Elizabeth I Essay Research Paper Elizabeth was

Elizabeth I Essay, Research Paper

Elizabeth was born September 7, 1533 and died on March 24, 1603. She was the monarch of England from 1558 to her death. In her lifetime she made herself a powerful image of female authority, regal magnificence and national pride. This image has endured down to the present day. Elizabeth both created her image through embellishment and through the concrete policies that she urged her nation to follow. The latter half of the 16th century in England is called the Elizabethan Age, and perhaps this is justified, because Elizabeth did give the age a personal stamp.

Elizabeth had a tough childhood. She was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Henry had married Anne because his first wife, Catherine had not borne him a male heir after 20 years of marriage. Henry and Catherine had a daughter named Mary. Henry had become involved in a serious controversy with the Church over his divorcing Catherine, and eventually Henry himself became the head of the Church of England. When Elizabeth was 3, her mother, Anne Boleyn, was beheaded for adultery and treason. He also had Parliament make his marriage with Anne Boleyn invalid from the beginning, which made Elizabeth illegitimate. What effect all this had on Elizabeth is hard to say since she was not reared by her natural parents. It was observed that at the age of 6, she had as much gravity as a person who was 40.

In 1537, Henry’s 3rd wife gave birth to a son named Edward. Elizabeth faded even more into the background, but she was not neglected. Henry VIII may have been hard on his wives, but he was affectionate by the standards of the day with his children. Elizabeth was present at state ceremonies and was regarded as third in line to the Throne. She spent a great deal of time with her half-brother Edward. Catherine Parr, Henry’s 6th and final wife, gave Elizabeth loving attention. Elizabeth was given a rigorous education in languages, history, rhetoric, and moral philosophy. Her outstanding tutor, Roger Ascham, said “her mind has no womanly weakness”. He also said that her perseverance and memory were equal to that of a man. (The sexism exhibited here is inherent in the 16th century, not in the writers of this biography.) She was fluent in Greek, Latin, French, and Italian. She studied theology and became a strong Protestant. These values and beliefs helped shape the future course of England.

Her father died in 1547 when she was 14. Edward became king as a boy of 10. Catherine Parr married Thomas Seymour. When Catherine died in 1549, Seymour was accused of wishing to marry Elizabeth in order to rule England. Seymour was beheaded for treason. Elizabeth’s life was temporarily in danger as she and her servants were questioned about the degree to which she had been intimate with Seymour. Elizabeth was circumspect and poised throughout this episode.

Edward, a Protestant, died in 1553 and was replaced by his older half-sister, Mary. Mary was a Catholic, and married to the leading Catholic in Europe -Philip II of Spain. Mary was determined to restore Catholicism to England even if took violence. Elizabeth was again in danger. Elizabeth conformed outwardly to Catholicism, but she became the focus and beneficiary of plots to overthrow the government and restore Protestantism. Elizabeth was briefly locked up in the Tower of London and just barely missed the fate that happened to her mother.

Mary’s brief reign from 1553 to 1558 was characterized by the burning of Protestants and military confrontations. Elizabeth continually had to protest her innocence, her unswerving loyalty, and proclaim her pious distaste for heresy. Both Protestants and Catholics thought Elizabeth misrepresented her religious views. (In truth, Elizabeth died without anyone knowing her private views on life in general.)

Mary died on November 17, 1558, and Elizabeth took the throne amid great public rejoicing. There were bells, bonfires, patriotic demonstrations and other signs of popular acceptance. In the first few weeks of her reign, the Queen formed her government and issued proclamations. She reduced the size of the Privy Council from 39 to 19, partly to get rid of Catholic councilors, and partly to make the body more efficient. She appointed a number of talented advisors, the most skillful of which was William Cecil (Lord Burghley). He served Elizabeth for 40 years as secretary of state and lord treasurer. She reformed the currency by removing the debased currency that had been put into circulation by her father. She decreed that all able-bodied men, not engaged in other types of work should work the land. She did this to increase the agricultural labor force. She negotiated treaties with France and Scotland to end a state of hostilities.

The mood of the times made it difficult for people to accept a female in power. John Knox, the Calvinist preacher, had just written The First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women. In this book, Knox claimed that “God hath revealed to some in this age that it is more than a monster in nature that a woman should reign and bear empire above man.” It was generally acknowledged that women were temperamentally, intellectually, and morally unfit to govern. Elizabeth’s rule was rationalized by claiming that when she came to power her “body natural” was mysteriously joined (by God) to the immortal “body politic”.

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