The Elizabethan Era spanned 45 years, from 1558 to 1603. How did life change?
1. More Houses, Better Quality
During Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, the price of bricks became much cheaper. This made them far more available.
People left the isolated rural countryside and began to build bigger houses in towns and cities, like London. Having more people living side by side together transformed the way people lived, worked, relaxed, and consumed entertainment.
Cheaper bricks also meant that technologies such as chimneys were available to common people for the first time, warming their homes and improving the standard of living.
Separate bedrooms also became more common, changing the perception of privacy. Before this, you would have to sleep in the hall with only the collective body of other house members heat to warm you up!
reign rule
isolated separated
rural (away from cities)
transformed changed
consumed ate/destroyed
collective total
2. Increasing Population
The improved standard of living led to a population boom in England. In the 45 years of Elizabeth I’s reign, the population grew from 3.2 million to 4.1 million, a 25% increase!
This enormous level of growth put pressure on the government to provide food, clothes, housing and jobs for the people. Otherwise, they could rebel.
reign rule
enormous huge
3. Increased Literacy
Gutenberg invented the printing press in Germany in the 1440s, and it’s influence was felt all over Europe, not just England. By the time of the Elizabethan era, tens of thousands of books were printed in English, making knowledge more widely available to all people. For men, the literacy rate increased from 10% to 25%. For women, it increased from 1% to 10%.
Some estimate the literacy rate to have been as high as 80% in London, as this is where the most well educated, and those seeking education, would come to further themselves and rise up the social ladder.
Books on a wide range of subjects were published, from science, astronomy, geography, and religion, and were extremely popular.
However you had to be careful what you wrote, especially about religion, otherwise you could have your hand chopped off!
Importantly, the Protestant Reformation put an emphasis on the ability to read and recite prayers in English rather than Latin. Common people all over the country would be taught the basics of reading, although most would not be taught how to write.
As there was no accepted, correct way to spell in English yet, teachers would discourage teaching writing to common people. This meant most people in Elizabethan England would not be able to write their own names! Shakespeare himself spelt his name many different ways (Shakp, Shaksper, Shakspe, Shakspere, Shakspeare).
Elizabethan (related to about the years 1558-1603)
era, time,
literacy reading and writing ability
estimate guess
seeking looking (for)
astronomy (the study of outer space)
geography (the study of (or the location of) mountains, rivers, hills, etc.)
extremely very
an emphasis on a focus on
recite say
4. Age of Discovery and Exploration
Due to the introduction and rapid spread of gunpowder in England, military technology rapidly developed, alongside shipbuilding techniques.
This enabled British sailors the ability to sail around the world and bring back knowledge and items that would be of use to the country and government. Shakespeare’s The Tempest being set on a foreign, far away island with strange inhabitants is an example of the beginnings of how Elizabethans began to view the newly discovered parts of the world.
New plants were hailed as being able to cure old diseases. Herbs and fruits like tobacco, tomatoes, and potatoes from the Americas that had never been seen before. The importance of newly introduced plants to the Elizabethan mind can be seen in Friar Lawrence’s second job as a botanist in Romeo and Juliet.
During this period, English pirates and privateers (government sponsored pirates) frequently raided other nations ports, usually Spanish, and plundered their wealth. One of the most famous privateers, Sir Francis Drake, stole £140,000 worth of gold from Spanish ships. That is worth £200 million today!
While the Spanish King Philip II demanded his executed, his reward for this was to be knighted aboard his ship by Queen Elizabeth herself.
rapid fast
rapidly quickly
alongside next to
techniques ways of doing things
Tempest Storm
inhabitants residents
Elizabethan (related to about the years 1558-1603)
hailed as seen as
diseases sicknesses
botanist plant scientist
frequently often
raided broke into
plundered stolen
aboard (on a train, plane, etc.)
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