Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 until she died in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor, and her time as queen is called the Elizabethan era.

Elizabeth was the only surviving child of Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. When she was very young, her parents' marriage ended, her mother was executed, and Elizabeth was no longer considered a royal child. Later, she was restored to the line to become queen.

After the deaths of her half-siblings Edward VI and Mary I, Elizabeth became queen. She worked with trusted advisers and created the Church of England. Elizabeth never married, so she is sometimes called the “Virgin Queen.” She was succeeded by her cousin James VI of Scotland.

Elizabeth’s reign brought many changes and growth for England. She was careful with her decisions and more open-minded about religion than some rulers before her. Her time saw the rise of famous writers like William Shakespeare and the adventures of explorers like Francis Drake. Even though she faced challenges and wars, her long rule helped bring stability and a stronger sense of national identity for England.

Early life

Elizabeth was born on 7 September 1533 at Greenwich Palace. She was named after her grandmothers, Elizabeth of York and Lady Elizabeth Howard. Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII of England and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. At birth, Elizabeth was the heir presumptive to the English throne.

Elizabeth had a good education. Her governess, Catherine Champernowne, taught her many languages, including French, Dutch, Italian, and Spanish. By age twelve, she could translate from English to Italian, Latin, and French. She also learned to play instruments like the virginal (harpsichord) and lute.

When Henry VIII died, Elizabeth's half-brother, Edward VI, became king. Later, when Mary I of England became queen, Elizabeth had some difficulties because of their different religious beliefs. People sometimes thought she was planning things, but she always said this was not true. Finally, Mary named Elizabeth as her heir, and when Mary died in 1558, Elizabeth became queen.

Accession

Elizabeth became queen when she was 25 years old. She promised to work hard to lead the country and asked for help from her council and others.

The day before her ceremony to become queen, people in the city celebrated and welcomed her with excitement. The next day, on 15 January 1559, Elizabeth was officially made queen in Westminster Abbey. Many people were happy to have her as their queen, but there were still some worries about certain groups and about who she might marry.

Church settlement

Main article: Elizabethan Religious Settlement

Elizabeth I believed in the Protestant faith, but she kept some Catholic symbols. She wanted to make a plan that would please both Protestants and Catholics. She became the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, choosing a title that many thought a woman should not use. Laws were made so that everyone had to attend church and use a special prayer book. The rules for not following these laws were not very strict. Music was still allowed in church.

Marriage question

From the start of her rule, many people expected Queen Elizabeth I to marry. She received many offers but never did, and she remained childless. The reasons are not clear. She looked at several possible husbands until she was about 50 years old. Her last serious interest was in Francis, Duke of Anjou, who was much younger than her.

Elizabeth was in love with a childhood friend named Robert Dudley. His wife Amy passed away, and many thought he might have arranged it. Elizabeth thought about marrying him, but many important people did not like the idea. Later, Dudley married someone else, which upset Elizabeth.

Elizabeth also considered marrying men from other countries to help with her rule. She looked at princes from France and others but decided not to marry any of them. Some people criticized her for not marrying, but her choice helped keep her power safe. She often said she was married to her country and her people instead.

Mary, Queen of Scots

Elizabeth I wanted to keep Scotland free from French control because she worried the French might attack England. Mary, Queen of Scots, was Elizabeth’s cousin and had a strong claim to the English throne because she was a close relative of King Henry VIII. Elizabeth sent help to Scottish protesters against the French. This led to a treaty that pushed the French out of Scotland. When Mary returned from France in 1561 to rule Scotland, the country had become Protestant, and she had to work with leaders who supported Elizabeth.

Mary made some poor decisions. In 1565, she married Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley, who also had a claim to the English throne. After Darnley became unpopular and was killed, Mary quickly married James Hepburn, Earl of Bothwell. This made many people think she was involved in the murder. Because of this, Mary was forced to give up her position as queen. Her son, James VI, was raised in Scotland. Mary escaped but was later arrested and kept in England for many years.

Mary became a symbol for people who wanted Catholic rule in England. There were several attempts to free her and put her on the English throne. After it was shown that she was involved in plans against Elizabeth, Mary was put on trial and executed in 1587.

Wars

Elizabeth's foreign policy was mostly defensive. One example was the English occupation of Le Havre from October 1562 to June 1563, which failed when Elizabeth's Huguenot allies joined with others to retake the port. Elizabeth had hoped to exchange Le Havre for Calais, which was lost to France in January 1558. Mostly, Elizabeth used her fleets to be strong. This was most noticeable in the war against Spain, where most of the fighting happened at sea. She knighted Francis Drake after his circumnavigation of the globe from 1577 to 1580. Drake became famous for his raids on Spanish ports and ships.

