NOTES ON ELIZABETH and the ELIZABETHAN AGE
1) Elizabeth was born the 2nd daughter of Henry VIII and
Anne Boeyln, Henry’s 2nd wife.
2) When Beth was three, Henry had Anne Boelyn executed on
charges of treason... she was almost certainly innocent.
3) When she was 12, Henry died, and her brother Edward VI
became king at age 9.
4) Edward died at age 15, and her sister Mary eventually became queen.
5) Mary, also known as Bloody Mary, wanted to bring England
back to the Catholic faith. She persecuted Anglicans. Elizabeth’s life was in danger because Mary had no children, and
Elizabeth, an Anglican, was next in line.
6) Though there were several plots on Mary’s life, some of
which Elizabeth may have known about, it was never proved
that Elizabeth had anything to do with it.
7) Elizabeth went from the Prison to the Palace when Mary died in 1557 from a cancerous ovarian cyst.
8) Elizabeth inherited a country that was broke and militarily weak. It was also very much divided
along religious lines.
9) Several princes from many countries wanted to marry Elizabeth. It was much easier and safer
to conquer a country by marrying a queen than it was to conquer it by sending armies. Elizabeth
made promises to all of them, none of which she intended to marry. Meanwhile, she kept her
country at peace while others warred over her and England.
10) Elizabeth had numerous assassination attempts directed at her, including a reward from the
Pope in Rome. She survived all of these.
11) At least three of the plots involved her cousin, Mary Stewart, also known as Mary Queen of
Scots.
Elizabeth finally consented to sign the death warrant of Mary against her own best wishes in
1587.
12) Almost immediately after this, Phillip II of Spain declared war on England. He amassed 145
ships and 10,000 men to attack England. Phillip was confident that the Catholics of England
would fight for him and not for Elizabeth.
13) English Nationalism saved the day, as all Englishmen fought for England and not their religion
first. Part of this was because that Elizabeth had adopted a policy of religious tolerance.
14) The Spanish Armada was sunk in the English channel because of two main reasons. Firstly,
the smaller and faster English ships were able to outmaneuver the Spanish Galleons. Secondly,
a storm of the century destroyed and scattered much of the English fleet.
15) In 1588, England became the most powerful country in the world. Elizabeth was able to send
explorers all over the world... mainly to northern North America. The American state Virginia is
named after her, the Virgin Queen, since she never married.
16) The arts, particularly literature thrived under Elizabeth. Shakespeare and Chaucer lived and
wrote during these times.
17) Elizabeth died in 1603 at the age of 70. She appointed James I of Scotland to be her heir.
James I, by taking the English throne and holding his own Scottish thrown, united England and
Scotland into the United Kingdom.