the country, spent the proceeds on ultra-fashionable garments, and set out for London. Shakespeare and gender: the ‘woman’s part’, Women playing Shakespeare: The first female Desdemona and beyond, Amusements and pastimes in Elizabethan England, Exploration and trade in Elizabethan England, Crime and punishment in Elizabethan England, Letter from the Earl of Shrewsbury on the Midland Revolt, 1607, Galleries, Reading Rooms, shop and catering opening times vary. It was, and is, a bleak land with an inclement climate, but the cod which then abounded off its shores promised a steady income in those fish-eating days, admittedly less romantic than the gold and jewels of the Spanish Main but at least validly claimed by the English. But for those that did, including Christopher Hatton, Francis Drake and Elizabeth’s godson John Harrington, royal favour could provide a good, if precarious, living. The Portuguese had already established trading posts down the west coast of Africa. Please consider the environment before printing, All text is © British Library and is available under Creative Commons Attribution Licence except where otherwise stated. No wonder that the drop-out rate was so high, often around 50 per cent. Queen Elizabeth was at the top of the social pyramid. In 1589 Hakluyt published The Principal Navigations, Voyages and Discoveries of the English Nation, with a much expanded edition in 1598–1600. Ships’ captains would sign on almost anyone; there might be a chance of prize money, but a greater chance of death by shipwreck or disease. Here an English merchant could trade wool and woollen cloth, for Russian furs and Chinese silk, lapis lazuli from Afghanistan and alum from Italy, far eastern spices and wines from Portugal, the Rhineland and France. From 1572–73 he harried the Spanish treasure ships, even ambushing a mule train laden with bullion from Peru as it crossed the Panama isthmus. He was buried in Westminster Abbey. View images from this item (1) Usage terms . The mayor was powerful enough, on occasion, to oppose the monarch, for example, when the City insisted that theatres should be closed during an epidemic of plague in London, although Elizabeth would have preferred them to continue since she enjoyed a good play. Liza Picard researches and writes about the history of London. In about 1585 the European market for this and every other commodity shifted from Antwerp to Amsterdam, which became the mercantile centre of the world. The Goldsmiths supervised the quality of gold and silver articles, which had to be marked in their Company’s hall (‘hall-marked’) before they could be sold. The sinews of the merchants’ community were the livery companies. Held by© Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2016. With her gift for public relations, the Queen knighted him on the deck of the Golden Hind when he returned in 1581. Spain did well out of the treaty. (This was the Tsar who later offered Elizabeth matrimony: an offer she refused, while accepting the sumptuous furs that came with it.) The Queen of England took the risk of not giving an heir to the lineage of the Tudors, even though her father, Henry VIII, had done everything to obtain one. The life of an apprentice was not always enjoyable. – Except perhaps, that the rich people were so oblivious to the poor, and the poor had so few prospects of ever being rich. The livery companies, in short, had Elizabethan trade sewn up. Liza Picard researches and writes about the history of London. During this hormone-driven period of his life ‘he shall not commit fornication nor contract matrimony … he shall not play at cards … or any other lawful game. By 1545 its production was being shipped to Spain as 'pieces of eight' in such quantities that European commerce was transformed. Another possibility was to stay in your family mansion and invite the Queen to visit you there. The Elizabethan Medical Treatment of the Black Death or the Bubonic Plague The main reasons for the 14th century pandemic effect and spread of the virus was the poor hygiene and the massive number of infected rodents.The Bubonic plague (Black Death) was always caught or spread from an infected animal or person.The victims would often die within two to four days. America -- Discovery and exploration -- English -- Collected works. In any case, by 1587 any idea of planting foreign colonies had to give way to the need to devote shipping and experienced seamen to defeating Spain. If she accepted, an immense expenditure on house and grounds would be needed, which would be wasted, if in the end the royal visit never happened. But there was no security, no pension, let alone any right to sick pay. Your views could help shape our site for the future. What happened to the poor, the people who could find no work, or were too disabled to work? Columbus had already, in 1492, discovered Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic) and other Caribbean islands. Without his urging, the English might have been content to rest in their foggy off-shore island while the Spaniards and Portuguese divided the world between them. Perhaps still searching for that elusive north-west passage, he sailed up the coast of North America, until at about the latitude of [modern] Los Angeles he changed course, to catch the trade winds west across the Pacific, towards the Spice Islands, pausing there to recondition his ship and load a precious cargo of cloves. Please consider the environment before printing, All text is © British Library and is available under Creative Commons Attribution Licence except where otherwise stated. He drew a line down the Atlantic, between the Americas and Africa, so that North and South America fell