Elizabeth I

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Elizabeth I

September 7, 1533
Greenwich, England
March 24, 1603
England

Queen of England

"Though God hath raised me high, yet this I count the glory of my crown, that I have reigned with your loves…"
Elizabeth I.

Elizabeth I was queen of England and Ireland for forty-five years. During her reign she preserved stability in a nation divided by political and religious dissension, and she maintained the authority of the monarchy (government headed by one ruler) against the growing pressures of Parliament (British law-making body). Educated as a humanist, she supported the Protestant religion in England. (Humanism was a movement devoted to reviving the culture of ancient Greece and Rome, which gave rise to the Renaissance. Protestantism is a Christian religion that resulted from efforts to reform the Roman Catholic Church.) Elizabeth was not an active patron of Renaissance artists, choosing to focus more on politics than on culture. She was careful with her money and did not spend it on promoting art, architecture, and literature. Nevertheless, Elizabeth's court and her personal tastes inspired many of the creative efforts that mark her culturally successful reign.

Early life troubled by father's actions

Born at Greenwich, on September 7, 1533, Elizabeth I was the daughter of King Henry VIII (1491–1547; see entry) and his second wife, Anne Boleyn (c. 1507–1536). Henry VIII is best known today for establishing the Anglican Church (Church of England) after the pope, the head of the Roman Catholic Church, refused to let him get a divorce. Immediately after becoming king, Henry married his first wife, Catherine of Aragon (1485–1536) a staunch Catholic from Spain, and for more than a decade they were happy together. They had a daughter, Mary Tudor (1516–1558; ruled as Mary I, 1553–58), but the king wanted a son because he did not believe Mary would be accepted as the next monarch. (According to the so-called Salic Law, only a male could be the legitimate heir to the throne.) In 1527 Henry began demanding a divorce from Catherine so he could marry Anne Boleyn, who was an attendant in the court of Queen Claude of France. Henry was having a secret affair with Boleyn, and he hoped she might bear him a son. Henry incorrectly believed it was a woman's fault if she did not give birth to a boy.

Since England was still a Catholic country, the pope's consent was required before Henry could get a divorce. Pope Clement VII (1478–1534; reigned 1523–34) refused to grant Henry' request. Finally, the king acted on advice from his chief minister, Thomas Cromwell (c. 1485–1540), and simply announced that the pope had no authority in England. Laws passed by the Reformation Parliament in 1533 and 1534 named the king Supreme Head of the Church and cut all ties with Catholicism. The Anglican Church thus became an independent national body, based on some of the teachings of German reformer Martin Luther (1483–1546; see entry), who initiated the Protestant Reformation in 1517. (The Protestant Reformation was a movement that began as an effort to make reforms within the Roman Catholic Church and resulted in the establishment of the Protestant faith, which is separate from Catholicism.) Previously, Henry had opposed Luther and was rewarded by the pope with the title "Defender of the Faith." Now he accepted a number of Lutheran doctrines, such as rejection of the pope as God's sole representative on Earth, making the Church of England a part of the Reformation.

Henry's desire for a male heir made Elizabeth's early life very precarious. In May 1536 her mother was beheaded. Then on July 1 Parliament declared that Elizabeth and Mary were illegitimate (born to a man and woman who are not legally married) and that the right to the throne should pass to Edward (1537–1553; ruled as King Edward VI, 1547–53) Henry's son with his third wife, Jane Seymour (c. 1509–1537). Even though Elizabeth had been declared illegitimate, she was brought up in the royal household. She received an excellent education and was reputed to be unusually talented, notably in languages (she learned Latin, French, and Italian) and music.

