Elizabeth I (September 7, 1533 – March 24, 1603), formerly known as Elizabeth Tudor, was the last Queen of England and Ireland of the Tudor dynasty in England (reigned from November 17, 1558 to March 24, 1603), and also nominal Queen of France. The daughter of King Henry VIII of England and his second wife Anne Boleyn. [16]
Elizabeth received good court education in her early years, but was suppressed during the reign of her half sister Mary I. In 1558, Mary I passed away and Elizabeth succeeded to the throne. She was crowned as the Queen of England in January of the following year. At the beginning of his ascension to the throne, he relied on the support of the new aristocracy and bourgeoisie to strengthen authoritarian rule and restore the New Testament. Externally, we will concentrate our efforts on combating Spain's maritime hegemony, vigorously developing maritime trade and colonialism. In 1585, he supported the Netherlands Revolution. In 1588, they defeated the Spanish "Invincible Fleet" and began to establish British maritime hegemony. In 1600, the establishment of the East India Company was approved. English culture also reached a peak during this period, with the emergence of cultural giants such as Shakespeare and Bacon. Therefore, the reign of Elizabeth was known as the "Golden Age" in English history. But in the end of her reign, the prolonged Anglo Spanish war situation deteriorated, the Irish crisis, the Earl of Essex rebellion, agricultural harvests and famines, the storm of parliamentary anti patent rights, the corruption of imperfect local governments and central bureaucratic institutions, the poverty of the lower echelons of society, and the refugees who were displaced, all added a dark color to this glorious era. [1]
In 1603, Elizabeth passed away at the age of 69 after being appointed as the successor to the throne by James VI (James I) of Scotland. She remained unmarried for her entire life and was therefore known as the "Virgin Queen" [16]; Also known as the "Queen of Glory" and "Queen of Wisdom".

Early experiences
Elizabeth was born on September 7, 1533, in the Palazzo Prussia in Greenwich, London, the capital of the Kingdom of England. She was baptized on September 10 and became known as "Princess Elizabeth". She was the only surviving child of King Henry VIII of England and his second queen Anne Boleyn. Due to her parents marrying according to Protestant rules, the Catholic Church considers her to be an illegitimate daughter. Elizabeth was designated as the heir to the throne at birth, and her half sister Mary (later Mary I) became her attendant. But the good times did not last long. On May 19, 1536, Anne Boleyn was executed on charges of adultery, and Elizabeth, who was only 2 years and 11 months old, was declared illegitimate and lost her right to the throne. Her title changed from "Princess Elizabeth" to "Miss Elizabeth Tudor". [27] [34]
In 1537, Henry VIII and his third queen Jane Seymour gave birth to a boy named Edward (later Edward VI). Elizabeth and Mary both became Edward's servants, but their sister Mary did not treat Elizabeth well from childhood to adolescence, so Elizabeth's childhood situation can be described as bleak. When Edward was baptized, Elizabeth presented him with a white washing gown and applied holy oil to his body. [2]
In 1543, Elizabeth's elderly father Henry finally married Catherine Parr, who served in the court, as his sixth wife. Queen Catherine Parr treated both Mary and Elizabeth well, providing them with a good education, reliable friends, and peers. Influenced by the queen, Henry VIII reconciled with his two daughters Mary and Elizabeth. Elizabeth's teachers included the famous English Renaissance humanist Roger Askane (translated as Roger Asham). She received education in classics, history, mathematics, poetry, and language. She can speak and write in six languages: English, French, Italian, Spanish, Latin, and Greek. Elizabeth became a Protestant under the influence of Queen Catherine Parr and other teachers. Under the persuasion of Queen Catherine Parr, in 1544, Henry passed the Third Inheritance Act, granting Mary and Elizabeth the right to inherit the throne again, but the two remained legally illegitimate daughters. Henry stipulated in his will that if Edward had no heirs, Mary, born to Catherine, would succeed him, and if Mary had no heirs, Elizabeth would succeed him.

