THE STRENGTH OF ELIZABETH I POLICY

Elizabeth I was Henry VIII and Ann Boleyn’s daughter. She ascended the throne in 1558 and reigned until 1603. When she got the crown, she was 25 and she already had a strong personality, a lively intelligence and a passionate character. In addition she had received an excellent education, indeed she could speak French, Italian and Latin. Latin was important at time since it was the language of international communication on all levels.

Above all she was a political genius, and this feature allowed her to face the problems of a divided England.

Firstly, the nation was divided on the religious level: on one side there was the Protestant faith, born from the Reformation of Martin Luther, on the other side there was Catholic religion, connected to the Pope of Rome. Since she was daughter of an illegitimate marriage, Elizabeth restored the country firmly to Protestantism thanks to her Church of England. But in order to avoid religious conflicts, she also granted Catholics freedom of worship.

On the political level, she had to face the problem of succession, that’s why the country was very worried. However, even though she had a lot of pretenders, she remained unmarried. But she used this as a political weapon, encouraging the hopes of European princes in order to keep on good terms with them.

She often repeated that ‘the Queen was married to her people’: as a consequence people began to make a cult of their ‘Virgin Queen’. She incentivized her cult thanks to a great number of portraits, that were painted and copied to be widely distributed throughout the land. Indeed nobility would have a portrait in their houses as a symbol of loyalty to the Queen.

In order to impress her subjects and to increase her popularity, she used to wear magnificent clothes adorned with rich jewels.

She went on royal progresses to be seen and to get to know her people, although she still had many Catholic enemies, and her travel around the country wasn’t considered so safe for her.

As a result of all her intelligent choices the ‘Cult of Elizabeth, the Virgin Queen’ spread all over the country.

In the foreign policy Elizabeth demonstrated to be as bright as in the home policy. She brought unity and at the same time she defeated England’s enemies at home and abroad. She recognized Spain as her main trade rival since it was the most powerful nation in Europe, thanks to its strong Catholic religion and its powerful naval fleet. In order damage Spanish commerce, Elizabeth secretly encouraged sea captains as Francis Drake in their piracy against Spanish ships, taking a share of the profits. Finally in 1558, in a great naval war, English fleet definitively defeated the Spanish Armada.

Supremacy at sea enabled Elizabeth to lay the basis of England’s empire.