Personal Study - Elizabeth I. What specific question shall I choose?

What specific question shall I choose on Elizabeth I

Ideas:

- Spanish Armada/Anglo-Spanish War
- Religion in GB
- Relations with Mary Queen of Scots

Any ideas anyone?

Any help appreciated

Reply 1

davireland

With an interest in those issues, I would consider focussing on Walsingham and his contribution to the stability of the realm as those 3 things influence the way he worked.

a few sample questions for you to mull over;

To what extent did Francis Walsingham achieve security for England in the years 1560-1590?

or if you dont want to do Walsingham,

To what extent was Mary Stuart a martyr for the Catholic faith?
During the Armada, God was an Anglican, how far do you agree?
Elizabeths treatment towards Mary Stuart was purely dictated by Machiavellian principles, how far do you agree?

Reply 2

History Lost in Physics

If it was me i'd do all three - but presumably there's a word limit?

Reply 3

JohnStuartMill

Would you be focussing specifically on Elizabeth I herself or her polity? I think the latter would make for a far more promising topic in terms of originality for an A-level personal study. Then, if you were to choose relations with Mary Stuart you could look at the 1584 Bond of Association and Cecil's involvement in her execution.

Alternatively, on religion you could look at her personal beliefs and the 1559 settlement which was arguably more Protestant than she was. Again, William Cecil's influence in that is crucial.

Reply 4

Hasan

I'm going to do Anglo-Spanish war. However, I am unsure if there is any historical debate. Even though I have loads of books, I can't find anything. Any help would be appreciated.

Reply 5

Oswy

As an undergraduate I did a course on gift-giving in early modern England and came across literature which studied how monarchs indulged in complicated 'games' of giving and receiving gifts for political purposes (giving the right gift at the right moment could make or break a political career in these circumstances). I've long since lost the references (sorry) but this would be an interesting subject, given that I distinctly remember much discussion of Elizabeth I being very involved in this political gift-giving practice.

Reply 6

Shadow of a Dream

Student070707

What specific question shall I choose on Elizabeth I

Ideas:

- Spanish Armada/Anglo-Spanish War
- Religion in GB
- Relations with Mary Queen of Scots

Any ideas anyone?

Any help appreciated

Hello

I studied Elizabeth last year for A2, and plan to study her in my first year of uni, and I think any of the above would be really interesting.

The 1559 religious settlement certainly has a lot of potential to satisfy the historiography/debate element of coursework. A key area of investigation could be how far the settlement was actually shaped by Elizabeth, or was the product of external forces . You could then explore not only Elizabeth's own personal religion and motives/influence in shaping the settlement (which I find interesting enough in itself!), but also a plethora of "external factors" including Catholic and Puritan influences, the Catholic Lords, J. E. Neale's supposed 'Puritan choir' in the Commons, the Privy Council and Cecil, foreign policy considerations etc etc; this list is far from exhaustive, although obviously selection would be needed, owed to the word limit! There is at least one historian/school of thought to support each of these viewpoints, and more than healthy debate on this topic since the 1600's!). Another worthy area of consideration is how far the settlement actually settled anything (not very, in my opinion!).

Of course, the area of religion could be broadened to look at general lay religion - maybe a question like ' "At her death, Elizabeth left a Protestant England". Discuss' would appeal to you? This would of course allow examination of popular religion, specifically the strength of Catholicism and Protestantism (/Puritanism, if you liked), and various contributing factors for survival/decline within these (eg; 1570 Papal Bull, Mary Queen of Scots' arrival and execution, government policy towards Puritans/Catholics in 1580's/90's etc). Again, this topic should have no problem as regards historical debate, and room to forge your own opinion.

Hopefully some of this will be of use to you :smile:

; I've not gone into too much detail about Mary and the Anglo-Spanish war as others already have provided lots of useful info.

Info on Elizabeth should be no problem, but I would strongly recommend: 'Elizabeth I' by Christopher Haigh (brilliant and really easy to read, get the new edition if you can); 'Elizabeth: Fortune's Bastard?' by Richard Rex (a brilliant and concise intro to the key issues of Eliz's reign); John Guy's 'Tudor England' and Stephen Lee's ‘The Reign of Elizabeth I: 1558-1603’ (a wonderful book, really clear, perfect for A-level, breaking the topics down clearly, with marvellous sections on historiography and lots of ideas for essay q's).

Sorry to bombard you with info. Hope at least some of it is useful :smile:

Best of luck with your study :smile:

Reply 7

Student070707

Thanks guys you've all been really helpful! =) Much appreciated