Elizabeth 1 Tudor: biography, domestic and foreign policy. Characteristics of Elizabeth 1 Tudor as a politician. Who ruled after Elizabeth 1 Tudor?

Elizabeth 1 Tudor (years of life - 1533-1603) - the English queen, whose activities contributed to the formation of the image of the Golden Age. He is believed to have fallen on her rule. Domestic and foreign policy of Elizabeth 1 Tudor is very rich and interesting. In the article we will tell about her rule, we will present her biography. You will find out what Elizabeth Tudor was like a politician. In addition, we will say a couple of words about who ruled after her.

The Origin of Elizabeth

The future Queen was born in the Greenwich Palace, located in today's London. This important event for the country took place on September 7, 1533. The father of Elizabeth was Henry VIII, the English king, and his mother - Anna Boleyn. This woman was previously the maid of honor of Henry's first wife. In order to marry her, he divorced his wife, Catherine of Aragon, who could not give him an heir, and out of the power of the pope. In 1534, Henry VIII proclaimed himself the head of the English Church. Anna Boleyn (pictured below, portraits of her and Henry) in May 1536 was executed, accusing her of adultery. However, the real fault of this woman was that she failed to give birth to Henry's son, heir to the throne.

The fate of Elizabeth under the rule of Edward VI

Elizabeth in the period between his father's death, which occurred in 1547, and his own accession had to go through severe trials, which, of course, affected her character. Under the reign of Edward VI, his half-brother, who reigned from 1547 to 1553, the future queen was, besides his will, involved in the conspiracy of Lord Admiral Thomas Seymour. Envying Edward Seymour, his brother, who during the minority Edward VI was a protector of the kingdom, Thomas several times acted rashly. These actions led him to assume that he was plotting plans for a coup d'état. The plan of marrying Thomas on Elizabeth became the pinnacle of recklessness. The fiancé in January 1549 was taken into custody.

Years of the reign of Mary I and the fate of Elizabeth

During the reign of Mary I Tudor, that is, between 1553 and 1558, there was a great danger over Elizabeth. Maria was a half-sister to the future queen. When Henry divorced Catherine, her mother, she was already in her early adulthood, in order to realize the shame associated with this. Maria became a fanatical Catholic, full of genocidal sympathies, as well as indignation about her daughter Anna Boleyn.

Entering the throne, Mary played a wedding with Philip, who was heir to the throne of Spain. This gave rise to a large number of conspiracies. The most important of them can be considered the January 1554 uprising of Thomas Wyeth. Although Elizabeth outwardly submitted to the Catholic religion, reintroduced in the state, the Protestants did not cease to connect their hopes with it. Because of this, Elizabeth's very existence was a threat to Mary (her portrait is presented below).

The future Queen after the uprising of Wyatt was arrested, and then placed in the Tower. Here she had to spend 2 months. Then Elizabeth was kept under surveillance for a year at Woodstock, near Oxford.

Entering the throne. The question of church organization

Elizabeth 1 Tudor entered the throne on November 17, 1558. At a meeting of parliament held in January next year, the question of the church structure was raised. The Queen was ready to separate the Anglican Church from the papacy and Rome, but in other respects she was determined to act in a conservative spirit, with great care. The House of Commons spoke of the need for a radical and uncompromising reform. Elizabeth preferred the episcopal church organization and the service accepted in the so-called high church. As a result, a compromise was reached, called via media, which means "middle way" in Latin. Reforms of Elizabeth determined the peculiarities of the Anglican Church, which have survived to the present day. Nevertheless, they gave rise to dissatisfaction of both Protestants and Catholics.

The question of succession to the throne

The parliament, as well as statesmen, were concerned about the future of Protestantism in the country. The fact is that Queen Elizabeth 1 Tudor was the last of the Tudor dynasty. Both political considerations and personal choice led to the fact that she remained a virgin until the end of her days. Protestants did not want to allow the Catholic to the throne. And Mary Stewart, the Scottish queen, who had the rights to the crown of England, was just a Catholic. In fact, Elizabeth was completely alone. She decided to postpone the question of succession to the throne. Her rightness was confirmed by a long reign (almost 45-year-old). However, the stubbornness of the queen at first led to dissatisfaction both with the parliament and with close advisers. This was especially characteristic of 1566.

