Research Paper On Queen Elizabeth 1

Queen Elizabeth I is one of the most accomplished rulers of England. Queen Elizabeth I was born on September 7th, 1533. Queen Elizabeth truthfully had a terrifying upbringing. Both her mother and step mom both died from being beheaded. She also spent much of her early life virtually imprisoned.1 Many years later, in 1588 she was declared Queen of England. She came to a country completely divided, in economic turmoil, and distressed by the oppression that Queen Elizabeth’s I half-sister brought upon the people of England.2 Despite the odds being completely against Queen Elizabeth, she was able to bring upon a true golden age for England. The purpose of this essay is to examine her accomplishments in military, economics, and uniting a nation

divided by religious turmoil.
Queen Elizabeth was able to overhaul the military into something a true threat to the entire world.

Queen Elizabeth had a great threat in the form of the Spanish armada. By may 1588 Phillip the second prepared a fleet consisting of 130 ships, 2400 canons, and over 30,000 men. This was the greatest naval force the world has ever seen. It was called, “ the Invincible Armada.” Phillip set up a plan to invade England. “The plan was for the Armada to sail up the English Channel, pick up troops from the Spanish Netherlands under the Duke of Parma and escorting his invasion barges across the Channel to conquer England.” Queen Elizabeth out of desperation ordered the entire nation to turn to God and pray for the safety of England.3 An English army of roughly 20,000 men were assembled against the 30,000 men in the Spanish army. In addition to the 30,000, there were another 15,000 men set up along the English channel.4 The English army needed a great amount of leadership and guidance in a time of what seems to be hopelessness. Queen Elizabteh was able to deliver one of the greatest speeches ever made in this intense time of trials and tribulations for the country of England. Queen Elizabeth addressed her soldiers at Tilbury with these

words:
“I am come amongst you, as you see, resolved, in the midst and heat of the battle, to live
or die amongst you all, to lay down for my God, and for my Kingdom, and for my people,
my honour and my blood, even in the dust. I know I have the body of a weak and feeble
woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a King of England too, and
think foul scorn that Parma or Spain or any prince of Europe should dare to invade the
borders of my realm; to which, rather than any dishonour should grow by me, I myself
will take up arms, I myself will be your general, judge and rewarder of every one of your
virtues in the field.”5

The Spanish armada set sail on the 20th of May.

However, despite the major advantage the Spanish had, there were major issues as storms would afflict the progress they have. Two of their 1,000 ton ships lost their masts. This would delay the Spanish armada from further advancements until July 12th. Queen Elizabeth was really active in doing everything possible to stop the Spanish Armada. The policy of her government continuously distracted the Spaniards in every quarter of the world. This was accomplished through subsidizing protectant resistance in Countries such as the Netherlands or France and thus attacking the allies of Spain throughout the world. Queen Elizabeth also made sure she had very capable people in charge of her military. “The Royal Navy had been under the control of Sir John Hawkins since 1573. He had rebuilt and reorganized the Navy that had survived from the days of Henry VIII.”5 Queen Elizabeth made sure she had an experience Navy man who experienced victory in the past. If it wasn’t for Queen Elizabeth’s wise chooses and polices it would have been impossible for the Country of England to take out the Great threat that was the Spanish Armada. Queen Elizabeth pushed the English military to its limits and in return they went on to become one of the greatest naval powers of the 1600s and