Elizabeth had a difficult time after her half-brother took the throne as King Edward VI in 1547. When Henry VIII died in 1547 Edward was crowned King Edward VI. Early in his reign, Elizabeth became romantically involved with Thomas Seymour (c. 1598–1549), the lord high admiral (highest-ranking officer in the British navy). Seymour was Edward's uncle and was involved in a number of schemes to gain more power. He wanted to marry Elizabeth, and he was attempting to replace his brother Edward Seymour, as the young king's protector. Thomas was also trying to arrange for his own ward (a young person under the care of a guardian), Lady Jane Grey (1537–1554), to marry King Edward. In January 1549 Edward Seymour had Thomas arrested for challenging his authority as protector of the king. As a result of Thomas's activities Elizabeth herself came under suspicion, and she and her entire household (attendants and advisers) were subjected to intense questioning. Thomas Seymour was executed for treason (betrayal of one's country) later in 1547. During this period she experienced ill health but pursued her studies under her tutor, Roger Ascham (1515–1568). In 1553, following the death of Edward VI, Mary became Queen Mary I with the intention of leading the country back to Catholicism (see accompanying box). The young Elizabeth found herself involved in the complicated situations that accompanied these changes. Without her knowledge Thomas Wyatt (1503–1542), a Protestant, plotted to put her on the throne by overthrowing Mary. The rebellion failed, and though Elizabeth maintained her innocence, she was sent to the Tower of London (a prison for members of the royalty and nobility). After two months she was released against the wishes of Mary's advisers and placed in an old royal palace at Woodstock. Later she was allowed to take up residence once again at Hatfield, where she resumed her studies with Ascham. On November 17, 1558, Mary died and Elizabeth succeeded to the throne. Elizabeth's reign was to be looked back on as a golden age when England began to assert itself internationally through the mastery of sea power. At the time she came to the throne, however, the condition of the country was far from stable, both internationally and internally.

Deals with Catholic opposition

At the age of twenty-five Elizabeth was a rather tall and well-poised woman. What she lacked in feminine warmth, she made up for in the worldly wisdom she had gained from a difficult and unhappy youth. It is significant that one of her first actions as queen was to appoint William Cecil (1520–1598; later Lord Burghley) as her chief secretary. Cecil was to remain her closest adviser. They both knew that England faced political obstacles in France and Spain, the two great European powers at the time. Elizabeth and Cecil also knew that the key to England's success lay in balancing France and Spain against each other. This would ensure that neither country could bring its full force to bear against England.

England had experienced both a sharp swing to Protestantism under Edward VI and a Catholic reaction under Mary. The question of the nature of the church in England needed to be settled immediately, and it was debated in Elizabeth's first Parliament in 1559. Members of Parliament knew that keeping Catholicism as the official religion was not politically possible, which had been proven during Mary's reign. In 1559 Parliament passed the Acts of Supremacy and Conformity, which declared the Church of England as the official faith. This settlement represented more of a victory for Puritans than the queen desired. (The Puritans were a group of strict Protestants). It indicated to Elizabeth that her control of Parliament was not complete.

Though the settlement achieved in 1559 remained essentially unchanged throughout Elizabeth's reign, the conflict over religion was not stilled. The Church of England, of which Elizabeth was the supreme governor, was attacked by both Catholics and Puritans. Estimates of Catholic strength in Elizabethan England are difficult to make, but it is clear that a number of Englishmen remained Catholics on the surface. There was constantly the danger of a Catholic trying to take the throne. Elizabeth's foremost rival was her second cousin, Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots (1542–1587; ruled 1542–87), who was held in custody in England from 1568 until Elizabeth ordered her execution in 1587 (see accompanying box). During this entire time, Parliament repeatedly pressed Elizabeth for harsher legislation to control the Catholics. It is apparent that she successfully resisted these pressures. While legislation against Catholics did become progressively sterner, the queen was able to limit the severity of its enforcement and retained the loyalty of many English people who were sympathetic to Catholicism.

"Bloody Mary"

Mary Tudor took the throne as Queen Mary I in 1553. Like her mother Catherine of Aragon, Mary was pro-Spanish and Catholic. Soon after being crowned, she married Philip of Spain (soon to be King Philip II), but Parliament prevented him from taking the English throne along with his wife. Mary had widespread popular support, and she immediately began undoing reforms initiated by her father, King Henry VIII, and her brother King Edward VI. In 1553 she recognized the jurisdiction of the pope (head of the Roman Catholic Church in England). Many people supported Mary's restoration of the Catholic faith, believing that Edward's reign had gone too far in abolishing cherished ceremonies and beliefs.

