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Queen Elizabeth I
Queen Elizabeth was born in Greenwich Palace on September 7, 1533.
She died on March 24, 1603, of natural causes. Her father was Henry VII.
His second wife, Anne Boleyn was Elizabeth's mother. King Henry wanted a
son, but received a daughter, instead, from his second wife. Before
Elizabeth's third birthday, Henry had her mother beheaded in charges of
adultery and treason.
Elizabeth was brought up in a separate household at Hatfield (not
known). King Henry's third wife gave birth to a son. This boy was named
Edward. Edward was declared first in line for King Henry's throne, while
Mary (Daughter of Henry's first wife) was declared second, and Elizabeth
was declared third and last in line for the throne.
Elizabeth received a thorough education that was normally reserved for
men. She was taught by special tutors of whom, the most known, was a
Cambridge humanist by the name of Roger Ascham. Roger Ascham wrote about
Elizabeth, "Her mind has no womanly weakness. Her perseverance is equal to
that of a man and her memory long keeps what it quickly picks up. With the
help of these tutors, she was not only fluent in two languages, but in four
languages. She was fluent in the languages of Greek, Latin, French, and
Italian.
When Henry died in 1547, her brother, Edward, took over the throne at
ten years of age. Edward, with a short reign on the throne, died in 1553,
and Elizabeth's half, older sister, Mary took the throne. Mary, like
Edward, died on November 17, 1558, after a short time on the throne.In
October 1562, Queen Elizabeth almost died of small pox.
In 1584, Europe's other major protestant leader, William of Orange,
was assassinated. For the first time in her life, Elizabeth showed some
concern. She was now, the only major protestant leader in Europe. At this
time, Elizabeth's Privy council drew up a Bond of Association which pledged
that its signers, in an attempt on Elizabeth's life, would kill the
assassins along with the claimant to the throne who the attempt was made
for.
In the mid 1580s, it was clear that a direct military confrontation
between England and Spain was unavoidable in the near future.
Word reached London that the Spanish king, Philip II, had started to
assemble together an enormous fleet that would sail to the Netherlands, and
join forces with a waiting Spanish army led by the duke of Parma. After
joining forces, this fleet would proceed to invade and probably conquer the
now protestant England.
The always conservative queen reluctantly had authorized sufficient
funds to maintain a fleet of maneuverable, well-armed fighting ships, to
which other ships from the merchant fleet would be added.
In July 1588, the "Invincible Armada" reached the English water and
the queen's ships. In one of the most famous naval encounters of history,
the queen's ships defeated the enemy fleet, which then in an attempt to
return to Spain, was all but destroyed by terrible storms.
At the time when the Spanish invasion was expected, Queen Elizabeth
decided to review in person, a detachment of soldiers assembled at Tilbury.
She was dressed in a white gown and a silver breastplate and she rode
through the camp and proceeded to deliver a celebrated speech. Some of her
councilors had cautioned her against appearing before a large and armed
crowd. But she told them that she would not distrust her faithful and
loving people. Also, she was not afraid of Parma's army.
At this time, she says, "I know I have the body of a weak and feeble
woman, but I have a heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England
too." She then promised, "in the word of a Prince."
Francis Bacon wrote, a few years after Elizabeth's death, "She
imagined, that the people, who are much influenced by externals, would be
diverted by the glitter of her jewels, from noticing the decay of her
personal attractions." Bacon's cynicism reflects the darkening tone of the
last decade of Queen Elizabeth's reign, where her control of her country's
political, religious, and economic forces and over her representation of
herself began to show severe strains.
Bad harvests, continued inflation, and unemployment caused strain and
a loss of public morale. Charge of corruption and greed led to widespread
popular hatred of the Queen's favourite, to whom she had given large and
much-resented monopolies.
Queen Elizabeth continued to make brilliant speeches, to exercise her
authority. But she suffered from bouts of melancholy, ill health, and
showed signs of increasing debility. As Sir Walter Raleigh remarked, "a
lady surprised by time."
On march 24, 1603, having reportedly indicated JAMES VI as her
successor, Queen Elizabeth died quietly. The nation accepted the new King
quite enthusiastically.
But long before her death, she had transformed herself into a powerful
image of female authority.
ADDITIONAL FEATURED ESSAYS
England
is a country, and I'm glad I came from it. There are lots of fun things you can do, and a lot of famous sites you can vi
William Shakespeare
Born on April 23, 1564 in Stratford-Upon-Avon, England. His father John Shakespeare and his mother Mary Arden. W.S. was
Pride And Prejudice
In by Jane Austen the entire novel is designed around a running theme: . The passage in the novel that best relates this
Pride And Prejudice
In by Jane Austen the entire novel is designed around a running theme: . The passage in the novel that best relates this
Queen Elizabeth
I , the first, proved to be a very good and loyal monarch to England. She brought about many changes, both good and bad.
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