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3.1.2 Feudal Aristocrats ................. 12

Chapter Four Factors of the Rampant Piracy ..................... 27

4.1 Tough Domestic Finances ................................. 29

4.1.1 Years of Wars Have Depleted the Treasury’s Savings ............... 29

4.1.2 The Squandering Aristocrats Worsen the Dilemma ................... 30

Chapter Five Conclusion ...................... 49

Chapter Four Factors of the Rampant Piracy

4.1 Tough Domestic Finances

“The 16th and 17th centuries were the most severe periods of poverty inEuropean history.”(Xiang,1999)England was no exception,especially during thereign of ElizabethⅠ.The long-standing financial problems England faced wereexacerbated in this period.

4.1.1 Years of Wars Have Depleted the Treasury’s Savings

Early in HenryⅧ’s reign,to cope with the protracted foreign wars,not onlydid he deplete the entire balance left over from HenryⅦ,but he even kept issuingbad coins to raise revenue to solve his financial problems.“Twice,in 1526-1527 and1542-1544,he devalued the English currency significantly.”(Zhang,2000)Theseproblems led to a desperate financial situation for England.The credit of the Englishcurrency in the European market of Antwerp was so low that the English court had topay exorbitant interest rates to loan from there.During the reign of EdwardⅥ,theBritish currency was further devalued and the situation was so chaotic and financiallydistressed that by the time of his death,England was in great external debt.Thissituation did not be improved by the time of Mary’s reign.The predicament wasexacerbated by the loss of crown lands through the restitution of ecclesiasticalproperty and the rebuilding of monasteries.(Zheng,2007:8)“In 1555 England’sexternal debts(mainly to the Netherlands)amounted to 148,526 pounds,5 shillings,and 8 pence.These debts,which bore an interest rate of 14%per annum,inevitablycreated serious financial strains,especially as they were of short maturity,thus puttingEngland in an even more difficult position.The last years of Mary Tudor’s reign wereyears of starvation and pestilence for England,the treasury was empty and the armydepleted,and in 1559 the external debt had reached 226,910.”(Stokmal,1958:102-103)This huge debt became the“monarchical legacy”that ElizabethⅠhad to inherit.Financial problems were a constant burden on Queen Elizabeth during her decades of reign.

Chapter Five Conclusion

The reign of ElizabethⅠwas one of the most momentous periods of England’smodernization and empowerment,known in history as the“Elizabethan Age”.It wasunder her rule that England reached a political,economic,and military zenith.Underneath the grandeur lay illegal practices,the most apparent of which wasrampant piracy.And piracy during this period played a huge role in boostingEngland’s prosperity in every way.In politics,intensive and wide-ranging piracycrippled Catholic Spain’s power and left it with fewer means to interfere with Englishreligious affairs.Economically,the financial burden of the English aristocracy wasalleviated by investing in piracy,which helped to preserve its 本论文由英语论文网提供整理，提供论文代写，英语论文代写，代写论文，代写英语论文，代写留学生论文，代写英文论文，留学生论文代写相关核心关键词搜索。