In January 1547, Henry VIII passed away and Edward VI succeeded to the throne. Due to Edward's young age at the time, his regime fell under the regency council, which was predominantly Protestant. These Protestants attempted to make Protestantism the state religion of England, resulting in Elizabeth's relatively stable position as heir to the throne (although she was still implicated in the Thomas Seymour incident in 1549). Elizabeth was placed in foster care at her stepmother Catherine Parr's house and had an ambiguous relationship with her stepmother's stepmother's stephusband, Thomas Seymour, the younger brother of Regent Edward Seymour. Coincidentally, the Seymour brothers were vying for power, and Thomas attempted to marry Elizabeth to steal the throne, but the situation was exposed and he was killed. Elizabeth, who was only 14 years old, was embroiled in court struggles and subjected to rigorous questioning.
In 1553, Edward learned that his life was at its end and drafted an "inheritance case" with the parliament in an attempt to prevent the country from falling back into Catholic influence. Edward appointed his cousin Jane Gray as the heir to the throne, excluding his half sisters Mary and Elizabeth. [4]
Sisters type wall
In July 1553, after the early death of Edward VI, Mary deposed her successor Jane Gray and became Queen Mary I of England. [5] Mary is a devout Catholic who forced Elizabeth to convert to Catholicism. Although Elizabeth appears to have converted, she is still a Protestant at heart. Mary is very dissatisfied with this. So when Mary ascended the throne, Elizabeth retired from the court.

At the end of 1553, Thomas Huaiyi launched a rebellion under the name of supporting Elizabeth and led his army from Kent all the way to London before being defeated. Although Elizabeth insisted that she did not participate in the uprising, she was still imprisoned in the Tower of London for two months (March May 1554), during which she received protection from Count Henry Radcliffe of Sussex. Subsequently, Elizabeth was transferred to a mansion in Woodstock and remains under house arrest. [27] [34] [50]
In April 1555, Elizabeth was released from prison and ordered to enter the palace to accompany Mary I, who claimed to be pregnant. Mary's pregnancy reaction lasted until July 1555, when her stomach returned to its original state and it was confirmed that she was not pregnant. In October, Elizabeth was granted permission to go to Harfield Manor, under the guardianship of Sir Thomas Pope. In 1556, Elizabeth was implicated in a new conspiracy and imprisoned again. [27]
On November 6, 1558, due to long-term childlessness after marriage, Mary I had to make Elizabeth his legal heir. The British Parliament reiterated Henry VIII's arrangement to appoint Elizabeth as the heir.
At the beginning of ascending the throne
On November 17, 1558, Mary I passed away and Elizabeth succeeded to the throne. Elizabeth was crowned Queen Elizabeth I from January 15 to 16, 1559, at Westminster Abbey in London.

Mary's five-year rule interrupted the process of religious reform in England, resulting in catastrophic consequences; Externally, she followed the Pope and Spain, and fought against France at the request of her husband, King Felipe II of Spain. As a result, the war failed and the British stronghold on the mainland, Calais, was lost. Elizabeth inherited the throne in this situation of internal and external difficulties. [34]
Elizabeth is naturally intelligent, diligent and eager to learn, and has received a good humanistic education. She is able to elegantly discuss literature with literati and literary figures, and debate with people eloquently. She is cold hearted, greedy, and smooth, but she has a wide range of knowledge, a sharp eye, and a steady approach to things. Her motto is "video et taceo" (literally translated as "I watch, and I remain silent") [35].
After Elizabeth came to power, she declared that the king was the full representative of God on earth, the God of humanity, and demanded absolute obedience and unlimited worship from her subjects. She sees parliament as a tool of her rule, believing that its role is not to make legislators enact new laws or waste good time giving speeches, but to allocate funds to enrich the national treasury. She prohibited parliament from discussing her policies, restricted its actions, and even expelled members of parliament who dared to confront her. To show off the majesty of the "God of the World", she loves luxurious extravagance, grand banquets, and luxurious clothing, but also wants to save on court expenses, passing these expenses on to ministers and nobles. She often patrols aristocratic estates in various places to strengthen control over the area and plunders a large number of gifts from local nobles. However, this "human god" is not a legitimate monarch recognized by the Pope. Because the Pope did not recognize the marriage between Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, regarded Elizabeth as an illegitimate child, and denied her right to inherit the throne. The Pope, Spain, and France all supported the Catholic Queen Mary Stuart of Scotland as the legitimate monarch of England, which made it impossible for Elizabeth to rule based on the papal recognition of "legitimacy". She had to rely on the new aristocracy and bourgeoisie who were hostile to Catholicism to implement policies that benefited them. On the other hand, the new aristocracy and bourgeoisie who gained a large amount of land and property from the church during the Reformation were also afraid of the restoration of Catholicism, and therefore supported Elizabeth. The parliament can only obey her authoritarian rule. So this alliance between monarchy and the new aristocracy of the bourgeoisie became the political foundation of Elizabeth's authoritarian regime.

