Elizabethan Age: England's Rise as a power

Rulers who urged tolerance and moderation and became indifferent to religion became known as politiques Elizabeth I of England the most successful politique (Others include Henry IV of France)

Eldest daughter of Henry VIII Very hostile to Protestants (executes great Protestant leaders, hundreds are burned at the stake and others flee to the Continent) Marries into militant Catholicism by wedding Philip II of Spain “Bloody Mary”

Mary dies childless Elizabeth –Protestant daughter of Anne Boleyn When Mary dies Queen Elizabeth I reversed Mary’s course via the “Elizabethan Settlement” Settled religious differences by merging broadly defined Protestant doctrine with traditional Catholic ritual, later resulting in the Anglican Church

All anti-Protestant legislation repealed and Thirty-Nine Articles is issued in 1563, making moderate Protestantism the official religion of the Church of England Animosity grows between England and Spain over dominance of the seas English support of independence in the Netherlands Refused to marry (The “Virgin Queen”) Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots the “last straw” for Phillip

Radical Catholics wanted to replace Elizabeth I with Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots Puritans – Protestants who wanted to purify the church of any “popery” had two grievances about Elizabeth: the retention of Catholic ceremony in the Church of England the continuation of the Episcopal system of church governance Presbyterians – Puritans’ creation of an alternative national church of semiautonomous congregations governed by representative presbyteries More extreme Puritans, Congregationalists wanted every congregation to be autonomous

Catholic ruler of Scotland who later is forced to abdicate the throne and flee to England and her cousin Elizabeth I Elizabeth, who has Mary under house arrest for the fear of a Catholic England uprising, uncovers two plots against her life Mary is compliant with the assassination attempts and is executed by Elizabeth Ending all Catholic hopes of a bloodless reconciliation with Protestant England and leads to the invasion of the Spanish Armada

Sir Francis Drake of England shells the Spanish port of Cadiz and raids Portugal, delaying the invasion of the Spanish Armada A huge Spanish fleet of 130 ships and 25,000 sailors is crushed by the swifter defending British navy (1/3 of the Armada never return to Spain) Protestant resistance everywhere is given hope and Spain is never again a world power

Encouraged the Arts and Literature  great poets and playwrights emerged during her era such as William Shakespeare, Edmund Spenser, Christopher Marlowe and Sir Walter Raleigh  Literacy increased Fought off invasion and rebellions  Defeat of Armada, overseas expansion, exploration Earned the love of the English people  “Good Queen Bess”, frequent “progresses” to the countryside English Renaissance:  She was a very gifted scholar who was an accomplished linguist with the ability to speak several languages including Latin, Greek, French, Spanish and Welsh. Sir Francis Bacon (The Scientific Method) accomplished during her reign

It was a major accomplishment that she ever survived to become Queen of England! Her mother was executed on the charge of Treason, adultery and incest. She was branded a bastard by her father, King Henry VIII. She lost her title of Princess Elizabeth and had to be referred to as Lady Elizabeth! As Princess Elizabeth she survived a scandal concerning herself and Thomas Seymour, the husband of her stepmother Katharine Parr It was a major accomplishment to survive the questioning she endured at the Tower of London when she was imprisoned there by her half-sister Mary Tudor ( aka Mary I & Bloody Mary). She was accused of being involved with the Protestant rebellion, led by Sir Thomas Wyatt the Younger She survived various Catholic plots and conspiracies such as the Babbington plot involving Mary Queen of Scots

She was able to choose excellent advisors and statesmen but was not be dominated by them. Elizabeth was firmly in control of all major policies and England prospered under a stable Government Queen Elizabeth adopted a moderate religious policy. The Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity (1559), the introduction of the Prayer Book of 1559, and the Thirty-Nine Articles (1563) were all Protestant in doctrine, but preserved many traditionally Catholic ceremonies. Although a Protestant she did not persecute Catholics with conviction - she adopted a moderate approach She established Protestantism as the country's religion Queen Elizabeth established the Poor Laws - she achieved a new framework of support for the needy Queen Elizabeth achieved recognition for England as a leading power in Europe Died childless: a major problem