Elizabeth I 1533 was born in Greenwich on September 7th, and 1558+065438+ 10/0 to 1603 died in Surrey on March 24th. She is also the nominal queen of France. She never married, so she was called "virgin queen". Also known as "Gloriana" and "Good Queen Beth". The Tudor monarchs before her were Henry VIII, Henry VIII, Edward VI of England of England and her half-sister Mary I.
When she ascended the throne, England was in a chaotic state of internal religious division, but she not only successfully maintained the unity of England, but also made England one of the most powerful and wealthy countries in Europe after nearly half a century of rule. British culture reached a peak in this period, and many famous figures emerged, including playwrights william shakespeare, christopher marlowe and Benjamin Johnson. Poet Laureate Edmund Spencer dedicated the "Fairy Queen" to her. Sir Francis Drake became the first Englishman to fly around the earth during his term of office; Sir Francis Bacon expressed his views on philosophy and politics; Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Humphrey Guibert established English colonies in North America. Her rule is called "Elizabethan Age" and "Golden Age" in English history.
childhood
Elizabeth was born in Presen House in London. She is the only surviving child of Henry VIII and his second queen, anne boleyn. Because her parents were married according to Protestant canon, Catholicism considered her illegitimate daughter. As soon as she was born, she was designated as the heir to the throne, and her half-sister Mary became her waiter. When Elizabeth was three, her mother was sentenced to death for treason. A year later, Henry VIII and his third queen jane seymour gave birth to a boy: Edward. Elizabeth and Mary both became Edward's servants.
Henry's later queen was very kind to two stepdaughters who were deprived of the title of princess. Henry himself often pays attention to their growth. They are well educated and have reliable friends and peers of the same age. After Henry 1547 died, his last queen, catherine parr, and her new husband, Thomas Seymour (he is jane seymour's younger brother and uncle of the new British king Edward VI of England) took care of Elizabeth. Seymour was attracted to young Elizabeth. After his wife died, he planned to marry her, but he and his brother Edward Seymour were later executed in a series of power struggles.
Elizabeth received a good education, and her teachers included Roger Asquin, a famous humanist in the English Renaissance. She was educated in classical literature, history, mathematics, poetry and language. During her reign, she could speak and write six languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Latin and Greek. Under the influence of catherine parr and her other teachers, Elizabeth became a Protestant.
Before her brother died, her status was relatively stable, but Edward died of tuberculosis or arsenic poisoning in 1553. Mrs. Jean Grey was queen for only nine days, but was overthrown by her grandfather's companions and put to death by Mary, who came to power later. Mary is a devout Catholic. She forced Elizabeth to convert to Catholicism. Although Elizabeth seems obedient, she is still a Protestant at heart. Mary is very dissatisfied with this. At one time, Elizabeth was even put in the Tower of London. Some people think that she met her later lover, robert dudley, Earl of Leicester, here, but it is more likely that they met in childhood.
Elizabeth saved her life, but Mary's wedding to King Philip II of Spain increased the possibility of England returning to Catholicism, which made the English people and nobles very dissatisfied. Mary I died childless on 1558, and Elizabeth became her legal heir. The British Parliament reiterated King Henry VIII's arrangement that Elizabeth should be the heir.
Heir problem
The biggest criticism of Elizabeth is that she didn't provide an heir. Others always thought that she would get married and have children, and many people pursued her, including her former brother-in-law, Spanish Philip, and her favorite Earl of Leicester. Many people think that the Earl of Leicester is her lover. Elizabeth wisely avoided them. A few years later, when her rule was consolidated, it became more and more obvious that she would never get married and have children.
When asked why she didn't get married, she mentioned the situation during her sister's reign. At that time, she was not only the most taboo person of Mary, but also the rebels such as Sir thomas white used her name. Therefore, she wisely realized that if she appointed an heir, her position would be weakened, which would provide an incentive for her enemies, because they could use this heir against her. But if there were no heirs, England would not have fallen into civil war before her death. This became very obvious in 1562 when she almost died of smallpox. At one time, Elizabeth seriously considered getting married and having children. But a Catholic husband is obviously impossible, and a Protestant husband, such as the Earl of Leicester, will immediately intensify the sectarian struggle in the court. No matter who she chooses, there will be no good result. Regardless of her personal inclination, her situation at that time made it impossible for her to realize any consideration of spreading the Sect.
