Page 289 - Encyclopedia Of World History

elizabeth i 639

A clear and innocent conscience fears nothing. • Elizabeth I (1533–1603)

matters, her counselors feared that Catholic religious Tudor’s marriage to King Philip II of Spain had caused
extremists would assassinate the queen. Francis Wals- great disruption within England. Elizabeth’s other option
ingham (c. 1532–1590), acting under the direction of was marriage to an English nobleman. However, she
Cecil, was in charge of gathering information about any thought that such a marriage would create jealousies
threats to the queen through a network of spies. Wals- within the nobility and could lead even to civil war. To
ingham, who held extreme Puritan views, operated a her, having to share power with a husband conflicted
counterespionage organization that used double agents with her sense of personal destiny. Elizabeth’s childhood
and torture to obtain information. Although Elizabeth experiences and her knowledge of international politics
considered Walsingham to be an extremist in terms of had led her to believe that marriage would be disadvan-
religion, she admired his shrewdness and never doubted tageous both to her and to her realm. Although an
his devotion to her welfare. unmarried queen was considered unnatural at that time,
Elizabeth’s religious moderation was tested when her Elizabeth turned her single status into a strength.
cousin Mary Queen of Scots (1542–1587) took sanctu- However, Elizabeth’s policy of remaining single did
ary in England in 1568 after an uprising in Scotland. leave the problem of succession. The loss of such a
Mary was Catholic, and some Catholic factions at the charismatic leader as Queen Elizabeth left a vacuum in
national and international level believed that she was the England that resulted in great internal conflict. On her
rightful queen of England. Cecil and Walsingham were death she was succeeded by the son of Mary Queen of
concerned that Mary’s presence in England posed a Scots, James I of England (1566–1625; reigned as James
threat to Elizabeth’s safety. After almost twenty years in VI of Scotland 1567–1625 and as king of England
captivity in England, Mary was executed for treason in 1603–1625), who had been raised a Protestant. This
1587. subsequent period in English history was one of social
Like many leaders, Queen Elizabeth had a strong turmoil, religious strife, and civil war.
sense of destiny: She had no doubt that her rise to the Elizabeth was an extraordinary woman, respected
throne was the will of God. When informed that her abroad and celebrated at home. Four hundred years
half-sister Mary Tudor had died and that Elizabeth was after her death we still recognize her legacy as one of the
now queen, Elizabeth stated, “This is the Lord’s doing; greatest monarchs in English history. Her reign brought
and it is marvelous in our eyes” (Marshall 1991, 47). increasing prosperity and peace and strengthened Eng-
Elizabeth viewed the advantages that accrued from her land’s international interests. After the turbulent years of
sovereign status as far outweighing the disadvantages Henry VIII’s reign, the relative stability that England
that accrued from her gender. For Elizabeth being a enjoyed during Elizabeth’s reign advanced the develop-
woman was more an irrelevance than a handicap, stat- ment of English culture. Her reign led to the emergence
ing that “my sex cannot diminish my prestige” (Somer- of the mighty British empire. In North America,Virginia
set 1997, 60). (named after Elizabeth the virgin queen) was explored
During the sixteenth century the first duty of a and colonized. England defeated the Spanish Armada
monarch was to marry and have children, thereby ensur- and became a dominant sea power. Drake circumnavi-
ing the succession of the throne. Cecil in particular was gated the globe. Sailors such as Raleigh and Drake took
eager to secure the succession and create a Protestant heir the English language abroad; today it has become the
to the throne. As queen Elizabeth was expected to marry language of world communication. Her policies encour-
someone of royal blood. She understood that marriage to aged development of parliamentary democracy, a mod-
a foreign prince offered some security from hostile erate Church of England, and, for her time, a relatively
nations in Europe. However, she also understood that the prosperous, peaceful, and stable society. Many scholars
English people were antagonistic toward foreigners. Mary consider the Elizabethan era to have been a golden age.