What is this topic about?

This topic looks at everyday life in Elizabethan England, including education at home and in schools, popular entertainment like theatre and sport, and the way rich and poor people had very different experiences. It also looks at the growth of poverty after the Dissolution of the Monasteries, how people at the time tried to deal with it, and the difference they made between the ‘deserving’ and ‘undeserving’ poor. Finally, you’ll look at new technology, long sea voyages, the first English colonies in North America, and why Raleigh’s failed Virginia colony shows how England was trying to expand overseas.

Do I need to know anything before we start?

This topic stands on its own, but it helps to know about the Dissolution of the Monasteries, as that background will support your understanding.