In this deck, we explore Elizabethan society during the Age of Exploration, from 1558 to 1588. We'll look at daily life, from the schools people attended to the sports they watched. We'll examine the growing problem of poverty and how the government tried to deal with it. Finally, we'll sail across the globe with explorers like Sir Francis Drake and investigate England's first attempts to build an empire in America. This topic is crucial for understanding the social and economic challenges and opportunities of Elizabeth's reign.

In Elizabethan England, education was not for everyone and depended heavily on your wealth and gender. The wealthy, including girls, were often educated at home by private tutors. For most boys, the first step was a 'Petty School', often run by the local vicar, where they'd learn basic reading, writing, and arithmetic. If their family could afford it, they might then go to a Grammar School. Here, the focus was on a classical education, with subjects like Latin, Greek, and rhetoric, preparing them for a place at one of England's two universities: Oxford or Cambridge.

Leisure time for Elizabethans was often boisterous and violent. Popular sports included bear-baiting, where dogs were set on a chained bear, and cock-fighting. But this era also saw the birth of modern theatre. For the first time, purpose-built theatres were constructed in London, like 'The Theatre' in 1576. These were open-air venues where people from all social classes could stand or sit to watch plays by writers like William Shakespeare. This development was significant because it created a new form of mass entertainment.