Queen Elizabeth

Queen Elizabeth I Queen Elizabeth, the first, proved to be a very good and loyal monarch to England. She brought about many changes, both good and bad. On September 7, 1533 a baby girl came into the world. Back then many parents would have been greatly disappointed to have had a baby girl, rather then a boy. However these parents were glad by the birth of their first child together. These proud parents were the king and queen of England, King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. The girl child was named Elizabeth. The only reason for the birth of Elizabeth had been that she would have been male so that he could have been the heir to king Henry the VIII. It wasn't until two years later that Henry realized he wasn't going to get a healthy male heir from Anne Boleyn. She had miscarried twice before delivering a stillborn son. When Elizabeth was two her father had her mother beheaded for adultery and treason, this was just a way to rid himself of her rather then get a divorce. This was not Henry's first wife, this was his second wife. His first wife had also born him a female child. He had divorced her in hopes that he would get a heir from Anne. With his first wife, Catherine, he had a daughter which they named Mary. Between the time of Elizabeth's mothers death and 1537 Henry married yet again. The woman was named Jane Seymour and she cared greatly for Elizabeth. She forced Henry to take Elizabeth back into the house, as it was, Elizabeth had been sent away for schooling and whatnot. In 1537 Elizabeth's new stepmother, Jane Seymour, gave birth to a son, the birth of this son however brought about the death of Jane from bed fever. The child was named Edward. Once Edward had been born Elizabeth faded into the background, everyday receiving less and less attention. From the time Edward was born Elizabeth spent a lot of time with him. Growing up they were very close, they spent all of their spare time together. The only real time that the two of them were apart was when it came to schooling. She received her education under the famous scholar and humanist Roger Ascham. Under his guidance, Elizabeth studied Greek and Roman classics, read history and theology, and learned both classical and modern languages. She was considered extremely intelligent, and records say that, in her youth, she spoke six languages. In 1547 Henry VIII died. At the age of fourteen Edward became King Edward VI. He died only six short years later. Elizabeth's older half-sister, Mary Tudor came to the throne. Mary, who was Catholic, earned the nickname Bloody Mary. During the time that Bloody Mary was at the throne she married Philip of Spain, soon to be Philip the second. However Parliament blocked his accession to the English throne. She burned many Protestants at the stake. When rebels wanted to place Elizabeth on the throne Queen Mary had her arrested and sent to the Tower of London and later on to Woodstock. She remained imprisoned for five years until Mary, near death, named Elizabeth her successor. On March 17, 1558, the last Tudor monarch of England ascended the throne. Elizabeth initially did not want to face the heated conflict between the Catholics and Protestants In England. However Mary Stuart forced her to. The Catholic Mary, queen of Scotland, was the grandniece of Henry VIII and the next in line to the throne. Accused of murdering her second husband, Henry Stuart Darnley, Mary fled to England to escape a rebellion in Scotland. Many European and English Catholics plotted to put her on the throne. To protect her crown, Elizabeth had her cousin Mary Placed under house arrest in 1567. Meanwhile, Elizabeth's throne was threatened from the outside forces. Philip II, who became ruler of Spain and it's empire in 1556, sought to control the world. England and many other European countries were jealous of Spain's riches, especially in the New World. Elizabeth allowed her seamen to raid Spanish ships on the high seas. Between 1557 and 1580, Francis Drake sailed around the world, becoming the first man, after Francis Magellan to do so. On his trip he ravaged Spanish settlements in South America, returning to England with 1,000,000 in treasure. Elizabeth knighted him aboard his ship, the Golden Hind, worsening already tense relations between Protestants England and catholic Spain. During the 1580's, Elizabeth began to harshly persecute Catholics