The Elizabethan Era

Jenny Wright

The History1558-1603

• Peak of the English Renaissance

• Beginning of Trans-Atlantic Trade

• England defeats the mighty Spanish Armada

• Plot discovered to assassinate Queen Elizabeth and replace her with Mary, Queen of Scots

• Queen granted a charter to Sir Walter Raleigh to colonize Virginia in the New World

• Sir Thomas Gresham founded the Royal Exchange, the first stock exchange in England

• Widely accepted as a golden age of peace and prosperity

The People

• Queen Elizabeth I – daughter of Henry III, ruled England for 45 years

• Mary Queen of Scots - Elizabeth's cousin, heir, and threat . She was Catholic, and most of Europe thought she should be queen

• Walter Raleigh - explorer (claimed Virginia and the Carolinas for England),pirate and naval commander

• Francis Bacon - philosopher, scientist (pioneered the Scientific Method of investigation),author, lawyer, statesman

• Francis Drake - pirate and naval commander, first Englishman to circumnavigate the world

Lifestyle

• Jousts and tournaments were popular pasttimes with the obility

• Common folk enjoyed fairs and seasonal festivals

• Sports and games included archery, card games, croquet ,and bowling

• Introduction of the potato from South America. Also, people began taking more interest in gardening and food production

• A time of general well-being. There were no famines or plagues, and the economy was stable

Art & Literature

• Edmund Spenser was a poet best known for his epic poem “The Faerie Queene”. Considered one of the greatest poets in the English language

• Playwrights such as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe made the theater the high point of English Renaissance culture

• Traveling musicians were in great demand. Music was commissioned by either the Church or the Court.

• Most artists during this time were foreign born. However, portraiture was in high demand.

• Miracle plays, reenactments from the Bible and Book of Common Prayer, were used for education and entertainment

If we could teach you only one thing

about this era, it would be . . .

William Shakespeare’s plays. Insert a paragraph of information here. Each paragraph hould be at least five sentences long and cover three pertinent points.