Elizabeth is particularly adept at communicating with others and knows how to win the love of her subjects. A chronicler wrote, "If anyone had a talent and grace that could win the hearts of the people, that person was Queen Elizabeth. If she had shown such talent and grace, it was at this time. She combined gentleness and dignity, solemnly bowing down to pay tribute to the most humble subjects. All of her senses were active, and every move seemed to be well controlled by thoughts and emotions: her eyes were on one subject, her ears were listening to the voice of another subject, and her heart was making decisions about the opinions of a third person." Judging, while she was conversing with a fourth person; her spirit seemed omnipresent, yet all seemed focused and undivided. She sympathizes with some people, praises others, expresses gratitude to others, and humorously mocks others. She doesn't blame anyone, she doesn't ignore any etiquette, she deliberately smiles at everyone and shows off her elegant demeanor, so her subjects also double their joy. Later, they talked about it in the highest tone, making people's ears often hear some excessive praise for the king Her warm and affectionate attitude towards British subjects has won the love and admiration of almost all British people. At that time, people affectionately referred to their queen as "Bessie". At that time, the British actually saw the Queen as the embodiment of England, and Elizabeth gradually became an equivalent to the era of national self-awareness awakening in England.

Stable governance
Faced with the domestic division left by Queen Mary and the crisis of foreign wars, Elizabeth first focused on stabilizing the domestic situation. When she attended the first reception for the Queen in London, she put forward the slogan of "harmony". Furthermore, the theme of her coronation celebration was "unity", and her throne was adorned with red and white roses. It was written below: "The York and Lancaster families were united, just as the marriage of Henry VII and Edward IV's daughter ended internal strife, and their granddaughter Elizabeth would strive to maintain permanent harmony in England. However, religious issues still plagued Elizabeth."
In the early days of Elizabeth's reign, the Catholic forces led by the Pope were very afraid of the continued religious reforms in Britain, and Spain was also very concerned that Britain's growing overseas activities would threaten its maritime hegemony. Mary Stuart of Scotland was constantly coveting the British throne. Faced with the threat of these powerful foreign forces and taking into account Britain's trade with the Western Netherlands, Elizabeth adopted a cautious foreign policy. In 1559, Elizabeth rejected the proposal of Felipe II, preventing Spain from using marriage alliances to turn England into a vassal state. She actively supported Scottish Protestants, helped Protestant nobles defeat and depose Mary, and brought pro British Protestants to power in Scotland. Elizabeth also tried her best not to intervene in European affairs, refusing to publicly intervene in the Netherland Revolution until 1585 to avoid direct conflict with Catholic countries. However, she also supported British pirates in attacking countries such as Spain.

