Elizabeth I: The Definitive Study Guide

Core Summary of Elizabeth I

• Reign: Elizabeth I served as the Queen of England from $1558$ to $1603$.

• Significance: Her reign is associated with the naming of Virginia in her honor and the height of the English Renaissance.

• Political Identity: She famously remained single, utilizing her image as the "virgin queen" to navigate foreign policy and solidify her political authority.

• Major Successes:

  • Establishment of the Protestant Church of England in a lasting form.

  • The defeat of the Spanish Armada in $1588$.

  • Patronage of the arts, literature, and drama.

• Personality Traits: She was renowned for her linguistic skills (Latin, French, Italian, and Greek), sharp wit, temper, educated mind, frugality, and political caution.

Parentage and Early Humanist Education

• Birth: Born Elizabeth Tudor on September $7$, $1533$, at Greenwich Palace.

• Parents: Daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Her birth was considered a disappointment as Henry VIII had broken with the Catholic Church specifically to obtain a legitimate male heir.

• Tutor: Educated by the humanist scholar Roger Ascham.

• Curriculum: Her studies included philosophy, theology, and multiple languages.

• Domestic Skills: Alongside intellectual pursuits, she was trained in embroidery, dancing, and playing the virginals (an early harpsichord).

Political Survival and the Road to Successor

• Succession Timeline:

  • January $28$, $1547$: Henry VIII died; succeeded by Edward VI, with whom Elizabeth shared Protestant views.

  • July $6$, $1553$: Edward VI died. Lady Jane Grey ruled for $9$ days before Edward's Catholic half-sister, Mary Tudor, claimed the throne as Mary I.

• Perilous Position: During Mary I’s reign ($1553$–$1558$), Elizabeth’s life was frequently in danger.

  • Wyatt’s Revolt ($1554$): A rebellion led by Sir Thomas Wyatt against Mary’s Catholicism and marriage to Philip II of Spain led to Elizabeth’s imprisonment.

  • Imprisonment: She was sent to the Tower of London for questioning on May $19$, $1554$, and later placed under house arrest at Woodstock.

• Survival Tactics: Elizabeth successfully navigated this period through "politic silence, nominal religious conformity, convenient illnesses, and letters of loyalty."

• Accession: Upon Mary I's death on November $17$, $1558$, Elizabeth became Queen.

• Coronation: Held at Westminster Abbey on January $15$, $1559$.

Primary Advisors and Personal Relationships

• Sir William Cecil: Joined the Privy Council as Principal Secretary and later Lord Treasurer; he remained her closest confidant until his death on August $4$, $1589$.

• Sir Robert Dudley: Her Master of the Horse and lifelong friend.

  • Scandal: Rumors suggested they might marry, but the suspicious death of his wife, Amy Robsart (who fell down stairs on September $8$, $1603$), made marriage politically impossible.

  • Lord Protector Proposal: During Elizabeth's bout with smallpox in October $1562$, she requested Dudley be named Lord Protector, but the Council refused.

  • Death: Dudley died on September $4$, $1588$. Elizabeth was said to carry "his last letter" with her always.

• Sir Francis Walsingham: Managed a sophisticated spy network that protected the Queen from various assassination plots.

• Robert Devereux, second Earl of Essex: A late favorite who grew frustrated with his lack of rewards. He led a failed revolt in London and was beheaded on February $25$, $1601$.

The Elizabethan Religious Settlement

• Goal: To establish a "via media" (middle way) between Protestant doctrine and Catholic ritual.

• Key Legislation:

  • Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity: Named Elizabeth the "Supreme Governor" of the Church.

  • Book of Common Prayer: Distributed as a standardized liturgical text.

  • Thirty-Nine Articles ($1563$): Provided the theological framework for the Church.

• Religious Opposition:

  • Puritans: Pushed for more radical Protestant reforms.

  • Catholics: Sought to replace her with the Catholic Mary Stuart.

• Excommunication: On April $27$, $1570$, Pope Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth as a heretic and called for her subjects to overthrow her.

The "Virgin Queen" Public Image and Marriage Policy

• Diplomatic Tool: Elizabeth conducted courtships with the rulers of Sweden, France, and the Holy Roman Empire ($1559$–$1582$) to influence European politics.

• Notable Courtship: Negotiated with Francis, Duke of Anjou (son of Catherine de Medici), whom she nicknamed "frog."

