A few centuries ago, rulers were very important and recognized by society such as King Arthur, Henry VIII and today, Queen Elizabeth the II. Queen Mary I of England was one of those figures of authority back in the 1550’s and is still remembered to this day as “Bloody Mary”. Mary’s wasn’t always easy, and her job as Queen wasn’t simple either. She had to face many obstacles in her personal life and had to take many important decisions during her time as Queen. Despite Mary being royalty, her life was definitely not a fairy-tale. Mary was born on February 18th 1516, at Greenwich Palace, in England. Henry VIII, who was King of England, was Mary’s Father and her mom was Catherine of Aragon. Catherine was Henry’s first wife out of six other …show more content…
Before Mary was even crowned Queen, people such as John Dudley, Duke of Northumberland and Henry Grey, Duke of Suffolk had already made plans in case that Mary would try to return the catholic faith to England. Both men had advised Edward to appoint Jane, who was also Edward’s cousin, as his next successor, and he did. (http://www.biography.com/) Both Dukes thought that by putting Jane in control that they could use her as a puppet and orchestrate what they wanted, when they wanted. Mary’s friends feared for her life but, Mary knew that if she fled she would lose her chance of being crowned Queen and all her chances of returning England Catholicism. As a result, Mary decided to stay and make a stand for her crown. Right before Jane Grey was going to be crowned Queen of England, the Privy Council in London had realized that they were playing part in Northumberland’s and Suffolk's plan. As a result, the council declared Mary as true Queen of England. Mary was crowned on October 1st 1553. Mary was ready to stop at nothing to return England to Roman Catholicism. (http://tudorhistory.org/mary/) Mary put in place a strict heresey law; which forced all citizens of England to no longer practice Protestantism. As a result, 300 Protestants were executed or burnt because they failed to comply with Mary’s expectation. This is why she is best known today as “Bloody Mary”. (http://www.biography.com/) During her time as Queen, Mary lost Calais to the French. Calais was the last remaining English possession in France. This city served as an important port for English goods like wool, entering the Continent. Calais was formally lost in the reign of Elizabeth I under the Treaty of Troyes. (http://tudorhistory.org/) Mary died November 17, 1558, at St-James Palace in London. Mary’s half sister, Elizabeth, took over as Queen of England in 1558. All this to say that Mary doesn't seem to have made a positive impact on her
Mary lived in difficult times, but such was her character… I think all her descendants can be proud of her. How many of us, in our so called developed society, would survive her troubles and live on into our
The 17th century was a chaotic time period in England. England saw a transition in their nation’s religion during the reign of different monarchs. Before the start of the 17th century, England was under a Roman Catholic monarch with Queen Mary. Mary attempted to turn the Church of England into a Catholic Church and in the process earned the name “Bloody Mary”. She earned this name through her executions of many Protestants in England. However once Mary was unsuccessful in creating a Catholic England and was no longer the monarch, the Church went back to a Protestant Church. With the church now being Protestant, the Catholic minority in England began to become upset with the church and even plotted to make the church Catholic again through violence.
E: Mary, Queen of Scots, has been found guilty of plotting to usurp Her Majesty the Queen and has been sentenced to death. … I suppose it was only a matter of time. In all the nineteen years she’s been imprisoned, she never once relented on the opinion that she should be Queen. I had hoped she wouldn’t have stooped as low as to actually attempt to overthrow me though. What did she think would happen were she to ascend the throne anyhow? That the public would welcome her with open arms? They have not forgotten the bloody persecution she wielded against them. The Catholic Church may prefer her as ruler, but my Church would not stand for her injustice. … Even though she desires to see me disposed, I do not wish her dead. Despite our differences
Her first order of business was to eliminate religious unrest. Elizabeth lacked the fanaticism of her siblings, Edward VI favored Protestant radicalism, Mary I, conservative Catholicism, which enabled her to devise a compromise that,basically, reinstated Henrician reforms. She was, however, compelled to take a stronger Protestant stance for two reasons: the machinations of Mary Queen of Scots and persecution of continental Protestants by the two strongholds of Orthodox Catholicism, Spain and France. The situation with Mary Queen of Scots was most vexing to Elizabeth. Mary, in Elizabeth's custody beginning in 1568 (for her own protection from radical Protestants and disgruntled Scots), gain...
In 1558, John Knox declared, “To promote a Woman to bear rule, superiority, dominion, or empire above any Realm, Nation, or City, is against all Nature…” (document 1). Knox’s statement was no different than most English men’s opinions during the 1500s. The majority of the population was opposed to having a women hold any type of political power, as they believed it was a job for solely a man to possess. Leading up to the time period of Queen Elizabeth I’s reign, females had a specific purpose in life: to serve their husbands and provide them with children. All women lacked freedom and liberty, Elizabeth Tudor sought to change this matter. When Queen Elizabeth was coronated in 1559, men were superior in all economic and social aspects; however,
She was born into a family of a long line of royal decedents. She became Queen at the age of twenty four. She was the first women to be on an US commutative coin. Who is this very accomplished person? Queen Isabella. Bold and daring, Queen Isabella accomplished many things in her thirty years of rein as Queen of Castile and Aragon.
