Queen Elizabeth I

Queen Elizabeth I had a large impact on England. She strengthened England socially, politically and economically. Her reign as the Queen is often referred to as the Golden Age of England's history. Elizabeth was born on September 7th 1533 in Greenwich and died on March 24th 1603; she was the only daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn (Briscoe n.p.). Elizabeth's older half-sister Mary was the Queen of England before her. England was divided between Protestants and Catholics during Queen Mary's reign; Mary had many Protestants killed during her reign. Mary had a negative impact on England and left England poor compared to other nations. Mary left a bankrupt, dying England to her sister Elizabeth to inherit after her death. Elizabeth would go onto outshine her older half-sister by helping England grow as a nation and having her people accept her as Queen. England would change completely during Elizabeth's reign. England became a world power, literature and the performing arts flourished, and disputes between Protestants and Catholics ended when Elizabeth created a Church which made Protestantism the main religion of England. She made many positive changes for England which was widely accepted by her people. Her long reign during 1558-1603 gave England the stability it needed to become a formidable world power. She was seen as not fit to rule England because she was a woman but she proved many people wrong and has changed England completely during her time. With the help of her advisor William Cecil and others she is considered one of England's greatest monarchs and has left a large impact on England.

Elizabeth I helped raise England from its low status in Europe to one of the greatest military powers of her time. Queen Mary I who was a very unpopular Queen amongst her people had died and left England on its final toes until Queen Elizabeth I took over. As soon as Elizabeth became Queen she attempted to make peace and prevent England from going into any wars against any other nations. Many of Queen Elizabeth's advisors believed that in order for England to become stronger she would have to marry and gain alliances. Elizabeth never married and by doing so England would become a strong power in its own right, she was married to England and no one else which is why she is known as the "Virgin Queen." She built up the confidence that England had lacked during her time. Ships were built and people were sent across the world to make trades and gain supplies for England while Spain had control over most of the trade in the New World. Elizabeth had many of her ships raid Spanish ones in order to obtain the goods they had captured (english-online. N,p,). This lead to Philip II of Spain to create the Spanish Armada, which was a large strong fleet of ships which was created in order to attack England. Elizabeth gave an inspiring speech to her troops of