Relations of England with Scotland

At the forefront at this time came the relationship of England with Scotland, where in 1559 the Reformation stormily declared itself. An uprising took place against the Frenchwoman regent Maria Gies, who ruled on behalf of Mary Stuart, her daughter. Maria Guise at that time was both the ruler of Scotland, and the wife of the King of France. In order for the rebels to drive the French out of the country, Elizabeth's intervention was necessary. In 1562 and for a long time after that the queen interfered in France's domestic policy. She supported the rebellious Protestant (Huguenot) party. Some time later, Elizabeth also supported the Protestants in Holland, who opposed King Philip II of Spain.

Relationship with Maria Stewart

In 1561 Francis II died , the husband of Maria Stewart. After this, Maria returned to her homeland. In many respects, the controversial and complex history of her relationship with Elizabeth began. Unlike the latter, Maria was not a statesman. She was deposed after the murder of Heinrich Stewart, his second wife. Maria was imprisoned, but she managed to escape. She lost to opponents who defeated her troops, and then ended up in England, crossing the border.

The arrival of Stuart in England in May 1568 created certain problems for the heroine of our article. Elizabeth 1 Tudor as a politician was in a difficult situation. The government of the country contained Mary as a captive, so she began to attract opposition. In England, the Troubles soon began, one of the reasons for which was connected with the presence of Stuart. The rebels in the end of 1569 raised an uprising in the north of the country. In February 1570, there was a papal bull, during which Elizabeth Tudor was proclaimed deposed, and her subjects were exempted from the oath to the queen. Catholics were forced to flee abroad. They founded a seminary on the continent, where Catholic youths were educated and educated, and then as missionaries went to England. The papacy's goal was to overthrow Elizabeth with the help of the French Gizov party and the secular authorities of Spain. It was planned to erect Maria Stewart on the throne.

Parliament and the Queen's ministers began to demand strict laws against Catholics, especially missionaries. The conspiracy of Ridolfi against Elizabeth was discovered in 1572. And Maria Stuart was involved in it. After this conspiracy, the ministers and parliamentarians demanded that Maria be accused of high treason. However, Elizabeth decided to intervene, so there was no condemnation. When a decision was passed that deprived Stuart of the right to the throne of England, Elizabeth vetoed.

The rows of priests from the seminaries began to be strengthened by the Jesuits from 1580. Spain in the same year annexed Portugal. For a long time Elizabeth contributed to the uprising of the Netherlands against Spain. This, as well as the British attacks on the colony of Spain led to a conflict.

The murder of William the Silent. Association agreement

Soon after the Throckmorton conspiracy was discovered, in 1584, it became known that William Silent, who was a Catholic, had been killed in the Netherlands. The English Protestants formed the so-called Association Treaty. His goal was to kill M. Stewart in the event that an assassination attempt was made against their queen.

Support for the Dutch insurgency. Execution of Mary Stuart

The death of Wilhelm the Silent led to the fact that the Dutch uprising lost the leader. This forced Queen Elizabeth to send the Dutch troops to help the British troops, commanded by Count Lester. This happened in the autumn of 1585. This open intervention was tantamount to declaring war.

The foreign policy of Elizabeth 1 Tudor suited not all. Babington's conspiracy was discovered in 1586. His goal was the murder of Queen Elizabeth and the accession of Mary. The latter took part in it. She was put on trial. According to the decree of the parliament adopted in 1584-1585, she was sentenced to death. In the autumn of 1586 the parliament was convened. His repeated repeated unanimous claim left no choice to Elizabeth. Maria had to be executed on February 8, 1587.

The Spanish Armada

The demise of Mary was the impetus for the so-called Catholic enterprise against England. The Spanish Armada in the summer of 1588 went to sea in order to smash the fleet of England and cover the landing on the coast of this country of the Spanish army. More than 8 hours lasted the decisive battle. As a result, the invincible Armada was amazed. It was scattered, and on the road to Spain because of the storms suffered heavy losses.

Actions against Spain

The war between England and Spain was not formally declared, but the open conflict between these states continued. Henry III, King of France, was killed in 1589. After that, Elizabeth was dragged into confrontation already on a new front. The Catholic League of France, supported by Spain, opposed the reign of Henry IV, the legitimate heir. He was the leader of the Huguenot party. Queen Elizabeth helped Henry in the fight.

This is in brief the foreign policy of Elizabeth 1 Tudor. The table, of course, would help us to present the information even more concisely. However, the activities of the queen are so interesting that I do not want to turn to this method of presenting information. We believe that Elizabeth's domestic policy 1 Tudor should also be described in the same way. The table here will also be inappropriate. We have already told you something about the Queen's domestic policy. Her relationship with ministers and courtiers is very interesting. We suggest you get acquainted with them.