to Spain, except for the eastern corner of South America (Brazil), which fell to the Portuguese. In 1583 Humphrey Gilbert discovered the island of Newfoundland, and claimed it for England. Richard Chancellor had sailed to Archangel in 1553 and travelled overland to Moscow, where Ivan IV, called ‘the Terrible’, gave him favourable trading terms. But he was disgraced after marrying Elizabeth Vernon, one of the Queen’s maids of honour. The earliest medieval Poor Law was the Ordinance of Labourers which was issued by King Edward III of England on 18 June 1349, and revised in 1350. The Earl of Oxford came on a social visit to London in 1562 with 140 mounted retainers, all wearing his livery to show their allegiance. But the overland route to the East was too vulnerable to be practicable. She rode on horseback, or on a litter, carried above the eye-level of the crowd. The story began in 1494, when Spain and Portugal divided the New World between them, with the Pope’s approval. The Spanish resented this intrusion into their markets, and Hawkins had to give it up after a few years, but the precedent had been set for a sinister trade that brought fortunes to British slavers until its final abolition in the British Empire, in 1807. In the 1970s historians began to research the daily lives of people in Elizabethan England. Millions of people moved during the Industrial Revolution.Some simply moved from a village to a town in the hope of finding work whilst others moved from one country to another in search of a better way of life. Usage terms NPG L114 He bought or captured men and women from Africa, whom he sold to the Spanish colonisers in America, in exchange for Spanish gold and gemstones, which he sold in England. 1600-1775 -- Collected works. Why you need to protect your intellectual property, Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial No Derivatives licence, Royal Collection Trust/© Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II 2016. In 1577, fired by accounts of fortunes to be made in foreign lands, he set out to circumnavigate the earth. There were the very rich, and the very poor. Enclosure of land cause massive hardship and poverty for labourers in rural England. Since it was made so difficult to obtain them, many were forged. The social structure in Elizabethan England Article written by: Liza Picard; Themes: Shakespeare’s life and world ... Enclosure of land cause massive hardship and poverty for labourers in rural England. The apprenticeship lasted at least seven years, sometimes longer, during which the young man was bound to ‘serve his master faithfully and keep his (trade) secrets’. Their favourable tax status made them even more unpopular. Once the apprentice had completed his term, he became a freeman of London. Migration during the Industrial Revolution. Public Domain in most countries other than the UK. The Tiger Who Came to Tea by Judith Kerr: sketches and original artwork, Sean's Red Bike by Petronella Breinburg, illustrated by Errol Lloyd, Unfinished Business: The Fight for Women's Rights, The fight for women’s rights is unfinished business, Get 3 for 2 on all British Library Fiction, Discovering Literature: Shakespeare & Renaissance. He shall not haunt playhouses nor absent himself from the master’s service day or night unlawfully …’ The master’s obligations were only to keep his apprentice in food and lodging, and clothe him in the plain blue clothes appropriate to his standing, and teach him his trade. By 1650, that number had soared to more than 5 million– the economy simply couldn’t keep up. In 1562 John Hawkins identified a new and profitable commodity: African slaves. He had no right to pay, although his master might voluntarily recognise his usefulness if he stayed the course and proved his worth. His books revolutionised the idea that Englishmen had of themselves. As ruler of the country, iconography, glamour and displays of wealth were important tools of propaganda for Queen Elizabeth. Villein labour service largely disappeared, to be replaced by copyhold tenure (tenure by copy of the record of the manorial court). Even by the time he reached the Magellan Straits he was reduced to only one ship, which he renamed the Golden Hind, and his crew was riddled with scurvy and mutiny. His route lay south-west across the Atlantic, round the Cape Horn by the channel that Magellan had pioneered, then up the west coast of South America, pausing from time to time to sack a Spanish town or capture a Spanish treasure ship. There could be no mistaking who she was. This manifested itself particularly in two ways. Fish was also a common dish and eaten wholly in place of meat during Lent (Protestant Elizabethan England kept up the practice to support fishermen). Usage terms © Portrait of Queen Elizabeth I (1533-1603) in Ceremonial Costume (oil on canvas), Zuccari, or Zuccaro, Federico (1540-1609) / Pinacoteca Nazionale, Siena, Italy / Bridgeman Images. He could not hope to be released until he was at least 24. The Queen was ‘the fount of honour’. Rich men maintained huge households. But far from it: in 1584 Hakluyt prepared a ‘Discourse on Western Planting’ for Ralegh to present to the Queen, arguing that Spain’s domination of the New World was limited; there was space enough for English colonies there, which could not only increase her foreign trade but also provide useful repositories for the idle and criminal surplus population, even then seen to be a problem. Exploration and trade in Elizabethan England - The British Library Richard Eden’s Decades of newe worlde (1555) is an English translation of Martyr’s collection of tales from Spanish explorers, including Christopher Columbus. International finance