1700s.6
Furthermore, Queen Elizabeth Exemplified great accomplishments in overhauling the economy. One of the most innovative economical things Queen Elizabeth did for her economy was establishing what would be known as The Poor Laws. Essentialy These laws were to set up a structure for supporting the lower class. This is arguably very revolutionary towards how future economies would follow. Queen Elizabeth made sure she had a strong government to back her up. “She was able to choose excellent advisors and statesmen but was not be dominated by them.”7 Despite having these advisory she maintained control of the government and the economy prospered all the more for it. “The framers of the Statue of Artificers aimed to:
"…banish idleness, advance husbandry, and yield unto the hired person both in the time of scarcity and in the time of plenty a convenient proportion of wages …" The English had many social problems at the time with many people who didn’t work and thus were poor as a result. However, queen Elizabeth knew many people couldn’t work due to old age or just too sick to provide for themselves. Acts were passed throughout her reign which would come to help establish the poor law in 1601. Elizabethan poor relief laws were used to classify the perfectly capable workers compared to those who were incapable of providing a life for themselves. The first group who were capable but lazy were known as vagrants. They were punished by whippings. The second group who truly needed help were supported I several ways. They were given needed materials to instill productive work, which usually consisted of spinning and weaving. There were also overseers of the poor who, “were authorized to levy a 'poor rate' on all the householders to cover the costs.” Overall These poor laws were very revolutionary for the time and help established social reform for the country that would incentivize hard workers.8
Finally, the last and likely most notable major accomplishment of Queen Elizabeth was uniting a country completely divided by religious turmoil. Queen Elizabeth came into a country where Bloody Marry recently persecuted 100s of protestants through torturous was such as burning them at the stake. Bloody Marry was against anyone who would oppose her belief in Catholicism. Queen Elizabeth however, approached her rule much differently. She effectively ended the terror of the English Counter reformation. Queen Elizabeth went on to establish England’s religion around Protestantism. It is worth noting despite Queen Elizabeth facing her own punishment under bloody marry by being, “imprisoned in the Tower of London and threatened with execution, she ended the religious persecutions without allowing retribution or revenge.” Time after time Queen Elizabeth continually made sure the Catholics were not punished under unfair circumstances. A leader with this level of compassion truly allowed for their country to flourish. The countries religion also faced much threat in the world powers such as Spain and Portugal due to their catholic roots. After The English defeated these countries Protestantism would open up to the world through countless missionaries. This accomplishment from Queen Elizabeth of Uniting England under one Religion did not only affect England but also the whole future of North America. In fact, the whole world might be very different if Catholicism continued to prevail over Protestantism. There is no doubt Protestantism united the country of England, which boosted their economy and military.
In conclusion, Queen Elizabeth faced many challenges growing up. She lacked a solid mother figure through the treacherous terror she faced by having her mom and step-mom being headed. Later Queen Elisabeth was virtually imprisoned. She also witnesses a truly evil ruler who would go on to be known as bloody Marry. Most people wouldn’t grow from this, however Queen Elizabeth was able to take these experiences and allow it to make her a stronger person. Queen Elizabeth truly cared about the country of England and would stop at nothing to be a successful leader. She accomplished many things. Queen Elizabeth went o to bring upon a true Golden age for the English People. She did this through 3 major accomplishments. One of those three major accomplishments were building up and military power that was able to face the threat of Spains military. Another accomplishment was introducing revolutionary economic strategies that would fix and maintain social economical issues of the time. Finally, Queen Elizabeth united a country that was previously divided by religious turmoil that other countries and the previous leader of England brought upon the country. Overall, Queen Elizabeth is undoubtedly one of England’s greatest leaders as a result of her many accomplishments.

Endnotes
1. Linda Alchin, “Accomplishments of Queen Elizabeth I,” Siteseen Ltd, 2017, Accessed September 29th, 2017, http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/accomplishments-of-queen-elizabeth-i.html
2 Peter Hammond, “Queen Elizabeth I,” Reformation Society, 2012, Accessed September 29th, 2017, http://reformationsa.org/index.php/history/104-queen-elizabeth-i.
3. Ibid
4. Ibid
5. Ibid
6. “Queen Elizabeth I Queen of England,” tudorhistory.org. last modified February 21 2012. http://tudorhistory.org/elizabeth/queen.html.

Bibliography
Alchin, Linda, “Accomplishments of Queen Elizabeth I,” Siteseen Ltd, 2017, accessed September 29th, 2017, http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/accomplishments-of-queen-elizabeth-i.htm.

Hammond, Peter, “Queen Elizabeth I,” Reformation Society, 2012, accessed September 29th, 2017, http://reformationsa.org/index.php/history/104-queen-elizabeth-i.

“Queen Elizabeth I Queen of England,”tudorhistory.org. last modified February 21 2012. http://tudorhistory.org/elizabeth/queen.html.
Sommerville, J.P., “Elizabeth I, Parliament, church and economy,” University of Wisconsin, 2017, accessed October 17th, 2017, https;//faculty.wisc.edu/sommerville/123/123outline.htm