Queen Elizabeth played a major role in the history of England as well as the history of the world.
Today, more than a billion people around the world speak English and function as the de facto official language in academia, medicine and the Internet, but without the presence of Queen Elizabeth, that wouldn't be the case, maybe. The seat may have been occupied by Spanish.
The surviving successor
Queen Elizabeth was born in 1533 as a child of Henry VIII.
Two years after she was born, her mother Anne Boleyn died.
He was executed by her father Henry VIII.
In medieval Europe, the king's marriage problem has always been a major issue that moves the country.
Compared to China and Japan, which are based on polygamy, in Europe, where Christian values dominate, monogamy is the basis, and the kings of England and France often do not allow divorce after repeated divorces. It was a problem that could even determine the trend of the nation, such as being defeated by the Pope.
In the Middle Ages, the papal authority far exceeded the royal authority, as seen in Canossa's humiliation.
"The Pope is the Sun, the Emperor is the Moon"
As Innocent III said, it was no exaggeration to say that all kings and aristocrats were under the control of the Pope, but gradually the kings of France and England strengthened, and his father Henry VIII himself. Announced a farewell to the Pope, who had been quarreled over the divorce issue, and separated the Anglican Church from the Catholic Church.
This weakened the pope's dominance in Britain, and the British kingdom freed from its yoke became mighty.
Henry VIII himself continued to marry and divorce, and after his death his throne was succeeded by his sons Edward VI, Jane Gray, and Mary I in that order.
In particular, Mary I was married to Philip II of the Habsburgs in Spain, and England was under the control of the King of Spain.
Therefore, the people of England hated Philip II, and Mary I, who was also called Bloody Mary (her blood-loving Mary), persecuted Protestants by conducting a reactionary politics to Catholicism, and was not popular with the people at all.
Under such circumstances, Mary I died of the flu, and Elizabeth, the only surviving child of Henry VIII, was crowned Queen of England.
Fairy Queen and Anglican Church
In 1559, 25-year-old Queen Elizabeth held her coronation at the Palace of Westminster.
Her popularity with her young and beautiful queen was so popular that the English people called her "Fairy Queen" with her friendliness.
When she was enthroned, she immediately promulgated the Acts of Supremacy and the Unification of Worship through her Queen Secretary William Cecil, and although there was a backlash from the Catholic Church, she passed both at the meeting by imprisoning two Catholic bishops. rice field.
This resulted in the dismissal of 225 priests from the Catholic Church, of which 123 priests who refused to convert to the National Church were executed.
After that, the Catholics who were associated with the Queen of Scotland faced fierce resistance, but this was gradually suppressed, and the Anglican Church, headed by the King, came to take control of the interior of England.
Not surprisingly, Pope Pius V of the time opposed this, excommunicating Queen Elizabeth in 1570 and forcing all her Catholics to aim at her neck.
However, Queen Elizabeth was reluctant to confront the Catholic Church, and in 1587 arrested and executed Queen of Scotland Mary on suspicion of attempted assassination of Queen Elizabeth, which led to European countries such as Spain and France. Deepened the conflict with.
Battle with the Habsburgs of Spain
Although not very familiar in Japan, the strongest aristocrat in the Middle Ages was the Habsburgs. The family was based in Austria and produced a number of emperors of the Holy Roman Empire (Germany), including King Philip II of Spain during the time of Queen Elizabeth.
He had kinship with each European kingship by diplomatic power, and ruled the European continent with overwhelming power, but in the 16th century, that power began to fade.
The trigger was Martin Luther's religious reform. The pope's authority, which had been absolute until then, declined with this opportunity, and new Catholic resisters, Protestants, were born, and in conjunction with this, the National Church in England became under the control of the Habsburgs. The Netherlands, which was there, will also start a war of independence. Elizabeth I supports this from behind through Baron Burley.
Still, Spain's dominance remained, with Columbus monopolizing trade with the New World.
Queen Elizabeth responded by protecting the pirates and granting a privateer license to attack a Spanish trading vessel, reducing her power and tribute some of her plunder to the royal family.
Spain, which had no way of resisting sporadic privateers, finally embarked on a war with its origin, England.
Spanish Armada Battle
There are several battles in world history that will certainly change the course of history. The Battle of Armada was one of the leading battles, and after this battle, the flow of world history changed drastically.
The Spanish royal family repeatedly protested Queen Elizabeth over the privateer issue, but each time she made excuses.
