Elizabeth I, the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, came to the throne in 1558. She re-established the Anglican Church but she adopted a policy of compromise in the religious field and put the Anglican Church in the middle between the Reformed Churches and the Catholic one. She issued a second Act of Supremacy (1559) which restated the independence of the Church of England and the Act of Uniformity which made the use of the Book of Common Prayer compulsory. Thanks to this policy of compromise in the religious field, Elizabeth ensured England internal peace and increased wealth and commercial power. After the discovery of America, Elizabeth supported the new explorations thanks to the creation of a powerful fleet. She encouraged the growth of the Royal Navy and the birth of companies (East India Company) that exploited the overseas trade. Of course she had to face frictions with other States who wanted to exploit foreign commerce (above all with Spain). After Mary Stuart’s execution things went bad between Spain and England. The frictions brought to open war in 1588 when Philip II of Spain tried to invade England. The Spanish “Invincible Armada”, a huge fleet, was defeated in the English Channel and England’s victory saved her independence and increased her prestige in Europe.