curiousa2z
Be patient till the last.
November 17 1558 : Elizabethan Age begins
Queen Mary I, the monarch of England and Ireland since 1553, dies and is succeeded by her 25-year-old half-sister, Elizabeth.
The two half-sisters, both daughters of King Henry VIII, had a stormy
relationship during Mary's five-year reign. Mary, who was brought up
as a Catholic, enacted pro-Catholic legislation and made efforts to
restore the pope to supremacy in England. A Protestant rebellion
ensued, and Queen Mary imprisoned Elizabeth, a Protestant, in the
Tower of London on suspicion of complicity. After Mary's death,
Elizabeth survived several Catholic plots against her; though her
ascension was greeted with approval by most of England's lords, who
were largely Protestant and hoped for greater religious tolerance
under a Protestant queen. Under the early guidance of Secretary of
State Sir William Cecil, Elizabeth repealed Mary's pro-Catholic
legislation, established a permanent Protestant Church of England, and encouraged the Calvinist reformers in Scotland.
In foreign affairs, Elizabeth practiced a policy of strengthening
England's Protestant allies and dividing her foes. Elizabeth was
opposed by the pope, who refused to recognize her legitimacy, and by Spain, a Catholic nation that was at the height of its power. In 1588, English-Spanish rivalry led to an abortive Spanish invasion of England in which the Spanish Armada, the greatest naval force in the world at the time, was destroyed by storms and a determined English navy.
With increasing English domination at sea, Elizabeth encouraged
voyages of discovery, such as Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation of the globe and Sir Walter Raleigh's expeditions to the North American coast.
The long reign of Elizabeth, who became known as the "Virgin Queen" for her reluctance to endanger her authority through marriage,
coincided with the flowering of the English Renaissance, associated
with such renowned authors as William Shakespeare. By her death in
1603, England had become a major world power in every respect, and Queen Elizabeth I passed into history as one of England's greatest monarchs.
Queen Mary I, the monarch of England and Ireland since 1553, dies and is succeeded by her 25-year-old half-sister, Elizabeth.
The two half-sisters, both daughters of King Henry VIII, had a stormy
relationship during Mary's five-year reign. Mary, who was brought up
as a Catholic, enacted pro-Catholic legislation and made efforts to
restore the pope to supremacy in England. A Protestant rebellion
ensued, and Queen Mary imprisoned Elizabeth, a Protestant, in the
Tower of London on suspicion of complicity. After Mary's death,
Elizabeth survived several Catholic plots against her; though her
ascension was greeted with approval by most of England's lords, who
were largely Protestant and hoped for greater religious tolerance
under a Protestant queen. Under the early guidance of Secretary of
State Sir William Cecil, Elizabeth repealed Mary's pro-Catholic
legislation, established a permanent Protestant Church of England, and encouraged the Calvinist reformers in Scotland.
In foreign affairs, Elizabeth practiced a policy of strengthening
England's Protestant allies and dividing her foes. Elizabeth was
opposed by the pope, who refused to recognize her legitimacy, and by Spain, a Catholic nation that was at the height of its power. In 1588, English-Spanish rivalry led to an abortive Spanish invasion of England in which the Spanish Armada, the greatest naval force in the world at the time, was destroyed by storms and a determined English navy.
With increasing English domination at sea, Elizabeth encouraged
voyages of discovery, such as Sir Francis Drake's circumnavigation of the globe and Sir Walter Raleigh's expeditions to the North American coast.
The long reign of Elizabeth, who became known as the "Virgin Queen" for her reluctance to endanger her authority through marriage,
coincided with the flowering of the English Renaissance, associated
with such renowned authors as William Shakespeare. By her death in
1603, England had become a major world power in every respect, and Queen Elizabeth I passed into history as one of England's greatest monarchs.