In 1553, Mary I became the Queen of England. Mary married King Philip of Spain in order to secure Catholicism in England. Elizabeth unwillingly became the leader of Mary’s opposition, the British Protestants of the time. She attempted to force her younger sister, Elizabeth, into attending Catholic mass in order to set an example for her followers. Elizabeth was raised Protestant and didn’t want to convert, so she avoided mass by complaining of stomach aches. A man named Thomas Wyatt sent a letter informing Elizabeth that he was planning a rebellion in order to prevent the marriage between the two royals.
Mary Tudor of England, Born on February 18, 1516, was always a precious lady.(Gairdner) According to the article “Queen Mary”: “Mary wanted to restore the catholic faith, and reunite England with Rome.” Queen Mary I was quite successful, she managed to rearrange “the royal household, and it was thought right to give Mary an establishment of her own along with a council on the borders of Whales, for the better government of the Marches.”(Gairdner) In real life Queen Mary was in fact a very kind hearted and happy lady, who in fact loved music, dancing, and gossiping with her court and followers. She often dressed in brightly colored cloths and very expensive jewelry.(Eamon) According to Amy Pollick’s article “Dispelling Myths about Queen”, “Mary did lay a solid governmental foundation.” Mary had a good head on her shoulders. She planned to further the peace and prosperity in England. (Pollick) Some of what caused her to “rebel from her father” was him depriving her of her faith, security, and happiness as a child. (Pearsall) In the book “Kings and Queens” it is stated that Mary married King Philip of Spain, but they had no children. (Pearsall) “He lived in England for only a year before returning to spain.” After that Mary began to bring back the old religion and faith of her time. Although the persecutions may have been exaggerated (Gull). From the same so...
Queen Elizabeth I was said to be one of the best rulers of England. Unlike rulers before her, she was a Protestant and not a Catholic. She was not stupid though. She did go to church and did everything that Catholics did to prevent getting her head cut off under the rules of her sister Mary. Elizabeth was very young when she came to rule. She was only 17 years old when her sister Mary died and she took over.
Mary Boleyn's year of birth is widely disputed. The range of her birth is, between, 1499-1508. She was born at Blickling Hall in Norfolk, but she grew up at the Boleyn family home of Hever Castle in Kent. She was the daughter of Sir Thomas Boleyn and his wife, Lady Elizabeth Howard. Mary had two siblings, Anne and George. The three Boleyn children were given the education common of their rank and class at the time. In 1514, Mary had the honor of traveling to the court of Henry VIII's sister, Mary Tudor, who was queen of France at the time. There, she was Mary Tudor's maid-of-honor. Thomas Boleyn, who had been appointed as ambassador to France, stayed in the country at the time. Mary Tudor left France on January 1, 1515, when her husband, King Louis XII of France, died. Mary Boleyn stayed in France to serve Queen Claude, the wife of the new French king, Francis I (Englishhistory.net).
After the death of Henry in 1547, a 10 year old Edward came to the throne. The English Church became increasingly Protestant in worship and doctrine under the Protestant Lord Somerset. Mary succeeded the throne after Edward’s death in 1553. Mary was a devout Catholic and saw it her mission to restore Catholicism back to England. She used mainly persecution to do this, by burning Protestants for not renouncing their beliefs, these actions turned many English people against Catholicism.
Elizabeth didn’t believe in the accusation and she refused to execute Mary. Secretly, Mary was found guilty and she was sentenced to be beheaded (Plaidy, Haws English Capti. par 1 Return to Scots par 1). Before Mary was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in 1587, she wrote a four page letter to her brother-in-law Henry III King of France. Overall, Mary had a very complicated and hard life (Briley par
Catherine II (a.k.a. Catherine the Great) Catherine II, or Catherine the Great, empress of all Russia, did much to continue the process of Westernization reforms began by Peter the Great. Catherine was devoted to art, literature, science, and politics. Many people say she had a great gift and was a great leader, thus she was awarded with the name “the Great” She helped develop schools, hospitals, and many other organizations for the country. She was a shrewd leader and autocrat and helped to continue and further reforms made by Peter the Great, finally making Russia a permanent European power. Originally named Sophie Frederick Augusta, Princess of Anholt-Zerbst, she was born in Stettin on May 2, 1729, the daughter of the German prince of Anholt-Zerbst . At the age of fifteen she went to Russia and married Grand Duke Peter of Holstein, heir to the Russian throne. The marriage was despondent, but intelligent and ambitious Catherine soon managed to assemble up a liaison of supporters. On October 1, 1754, Catherine gave birth to her son, the future emperor, Paul Petrovich Romanov, and three years later on December 20, 1957, she gave birth to her daughter, Anna Petrovna Romanov. Elizabeth died on December 25, 1761, and Catherine’s husband succeeded as Peter III. Erratic, unstable, and contemptuous of his Russian subjects, the new ruler soon made himself unpopular, especially with certain German officers. Led by Alexei Orlov (whose brother Grigori was Catherine’s lover) the officers staged a coup in June 1762. Peter was deposed (and subsequently murdered) and Catherine was placed on the throne in his place. Catherine was fascinated with the philosophies and theories of the Enlightenment, and was well acquaint...
The Book Catherine of Aragon written by Garrett Mattingly is about the life of Catherine of Aragon, the princess of Spain during the late 1400’s and early 1500’s. The book begins with Catherine’s life as a small child, before she became Queen. The first section of the book talks of Catherine’s upbringing as a princess and includes details on the duties of her and her siblings. A good example of this is described on page 17 as it shows how Catherine and her sisters had to be educated on their bloodline, heraldry and genealogy as well as dancing, cooking, and horsemanship which were the interests of her class) .