was in the capable hands of Genoese bankers. From the frequent references to apprentices brawling and rioting and attending playhouses, one suspects that the strict rules preventing them from almost any normal enjoyment were often flouted. The Spanish New World colonies needed labourers to replace the indigenous Amerindians, who were being killed off by European diseases. He might not succeed, in which case he slunk back to the country hoping to retrieve his shattered fortune. Some who had learned enough marketable skills decided to try their luck in the provinces, after several years of near-servitude in London. Little has changed? It finally dawned on the government that the poor could not just be left to die; something had to be done for them by the state. Usage terms Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial No Derivatives licence At the heart of the problems confronting Elizabethan England was the challenge of feeding its soaring population. Ships setting sail for the Portuguese colony of Brazil, from a richly-illustrated collection of travel narratives, compiled and engraved by Theodor de Bry. They were not to know that the glamour of her richly embroidered and bejewelled clothes was frugally maintained by constant refurbishing and altering – she even wore refurbished robes that had belonged to the previous queen, Mary Tudor. In the countryside, there was usually seasonal work to be had. When she chose to show herself to her subjects she glittered with jewels and gold like an icon. In 1584 Walter Ralegh settled a small colony on the island of Roanoke (just south of modern Williamstown in North Carolina, USA) but it was poorly planned and provisioned; by 1590 it had vanished without trace. She spent many years working in the office of the Solicitor of the Inland Revenue and lived in Gray’s Inn and Hackney, before retiring to live in Oxford. Another joint stock company, the Turkey Company, opened trading relations with Baghdad, and prospected an overland route to Bengal, Burma and Siam. Southampton was well-known at Elizabeth’s court for his flamboyant looks and clothing. Liza Picard describes how, between the Queen at the top and the beggars at the bottom, there was jockeying for position in the different levels of Elizabethan society. It was not until 1607 that the colony of Virginia was successfully established, four years after the death of Elizabeth the Virgin Queen, but named in her honour. As he progressed, the young man changed from a liability needing to be shown every detail, to a trusted employee who could negotiate on behalf of his master, handling significant sums of money. He had begun with five ships. Although plague remained endemic in England, there was little change in the level of population. Game was often protected by forest laws with strict punishments for poachers. He could either become a journeyman – paid by the day, or, in French the journée – or set up on his own account. By 1569 some sort of welfare system was in place in the City of London, an example followed nationally by a general Act of 1572 which formed the basis of the national Poor Law until 1834. The system became more and more complicated, but it functioned, in its own way. The most famous explorer of them all was Francis Drake. These engravings of Native Americans were based on John White’s paintings of Roanoke Island. Why not take a few moments to tell us what you think of our website? A great lord of Virginia, by Theodor de Bry. But it eluded him, and the ‘gold-bearing ore’ he brought back produced only heated argument. They identified three groups of people; the rich, the poor and the ‘middling sort’. A young man would be apprenticed to a master belonging to a livery company, to learn the trade. The poor were not, in theory at least, left to starve. The Hanseatic merchants had had a special relationship with England since the 12th century. The focus of their ambition was to be the lord mayor of London, elected by the aldermen. New England -- History -- Colonial period, ca. The stories of sailors and explorers which Hakluyt collected from their very lips were as inspiring as any words written by Hakluyt’s contemporary, Shakespeare. STC 23401.5 Used by permission of the Folger Shakespeare Library under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License. But the Dutch rebellion against the Spanish was gathering strength. Your views could help shape our site for the future. Newfoundland was England’s first colony in the New World. At least in England, Shrove Tuesday gifts usually flowed downwards, but specifically to those connected to a household, in its extended premodern sense as a familial and economic institution. Hawkins developed the ‘triangular trade’. Most lived in London. Further attempts to settle an English colony in the New World came to nothing during Elizabeth’s lifetime. Private collection; on loan to the National Portrait Gallery, London. (Spain had annexed Portugal in 1580, but left the administration of Portugal’s far eastern empire in Portuguese hands.). Spanish power was established in Central America, including Panama, and the north and western coasts of South America, after the conquest of the Aztec and Inca empires. Elizabeth had no money to fund a world-wide colonising campaign, and she could not afford to be seen openly encouraging attacks on Spanish and Portuguese possessions, but she was quite prepared to subsidise foreign trading ventures by her subjects, as long as she shared in the profit. Not much of an animal was ever wasted as dishes were made using trotters, feet, and heads. The monasteries used to look after them, but no longer.
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