The lecturer claimed at the start that this was a lecture for men. But really it was a lecture about women, and how difficult it was to be a female monarch in the male-dominated world of the seventeenth century. Elizabeth I (1533-1603), the daughter of King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn, became queen of England in 1558. It was a time when the Reformation was under pressure and when many people had problems with a woman being queen. Throughout her reign Elizabeth refused to marry. Why? There were many reasons. If she married a powerful Protestant aristocrat (like the 3rd duke of Norfolk) she risked alienating the Catholics in the country. Elizabeth later executed Norfolk for joining in a conspiracy with Mary Queen of Scots against her. If she married a powerful Catholic, like King Philip II of Spain, she alienated the Protestant interests in the country and risked civil war. In addition she was the daughter of Anne Boleyn, the so-called ‘Protestant whore’ who had helped bring about the split with Rome in the first place. Therefore her legitimacy was inextricably tied-up with the Reformation. However even if she married a weak Protestant she risked being dragged into wars in Europe. Elizabeth would not divide the nation at home, or risk war abroad. So instead she remained single, proclaimed as the ‘Virgin Queen’, and refusing to name her successor until she was on her deathbed.
Therefore the second main question of the lecture was how did Elizabeth maintain power given that she was an unmarried woman in a patriarchal world? The answer, it seems, was through court politics. The court provided Elizabeth with an informal system to supplement everyday politics, and through hunting, dining and frivolity, she was able to keep an eye on what was going on and gather intelligence necessary for keeping control in the kingdom. She also had a selection of ‘favourites’, men who she advanced and who, in return, provided an invaluable source of information and security. The most famous of these was Lord Robert Dudley (later earl of Leicester), who later became involved in Norfolk’s plot, but who was surprisingly pardoned. Her final favourite, Robert Devereux, earl of Essex, even tried to kidnap her in the 1590s!
Money proved necessary, both to reward the favourites and maintain the state. The best source was piracy. Spain was plundering vast amounts of gold from Central America, so Elizabeth authorised captains to steal this in turn from them. Many people invested in this privateering and the profits on these investments was enormous, sometimes as high as 1,000%. Spain, not surprisingly, was furious and responded by going to war with England in 1585. However the famous Spanish Armada of 1588 was defeated by ‘the breath of God and a Protestant wind’. The war continued afterwards, especially in Ireland, at a cost of almost £6 million to the crown. Elizabeth I died in 1603 naming King James VI of Scotland as her heir.
It was not so much that she was a female but rather that she stubbornly failed to marry and produce an heir to the throne. This was the argument presented by the lecturer on the reign of Elizabeth I, the infamous ‘Virgin Queen’. It was not, however, for a lack of suitors that Elizabeth remained single during her reign from 1558 to 1603. The 3rd duke of Norfolk, the 3rd earl of Huntingdon and Philip II, king of Spain, amongst others, were potential suitors and could have provided Elizabeth with an heir to the throne and direct access to Tudor court politics. Philip II wanted to marry her up until 1579, after which she would have been past the childbearing age. Yet Elizabeth believed that each suitor could have jeopardised her position as queen and divided the nation. The Protestant daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth felt that a marriage to Philip II of Spain would have alienated the Protestants in the country. Marrying a prominent Protestant, however, could have had a similar effect on her Catholic subjects. As the lecturer commented, ‘her own legitimacy was tied up with the reformation’. Ultimately Elizabeth remained single because she believed the risks in getting married proved larger than the risks in not getting married.
ReplyDeleteElizabeth’s role as an unmarried single monarch dominated all aspects of her reign. She was deprived of direct access to the Tudor court and was forced to use other means to keep abreast of the political realities in the country. Her love of hunting provided one way of informally supplementing everyday politics. It also directly led to her selection of various ‘favourites’; that is men whom she used as advisors and who became central figures at court during her reign. Her favourites included men such as Lord Robert Dudley, Thomas Butler, 10th earl of Ormond and Robert Devereux, 2nd earl of Essex (who tried to kidnap Elizabeth in 1600). The possession of a favourite was inextricably linked with Elizabeth’s failure to marry as she needed access to the informal intelligence system which as a woman, she was unable to enter.
