So far we have learnt about Tudor monarchs such as Henry VIII and Elizabeth I, and important events that happened in their reign, such as Henry’s break with the Catholic Church and the defeat of Spanish Armada.

But how were the lives of ordinary people affected during the lives of the Tudors?

And what other changes happened in the Tudor world?

The time of the Tudors in the 16th century was in fact an amazing time in the history of the world.

•It was a time of fantastic new scientific discoveries and inventions

•This in turn led to people going on dangerous voyages of discovery and discovering new countries in the world, such as America!

•It was a time when the world’s greatest ever playwright, William Shakespeare, wrote his plays which were performed in theatres for Queen Elizabeth.

•But it was a difficult time for poor people, and especially poor women, which led to the witchcraft craze in the Tudor times.

Life in the Tudor World

The Poor

•Punishment

•Beggars

•Witchcraft

Entertainment

•Tudor Theatre (Shakespeare)

•Sport

Exploration and Discovery

•European Voyages of Discovery

•Tudor Explorers and Pirates

•New scientific discoveries

•New inventions

Task

•In pairs, you will have an opportunity to find out more about the Tudor World.•You need to pick one topic to research and present your findings to the class.•You can give a short talk/presentation or do your presentation using Powerpoint.•It is your job to decide why your topic is important. For example, you have to explain why your chosen event/person/topic deserves to be remembered. Why is it important that we learn about it? What can it tell us about life in the Tudor World?

List of topics:

•Christopher Columbus and the discovery of America

•Tudor explorers and pirates

•New inventions

•New scientific discoveries

•William Shakespeare and Tudor theatre

•Tudor sport

•Tudor crime and punishment

•Beggars, rogues and vagabonds

•Witchcraft