Social Classes During The Elizabethan Era Essay

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Pages: 4

Social Classes During the Elizabethan Era Today’s society does not have set social classes, but in the Elizabethan Era they did. The Elizabethan Era lasted from 1558 to 1603. During this time, the social hierarchy was not very flexible. The ruler of this era, Queen Elizabeth I, ruled England with an iron fist when it came to the people’s rank in society. Everyone knew their position in society because it was based on your job and your wealth. In today’s society, the closest thing we have to real classes like the Elizabethan Era is our distinguishments between the rich, the average, and the poor. The classes in the Elizabethan Era were strong and strict, in which each person had a set place in society, from the monarch to the poor, there was a social class for every person in the society. The social classes at that time involved every person in society, including the monarch. The Monarch Class was the top class. Queen Elizabeth I was the monarch at this time, so she was at the top of the hierarchy. The monarch ruled the country and everyone below her. After the Monarch Class was the …show more content…
This class made up five percent of the society (Bentheraang’s Blog). This class consisted of knights, squires, gentlemen, and gentlewomen that didn’t work with their hands. The only way to become part of the Gentry Class was to become wealthy in money or in property. In fact, they were as wealthy as the Nobility Class, but they were not born nobles. Many famous people were from the Gentry Class including: Francis Bacon, Francis Drake, and Sir Walter Raleigh (Elizabethan Era). Then the Merchant Class followed. The people that were in this class lived in prosperity. The merchants in this class lived based on the wool trade. These people also made money through all goods exported and imported into England. Even though these classes were not the highest ranked classes, the people that were apart of them still lived a good