Yet favourites had a cost. Elizabeth found herself indebted to these men as she paid them for their loyalty and advice with monopolies of trade and tobacco and through licenses to export into the country. In order to fund her expenditure Elizabeth invested in land in Ireland through the Munster plantation but this failed to provide a return to the investors. Her most profitable form of investment lay in piracy, especially stealing from the king of Spain. Unsurprisingly, this domestic problem became a foreign problem as Phillip II reacted against the piracy and went to war with England in 1585. This, however, became an ideological war as Protestant England fought with Catholic Spain.
Alongside her fiscal policy, Elizabeth’s religious policy also caused problems and ultimately she was forced to bring about a full blown reformation in England through an evangelical attempt to change the hearts and minds of her Catholic subjects. She replaced a Catholic episcopate with a Protestant one and relied upon a committed group of ideological bishops who were prepared to accept a woman as the head of the church. It was these defenders who were the forbearers of the Puritans who dominated political and religious life in England in the seventeenth century.
Do you really think it was a 'lecture about women'? I think it was more about the necessity of a woman having to surround herself with men in order to run the country. Also, I think it is important to emphasise the role of religion in formulating both domestic and foreign policy.
ReplyDeletedo you really think it was a lecture about Elezibith not wanting to get married, as this could possibly lead to civil war and war in europe between the cathlics etc, could elezbith not of wanted to get married for the sole reasion that she did not want to look as though she needed a man to be ruler of a country, and that infact she wanted to prove her critics wrong?? don`t get me wrong if she had of chosen to marry a prodistand or a cahlic it would of caused some upeavel, however from the lecture the queen does not seem the type to sway from making a desition on the basices of "excuse the frace" wrouffling some feathers. !
ReplyDeleteIn relation to the question as to why did Queen Elizabeth stayed unmarried during her 45 year reign.I think that she was in a lose-lose situation and she kneew this.If she had married a protestant(be it a powerful one or one of lesser power)she risked alienating her catholic subjects and risked a possible civil war.The same can be said if she had gone the other way and married a catholic she risked alienating her protestant subjects.If she had married a protestant she would of also of been saying in her actions that the reformation of which western europe wasc urrently in the grips was over in this country and that the reigion was to be one of protestant.In my opinion the result her actions would cause and she ultimatley choose the lesser of two evils.
ReplyDeleteIn relation to the problems caused her such as not being able to enter courts or stay up all night drinking and whoring with the gentlemen of the court as the king could.I think she made a wise decision in gathering vital inteligence by going on hunts with powerful men and people in the know.She needed this info to know who she had to keep an eye on or have executed for planning a coup or something like that. When she came to choosing "favourites" i think she could of been slightly more wiser in doing this because as she had to give them powerful and high paying jobs which ultimatley led her into a religious war with catholic spain over the english robbing their ships and silver and anything else valuable that they had on board.Phillip the second of spain did not look upon this happily and eventually went to war against her.
In the end she and the monarch were nearly bankrupt and overall in my opinion she was just unlucky to be queen at a time when there was a religiuos war going in europe and she risked civil war if she married onto one side or the other of it.
The three key areas in the lecture where religion sex and marraige and the fact that elizabeth wasn't on the right side of any of them.
In relation to the question as to why did Queen Elizabeth stayed unmarried during her 45 year reign.I think that she was in a lose-lose situation and she kneew this.If she had married a protestant(be it a powerful one or one of lesser power)she risked alienating her catholic subjects and risked a possible civil war.The same can be said if she had gone the other way and married a catholic she risked alienating her protestant subjects.If she had married a protestant she would of also of been saying in her actions that the reformation of which western europe wasc urrently in the grips was over in this country and that the reigion was to be one of protestant.In my opinion the result her actions would cause and she ultimatley choose the lesser of two evils.