She had some possible heirs at that time, but Elizabeth ignored them all. Her cousin Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, is a Catholic. Before she fled Scotland, even after that, she was always a likely heir. Although Elizabeth accepted Mary after her expulsion, she imprisoned her to ensure that she could not threaten her position. Mary's son, James, was a child at that time, and he would only be considered after being tested. Other candidates are unlikely. One of Elizabeth's female companions, Lady Catherine Grey, jean grey's sister, married Elizabeth against her will, which angered her. Mary Gray, catherine gray's sister, is a short person with a back. At that time, Elizabeth had always hoped that Mary I would convert to Protestantism and find a husband that Elizabeth thought was reliable, so during Mary's imprisonment in England, she postponed the issue of heir.
At the same time, she has the possibility of getting married. She once considered finding a husband in many French Wang Zizhong. The first suggestion is that Henry, the Duke of Orleans (later Henry III) who is 20 years younger than her, is the younger brother of French King Charles IX. When the proposal was rejected, she also considered Fran? ois, the brother of the Duke of Arancon, the French king. But the early death of Francois destroyed this plan.
The last Englishman eligible to be her heir, Mrs Catherine Grey, died. Elizabeth was forced to reconsider Mary, Queen of Scots. Elizabeth suggested that Mary marry the Earl of Leicester, but Mary refused the suggestion. But by this time, Mary's son James had received a Protestant education. 1570, the king of France persuaded Elizabeth to let Mary return to Scotland. But Elizabeth made many harsh demands, one of which was to let James stay in England. Nevertheless, her adviser Cecil continued to try to help Mary return to Scotland. But the Scots refused to accept the queen, so they failed.
Elizabeth's marriage and personal life have always been a topic of discussion. Being called "the virgin queen" doesn't mean that she hasn't had sex all her life. When she was alive, there were many rumors about illegitimate children. Robert dudley, Earl of Leicester and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, are widely regarded as her lovers. On the other hand, there are also rumors that she is unmarried for life because she can't have children, and maybe even because she has some sexual defects. Biographers Stefan Zweig and Litton Streicher hold this view.
The war with Spain
Elizabeth provided troops and money to Henry IV, a Protestant in France, so that he could gain the French throne. During the Eight-year War, he provided troops to William I (Silent), a Protestant prince in the Netherlands, to make him resist Spanish rule. Moreover, in 1568, after a slave fleet led by Sir Frank Derrick and Sir John Hawkins was seriously injured by the Royal Spanish Navy, Spain's money-carrying fleet was constantly looted by British pirates. King Philip II of Spain decided to invade England under the pretext of Mary's death in order to repel England's challenge to Spain on the European continent and its overseas colonies.
1588, the Spanish Armada set sail for England. Regardless of her personal safety, Elizabeth visited the navy in Tilbury, Essex, without guards and armor, and delivered one of the most famous speeches in history. Since then, with the help of geographical location and weather conditions, the British navy has defeated the invading armada. After hearing the news, Elizabeth left the fortress with only six followers and came to the town to celebrate the victory with her subjects.
Nevertheless, Spain defeated a larger English counterattack fleet at 1589. The war lasted until 1604, and the two sides were tied, and England failed to gain the upper hand at sea or on land. Guerrilla warfare broke out in Ireland from 1594.
Elizabeth's favorite in her later years was Robert Devereux, the adopted son of the Earl of Leicester. She even forgave him some misdemeanors, but Robert participated in a riot in 160 1 and Elizabeth had to put him to death.
stop
Elizabeth never married, and her death ended the Tudor dynasty. In her later years, when she had to determine her heir, she became more and more inclined to her cousin, James, the son of Queen Mary of Scots, who was executed by her. But she never officially designated him as the heir. 1603 On March 24th, she died at Richmond Palace in Surrey. She was buried in Westminster Abbey. Her successor was James I, who had become the Scottish James VI. At this time, under the rule of one monarch, England and Scotland began the first step in the process of British reunification-the royal alliance, but England and Scotland still maintained their own independent governments. Fifty years after her death, the British Civil War broke out and Britain became a short-lived republic.
British culture
Elizabethan period is an important period for the development of English culture.
Impact and evaluation
Elizabeth is the most popular monarch in British history. In 2002, Elizabeth ranked seventh in the "100 Greatest Englishman" selected by BBC-hosted People, surpassing all other kings in Britain. In 2005, in the history channel documentary "The Greatest Monarch in Britain", historians and critics analyzed and rated twelve British monarchs (according to six indicators such as military strength and influence, the full score was 60 points), and Elizabeth got the highest score of 48 points.