Elizabeth I (1558-1603)

No other queen in the history of England was ever loved more by her subjects than Elizabeth I.
Nicknamed “Good Queen Bess” or “ Gloriana”, she combined the royal virtues with diplomacy
to skilfully rule her country for almost 45 years and to protect it from different internal or
external dangers. Choosing excellent ministers, Elizabeth I was always a wise and careful
monarch, who made everybody obey and woship her.

Daughter of Henry VIII and of his second wife, Anne Boleyn, this last of the Tudor rulers of
England gave her name to an era. The Elizabethan era, often regarded as the golden age of
national triumph and cultural brilliance, was marked by various successes: the defeat of the
Spanish Armada, the cultural Renaissance (the flourishing of drama, poetry and music), the
industrial and economical development of the country, the standardizing of the coinage system
and the grouth of the powerful fleet that ensured a good foreign trade and world-wide
explorations.

Elizabeth was born on a Sunday September, 1553, at Greenwich Palace. She spent her childhood
away from the court, n the pleasant company of her step-brother, Edward. They both received a
good education. But their peaceful life was suddenly interrupted by the death of their father in
1547.

Being a girl, Elizabeth never expected to become a Queen. She never interfered while Edward
and Mary ruled the country, but she learned the good lesson of being cautions to any religious
extremism. She also realized the inconveniences of a marriage with a foreign prince of king, so
when she was crowned Queen, she decided never to marry. Nobody believed her when she first
said that she wasmarried to England, but in actual fact she meant it. Although she fancied some
men in her life ( she even gave pet names to her “ favorites”- one was “ her spirit”, another one
was “her eyes”!), she never chose one as husband. This must have been the reason for her other
nickname, “The Virgin Queen”.

Elizabeth’s coronation took place in Westminster Abbey, on the 17th of November, 1558. As
everybody was delighted to have a Protestant queen after “Bloody Mary”, there were cries of joy
outside the abbey and the crowd went wild. The enthusiasm was so great that people fought to
cut out little pieces from the posh blue carpet on which she stepped, to keep as souvenirs.
Brightly coloured hangings fluttered from every window in London while bells went on ringing.

To everubody’s delight, the first act of this determined, intelligent, and courageous 26-year-old
Queen was to restore the Protestant religion. At first, she tried to accommodate both Catholics
and Protestants, but later, she closed down the refunded Catholic monasteries and declared
herself Supreme Head of the Church of England, exactly the way her father had done. At this
point, Catholics of all kinds saw their change to turn the country back to Catholicism by
replacing Elizabeth with her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots. But it seemed that Mary had made a
mistake. She had been brought up in France and had married the heir to the French throne when
she was 16. When her husband became King of France, she called herself “Queen of England
and Scotland”. But when she returned to Scotland, after her husband’s untimely death, she
realized how strange this country was for her. Moreover, she was soon imprisoned in a castle in
the middle of Lochleven on the ground that she had helped in the murder of her second husband,
Lord Darnley. Disguised asa a servant, Mary fled to England leaving behind her son, James, the
future kihg of Scotland. Once in England, she asked for Elizabeth’s help. For almost nine years
Elizabeth kept her cousin semi-captive, but even so, Mary remainde the focus of Catholic
plotting. Soon the exchange of letters between Mary and some Catholic conspirators planning to
have Elizabeth murdered was discovered by the Queen’s “seceret service” and that was the end
of the Queen of Scots. When this proof was given to Elizabeth, she had to make a decision
(although she was always terrible at that), so she finally signed Mary’s death warrant. Mary,
Queen of Scots was executed at Fotheringhay Castle in 1589 and she met her death wirh great
dignity even if the first blow the axe failed to cut her head off.

If Mary Queen of Scots was a headache for Elizabeth, then Philip II of Spain, her sister Mary’s
widower, was a real threat. Angered by Elizabeth’s treatmet of Catholics, the Spanish King sent
a war fleet to invade England ib 1588. At that time, Spain had the most powerful Catholic empire
of the world, while England, the most powerful Protestant country of the world, had the best fleet
captains (os ‘sea-dogs’, as they was often called). If the Spanish extended their possessions by
conquering the Aztecs and Incas – in1492, Columbus had discovered America for the King of
Spain! – and became famous for being the richest country in Europe, the English grew stronger
on the seas, being known as a reigning power that had the fiercest commanders. It is said that
Francis Drake’s name alone was enough to strike terror into the Spanish hearts.

Encouraged by their Queen, the English captains made a lot of voyages exploring the icy seas of
Russia and the warm waters of Africa. They often roamed across Turkey, China, Greenland or
North and South America. (Drake was the first Englishman ever to sail right round the world!)
On their way to different corners of the world they often robbed Spanish ships fpr the Queen. AS
a reward, even if these sea-dogs were little better than pirates in Philip’s opinion, the Queen
knighted them all. (Francis Drake became Sir Francis Drake and Vice-Admiral).

Stealing the treasure the Spanish ships were carrying home was another reason for Philip’s
anger. Thus, he gathered a huge fleet, made up for 130 ships with 19000 soldiers aboard and set
sail to attack England. In July, 29th, the news of the massive Armada advancing the English
Channel was spread by beacons lit on high hills across the country.

Drake’s strategy was to let Armada go past Plymonth and then dog them and smash them from
behind. When the Spanish navy stopped in the port of Calais to join another group of soldiers
coming from the Netherlands (they should have been, 30000, all in all), th English attacked.
They sent fireships full of inflammable and explosive materials right in the middle of the Spanish
fleet scatterd in panic. On the 9th of August a great storm began and drove the remains of Philip’s
navy northwards. Chased by the English, the Spanish ships tried to run home by looping north
round Scotland and Ireland. Many boats were wrecked (over 60 sank in the waters of the two
countries) and almost 20.000 Spaniards died. In September 1580, the remaining ships of the
once-great Spanish Armada had to encounter other storms, starvation and diseases on their way
back, so that finally, only one third of Philip’s fleet reached the Spanish coasts. Philip suffered a
great defeat, while Elizabeth, almost 55 years old, was at the height of her fame and popularity.

Fourteen years later, Elizabeth became seriously ill. The painful ulcer in the throat developed
into a soreness of the lungs which made her hardly speak. In less than a week, “ The Moon
Goddess” – the way she liked to call herself – turned extremely pale and weak. In the morning of
24th March 1603, Elizabeth passed away in London. A hush fell over the city. At the funeral the
streets were crowded with people and there was a general moaning and groaning. She was buried
in Westminster Abbey.

Dying unmarried and childless, this last Tudor monarch passed the crowd to a new family of
rulers – the Stuarts. Its first representative was James VI of Scotland, the son of Mary, Queen of
Scots, later known as James I, King of Great Britain (1603-1625).

But Elizabeth I, perhaps the greatest leader England has ever had, remained the mother of
modern England. Her glorious reign was often considered the gratest period of English culture –
the Renaissance. It was the time of Christopher Marlowe, William Shakespeare and Francis
Bacon, the time of political triumph and colonial expansions (due to Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir
Francis Drake and Sir John Hawkins).

Ambitious, stubborn and smart as her father, Elizabeth I managed to prove that a woman could
rule as well as any man. Although she never believed tha women were equal to men, she was as
the freest of all in her kingdom. She cursed and swore and rode after the hunt like a man ( she
was often referred as “ Diana, the Huntress’), becoming the most popular queen, ever.

Moaned by all her subjects, the Queen had developed a cult of herself in her lifetime. This cult
magnified after her death into a national myth of the Elizabethan Age which strongly impressed
and influenced the next generations.