ReplyDeleteIn relation to the problems caused her such as not being able to enter courts or stay up all night drinking and whoring with the gentlemen of the court as the king could.I think she made a wise decision in gathering vital inteligence by going on hunts with powerful men and people in the know.She needed this info to know who she had to keep an eye on or have executed for planning a coup or something like that. When she came to choosing "favourites" i think she could of been slightly more wiser in doing this because as she had to give them powerful and high paying jobs which ultimatley led her into a religious war with catholic spain over the english robbing their ships and silver and anything else valuable that they had on board.Phillip the second of spain did not look upon this happily and eventually went to war against her.
In the end she and the monarch were nearly bankrupt and overall in my opinion she was just unlucky to be queen at a time when there was a religiuos war going in europe and she risked civil war if she married onto one side or the other of it.
The three key areas in the lecture where religion sex and marraige and the fact that elizabeth wasn't on the right side of any of them.
Will ellen ever finish her blog?
ReplyDeleteDuring the lecture by Mr C Brady on the 12/oct/2007 Elizabeth 1 daughter of one of the most powerful and influential characters of the 16th Century Henry the 8th was described as an incredibly smart individual who lived a life of rebel against the stereotypical women of this era; Elizabeth was expected to be a child barer and that was to be her lot!
ReplyDeleteElizabeth chose to decline many marriage offers in my opinion this was an incredibly selfless act and was done solely for the wellbeing and the unity of her country. If Elizabeth had chosen to marry a protestant man she would therefore split her nation and possibly cause a civil war. Elizabeth did not want to alienate either members of the protestant or Catholic Church. If she did so she would immediately loose a phenomenal amount of support and this could have been catastrophic to her hierarchy position in England at the time. Also Elizabeth faced the struggle of finding the true wishes of these potential husbands as in the case of Thomas Howered the third ( Duke Of Norfolk) who had the ambition to overthrow her from her throne and gain power riches and wealth. Therefore it would seem that Elizabeth was right in declining these men with their vested interests at heart.
As Elizabeth declined many marriage offers she served her 45year reign as a bacheloret many problems raised concern as she was in fact a women of the 1500’s she could not carry out the political side of her responsibility as Queen of England and faced a dilemma as to how she would gather this much needed information. Former male leaders as her father had gathered this information form late night social events in pubs which involved a lot of alcohol consumption and pay offs from the king himself; this would have been paid with land in return for information. Elizabeth by the 1570’s had ran out of land to give to these informers and therefore moved to Munster and began giving away plots of land in Munster i.e. the 1560 Munster Plantation.
Further to the plantation Elizabeth started to realise that there was a significant amount of money being transferred on Spanish ships coming from back from south America. Elizabeth seen this as her golden opportunity and she decided that they would seize this opportunity and this would therefore allow her to peruse her political career with more comfort and ease.
In 1603 Elizabeth announced on her death bed that James the 6th of Scotland was to be her successor to the throne. This also exhibits Elizabeth’s strength and determination which she displayed threw her 45year reign as Queen of England.
Could the reason that Elizabeth did not have any children be also because she felt that her enemies would see her child as a weakness and try to exploit it by threatening it? Or maybe she was afraid that if she had a child, when it grew up it might become just as much a threat to her monarchy as the traitors she was surrounded with!
ReplyDeleteI certainly agree with charlene because i belive that during the lecture by Mr.C Brady wasn't based on women in general he focused more on women and their dealings with men in order to run the country
ReplyDeleteMr. C Brady outlined many high points on why Elizabeth1 didn't get married
(1)she was the daughter of Henry the V111 and if she married a catholic she would make herself legitimate.Even marrying a powerful catholic as John mentioned it could result in a civil war.
(2)she also knew that she couldn't marry a weak protestant because she could also get dragged into european politics and dangerously on the losing side.
Although the risk of not getting married was hard because a queen couldn't enter the court so it was extreamly difficult for her to find out about politics and how the country was doing.
