Queen Elizabeth The First

“If ever any person had either the gift or the style to win the hearts of people, it was this Queen, and if she did express the same it was at that present, in coupling mildness with majesty as she did, and in stately stooping to the meanest sort”(Elizabeth I Accession). Politically, Elizabeth I kept the the government of England stable, and protected England from invasion, most famously the Spanish Armada. Elizabeth brought people together under one protestant church, and largely the people got along and agreed with Elizabeth. She was liked by the people for her character and talent for speech making. When Elizabeth inherited the throne, England economy was in ruins, but shortly thereafter she turned the economy around, finances improved and the lives of the general public were better. Elizabeth brough Protestantism back to England and allowed to Catholics to keep their personal beliefs hidden. Many questioned Elizabeth's ability to govern because of her gender, but others support her, and she has address the people's concerns but promises them that her gender is irrelevant

Queen Elizabeth’s reign lasted from 1558-1603 during the Protestant Reformation, the Counter Reformation, and the Renaissance (when it was brought to England). She achieved major successes and established a stabilized nation during her reign. When she assumes the throne, after the death of her half sister, Queen Mary I, she faced many challenges, such as the bankruptcy of England, European powers that were trying to reestablish Catholicism, such as Spain and France, and negative criticism denouncing her as a ruler and as the head of the Church of England. It was against church teaching and Bible teachings, for any woman to rule over a country. Elizabeth I inherited the responsibility of governing the kingdom of England despite criticism. In

One of the biggest challenges Elizabeth faced during her reign was the misogyny against her brought about by religious institutions and figures. Bishops from the Church of England showed this by writing in The Second Book of Homilies “but as for wives, they must obey their husbands, and cease from commanding, and perform subjection.” (doc 3) this statement told women that they were not equal to men, that men must make all the decision for the women leaving women only to do as asked by a man, therefore clearly stating women are incapable of ruling a country or even a household the archbishops of York also believed that women should not lead but rather stand behind their husbands Nicholas Heath said

This rare positive or tolerant attitude is displayed on document 2 from John Aymler. Now John may tolerate the idea of a women ruler only because he is a friend of Elizabeth I’s tutor but his opinion is tolerant nonetheless. John expresses that since Elizabeth I is a mere monarch, it might not be too dangerous to have a women ruler.

During the 16th century, Queen Elizabeth I experienced a lot of oppression during her reign in England. Many religious figures opposed the idea of a female ruling a country, saying that it is against God’s will. Other citizens of the country, specifically personal associates of Elizabeth, however, stood behind the queen and admired her bravery, confidence and love for England. Elizabeth responded to the gender ideas in an authoritative way, She had to live with female stereotypes, and used it to her advantage when possible but she asserted that the stereotypes did not completely apply to her and that she was perfectly capable of ruling England.

Elizabeth I is considered a Machiavellian queen; she placed the political unity of England above any other aspect of her kingdom, including religion. Elizabeth I’s reign was influenced politically and religiously, in respect to ideas about gender. Elizabeth, daughter of Henry VIII, responded authoritatively to any opposition she faced.

Elizabeth I is now known as one of the greatest monarchs England ever had, but she faced many disagreements and challenges against her ability to properly control England during her reign because she was a woman. Those religious oppositions against her gender influenced her rule greatly, eventually leading to her regal and authoritative responses. The regal responses reassured the people of her ability to control England, while the authoritative responses reestablished the fact that she was to be the only supreme ruler in England and no one should be allowed to cross her or doubt her power.

Throughout Europe there was a heated reaction to Elizabeth’s rule because of her gender. Many English religious leaders and reformers expressed much discontent with a female ruler. The figureheads were discontent because not only

Elizabeth I reigned as Queen of England from 1558 to 1603. Daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, she succeeded the throne from her half-sister, Mary I. During this time period, people such as John Knox and Nicholas Heath discriminated against Elizabeth because they believed that women were unfit to rule on a religious basis. However, people like John Aylmer and Marcus Generates were supported her through their ideas and artwork. Elizabeth did not succumb to the criticism, but instead exerted her power to those who opposed her and remained loyal to her subjects.