• Declarations of Singlehood:

  • $1559$ Address: Stated she would be satisfied if "a marble stone shall declare that a queen, having reigned such a time, lived and died a virgin."

  • $1576$ Metaphor: Claimed if she were a "milkmaid with a pail on mine arm," she would still choose to remain single rather than marry a monarch.

• Symbolism: Portraits emphasized her virginity and power using unbound hair, pearls, pelicans, and sieves.

Conflict with Mary, Queen of Scots

• Claim to Throne: Mary Stuart was Elizabeth's Catholic cousin and a claimant to the English crown.

• Chronology of Conflict:

  • $1567$: Mary abdicated her throne in favor of her son, James VI.

  • $1568$: Mary fled to England and was placed under house arrest for $19$ years.

  • The Ridolfi Plot ($1572$): Thomas Howard, $4$th Duke of Norfolk, was executed for plotting to marry Mary and overthrow Elizabeth.

  • Execution: Following proof from Walsingham that Mary supported a plot to assassinate Elizabeth, Mary was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle on February $8$, $1587$.

The Spanish Armada and Nationalistic Victory

• Conflict: Tensions with Philip II of Spain escalated due to Elizabeth's support for Dutch Protestants and privateering in the West Indies.

• The Invasion ($1588$): Spain sent a massive flotilla to invade England in the late summer.

• Tilbury Speech: Elizabeth joined her troops at Tilbury to rally them against the threat.

• Victory: The English navy, under Lord Admiral Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake, fought the Armada while "Protestant winds" blew the remaining Spanish ships north of Scotland, causing their destruction.

• Legacy: This victory cemented English Protestant identity and made Accession Day (November $17$) a national holiday.

Explorations and the Naming of Virginia

• Sir Walter Raleigh: Elizabeth granted him a license on March $24$, $1584$, to explore and colonize lands not held by Christian kings.

• Financial Terms: Elizabeth provided symbolic support and little capital, in exchange for $1/5$ of all treasures discovered.

• Roanoke Colony:

  • $1584$: Expedition reached Roanoke Island on July $13$.

  • $1585$–$1586$: The first attempt at a colony failed.

  • $1587$: John White landed with $115$ settlers.

  • Virginia Dare: Born in August $1587$, she was the first English child born in the New World, baptized in honor of the Queen.

  • The Lost Colony: By $1590$, the settlers had vanished, yet the attempt allowed England to claim the eastern coast as "Virginia."

Final Years, Death, and Succession

• Progresses: Even in her late years, Elizabeth traveled on summer "progresses" to maintain her popularity with the citizenry.

• Decline: Early in $1603$, she fell into a depression following the death of her cousin, Catherine Howard, Countess of Nottingham.

• Illness: Developed bronchitis or pneumonia in February $1603$. She famously spent several days on the floor on pillows, refusing food or bed.

• Passing: Died on March $24$, $1603$, at Richmond Palace.

• Burial: Her body lay in state at Whitehall Palace before her funeral on April $28$, $1603$, at Westminster Abbey.

• Reburial: In $1606$, James I moved her body to be interred with her half-sister Mary I.

• Succession: She named James VI of Scotland (who became James I of England) as her successor, uniting the thrones of England and Scotland.

Comprehensive Timeline of Major Events

• September $7$, $1533$: Birth of Elizabeth Tudor.

• $1547$: Succession of Edward VI.

• $1553$: Succession of Mary I.

• May $19$, $1554$: Elizabeth leaves the Tower of London for house arrest at Woodstock.

• November $17$, $1558$: Death of Mary I; Elizabeth becomes Queen.

• January $15$, $1559$: Coronation of Elizabeth I.

• October $1562$: Elizabeth contracts smallpox.

• March $9$, $1566$: David Rizzio (Secretary to Mary Stuart) is murdered.

• June $19$, $1566$: Birth of James Stuart (future James I).

• July $24$, $1567$: Mary Stuart abdicates the Scottish throne.

• November $1569$: Failed Catholic revolt in Northern England led by Northumberland and Westmoreland.

• July $1575$: Extravagant festival at Kenilworth hosted by Robert Dudley.

• February $8$, $1587$: Execution of Mary Stuart.

• August $1588$: Defeat of the Spanish Armada.

• February $25$, $1601$: Execution of the Earl of Essex.

• March $24$, $1603$: Death of Elizabeth I at Richmond Palace.