Netherlands

After losing Le Havre in 1563, Elizabeth stayed out of big land battles until 1585. That's when she sent an English army to help the Protestant Dutch rebels against Philip II. This happened because key allies of the Queen had passed away, and some Dutch towns had surrendered to Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma, Philip's governor of the Spanish Netherlands. In December 1584, a group including Philip II and others made an agreement that made it harder for Henry III of France to oppose Spain in the Netherlands. It also let Spain have more influence along the coast of France and made England feel safer about possible attacks. The siege of Antwerp in the summer of 1585 made the English and the Dutch react. This led to the Treaty of Nonsuch in August 1585, where Elizabeth promised to send military help to the Dutch. This treaty started the Anglo-Spanish War.

The mission was led by the Earl of Leicester, one of Elizabeth's former suitors. Elizabeth didn't fully support this plan from the start. She wanted to help the Dutch publicly with an army but also start secret talks for peace with Spain soon after Leicester arrived in Holland. This didn't match what Leicester wanted to do, as he set up a protectorate and expected the Dutch to want him to lead big battles. Elizabeth wanted him to "avoid at all costs any decisive action with the enemy". He upset Elizabeth by taking the role of Governor-General from the Dutch States General. Elizabeth felt this was a trick by the Dutch to make her agree to rule the Netherlands, which she had always refused. She sent him a strong message saying he must follow her orders.

Elizabeth's "command" was for her envoy to read her letters of disapproval out loud before the Dutch Council of State, with Leicester standing close by. This public shame of her "Lieutenant-General" combined with her secret talks for peace with Spain weakened Leicester's position with the Dutch. The military effort suffered because Elizabeth kept refusing to send money for her hungry soldiers. Her unwillingness to fully support the cause, Leicester's struggles as a leader, and the confusing politics of the Dutch all led to the mission failing. Leicester stepped down as leader in December 1587. The Spanish still held the southern parts of the Netherlands, and the threat of an invasion of England stayed.

Help for the Dutch kept going. Leicester was replaced by Francis Vere, who became the main commander of all Elizabeth's troops in the Low Countries by 1589. He kept this role for fifteen campaigns and almost always succeeded. Vere got along well with the Dutch under Maurice of Nassau and worked closely with them to protect the country for independence. Vere's troops proved that the Spanish weren't as strong as people thought, earning Elizabeth's respect and admiration. English help for the Dutch stopped after Elizabeth died, but by then the Dutch were strong enough to defend themselves.

Spain

Main article: Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)

With England at war with Spain in 1585, Francis Drake went on a long trip attacking Spanish ports and ships in the Caribbean. In 1587 he successfully attacked Cádiz, destroying the Spanish war fleet meant for plans against England.

On 12 July 1588, the Spanish Armada, a big group of ships, sailed toward the channel, planning to carry Spanish soldiers under the Duke of Parma to the southeast coast of England from the Netherlands. To stop the Armada, Elizabeth sent her navy led by Francis Drake and Charles Howard. The Armada was defeated by a mix of mistakes, bad luck, and an attack by English fire ships near Gravelines on the night of 28–29 July (7–8 August New Style). This scattered the Spanish ships to the northeast. The Armada struggled back to Spain in broken groups, after disastrous losses on the coast of Ireland (after some ships tried to return to Spain by going around the North Sea and then south past the west coast of Ireland). Not knowing about the Armada's fate, English militias gathered to protect the country under the Earl of Leicester's leadership. Leicester invited Elizabeth to see her troops at Tilbury in Essex on 8 August. Wearing silver armor over a white velvet dress, she spoke to them in her Speech to the Troops at Tilbury.

When no attack came, the country celebrated. Elizabeth's trip to a service of thanks at St Paul's Cathedral was as grand as her coronation. The defeat of the Armada was a big win for Elizabeth and for Protestant England. The English saw it as a sign that God supported them and their country under a queen who never married. But the win wasn't the turning point of the war, which went on for another sixteen years.

In 1589, the year after the Spanish Armada, Elizabeth sent the English Armada or Counter Armada to Spain with 23,375 soldiers and 150 ships, led by Francis Drake as admiral and John Norreys as general. The English fleet lost badly. The advantage England had gained from destroying the Spanish Armada was lost, and Spain grew stronger again over the next ten years.

While the English navy watched for the next attack, privateers were sent to hunt for Spanish and Portuguese treasure ships. They joined together on big trips to attack and steal from places and ships in the Atlantic and along the Spanish coast. Known as Elizabethan Sea Dogs, they included Drake, Hawkins, and Raleigh. Elizabeth's court and important London merchants helped plan, prepare, and pay for these trips, and she got nearly a third of the money made. This also added to the country's wealth. One of the biggest catches was a large and very valuable Portuguese Carrack, the Madre de Deus, taken in battle near the Azores in 1592. After it arrived in Dartmouth, there was a lot of stealing, which made Elizabeth angry, but even so, the rest of the cargo was worth half of England's treasure at the time.

