Queen Elizabeth I
Reigned 1558-1603
Reign of Henry VIII1509: Becomes King and Marries Catherine of Aragon (his deceased brother’s widow)
1516: Catherine gives birth to Mary I
1533: HVII divorces Catherine and marries Anne Boleyn
1533: Elizabeth born
1536: Anne Executed
Religion under Henry VIIBeginnings of the Reformation in England
1517: Martin Luther Protests Catholic Church at Wittenberg
1533: Divorce causes rift with Rome
Henry declares himself Supreme Head of English Church
English Church becomes increasingly Protestant
Edward VI 1537-1547-1553
1537: Edward VI born to Jane Seymour
1547: HVIII dies; Protestant Edward takes throne at age 10
1549: Edward VI abolishes Purgatory and “cult of the dead”
Key differences between Catholics and Protestants in the 16th Century:
Catholics pledge allegiance to the Pope
Catholics believe in transubstantiation
Catholic faith in hierarchy and authority of the Roman Church
Highest spiritual authority in England is the Monarch
Protestants celebrate Lord’s Supper as symbolic
Protestants suspicious of spectacle, images, ritual, icons
1553: The Catholic Mary Tudor (daughter of Catherine of Aragon) comes into power
Called “Bloody Mary” for persecution of Protestants
Attempts to make England Catholic again
Marries Phillip II of Spain
1558: Queen Elizabeth (daughter of Anne Boleyn) takes the throne
Protestant
Persecutes Catholics for Allegiance
Institutes Common Prayer Book
QEI Perpetuates Image of “Virgin Queen”
Uses Suitors for Political Leverage
Anxiety of Heirless Realm
Challenges and Perpetuates Gender Roles
Queen Elizabeth broadens British “Empire”Britain enters into slave trade
1583: Charter for Colony of Virginia Granted
1588: England “defeats” Spanish Armada
Phillip II sends Spanish Armada (the superior naval force in Europe) to invade England
A storm destroys the Armada
This defeat is celebrated as an “act of God”
Back on the island, QEI is centralizing power in monarchy
“I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and 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 shall grow by me, I myself will take up arms.”
QEI addresses the troops at Tillbury in full armor
The Rainbow Portrait: 1600
Imagery:Fertility
SupremacySurveillance
Passion Checked by Reason
1601: Essex Rebellion
Essex fails to quell rebellion in Ireland
Attempts to overthrow the Queen
Stages Richard IIExecuted
1603: QEI dies heirless; Scottish James I comes into power
James I of Scotland comes to the Throne
King James I brings peace but not faith in the monarchy
Squanders funds
1611: Commissions King James Bible