Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I was Queen of England and Ireland from 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the last and longest reigning monarch of the House of Tudor, and her reign is known as 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 declared illegitimate. However, she was later restored to the line of succession.

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

Elizabeth's reign was a time of great change and growth for England. She was known for being careful in her decisions and for being more tolerant in religious matters than some of her predecessors. Her era saw the rise of famous playwrights like William Shakespeare and the adventures of sea explorers like Francis Drake. Although she faced many challenges, including threats to her rule and wars with Spain, Elizabeth's long reign brought stability and helped shape a sense of national identity for England.

Early life

Elizabeth was born on 7 September 1533 at Greenwich Palace and was named after her grandmothers, Elizabeth of York and Lady Elizabeth Howard. She was the second child of Henry VIII of England born in wedlock to survive infancy. Her mother was Henry VIII's second wife, Anne Boleyn. At birth, Elizabeth was the heir presumptive to the English throne.

Elizabeth's education was strong. Her governess, Catherine Champernowne, taught her several languages, including French, Dutch, Italian, and Spanish. By the time she was twelve, she could translate works from English into Italian, Latin, and French. She also learned to play musical 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 faced challenges because of her different religious beliefs. People sometimes suspected her of plotting, but she always denied these claims. Eventually, Mary recognized Elizabeth as her heir, and when Mary died in 1558, Elizabeth became queen.

Accession

Elizabeth became queen at the age of 25. She told her council and others who came to support her that she would do her best to lead the country, asking for their help.

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

Church settlement

Main article: Elizabethan Religious Settlement

Elizabeth I was a Protestant, but she kept some Catholic symbols and did not emphasize sermons as much as some Protestants wanted. She and her advisors worried that Catholics might attack England, so she tried to find a solution that would please both Protestants and Catholics without going too far to satisfy the Puritans, who wanted big changes.

Because many important church leaders were not in their positions at the time, Elizabeth was able to get support for her plans. She became the Supreme Governor of the Church of England, rather than using a title that many thought a woman should not have. Laws were passed so that everyone had to attend church and use a special prayer book, but the punishments for not following these rules were not very harsh. Music was still allowed in church, even if it was sometimes complicated.

Marriage question

From the start of Queen Elizabeth I's rule, many expected her to marry. She received many offers but never did, and she remained childless. The reasons are not clear. Some think a man named Thomas Seymour may have made her uncomfortable with such relationships. 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 so he could marry the queen. Elizabeth thought about marrying him, but many important people did not like the idea. Later, Dudley married someone else, which upset Elizabeth very much.

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 and try to put her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, on the English throne. Mary had a strong claim to the English crown as she was a close relative of King Henry VIII. Elizabeth sent help to Scottish protesters against the French, which 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 several 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, which made many suspect she was involved in the murder. This led to Mary being 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. Several attempts were made to free her and put her on the English throne. After evidence showed she was involved in plans against Elizabeth, Mary was put on trial and executed in 1587. Elizabeth later said she did not really want the execution to happen, but many people questioned this.

Wars

Elizabeth's foreign policy was mostly defensive. One exception 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 pursue an aggressive policy. This was most noticeable in the war against Spain, where 80% 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, with 11,000–15,000 people killed, hurt, or sick and 40 ships sunk or captured. 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:

If the late queen would have believed her men of war as she did her scribes, we had in her time beaten that great empire in pieces and made their kings of figs and oranges as in old times. But her Majesty did all by halves, and by petty invasions taught the Spaniard how to defend himself, and to see his own weakness.

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 and killing people of all ages. 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, "that rough and wild nation", well, but she or her leaders showed no pity when force and killing 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 kept strong friendships with faraway lands. She stayed in touch with leaders in places like Russia, sending friendly letters and working on trade deals. She also built new friendships with leaders in Morocco and the Ottoman Empire, trading goods like metal and weapons for things they had, like sugar.

Explorers from England sailed to new places too. One explorer reached Newfoundland, and another claimed land called Virginia for England. Later, merchants formed the East India Company to trade with faraway places like India and China. This helped England grow richer by trading with many parts of the world.

Later years

After defeating the Spanish Armada in 1588, Queen Elizabeth faced many challenges until the end of her rule. Wars with Spain and in Ireland continued, taxes rose, and poor harvests hurt the economy. People struggled as prices went up and living conditions worsened. Elizabeth used spies and spread messages to keep the appearance of peace and success, but as she grew older, people began to feel less happy with her leadership.

During these years, the group of leaders changed, with newer people taking power. This caused fights among important figures, weakening the Queen’s control. She also started giving special rights to favorites to avoid asking Parliament for more money, which caused anger among the people. Despite these troubles, this time also saw a wonderful growth in English literature, with famous writers like William Shakespeare creating great works. As Elizabeth aged, her health declined, and she relied on wigs and makeup to appear younger. Her image became more symbolic than realistic, but she remained a respected figure until her death.

Death

Elizabeth's most trusted adviser, Lord Burghley, passed away in 1598. His son Robert then took charge of the government. One of his important tasks was to quietly prepare for what would happen after Elizabeth’s rule ended, as she never officially named a successor. Robert worked in secret with James VI of Scotland, who had a possible claim to the throne. Robert helped James be patient and kind toward Elizabeth, which worked well. James pleased Elizabeth, and she thanked him kindly.

Elizabeth stayed healthy until late 1602, when the deaths of some close friends made her very sad. In March 1603, she became very ill and often sat without moving for long periods. When Robert told her she needed to rest, she replied firmly, “Must is not a word to use to princes, little man.” She passed away on 24 March 1603 at Richmond Palace, early in the morning. Shortly 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 by people after her death. Some missed her rule, while others felt relief. Over time, many began to see her time as queen as a special period full of balance and success.

Historians have different views about her. They remember her for defeating big challenges and building up England's standing in the world. She created a church that helped form a national identity. Elizabeth ruled with the support of her people and worked closely with trusted advisors. Her leadership style was different from those who came after her.

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