English+Renaissance+Elizabeth+I

ELIZABETH I. (LMM and WBK)(TNG)



Interesting Facts and Accomplishments

Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Throughout most of her life she was viewed as the "illegitimate" child of Henry VII, some thinking she wasn't even his at all, and most Catholics didn't believe she was a legitimate heir to the throne. She is described as a practical ruler, who loved a big ceremony, but frugal in her dealings. She was decisive yet sensitive to the needs of her people. She reestablished the Church of England and made it a buffer between Roman Catholics and Radical Protestants. Elizabeth I kept England out of any major wars and ended the unpopular Spanish alliance. She encouraged world ventures, including Sir Frances Drake's circumnavigation of the globe and Sir Walter Raleigh's attempt to establish a colony in Virginia. She secretly funded pirate raids against Spanish ships, while adamantly denouncing these kinds of acts. Elizabeth I executed Mary Stuart, cousin of Elizabeth I and thought to be the rightful heir to the English throne. This intensified the quarrel with Spain. She was known for being the leader of a great military power, having a navy that defeated the famous Spanish Armada. Edmund Spenser dedicated his romantic epic //The Faerie Queene// to Elizabeth. She wrote poems, such as "On Monsieur's Departure" It was during her reign that the English Renaissance reached it's "full flower." She never married, but considered several suitors. She was infertile, so therefore could bear no heir, and she knew that a marriage could result in her losing control, like had happened to her sister Mary. She also used the possibility of marriage as a diplomatic ploy. If she had married, it would have been because of a feeling of duty, rather than personal preference or love.



Helpful Websites

www.tudorhistory.org/**elizabeth

www.britannia.com/history/monarchs/mon45.html

www.**elizabethi**.org/us/profile

www.englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/eliz1.html

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