Essay: Elizabeth I Research

After the birth of Mary I and marriage of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, that Elizabeth was born. Her father had recently executed his first wife for not giving him a male heir and the birth of Elizabeth, who was a female, wasn’t looking that bright for Anne. In 1536 Boleyn was beheaded to allocate the role of Queen for Jane Seymour. Neither Elizabeth nor Mary was competent to be Queen at first, instead, Jane Seymour, the king’s third wife, would succeed the throne(“Elizabeth I”). Luckily for England, the rejection of this decision would set it on the right path.
Queen Mary I and Elizabeth I may have been sisters, but the two couldn’t be any more different. During her reign, Mary had the Church of England established as Catholic, and anyone who wasn’t Catholic would be imprisoned. Mary was also known for her numerous executions for those who weren’t Catholic. Unlike her sister, Elizabeth wasn’t Catholic but instead Protestant. Elizabeth had trouble during Mary’s reign as she was imprisoned for her religion. Prior to Elizabeth’s reign, Mary had left the country in a very bad position. This meant that she had to ‘rebuild’ England. One her first actions as a Queen were to appoint William Cecil as the secretary of state(“Getting Started”). With this, they ruled England and made it a Protestant nation. Before Elizabeth’s reign,  ⅕ of the population was illiterate, unlike after Elizabeth’s reign when ⅓ of the population was literate, meaning they could read and write(“Daily Life in the Elizabethan Era” 152).
Not only was the clothing during the Elizabethan era diverse, the Queen also affected the way it was worn. The social classes were reflected across how the people dressed, hence the rich wearing jewels and furs and the poor wearing rags woven into work clothes. Although clothes were very abundant during this age, the Queen didn’t want people living like royalty. Thus a set of “fashion rules” arose. Certain colors and furs had been designated to only certain classes: the color purple and the fur ermine being ranked the highest, exclusive to the royal family. Not only had these rules been set to keep civilians from looking like royalty, but to also compliment the Queen’s beauty. The Queen’s image was very important, so dressmakers made glamorous dresses specifically for her. Jewels, gold trimmings, and other things kept the Queen looking beautiful while astonishing observers (“Daily Life in the Elizabethan Era” 195). Overall Queen Elizabeth’s reign kept clothing diverse among the people.
Religion has always been the roots of trouble for many centuries. This was the case during the Elizabethan Era, for the queen of England, unlike many other queens, was Protestant. This caused many Catholic nations to be worried, as the rise of Protestant power posed a threat to the Roman Catholics. Since England posed a threat to the Roman Catholic community, Spain decided it was best if  they invaded England (“Daily Life in the Elizabethan Era” 190). This didn’t go as planned though and the Spanish lost the battle. Another side-effect of the Queen’s religion was the tension it caused between Mary I and Elizabeth I. Both sisters had different religions, Mary being Catholic and Elizabeth being Protestant. Early on into Mary’s reign, there was a Protestant revolt which led to Elizabeth’s imprisonment for charges of conspiracy. Catholics were common foes with the Protestants. So when Elizabeth established the Church of England as a Protestant church, Catholics attacked it fiercely. Overall religion induced many complications during the Elizabethan Era.
Elizabeth was a strategic military leader, but she got into many wars with neighboring countries. Unlike other European rulers, Queen Elizabeth I was Protestant, which infuriated king Philip II. This led to king Philip II’s planned invasion of England: “The English Enterprise.” When the British found out of the Spanish closing in, one of the leaders, Drake, ordered his men to prepare the British fleet for war. Drake was fearless, as he continued playing bowls while the invasion was ongoing. King Philip was stubborn, which led to the Armada sailing through heavy storms, which slowed them down tremendously. This gave way for the English Navy to swoop in and destroy most of the Armada.  Although a major victory for the British and heavy loss for the Spanish, this didn’t stop Spain from attacking England even more. They had over 15 skirmishes subsequently to the war(“The War with Spain” 120). England and Spain had always been at each other’s throats whether it was for religious purposes or land purposes.
Art has been around for ages, and some of the most beautiful and most revolutionizing pieces of art arose during the Elizabethan Era. Many artists were inspired by the Queen’s astonishing looks. The most popular kind of art during the Elizabethan Era was portrait painting, which led to many portraits of the Queen. The Queen disliked  being drawn ineffectively, which forced the Queen to control how portraits represented her. Only those portraits which revealed her true beauty would be allowed to go on the market. Many artists drew portraits not only of the Queen, but they also drew portraits of patrons. Patrons were people who sponsored artists and made them known, thus artists painting them to get fame(“The Arts in the Elizabethan World” 151). Not only were artists influenced by the Queen, but so were architects. Architects built large homes known as E-Homes, hence the buildings being shaped like the letter E. These large homes could house up to 500 people and the Queen would usually visit them with her entourage.These painters and the way they influenced things, truly revolutionized art in the world.
Elizabeth refused to marry, which provided her the nickname “The Virgin Queen”. This reluctance to marry was one of the decisions that led to England’s success in the world. Elizabeth’s refusal to marry caused people to disagree with her and what she did. Although Elizabeth refused to marry and refused to have children, she became one, if not the best, rulers of England. After her death in 1603, England became one of the most powerful countries in every aspect, thanks to the Queen’s successful reign.
Works Cited
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“Getting Started.” Gale Virtual Reference. Gale Virtual Reference Library,
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History.com. “Elizabethan Age Begins.” History, A+E Networks, 2009,
www.history.com/this-day-in-history/elizabethan-age-begins. Accessed 14
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