Today Mary is best known as "Bloody Mary" because of her persecution (repression with violence) of Protestants. During her brief five-year reign nearly three hundred people were burned at the stake. This method of punishment, which was introduced by the Inquisition (an official Catholic Church court charged with finding heretics, or people who violate or oppose the teachings of the church), supposedly drove evil spirits out of the sinners. Many who refused to reject Protestant beliefs continued to worship secretly or fled to countries on the European continent. Others became involved in a series of plots against Mary's government. Protestant leaders looked to the queen's half-sister, Elizabeth, as a possible Protestant replacement. Mary then had Elizabeth arrested and sent to the Tower of London and then to Woodstock. Five years later Mary, who was now near death, named Elizabeth to be her successor.

For their part the Puritans waged a long battle in the church, in Parliament, and in the country at large for stricter enforcement of the Acts of Supremacy and Conformity. Under the influence of leaders like Thomas Cartwright and John Field, and supported in Parliament by the brothers Paul and Peter Wentworth, the Puritans subjected the religious settlement to great stress. The queen found that she could control Parliament through her councilors and the force of her own personality. It was, however, some time before she could control the church and the country as effectively. It was only with the naming of John Whitgift (1530–1604) as the Archbishop of Canterbury (head administrator of the Church of England) that she found her most effective weapon against the Puritans. With the majority of royal support, Whitgift was able to use the machinery of church courts to curb the Puritans. By the 1590s the Puritan movement was in serious trouble. Many of its prominent patrons were dead, and with the publication of Marprelate Tracts, a bitter satire (criticism with humor) against the monarchy, some Puritan leaders brought the movement into great disfavor.

Conducts effective foreign policy

When Elizabeth became queen, England was not strong enough militarily or economically to oppose either France or Spain. England was already at war with France, however, and Elizabeth quickly brought this conflict to a close. Throughout the early years of her reign, France appeared to be the chief foreign threat to England because of the French connections of Mary, Queen of Scots. The Scottish queen had lived at the French court and was educated in France. In 1560 Elizabeth signed the Treaty of Edinburgh, an alliance between England and Scotland, which eliminated the threat that France posed through Scotland. Wars between Catholics and Huguenots (French Protestants) in France also aided the English cause. Equally crucial was the fact that Philip II of Spain was not anxious to further the Catholic cause in England so long as its chief beneficiary would be Mary, Queen of Scots. If he assisted her, he would essentially be aiding his French rivals.

In the 1580s Spain emerged as the chief threat to England. During the years 1570 to 1585 there was neither war nor peace, but Elizabeth found herself under increasing pressure from Protestant activists to take a firmer line against Catholic Spain. She authorized voyages of privateers (private ships commissioned by a government to attack enemy shipping vessels) against Spanish shipping, which only served to increase tensions between the two countries. In 1585 Elizabeth decided to intervene on behalf of the Netherlands (Holland) in its revolt against Spain. She sent an expeditionary force to the Netherlands, an act that meant the temporary end of the queen's policy of balance and peace. The struggle against Spain culminated in the English defeat of the Spanish Armada (a fleet of heavily armored war ships) in 1588. The victory was due to a combination of luck, poor Spanish military decisions, and English skill. In some ways it marked the high point of Elizabeth's reign, and the period that followed has been called "the darker years."

The Tale of Two Queens

In 1568 Mary, Queen of Scots, fled into England to escape religious and political revolt being stirred up in her home country. Elizabeth's second cousin, Mary was the granddaughter of King Henry VII's sister Margaret and King James IV of Scotland. Mary was the rightful heir to Elizabeth's throne, but she was also a Catholic. Her presence was a political threat, especially in light of the English Parliament's continued efforts to marry off Elizabeth. The question of Elizabeth's marriage was largely responsible for England's foreign policy for the first twenty years of her reign. After 1578 her status as the "Virgin Queen" was accepted and celebrated by the poets of her court. Throughout this time, however, the Scottish queen would remain in England and be a constant source of political trouble. Finally Elizabeth was convinced, after the discovery of a treasonous plot, that Mary was conspiring against her. Elizabeth had Mary, Queen of Scots, executed in 1587.