Ministers and courtiers of Elizabeth

The Queen showed great fidelity to her approximate, which, perhaps, did not show any monarch. Elizabeth 1 Tudor, whose biography shows her extraordinary personality, independently picked all her ministers. William Cecil was the first candidate. Elizabeth relied on him more than anyone else. Among the other advisors of the queen were: Walter Maildmey, Francis Walsingham, son of William - Robert Cecil, and Thomas Smith. These ministers were uncommon people. Despite this, Elizabeth has always been their mistress and mistress. This is an important fact for those who are interested in the characterization of Elizabeth 1 Tudor.

The Queen had, besides ministers, and courtiers. The most notable figures from them were: Christopher Hatton, Earl Leicester and Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex. Elizabeth kept somewhat aside Francis Bacon and Walter Rayleigh, because they did not trust their human qualities, but highly placed their abilities.

The relationship between Elizabeth and the Earl of Essex

Burley, who lived until 1598, wanted to convey the influence and position to Robert Cecil, his youngest son. He was very capable, but he had a physical handicap. The Earl of Essex, a young aristocrat (his portrait is presented above), opposed this. In the capture of Cadiz, which occurred in 1596, he earned a flattering assessment and a notable glory. However, when he ceased to confine himself to military ambitions, adding to them political, he had to enter into a confrontation with Cecil.

Elizabeth made the favorite of Essex, a man of great charm. She admired his qualities. Nevertheless, the queen was not fascinated by Essex so much as to support him in dangerous political undertakings. She purposely promoted Robert Cecil to the top while at the same time opposing Essex in the intention to nominate their candidates to higher positions. This was the policy of Elizabeth 1 Tudor in relation to this man.

A series of personal clashes followed between Elizabeth and her favorite. One day, the queen grabbed his ear, when the latter turned back in fury, intending to leave (according to another version, he slapped him). He threatened with a sword, exclaiming that he would not have tolerated such boldness from anyone that he was a subject, not a slave.

1599 was the culmination of history with Essex. Then Elizabeth instructed the favorite to suppress the Irish rebellion of Tyrone. Having received all the necessary resources from the government, he did not obey instructions from London. Essex in the performance of the task failed and concluded a truce with the rebels. Then, also contrary to orders, he returned to England. Essex openly changed the current government in February 1601. He tried to raise the whole of London against the queen. Essex was put on trial, and then executed on February 25, 1601.

Fighting Puritanism

The internal policy of Elizabeth 1 Tudor is also characterized by the fact that the queen showed steadfastness in regard to Puritanism. She appointed in 1583 the archbishop of Canterbury their chief opponent - John Wittgft. However, the opposition did not want to give up. Some representatives of the clergy decided to turn to Presbyterianism. Soon a movement was created, the task of which was to destroy the episcopate. The Puritans acted using influence in the House of Commons and other political levers. Elizabeth eventually had to fight the House of Commons. Until the last decade of the reign of the Queen, this chamber sympathized almost exclusively with the Puritans. In the conflict with Elizabeth, the parliamentarians constantly joined in. And they disagreed with her in opinion not only on the reform of the Anglican Church, but also on others: on the succession to the throne, on the need for marriage, and on the treatment of M. Stuart.

Brief description of the government of Elizabeth

The rule of Elizabeth 1 The Tudor became one of the most dynamic periods in the history of England. From the very beginning, the Protestants believed that the queen retained the providence. She had to face increasing external and internal dangers, and the people's love for her grew, and eventually became a real cult. Domestic and foreign policy of Elizabeth 1 Tudor was discussed for a long time after her death. And in our days interest in this ruler does not cease. Characteristics of Elizabeth 1 Tudor as a politician causes curiosity not only among historians, but also among many people around the world.

The Death of Elizabeth

Queen Elizabeth died in the Richmond Palace, located in modern London. She died on March 24, 1603. Most likely, at the last moment Elizabeth called or pointed to her successor. They became Jacob VI, the Scottish king (Jacob I English). That's who ruled after Elizabeth 1 Tudor.

Jacob I

Years of his life - 1566-1625. Jacob 1 English became the first king of England representing the dynasty Stewart. He entered the throne on March 24, 1603 Jacob became the first sovereign who ruled both kingdoms located on the British Isles simultaneously. As a single power, Britain at that time did not exist. Scotland and England were sovereign states, headed by a monarch. The story of who ruled after Elizabeth 1 Tudor is no less interesting than the period of Elizabeth's reign. But that is another story.