Elizabeth I

I'm married to the whole country of England; I'm just a woman, but I have the heart of a king all over the world, the heart of an English king - Elizabeth I

Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 - 24 March 1603), Queen of the Tudors of England (reigned 1558-1603), may not have felt the murderous and cold environment surrounding her when she was born in 1533. The issue of the Reformation filled London with murderous intent. When she was 3 years old, her mother, Anne Boleyn, was executed by her father, Henry VIII, and she was reduced to a "illegitimate daughter" who was nothing.

Henry VIII, in order to divorce his first wife, Catherine, a pious Catholic from Spain, and thus marry Anne Boleyn, had a falling out with the Holy See, setting off a vigorous Protestant movement in England. But this accidental incentive achieved the inevitable result. Protestantism was supported by the majority of the British people, and from the perspective of later history, this religious reform was also in line with the trend of British development.

In 1553, Elizabeth's half-sister Mary I succeeded to the throne. Like her mother Catherine, Mary was a devout Catholic. Her experience of being an illegitimate daughter and being placed under house arrest was closely related to the process of Protestant implementation, which made her hate Protestantism. During her five years in office, she pushed more than 300 radical Protestants to the stake, thus being called the "Bloody Mary." In addition, her marriage to King Philip II of Spain involved Britain in the war with France. As a result, she lost the last territory on the European continent, the Port of Calais, and deeply dissatisfied the Chinese people. During this period, Britain was at war, and the fate of a large-scale religious war like France and Germany might fall on Britain.

Adversity can hone a person's mind, and Elizabeth's good education since she was a child makes her appear mature when she was young. During the reign of her sister Bloody Mary (1553-1558), she was once imprisoned in the Tower of London for being involved in a coup plot. Fortunately, the hard times were not long. In 1558, Mary died. According to the order of succession determined by their father Henry VIII during his lifetime, Elizabeth became the Queen of England.

After Elizabeth ascended the throne, she implemented a prudent religious policy, restoring Protestant symbols such as the Anglican Church, the Supreme Law, and the Single Decree, while also being more tolerant of Catholicism. Finally, she won the support of the majority of the people and began a long and stable "Elizabethan era".

William Nasir was her leading political adviser during her administration, pursuing an active foreign economic policy. During Elizabeth's reign, wool trade with the Netherlands and the Hanseatic Alliance in North Germany continued to grow, becoming a major growth point for the British economy and of great significance. But at the same time, the "enclosure movement" of sheep cannibalism in China continues to develop, resulting in an increasing number of homeless people. The government is very lax in enforcing the ban on land enclosures, but the "bloody legislation" against homeless people is very strict. Every year, 300 to 400 homeless people are put on the gallows. Although this process was an important step in the development of British capitalism, it was clearly extremely inhumane.

On the day Elizabeth saw Spain's maritime hegemony, she was not willing to lag behind and was determined to get a share of the spoils. However, in the early stage, the British maritime power was still difficult to compete with Spain. Elizabeth took advantage of the adventures of pirates Hawkins, Drake and others to seize food from the Spaniards. Among them, the rising star Drake completed a three-year round-the-world pirate activity in 1577, and the harvest was huge. It was praised by the Queen, which can be called a classic of pirate activities. In the late Elizabethan era, with the growth of naval power, a frontal war with Spain began. But since they began the notorious slave trade, it was a stain that could not be erased in the Elizabethan era.

Elizabeth's virginity throughout her life was also one of the focuses of her attention. In the face of many suitors from the French, German, Spanish, Swiss and other royal families, she has been skillfully maneuvering, and finally announced the suitors' annihilation by declaring "I have married the whole country of England". Her unusual relationship with her favorite Lord Dudley has aroused people's interest, but it has only blossomed, not borne fruit. Perhaps she was wise not to marry, whether it was a marriage with a foreign Catholic royal family or a marriage with a Protestant aristocracy at home, which would have plunged her and her country into a complex power struggle.

But not marrying brought the problem of heirs. Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots, was the closest relative. She was forced to live in England because she offended the domestic aristocracy. She was actually under house arrest by Elizabeth. Because Mary Stuart was a Catholic, she was involved in a series of coups attempts by conservative Catholic forces in England to overthrow Elizabeth, and was finally sentenced to beheading by Elizabeth "reluctantly" in 1586. But after Elizabeth's death, Mary Stuart's son, James, who was already King of Scotland, succeeded to the English throne. The choice of James over other contenders for the throne may reflect Elizabeth's foresight. Due to the succession of James, England and Scotland were united, ending the cannibalism and mutual threats stemming from territorial ambitions on the British Isles, allowing Britons to concentrate on overseas expansion.

In 1570, Elizabeth was excommunicated by the Holy See, which gradually made her religious policy become severe. The execution of Catholic Mary Stuart was a sign of the execution, and the suppression of Catholic Irish people was also extremely difficult. The Irish War lasted for nine years, deepening the rift between the two countries and laying the foundation for the thorny Irish issue for future generations.

The piracy activities against the Spaniards encouraged by Elizabeth and her intervention in the Dutch War of Independence against the Spaniards for trade and religious reasons greatly angered King Philip II of Spain. He began to use Mary Stuart to oppose Elizabeth. After Mary Stuart was executed, he finally couldn't sit still and decided to teach Elizabeth, who knew nothing more than heaven and earth. In 1588, the Spanish Armada invaded Britain, but was defeated by the British Navy, which had a light hull and a long firepower range. This battle was the glorious culmination of Elizabeth's ruling career. Since then, the navies of the two countries have won and lost each other, but it is already a great progress that the former remote state of England can compete with Spain, the maritime overlord.

Elizabeth's influence on history can be understood from the following aspects. First of all, her restoration and prudent strategy towards Protestantism enabled England to pass the "bottleneck" of religious reform and avoid the fate of large-scale religious wars like France and Germany, and even leading to division of the country. Secondly, during her reign, wool production and trade made great progress, which was the foundation of the later development of capitalism. At the same time, maritime adventure activities increased and naval power grew rapidly. These two factors prepared Britain for its development into the world's number one capitalist power and maritime hegemony. Conditions are good. The relative stability and prosperity of England during Elizabeth's reign also enabled outstanding figures like Shakespeare, Bacon, and Harvey to give full play to their talents. However, Elizabeth's influence lacked pioneering and transformative elements, which prevented her from being ranked higher.

Elizabeth I and Dudley used "SMS symbols" to communicate 400 years ago

Many places in Dudley's love letter to Elizabeth I are replaced by symbols

Comments: Elizabeth I was not a creative and reformist monarch, but she achieved better results than many famous reformers. Looking at her policies, the restoration of Protestantism, the encouragement of maritime trade and exploration, the strengthening of naval power, tolerance of enclosures, and the unification of Great Britain through succession were all wise moves in line with the trend of history. For most of history, what the country needed was a monarch who could conform to the trend of history.