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Elizabeth IJT Vintage/age fotostockElizabeth is born in Greenwich, England. Her father is Tudor king Henry VIII. Her mother, Anne Boleyn, is Henry’s second wife. In order to dissolve his marriage with his first wife, Catherine of Aragon, Henry had separated England from the authority of the Roman Catholic Church. Catherine of Aragon had only one surviving child, Mary. The king’s ardent hope was that Anne Boleyn would give birth to a male heir, so the birth of Elizabeth is a bitter disappointment to him.
May 19, 1536
After having accused Anne Boleyn of infidelity and treason, Henry has her put to death at the Tower of London. Soon after the execution Henry marries Jane Seymour. She later gives birth to a son, Edward.
1547
Upon Henry’s death on January 28, Edward succeeds to the throne as Edward VI. Because of his youth the government is run by regents during his reign. Both Elizabeth and Edward are brought up as followers of the Church of England. Their half sister, Mary, is brought up as a Roman Catholic.
Mary dies on November 17, 1558. Elizabeth is crowned queen of England. She is 25 years old. She has received a good education and is well prepared to rule. She reestablishes the independent Church of England. The young queen chooses as her chief minister William Cecil (Lord Burghley). He will serve as principal adviser to Elizabeth through most of her reign. Elizabeth has many suitors, but she will never marry or have children. Her cousin Mary Stuart—the Catholic queen of Scotland, commonly known as Mary, Queen of Scots—is next in line to the throne.
1568
Having been forced to abdicate the Scottish throne, Mary Stuart flees across the English border to ask for Elizabeth’s help. Elizabeth is distrustful of Mary. Some Catholics regard Mary as England’s rightful queen. Elizabeth promptly has Mary taken into custody, where she will remain for the next 19 years.
1577–84
Elizabeth encourages exploration and voyages of discovery. She provides financial support for Admiral Francis Drake’s circumnavigation of the globe (1577–80). In the 1580s Walter Raleigh, one of her favorites at court, sends out several expeditions in an effort to establish an English colony in North America. The name Virginia—in honor of the Virgin Queen, as Elizabeth is called—is given to the area explored in 1584 during one of these expeditions.
1587
During the 19 years that Mary Stuart is Elizabeth’s prisoner, some English Catholics form plots to liberate her and to place her on the throne of England. Finally, Mary is accused of having a part in the so-called Babington Plot to assassinate Elizabeth. Parliament demands her execution, Elizabeth signs the warrant, and Mary is beheaded on February 8, 1587.
1588
Catholic king Philip II of Spain assembles a great fleet of ships called the Armada to attack England. The Armada sails into the English Channel in July 1588. The English ships that meet them are smaller but possess superior speed and maneuverability. In the fighting that ensues the English inflict terrible losses on their enemy. The naval victory over the Spanish Armada is a high point of Elizabeth’s reign.
1590–96
The first installment of Edmund Spenser’s poem The Faerie Queene (Books I–III) is published in 1590. The second installment (Books IV–VI) appears in 1596. The poem, an elaborate allegory dedicated to Queen Elizabeth, is one of the greatest long poems in the English language. Among other great writers active during Elizabeth’s reign are Sir Philip Sidney, Christopher Marlowe, and William Shakespeare.
The Procession of Queen Elizabeth I, an oil painting from about 1600, shows the queen surrounded by members of her court. It is thought to have been painted by Robert Peake the Elder.
Robert Devereux, 2nd earl of Essex, and one of Elizabeth’s favorites at court, undertakes to defeat rebel forces in Ireland led by Hugh O’Neill, earl of Tyrone. Essex’s campaign is unsuccessful. He returns from Ireland against the queen’s orders and, after Elizabeth deprives him of his offices, attempts to raise an insurrection against her. He is tried for treason and executed on February 25, 1601.
1603
Elizabeth dies on March 24. She is buried with great magnificence in Westminster Abbey. Mary Stuart’s son, James VI of Scotland, succeeds Elizabeth on the English throne. He is proclaimed James I of England.
Henry VIII was the king of England (1509–47) who presided over the beginnings of the English Renaissance and the English Reformation. His six wives were, successively, Catherine of Aragon (the mother of the future queen Mary I), Anne Boleyn (the mother of the future queen Elizabeth I), Jane Seymour
Church and state, the concept, largely Christian, that the religious and political powers in society are clearly distinct, though both claim the people’s loyalty. A brief treatment of church and state follows. For full treatment, see Christianity: Church and state. Before the advent of