The queen confronts problems

In spite of the spectacular defeat of the Spanish Armada, which established English dominance of the seas, Elizabeth encountered problems in the last part of her reign. During the 1590s she struggled to keep her government from going bankrupt (becoming unable to pay bills because of lack of funds). Yet she also spent excessive amounts of money on the "Cult of Gloriana" ("Gloriana" was a nickname given her by admirers), staging grand pageants and spectacles to impress the English people. Her final years were dominated by controversy surrounding one of her favorite courtiers (members of the court), Robert Devereux (1566–1601), earl of Essex. Essex had numerous clashes with William Cecil and his son, Robert Cecil (1563–1612). When William Cecil died in 1598, Elizabeth snubbed Essex and awarded her highest council post to Robert Cecil. Then in 1599 she placed Essex in command of a military force and sent him to Ireland to subdue Tyrone's Rebellion. This was a movement, led by Hugh O'Neill (c. 1540–1616), earl of Tyrone, to gain Irish independence from England. But Essex botched the job miserably. Not only did he refuse to follow Elizabeth's orders but he also signed an unauthorized truce with the rebels.

When Essex returned to England, Elizabeth reluctantly withdrew her support from him. In 1601 he attempted to stage a coup (overthrow of government) that would oust Cecil's party and put his own party in power around the queen. Essex sought aid from the army in Ireland and from King James VI (1566–1625) of Scotland. The plot failed, however, and Essex was arrested. He was put on trial and sentenced to death. After Elizabeth reluctantly signed the death warrant (document that authorizes a death sentence), Essex was executed. Another domestic problem was Parliament's fight over the granting of monopolies (exclusive control or possession of a trade or business). Elizabeth was able to head off the conflict by promising that she herself would institute reforms. In her famous "Golden Speech," which she delivered to her last Parliament, she proved that even in old age she had the power to win her people to her side. She said:

Though God hath raised me high, yet this I count the glory of my crown, that I have reigned with your loves… It is my desire to live nor reign no longer than my life and reign shall be for your good. And though you have had, and may have, many princes more mighty and wise sitting in this seat, yet you never had, nor shall have, any that will be more careful and loving.

These words concealed the reality of the end of Elizabeth's reign. Severe tensions did exist. The finances of the monarchy, exhausted by war since the 1580s, were in a sorry state, and the economic plight of the country was not much better. Parliament was already testing its power to dispute issues with the monarchy, though members did hold back, perhaps out of respect for the elderly queen. Religious tensions were hidden rather than removed. For all the greatness of her reign, it was a shaky inheritance that Elizabeth passed on to her successor, King James I (1566–1625; see entry)—the son of her former rival, Mary, Queen of Scots—when she died on March 24, 1603.

Reign marked by achievements

The long reign of Elizabeth I was darkened by the executions of Mary, Queen of Scots and Essex. Yet Elizabeth is best remembered for her accomplishments, such as strengthening the Anglican Church and keeping government finances stable. Most of all, she embodied the spirit of her people—a determination to survive and indeed prosper in the face of enormous odds. Elizabeth's court became the cultural center of its day, and her era was a time of unparalleled literary achievement. Edmund Spenser (see box in William Shakespeare entry) dedicated his masterpiece, the epic poem The Fairie Queen, to Elizabeth. Dramas by the playwright William Shakespeare (1564–1616) and his contemporaries rank among the highest achievements of the Elizabethan age.

During Elizabeth's reign England also began emerging as a great sea power, which eventually gave rise to the expansion of the British Empire over the next three centuries. The most famous exploits were made by the navigators John Hawkins (1532–1595) and Francis Drake (c. 1543–1596). Hawkins opened up English trade with islands in the Caribbean Sea in the New World (the European term for the Americas), and Drake circumnavigated (sailed around) the globe between 1577 and 1580. There were efforts to colonize Virginia, the territory in North America named in Elizabeth's honor. English settlers made three failed attempts to start a colony at Roanoke, an island off the coast of Virginia. The last group of colonists mysteriously disappeared. The first successful English colony in North America was Jamestown, Virginia, which was started in 1607 during the reign of Elizabeth's successor, James I.