There were some failures; the biggest was when Drake and Hawkins went on a disastrous expedition to the Caribbean in 1595, and both passed away during the trip, which shocked Elizabeth. Even with this, a new group of Sea Dogs appeared, including James Lancaster, William Parker, and the most successful Christopher Newport. Though they didn't take any big treasure ships, Elizabeth's 'Sea Dogs' did very well; their attacks brought in about 15% of the country's imports each year during the war.

In 1596 Elizabeth sent the second English armada to Cádiz, hoping to capture the treasure fleet. Led by her favorite the Earl of Essex, Elizabeth's fleet with help from the Dutch succeeded in taking Cádiz, sinking about 32 Spanish ships and the treasure in them. The win was celebrated as a big victory, and Essex became a hero — his fame almost matched Elizabeth's. The Queen accused Essex of taking Spanish treasure for himself and questioned why he gave out titles to people while in Cádiz, reminding him he had no right to do so.

Meanwhile, to get back at Cádiz, Philip II sent his second Spanish Armada to England a few months later, but storms destroyed the fleet before it could even see England, costing nearly 5,000 soldiers and 40 ships. This, along with the attack on Cádiz, made Spain declare bankruptcy that year. Still, Philip sent the third Armada in 1597, but near the English coast another storm broke up the fleet, losing another 28 ships and 2,000 soldiers. Elizabeth gave Charles Howard the title of the Earl of Nottingham for his work during these battles. The Queen was very unhappy with the Earl of Essex for being away on a failed expedition to the Azores, accusing him of leaving England unprotected — their relationship got worse and worse.

After Philip II passed away in 1598, his successor Philip III rebuilt his fleet and sent the fourth Spanish Armada to Ireland in 1601 to support rebels there. The Spanish landed and held the town of Kinsale for three months, but after the rebels were defeated outside the town, the Spanish were forced to give up their whole force on the southwest coast of Ireland. This loss weakened Spain's will to keep fighting England; both sides were tired, and peace was made between England and Spain with the Treaty of London in 1604, a year after Elizabeth passed away.

Walter Raleigh said after her death that Elizabeth's careful nature had held back the war against Spain:

Some historians have said similar things about Elizabeth, but she had good reasons not to fully trust her leaders, who, when they acted, often, as she said, "were filled with pride".

France

When the Protestant Henry IV became king of France in 1589, Elizabeth sent him military help. This was her first time sending soldiers to France since leaving Le Havre in 1563. Henry's claim to the throne was strongly opposed by the Catholic League and by Philip II, and Elizabeth worried that Spain might take control of ports along the channel.

The early English military efforts in France, however, were messy and didn't work well. Peregrine Bertie, mostly ignoring Elizabeth's orders, moved around northern France with little success, leading an army of 4,000 soldiers. He left in disorder in December 1590 after the Siege of Paris failed. The next year, John Norreys led 3,000 soldiers to fight in Brittany, which, despite winning at Quenelec in June, ended without clear results.

In July, Elizabeth sent another group under Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, to help Henry IV in besieging Rouen, which Norreys also joined. Essex didn't achieve much and returned home in January 1592, and Henry gave up the siege in April. As usual, Elizabeth couldn't control her leaders once they were abroad. "Where he is, or what he is doing, or what he plans to do," she wrote about Essex, "we don't know". Norreys went back to London to ask in person for more help. Elizabeth hesitated, and while Norreys was away in May 1592, a Catholic League and Spanish army almost destroyed what was left of his army at Craon, in northwest France. As with all such missions, Elizabeth didn't want to spend money on the supplies and extra soldiers the leaders asked for.

In March 1593, Henry turned to Catholicism in Paris to secure his hold on the French crown. Elizabeth was very upset and surprised by this move, and she refused any more attempts by Henry to get her support, ordering all her soldiers home. Even so, the Catholic leaguers didn't trust Henry and still opposed him - their Spanish allies kept fighting in Brittany and moved toward the big port of Brest. King Philip of Spain wanted to set up bases in western France from which his rebuilt navy could always threaten England. Norreys wrote to Elizabeth warning her about this danger - and after some delay, she saw the risk and sent another group in 1594. Norreys with 4,000 soldiers worked with his French partner Jean VI d'Aumont. This time they succeeded; after taking several towns, they surrounded a Spanish fort near Brest which was attacked and destroyed. This was a big win that ended the threat, and soon after the Catholic league broke up. Elizabeth praised Norreys as a hero, but then sent him and his soldiers back to England.

