Mary's half-sister, Elizabeth I, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, succeeded her. Elizabeth had extraordinary and long-lasting success in domestic and foreign policy. She established a genuine kingdom on the ashes of Mary's rule, with the help of a wise counsel, Sir William Cecil (1520–1598). Between 1559 and 1603, Elizabeth and Cecil shepherded a religious settlement through Parliament, preventing religious strife from ripping England apart in the sixteenth century.

Elizabeth, a ruler who prioritized religious unity over political union, combined a centralized bishop structure that she tightly controlled with widely defined Protestant ideology and traditional Catholic liturgy. For decades, the resultant Anglican Church was characterized by rigid religious extremism.

An Act of Supremacy was approved by Parliament in 1559, overturning all of Mary Tudor's anti-Protestant laws and establishing Elizabeth's power as "supreme ruler" over both spiritual and worldly concerns. In the same year, the Act of Uniformity imposed a revised version of the Second Book of Common Prayer for every English parish (1552).

The Thirty-Nine Articles, a modification of Thomas Cranmer's original fortytwo, were issued in 1563, making moderate Protestantism the official faith of the Church of England. By taking a medium path, Elizabeth intended to escape both Catholic and Protestant fanaticism. Matthew Parker (d. 1575), the first archbishop of Canterbury, exemplified this ideal. However, Elizabeth was unable to prevent the rise of subversive Catholic and Protestant extremists. Catholics were outraged when she rose to the throne.

Michael Servetus, a Spanish physician and amateur theologian, was burned at the stake in Geneva on October 27, 1553, for supposed "blasphemies against the Holy Trinity." He had earned the wrath of Rome before badgering John Calvin on theological questions in Geneva, and he was a bold and confident man.

Following Sevetus' execution, Calvin was heavily chastised for using capital punishment to combat heresy. In a book titled Defense of the Orthodox Faith in the Holy Trinity Against the Monstrous Errors of Michael Servetus of Spain, he defended himself in 1544. Following that, Sebastian Castellio, a distinguished humanist and former rector of Geneva's college, whom Calvin had pushed out of the city years before, published a series of publications against Calvin.

The Puritans of the sixteenth century were not real separatists. They had widespread backing and were headed by well-known figures such as Thomas Cartwright (d. 1603). Following the example of Calvin and Geneva, they sought via Parliament to establish an alternative national church of semiautonomous churches administered by representative presbyteries (thus, Presbyterians). Elizabeth dealt with them strongly but delicately, surrendering nothing that jeopardized the Church of England's hierarchical unity or her authority over it.

The most radical Puritans desired that each congregation be independent, a law unto itself, with no higher episcopal or presbyterian oversight.

They were dubbed Congregationalists. Elizabeth and her second archbishop of Canterbury, John Whitgift (d. 1604), were vehemently opposed to this group, whose beliefs on independence they saw as clearly subversive.

Despite the earnest wishes of both Philip II and Elizabeth to avoid war, a chain of circumstances led inexorably to war between England and Spain. The Spanish duke of Alba marched his formidable army into the Netherlands in 1567, which the English saw as merely a good staging region for a Spanish invasion of England. In 1570, Elizabeth was "excommunicated" for heresy by Pope Pius V (r. 1566–1572), who desired a military invasion of Protestant England.

This nefarious deed fueled both internal opposition and foreign intrigue against the queen. As previously stated, the piratical sea beggars, many of whom were Englishmen, captured the port of Brill in the Netherlands and incited the surrounding peasants to revolt against the Spaniards two years later.

Sir Francis Drake blasted the port of Cadiz in the spring of 1587, causing extensive damage to Spanish ships and stores and disrupting Spain's military preparations. Drake stormed the coast of Portugal after "singeing the beard of Spain's monarch," as he described it, further incapacitating the Spanish. Because to these strikes, the Spanish were obliged to postpone their invasion of England until 1588.

On May 30, that year, 130 ships with 25,000 sailors and soldiers set sail for England under the leadership of the Duke of Medina-Sidonia. However, the English gained a surprise triumph in the end. The invasion barges that were supposed to bring Spanish soldiers from the galleons to English coasts were unable to leave Calais and Dunkirk. The faster English and Dutch ships, aided by

The news of the Armada's defeat galvanized Protestant resistance across the world. Despite continuing to score significant victories in the 1590s, Spain never entirely recovered. Spanish forces fought cohesive and inspired armies from France, England, and the Netherlands. Philip's soldiers had been repulsed on all fronts by the time he died on September 13, 1598. His successors in the seventeenth century were all weaker leaders who never had duties equivalent to his, nor did Spain ever enjoy such imperial magnificence again.

The French quickly controlled the continent, while the Dutch and English nibbled away at Spain's colonial dominion in the New World.

Elizabeth died on March 23, 1603, leaving behind a powerful kingdom ready to become a global empire.

The news of the Armada's defeat galvanized Protestant resistance across the world. Despite continuing to score significant victories in the 1590s, Spain never entirely recovered. Spanish forces fought cohesive and inspired armies from France, England, and the Netherlands. Philip's soldiers had been repulsed on all fronts by the time he died on September 13, 1598.

His successors in the seventeenth century were all weaker leaders who never had duties equivalent to his, nor did Spain ever enjoy such imperial magnificence again.

The French quickly controlled the continent, while the Dutch and English nibbled away at Spain's colonial dominion in the New World.

Elizabeth died on March 23, 1603, leaving behind a powerful kingdom ready to become a global empire.

On the eve of the Thirty Years' War, Calvinism was the political and religious leaven within the Holy Roman Empire, as it was everywhere in Europe. The Peace of Augsburg did not recognize it as a legal religion, but it established a firm footing inside the empire when Frederick III (r. 1559–1576), a devout Calvinist, became Elector Palatine (ruler within the Palatinate; see Map 12–3) and proclaimed it the official religion of his territory.

In the 1560s, Heidelberg became a German Geneva: a prominent intellectual hub of Calvinism as well as a staging ground for Calvinist infiltration within the empire. By 1609, Palatine Calvinists led a Protestant defense alliance backed by Spain's sixteenth-century adversaries: England, France, and the Netherlands.

On the eve of the Thirty Years' War, Calvinism was the political and religious leaven within the Holy Roman Empire, as it was everywhere in Europe. The Peace of Augsburg did not recognize it as a legal religion, but it established a firm footing inside the empire when Frederick III (r. 1559–1576), a devout Calvinist, became Elector Palatine (ruler within the Palatinate; see Map 12–3) and proclaimed it the official religion of his territory.

In the 1560s, Heidelberg became a German Geneva: a prominent intellectual hub of Calvinism as well as a staging ground for Calvinist infiltration within the empire. By 1609, Palatine Calvinists led a Protestant defense alliance backed by Spain's sixteenth-century adversaries: England, France, and the Netherlands.