The Spanish fleet was called the world's strongest fleet, or invincible fleet Armada, by defeating the Ottoman Empire, which was said to be the strongest at the time, in the Battle of Lepanto. It was a situation that could be called the extreme of.
The difference in strength was overwhelming, with 130 large ships in Spain and 170 mainly small ships in England, which seemed to be advantageous in terms of number, but each ship is as big as a cat and a lion. No, and while the Spanish army is a regular soldier, the English army has pirates at its center. No one doubted the victory of the Spanish fleet.
However, when I opened the lid, it was a big victory for England. Spain was defeated by the great damage of losing 63 ships, then Spain followed a gradual decline, and on the contrary Britain grew into a great power.
"I am with you. In the midst of battle, I am determined to live and die with you all in the heat. For my God, my kingdom, my people, my honor, my blood. , I'm ready to throw myself into the dust. "
This is a passage from her speech by Queen Elizabeth before the naval battle.
Excellent subordinates
Heroes who are active in world history have something in common.
It was blessed with excellent subordinates.
Queen Elizabeth also had many excellent subordinates.
William Cecil, a secretary to the Queen for 40 years, Nicholas Bacon, the father of the philosopher Francis Bacon, and her mistresses Walter Raleigh, Robert Dudley, and Robert. Deblue, William Devinson, Deputy Secretary of State, who would later be sent to the Tower of London, and Francis Drake, a British national hero who was a pirate but led the Battle of Armada to victory. They supported Queen Elizabeth and led Britain into the Golden Age.
Diplomacy with Queen Elizabeth
It is often said that Japan is not good at diplomacy, but European countries have been devoted to international diplomacy for hundreds of years, so it can be said that their experience points are different.
Especially since the 16th century, European countries have moved a lot in diplomacy, among which Queen Elizabeth has mastered Greek, Latin, Italian and French, and by using each language to further flicker her marriage. There is a section that has promoted diplomacy in an advantageous manner.
It is said that she had exchanged letters with her nemesis, King Philip II of Spain, King Henry IV of France, Catherine de'Medici from the Medici family, and Ivan IV of Russia, even with Murad III of the Ottoman Empire.
On top of that, as mentioned earlier, she supports the war of independence in the Netherlands (Nederland), supports the Huguenots in the Protestant rebellion of the Huguenots in France, and supports the newcomers in each country. Show.
Queen Elizabeth's diplomacy is, in a sense, consistent and largely anti-Catholic, and the series of wars around this time can be seen as a religious war between Britain, which supports Protestants, and France and Spain, which support Catholicism. ..
Queen Elizabeth's late years and her death
After the Battle of Armada, the gap between rich and poor in Britain became widespread in conjunction with the enclosure movement called the enclosure.
Queen Elizabeth herself enacted the "Poor Law", but the flow did not stop, and her war expenses increased in the battle with Spain and Ireland.
Although not as much as the Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Empire, Queen Elizabeth became more brilliant with her aging, and she confused her national affairs by cracking down on what was critical of herself and giving preferential treatment to her beloved opposite sex. Her mismanagement became more noticeable, such as letting her go.
As a manifestation of this, people's rebellions began to occur in her later years, but the people still loved Queen Elizabeth.
In 1603, her successor was named James I, the son of Mary Stewart, who had been sentenced to death, and Elizabeth I, the last Tudor monarch, completed her 69-year life.
Personal evaluation of Queen Elizabeth
With her outstanding diplomatic abilities and her courage, she is one of the historic masters who have made Britain one of the world's leading nations.
Her mismanagement was noticeable in her later years, and many wars exhausted her national power, but nonetheless, without Queen Elizabeth, the British Empire would not have existed.
It can be said that she reached the first golden age in England at a time of great cultural development such as the appearance of William Shakespeare under her reign.
It is interesting to say that the Queen Elizabeth and Queen Victoria eras are two golden ages in England, which is said to be the country of Her Majesty.
As I mentioned earlier, she was very fluent in languages, but she seemed to have a rather indecisive personality, and she always patrolled, and her beloved subordinate Walter Raleigh said, "Her Majesty always added and divided by two. Only the policy is decoy! "
She was known as "Gloriana, a glorious queen who never grows old" because she put on her make-up very carefully in her later years and hid her aging as much as possible when she appeared in public.
Her lifetime Queen Elizabeth has left such words.
"You may and will continue to have many stronger and wise princes on this throne, but no prince has ever loved you more than I do. I won't be there anymore. "
She can be said to be the most straightforward word for her.