In 1595 Henry declared war on Spain and wanted England to join France in an alliance. Elizabeth wasn't interested, because she didn't trust Henry and feared France was becoming too powerful. The Spanish however captured Calais in 1596, and with Spain now close to England again, Elizabeth agreed — the triple alliance was formed with the Dutch Republic. Elizabeth still hesitated, trying to negotiate for either Boulogne or money payment, and the latter was agreed. When Spanish forces took Amiens in March 1597, Elizabeth sent a force of about 4,200 soldiers under Thomas Baskerville to Picardy, joining Henry's soldiers. The English and French forces arrived, then surrounded Amiens and pushed back a helping army. The town gave up, and then French efforts to make peace with Spain started. Henry wanted Elizabeth to join this peace but she refused, reminding him of the alliance with the Dutch. Henry finally went behind Elizabeth's back and made peace with Spain at Vervins. She accused the French king of being unfair and tricky.

Ireland

Main article: Tudor conquest of Ireland

Although Ireland was one of her two kingdoms, Elizabeth faced a hostile Irish population that followed Catholicism and often challenged her rule, sometimes working with her enemies. Her policy was to give land to her supporters and stop rebels from giving Spain a base to attack England. During a series of uprisings, Crown forces used scorched-earth tactics, destroying land. During a revolt in Munster led by Gerald FitzGerald, Earl of Desmond, in 1582, about 30,000 Irish people died from hunger. The poet and settler Edmund Spenser wrote that the victims "were brought to such suffering that even a hard heart would have felt sorry". Elizabeth told her leaders to treat the Irish well, but she or her leaders showed no pity when force helped their goals.

Between 1593 and 1603, Elizabeth faced her biggest test in Ireland during the Nine Years' War, a revolt that happened at the same time as big fights with Spain, who supported the rebel leader, Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone. In spring 1599, Elizabeth sent Robert Devereux to stop the revolt. He made little progress and returned to England against her orders. He was replaced by Charles Blount, who within three years defeated the rebels supported by the Spanish. The big battle happened at Kinsale in 1602; Elizabeth praised the win, calling Blount a hero. The cost of the Irish war was very high, and Elizabeth's country almost ran out of money. O'Neill finally gave up in 1603 at the Treaty of Mellifont, just days after Elizabeth passed away.

Overseas trade

Elizabeth made friends with faraway lands. She wrote letters and made trade deals with leaders in Morocco and the Ottoman Empire. They traded things like metal for sugar.

Explorers from England sailed to new places. One reached Newfoundland, and another claimed land called Virginia for England. Later, merchants started the East India Company to trade with places like India and China. This helped England grow richer.

Later years

After beating the Spanish Armada in 1588, Queen Elizabeth had many hard times until she died. There were wars with Spain and in Ireland. Taxes went up, and bad weather hurt farming. People had a tough time as things became more expensive and life got harder. Elizabeth used spies and messages to try to keep things looking peaceful and successful. But as she got older, people felt less happy with her leading.

During these years, new leaders came into power. This led to arguments among important people and made the Queen’s control weaker. She gave special rights to her favorites instead of asking Parliament for more money, which made people angry. Even with these problems, this time also saw great growth in English literature. Famous writers like William Shakespeare created wonderful works. As Elizabeth got older, her health got worse, and she used wigs and makeup to look younger. Her image became more symbolic, but she stayed respected until she died.

Death

Elizabeth lost one of her closest friends, Lord Burghley, in 1598. His son Robert took over the government. Robert had to get ready for what would happen after Elizabeth’s rule ended, since she never chose a successor. Robert worked quietly with James VI of Scotland, who might become the next ruler. Robert helped James be patient and kind to Elizabeth, and it worked. James made Elizabeth happy, and she was thankful.

Elizabeth stayed well until late 1602, when the loss of some friends made her very sad. In March 1603, she became very ill and often sat still for long times. When Robert said she should rest, she replied firmly, “Must is not a word to use to princes, little man.” Elizabeth died on 24 March 1603 at Richmond Palace early in the morning. Not long after, Robert and others announced James as the new king of England.

Legacy

Further information: Cultural depictions of Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I was remembered in different ways after she died. Some people missed her rule, while others felt happy it was over. Over time, many saw her time as queen as a special and successful period.

Historians have different views about her. They remember her for facing big challenges and helping England grow stronger in the world. She created a church that helped shape a national identity. Elizabeth ruled with the support of her people and worked with trusted advisors. Her leadership style was different from rulers who came after her.

Family tree

Elizabeth I was born into a famous royal family. Her father was Henry VIII, who had six wives. Her mother was Anne Boleyn, his second wife. Unfortunately, Anne was later treated very badly and was not allowed to stay near Elizabeth. This made Elizabeth's early life sometimes difficult, but she grew up to become a very important ruler.