The Pope and Spain were unwilling to accept the dominance of Protestantism in England and the consolidation of Elizabeth's authoritarian regime, and increasingly intensified their planning of conspiracies and rebellions against the Queen. England entered a period of so-called "conspiracies". Mary Stuart, who fled to England in 1567 and was placed under house arrest, became the center of this conspiracy. In 1569, Elizabeth uncovered the conspiracy of Thomas Howard, the fourth Duke of Norfolk, to marry Mary and overthrow herself. The Catholic forces in northern England reported a rebellion, and the rebels were instigated and financially supported by Spain, attempting to rescue Mary and replace Elizabeth. Upon hearing the news, Elizabeth sent a large army to suppress the rebellion. In 1570, Pope Pius V announced the excommunication of Elizabeth, lifting the loyalty of British subjects to her, and subsequently sending a large number of Jesuits to infiltrate England and instigate a rebellion. But conspiracy cases were solved one after another. In 1584, Spain sent assassins to assassinate William I, the leader of the Netherlands Uprising. In 1585, the Western army occupied Antwerp, and Britain not only suffered a serious blow to trade with the Netherlands, but also faced a serious threat from Spanish invasion, leading to increasingly tense internal and external situations. At this time, Elizabeth formed an alliance with Scotland to support the struggle between the French Protestant and Catholic factions, and sent troops to support the Netherlands to contain Spain; On the other hand, intensify the struggle against domestic Catholic forces and monitor Mary. After a long period of investigation, in 1586, the conspiracy of Anthony Barbington and his gang to assassinate Elizabeth and support Mary was uncovered, and Mary's confidential correspondence with the conspirators and the action instructions she gave were uncovered. Elizabeth immediately arrested the conspirators upon obtaining evidence, proceeded to trial Mary, and in 1587 executed her on charges of treason (see entry for the Babington conspiracy). [34]
Mary's death cleared the center of domestic conspiracy and posed a bold challenge to the Catholic world. Pope Sixtus V was furious and called on Catholics to fight against Britain. In July 1588, Spain sent an invincible fleet consisting of over 100 ships to expedition to England. At that time, Britain was not as strong as Spain, but in the face of critical moments, different classes and denominations in Britain actively took action. Coastal cities have brought their own ships to participate in the war, and a large number of militiamen have responded and gathered. Elizabeth also delivered a speech at the military assembly site, expressing her desire to coexist with them. In naval battles, Spanish ships were bulky and inflexible, sailors lacked training, and command was incompetent. However, British ships were small and agile, with fierce artillery fire and brave and skilled sailors. British generals such as Charles Howard and Francis Drake commanded well, and the storm was favorable to the British army. As a result, the Invincible Fleet was defeated, leaving only a few dozen ships to flee back to Spain (see entry for the Battle of Grafoline).

The Battle of Gravelline is seen as a significant victory for the Protestant Church of England over the Catholic forces. The failure of the Invincible Fleet weakened Spain's maritime hegemony and opened the way for Britain's large-scale overseas expansion. At this time, the Elizabethan era reached its peak. The British economy continues to develop, and London has become an important center for industry, commerce, and finance. The humanistic ideas of the Renaissance also flourished in England, giving rise to the world literary giant Shakespeare and the founder of modern materialism, Francis Bacon. After nearly half a century of rule, England became one of the strongest and wealthiest countries in Europe. [20] This period is commonly referred to by British historians as the "settlement" period. [31]
During the reign of Elizabeth I, many navigators including Drake, Walter Raleigh, and Humphrey Gilbert emerged, promoting the development of the British maritime industry. Britain also attempted to establish colonies in North America. [34]
Storage issue
Elizabeth I was known as the Virgin Queen during her lifetime, and she remained single throughout her life without marriage. Throughout her reign, her marriage issue remained a concern for people. Due to her lifelong unmarried status, she has no offspring. Elizabeth's advisor repeatedly requested her to get married, and the parliament did the same. [20] Elizabeth never refuses or agrees with the pursuit of others. She used her unmarried status to be hypocritical towards the royal families of Spain, the Holy Roman Empire, France, Sweden, and other countries who had proposed to her, using her marriage as a bargaining chip to balance power among the two major powers of the European continent, especially France and Spain, in order to maximize the national interests of Britain. [15] It is said that after ascending the throne, she wore a coronation ring on her left ring finger as a symbol of dedicating her life to her country and people.

Catherine Gray, the niece of Elizabeth I, was the granddaughter of Mary Tudor, the daughter of Henry VII, and had priority in the succession to the throne. Her secret marriage to Edward Seymour, the first Earl of Hertford, angered Elizabeth I, and she herself was imprisoned to death in 1568.
In the later years of Elizabeth I, when she had to determine her heir, she became increasingly inclined towards her nephew, Mary Stuart's son, King James VI of Scotland (later James I), who was executed by her. But she never officially named him as the heir.