Elizabeth created a religion that made the people happy. She came up with “a compromise between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism” (Elizabeth I). This worked for the rest of her 45 year reign. However, there were

At the beginning of her reign, she made the Church of England the official religion of England and she fashioned her court after that of her fathers. For a woman during that era, Elizabeth was a very daring and smart ruler. For example, she secretly encouraged sailors such as Francis Drake to make raids on Spanish shipping and challenge their naval superiority. When she was a little girl, she was well educated and was able to speak several languages, including French, Spanish, and Latin. In addition, throughout Elizabeth's reign, there was always the threat of hostilities in some form or another. Elizabeth kept the peace between rival leaders of different religions by dominating her court so she could keep the balance of power.2 She was smart enough to come up with a plan which kept the church at bay with their questions of marriage.3 She also calmed the Spanish and the French by entertaining suitors of each respective country; Philip II of Spain and Duke of Anjou of France, but she never married either of them and was therefore known as " the Virgin queen".4 Elizabeth was a Protestant queen who was not always on good terms with most Catholic rulers of Europe. Because of that, there were several assassination plots against her so the Catholics could put Mary, Queen of Scots, in her place. During the 1580's, Elizabeth began to bring her full weight onto the catholic rebels. Hundreds of Catholics died at the stake just as the

“The Golden Speech” was given by Queen Elizabeth I of England in 1601 to the Members of the Commons and the Speaker in the Palace Council Chamber. It was initially supposed to be addressing economic concerns. Queen Elizabeth I converted England back to Protestant after she gained the throne from her half-sister, Mary I. This caused hostility between Spain, which was a Roman Catholic country and England. Queen Elizabeth started to put most of her efforts into raising funds which would prepare England for when the Spanish Army came. One of her efforts was to revoke monopolies from forming in order to save money to be able to defeat the Spanish. This was supposed to be the point of “The Golden Speech” but it turned into her farewell speech

politically. Although she had, at times, a horrible temper and a disagreeable personality, and suffered through many physical and psychological problems as an adult, Elizabeth proved to be one of the most remarkable monarchs in English history. Firstly, I will discuss Elizabeth’s family (including her many stepmothers), and then I will talk about her relationship with her siblings under their power. Thirdly, I will examine religion and how it affected her opinions and politics during her reign. Lastly, I will look at foreign politics of the time and some of Elizabeth’s decisions

Women did not have a successful run on the throne until her and currently, England has yet, another successful woman in power in Elizabeth II. Through her strengths as a person and as a leader, Elizabeth I set the tone for what a Queen should be and how they should act. Not only this, but she also worked hard to get the trust of the English people and it seemed to have stuck for if it had not, it is possible that a female would currently not be in power and if she were, she might not have the respect that the current Queen does. Another clear group of people that Elizabeth I has pertinence to today is that of religious groups. Once Elizabeth was on the throne she allowed people to worship how they pleased for she understood that essentially

Queen Elizabeth I was a major political influence from her time and still influences our world today. Elizabeth I was born on September 7th, 1533 in Greenwich, England. She was the daughter of King Henry VIII, the half-sister of King Edward VI and Queen Mary I (Ellis 1). Elizabeth did not only rule the country she had accomplished many other tasks among her lifetime. She wrote her own poems (Women Writers Of Great Britain & Europe 1), she never relied on translators since she had mastered languages like Greek, Latin, French, and Italian when she was a student (Ellis 1). Queen Elizabeth’s greatest accomplishment was being an extraordinary ruler of England. Another massive accomplishment of hers was reestablishing England back to Protestantism. Queen Elizabeth I deserves to be in the History Hall of Fame because she was a successful, popular Queen of England, who reestablished Protestantism to England.