The document provides an overview of England and the United Kingdom during the reign of Queen Elizabeth II. It summarizes that England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland make up the United Kingdom. England and Wales have been ruled as a single state since 1283. Ireland was gradually conquered by England starting in the 12th century. France once ruled parts of England but no longer did by Elizabeth's reign. The population of England was around 3 million in Elizabeth's time, with most people living rurally. Villages were the centers of rural life, dominated by the church and local landowners. London was the largest city. The document then briefly discusses education, the scientific revolution, popular beliefs, and the arts during this period.

1. Merrie England - An introduction
Queen Elizabeth II today reigns over a state known as
the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern
Ireland. (abbreviated to „United Kingdom‟ or „Great
Britain‟). This includes territories of:
 Scotland
 Wales
 England
 Northern Ireland.
ENGLAND AND WALES: Wales had been
conquered by the English in 1283. The two countries
have been ruled as a single state ever since and the
monarch‟s eldest son is created Prince of Wales.
IRELAND: Parts of Ireland were conquered by
English noble man in the 12th century. The English
had gradually extended their control over Ireland from
that time. But
governing Ireland
was always a
difficult task, plagued by rebellion and poor communications.
Elizabeth‟s government was by no means well established there.
In fact, English rule was not securely established until Cromwell
subdued the country in 1649-50 and brought in English settlers.
In 1948 an independent republic was established in the couth,
leaving only the north under British rule.
FRANCE: Elizabeth‟s ancestors had briefly ruled part of France
several centuries previously. By Elizabeth‟s reign, England no
longer held any territory in France. Despite this, Elizabeth and her
successors continued to style themselves as King or Queen of
“England, France, Ireland …”
When Elizabeth was succeeded by James VI of Scotland, his native
kingdom was ruled separately from England. It was not until the
reign of his great-grand daughter, Queen Anne, that the two
countries were united under United Kingdom of Great Britain.
Ireland was formally added to the United Kingdom by an Act of France
Union 1801.
The People of England
Since England has had such a dominant influence on world history in recent times, and on New
Zealand society, it may come as a surprise to realise that it was a rather small country. In fact, the
present-day United Kingdom is slightly smaller in land area than New Zealand.

2. At the time of our study, its population was small as well. By the accession of Elizabeth, the
population of England and Wales was approximately three million – about the same as New Zealand a
few years ago. 85% of those people lived in rural areas and were engaged in economic activities
associated with farming.
Villages – Centres of Rural life
Most people lived in villages. Each village usually
had several hundred inhabitants. Often the villages
were surrounded by open communal fields divided
into strips or by open moorland where sheep
grazed. Increasingly however, this land was
becoming ENCLOSED – that is, fenced off and
farmed privately. The enclosure of land was
usually unpopular as it threatened the livelihood of
the village peasants.
The church and the landowner‟s manor house
dominated village life. The priests or minister had
high prestige as an educated man in a largely illiterate community. He was the mouthpiece for
government policy and for the local landowner and he upheld the social order. Many areas of life –
marriage, morals and wills – were controlled by church courts.
The local landowner extracted rents from the villagers who farmed his land. He might also employ
some villages as servants in his household. Often, as Justice of the Peace, he tried his own villagers
who transgressed the law.
London was the only city of significant size. In 1603 its population was about 150,000 and by 1700 this
had risen to half a million. Other centres were much smaller:
 Norwich and Bristol were about 30,000
 York and Exeter were only about 10,000
There were many links between town and country but urban society was distinct in several ways. In
particular, there were more marked inequalities of wealth and professional people were rarely found
outside towns.
Urban poverty was a growing problem as migration from the countryside grew in the period. In many
towns, nearly two-thirds of the wealth was held by only six or seven percent of the population.
A handful of wealthy families – merchants and financiers – controlled most of the towns. Often they
married into the landed classes, thus blurring the social divisions. A growing class of professional man
emerged in our period, also, including significant number of doctors, musicians and teachers in addition
to the well established group of lawyers. Previously, the Church had dominated these occupations.
The poorer classed included trades people, apprentices, labourers and the unemployed „beggars and
vagabonds‟.
Cultural Life
Education - There were significant advances in education in this period but the level
of literacy is hard to assess. Probably about one third of the male population could at
least read and write. Generally excluded from this were the labouring poor, farmers,
craftsmen and most women.

3. However, both elementary and grammar (secondary) schools became more numerous and of better
quality. New colleges were added to the universities of Oxford and Cambridge.
Many of the nobility still educated their sons at home or on neighbouring estates where they learned
skills in estate management and the classical subjects of Latin and Greek. Increasing numbers of
wealthy gentry were going to university though, and by the end of the 17th century they were coming
into contact with the new scientific thought that was emerging.
The benefits of the printing press were well established so many more people were able to, and did,
read. In addition, the Protestant religion encouraged learning so that people could read the Bible.
For most children, however, education was practical training for their work life. They were either
apprenticed to a trade or learnt skills from their father or mother.
The Scientific Revolution -Beginning in Elizabethan times, and really taking off after 1660, was the
development of modern scientific thought and method. Previously, the ancient Greek thinkers with
their „deductive‟ methods (using reasoning rather than experiment) had held sway. But increasingly
there was an emphasis on experiment and observation.
The giant of the age was Isaac Newton (1642-1727) and his philosophical counterparts were Thomas
Hobbs and John Locke. For the first time, the literal truth of the Bible came into doubt as the results
of scientific thought made the stories of Genesis, for example, unacceptable as factual explanation.
Yet this modern rational thinking had little impact on its own age; it was more important for the future.
For most of the period both intellectuals and common people thought within the classical, religious and
musical framework of the forbears.
Popular beliefs - Religious belief and superstitions will be considered in
depth later, but it is important to realise that religion was an integral and
essential part of daily life. Everyone went to church and the church
controlled education and influenced many aspects of everyone‟s life.
The most striking feature of popular belief in this age was the prevalence
of magic and witchcraft. (Even Sir Isaac Newton believed in magic).
Many women were cruelly treated because their neighbours believed them to be witches. When the
upper class had abandoned this belief by 1700, it still persisted among the common people – though
historians debate just how prevalent these beliefs and practices were.
The Arts - The late 16th and 17th centuries have been called the „age of genius‟.
It is impossible in this space to discuss the many „greats‟ of the age but perhaps
you will follow this up in your own reading.
Generally, the arts were pleasures confined to the rich – except for music and
dancing – “the joy of all people as they are today”. Even drama, once a popular
and amateur spectacle, became the preserve of the elite once it became
professional as it did during the Elizabethan period. One development worth
noting is the beginning of newspapers in late Stuart England – which in turn,
stimulated interest in „good literature‟.