Glorious Closing
During the reign of Queen Elizabeth I, the autocratic monarchy and nation-state of England were consolidated, and the primitive accumulation of capital rapidly developed, initially seizing Spain's maritime hegemony, all of which had a profound impact on British history. However, during the last decade of Elizabeth I's rule, domestic conflicts in England became increasingly acute: the Spanish War brought heavy tax burdens to the people, a large influx of gold and silver caused soaring prices, the abolition of anti enclosure laws exacerbated the phenomenon of farmers losing land, and the disintegration of the guild system worsened the situation of artisans. In the 1690s, five consecutive years of poor harvests caused social unrest and unrest, and urban and rural uprisings continued to occur. In 1601, Elizabeth's favorite and second-generation Earl of Essex, Robert Defrow, used this dissatisfaction to incite a civic uprising in London. Although Essex failed and was killed, the defection of his favorite reflected the profound social contradictions, leaving painful memories in Elizabeth's heart. [34]
Since 1594, a nine year war broke out in Ireland. But the policies of the Elizabeth government ensured the security of Britain, maximized national financial savings, reduced the burden on the people, and thus maintained social stability.

With the growth of capitalism, the alliance between the monarchy and the bourgeoisie has also begun to crack, and the relationship between the parliament and the queen has become increasingly tense. This contradiction is first manifested in religious issues. The bourgeoisie demanded a deep religious reform and replaced the state religion with Puritanism, which sparked the Puritan movement. Elizabeth, however, used the state religion as a tool of governance and feared the democratic republican spirit of Puritanism. After 1588, with the disappearance of the threat of Catholic restoration, Elizabeth intensified her crackdown and persecution of Puritanism. Especially in her later years, she repeatedly executed Puritan radical leaders, which caused dissatisfaction among the bourgeoisie and parliament. Secondly, in her later years, Elizabeth increasingly casually granted the monopoly rights of many commodities to her favored subjects, seriously damaging the interests of the bourgeoisie and causing dissatisfaction among the masses. In 1597, Parliament requested the abolition of monopoly rights, but was rejected by the Queen. In 1601, the Queen's last parliament once again discussed the proposal to abolish the monopoly system and fiercely criticized it. The smooth and experienced Elizabeth was afraid of a public conflict with the parliament, so she had to promise to stop selling harmful monopoly rights and personally go to the parliament to appease the situation, so that the situation could be temporarily calmed. [8-9] [34]
On November 30 of the same year, Elizabeth I delivered a "golden speech" to the members of the House of Commons in Whitehall, to the effect that "there was no priceless treasure in the world, no matter how precious it is, it cannot be compared to the one I mentioned, and this is your love." She also said in her speech, "Perhaps you will witness many more wise princes sitting in this seat than me, but there will be no one who loves you more than me sitting here. Such people have never been, and will never be." [20] This is the Queen's last public speech.

At this time, the turmoil of the lower class, the dissatisfaction of the bourgeoisie, the increasingly sharp religious disputes, and the constant palace conflicts all made Elizabeth's later years melancholy, solitary, and suspicious. After her glorious achievements, Elizabeth I left behind a pitiful amount of wealth and huge debts for future generations. [1] At the same time, her body also became weak and sickly. After Essex's death, Elizabeth suffered from neurasthenia, as well as rheumatism and chronic jaundice. [39]
In January 1603, Elizabeth was bedridden. On March 23rd, she, who was critically ill and had lost her language ability, agreed to the arrangement of the Privy Council to designate James VI of Scotland as the heir to the throne through gestures. On the early morning of March 24th, Elizabeth passed away in a coma at Richmond Palace (formerly known as Richmond Palace) in Surrey, at the age of 69. William Condon's "Annals of Britain" has the following poetic style, which records the scene of Elizabeth's subjects delivering her funeral at that time:
The queen was transported by water to Whitehall Palace,
Every stroke of the oar brings tears to the eyes;
The fish underwater are also circling against the boat,
Crying so much that their eyes drop, they blindly follow and swim. [44]
Due to Elizabeth's lifelong unmarried and childless nature, the rule of the Tudor dynasty, which lasted for 118 years, came to an end after her death. After her death, James VI of Scotland inherited the English throne and became known as James I, opening up the Stuart dynasty in England.