Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I brought much prosperity and mystery to the throne of England. She had situations that she had to conquer and still keep in mind what was best for the people of England. Elizabeth became the Queen of England after her step-sister Mary passed away in 1558. Her sister also known as “Bloody Mary” left England in a terrible state. She was in the process of bringing England back to Catholism, meanwhile she burned nearly three hundred protestants for not becoming Catholic. Elizabeths reign was known as the Elizabethean Age. The reason for this was because she was such a determined women and many positive things happened because of her. Such as, the cultural world which strenghtened greatly. Art was in the liking of many people, and theatre became very popular. The well known William Shakespeare came along in this time period performing plays in the “Globe Theatre.” Elizabeth was known as “One of Englands strongest Monarchs,” which is a statement that carries on through history. Elizabeth cradled the country of England in her arms as they successfully overcame a very rough time. One of the three major problems that Elizabeth had to face was the Spainish Armada. It began when Phillip II’s wife Mary, also mary Queen of Scots was beheaded by Elizabeth’s signature on her death warrant. This incident pushed Phillip II over the edge and he felt that there was no reason not to invade on England. Phillip II sent a hundred and thirty ships towards the English Channel. To intercept the Spainards, England sent their ships.

 Englands ships were more advanced in many ways. One being that they were smaller , which meant that they were more manuverable. Secondly, their guns fired faster and further. With all of these advancements over Spain, England won with pride. What had happened was England had sunk quit a few of Spains ships. However; the ships that had not got to damaged tried to escape to the North Sea but, a storm known as the “Protestant Winds” blew in and wrecked more of Spains ships. The few ships remaining returned home to Spain. The outcome for England led them to explore overseas. After the Spainish Armada Elizabeth faced two more major problems. One was the religious percecution left behind by her step-sister Mary. The other was problems dealing with Parliment. The religious problemin England was becoming more and more corupt. The puritans were not fully satisfied with the changes taking place. They wanted the English Church to be even more purified. The puritans were against Catholism and wanted to abolish it all together. However; Elizabeth as well as any other monarch felt disunity would subject then to harmful situations later on. This led Elizabeth to persecute the two religions. Elizabeth was strong on the Angelican Church and because of that it lasted throughout her reign.

 Elizabeth and Parliment did not have any probblems until towards the end. Parliment had always told Elizabeth to marry, and Elizabeth would overlook what they said. Elizabeth managed Parliment very well. However; the puritans became sort of a problem to her. The puritans began to question the gooverment policies. There questions became more numerous and frequent. This led certain members of Parliment to revolt. Elizabeth died on March 24, 1603. After she died England continued to have problems in Parliment. These problems led to the English Revolution. During this period James I was King of Englan. Meaning that Elizabeth no longer had to be burdened by Englands difficulties. A minor problem that Elizabeth faced was with her own family, her cousin Mary Queen of Scots. Mary tried to follow through with a plot to kill Elizabeth. However; it was not accomplished. Elizabeth ruled out her reign to the fullest of her capacity. She helped England succeed in many things, all because of her personality and will to want to. The Virgin Queen Elizabeth was known as the Virgin Queen because she never got married and therefore died a virgin. The people in Parliment would tell her that she should get married but, Elizabeth did not feel the same way. It is said that perhaps it was because of the way that her father, Henry VIII treated his wives. Another reason that could also be at fault is that she couldn’t have the one true person that she loved. The story of why Elizabeth I never got married has yet to be uncovered.