Elizabeth adopted her own tactics one way was she was a hunter and she would flirt with men to tell her vital information she needed.
Another way and a more affective way was to have a favorite.She had lots of favorites but the most famous was Lord Robert Dudley the Earl of Leicester.Dudley became the central figure at court and he started the intelligence.
There was cost of having favorites
--leacks to public
--have to pay them big money
--have to get them jobs (monopoly)
--give them licences to export and import
To try and pay these people she tried a Munster plantation which ended in a bad investment and a failure.
she gave out licences to explore the seas at first it seemed to be an incredible investment they made a staggering 1000% profit.By stealing the Spanish silver it resulted in War in 1588.
a result at the end of the rein was England was in financial troubles and a split between the people who are loyal to the queen and people who think they are the real defenders.
a key point that everyone left out which Mr.C Brady had his own personal theory on and that is "WAS QUEEN ELIZABETH A VIRGIN"
He mentioned that it was said that she had sexual relations with Thomas Seymour.After her fathers death she began to live with her stepmother in Chelsea.Therefore making Thomas Seymour the guardian of Elizabeth 1 .He was reported to sneak into her chamber before she was ready and sometimes before she did rise.
Another man which she could of lost her virginity to was Robert Dudley she was possibly in love with but it's doubtful that the relationship was fully consumated but we know that her virginity is a complex issue that will likely never be resolved.
Charlene, you didn't say anything about the Archbishop of Canterbury, who seemed to be an important figure? Ok, I didn't say anything either, but I'd still like to know more about him.
ReplyDeleteok patrick i forgot to mention the Archbishop of Canterbury.I dont think he was one of the main topics of the lecture but it was important enough to be mentioned.The archbishop of canterbury at the time of Elizabeth 1 was a man called Edmund Grindle he graduated in cambridge and in 1570 he became Archbishop of York then he was appointed to the higest position in Anglican church,Achbishop of canterbury.He fell in continues disagreements with Queen Elizabeth and in June 1577 he was suspended from his juridictional for his disobedience.Elizabet wanted him to fully resine but after he appologised he was reinstated in 1582.he was later replaced by John Whitgift an oxford man.He also fired people who disobade him and replaced them by people who was loyal to the throne.qUEEN Elizabeth was rutless and whoever stood up to her she simply fired or executed .
ReplyDeletePatrick, you should look up the entry on the Archbishop of Canterbury in the Oxford dictionary of national biography (DNB). You can access this directly from college computers by going to www.oxforddnb.com or by going through the library home page and going to databases. When you access the site, type in his name and the entry should come up. It covers all the main points of his life as well as useful background. There is also a bibliography at the end which is a really useful springboard for future reading. Prominent Irish and British figures are covered so check out Cromwell!
ReplyDeleteThanks Leo and Charlene, I looked up the Oxford DNB and found this entry on the Whitgift:
ReplyDeleteWhitgift, John (1530/31?–1604), archbishop of Canterbury
by William Joseph Sheils
and it looks very good.
Thanks!
hi!
ReplyDeleteIt’s not ever a question of whether or not she should have found a husband. It’s clear that she was far too picky anyway! Although things could probably have turned out a little better had she made the effort to seek a man able enough to tame her. To me the true question is “why the hell did they let a chick take the thrown in the first place!”
ReplyDeleteElizabeth’s father had failed to produce a male heir, something the British had grown accustom to. 1558 was a particularly volatile time for the crown; the British invasion of France came to an end after the fall of Calais which had been occupied by Britain for 211 years. The country had stumbled into this unsuccessful war under Mary Tudor on behalf of her Spanish husband. In doing this the empire had lost a very a very important constituency.
Mary was reckless with the empires assets and endangered British interests due to her marriage. These actions had confirmed what many already thought, that women by nature where not suitable to rule over a country. Also it was the desire of God himself to keep women at home baring male heirs and as a God faring country England must adhere to this rule. However, Elizabeth I took the British thrown already shrouded in bad public opinion.
Not only did Elizabeth’s sex prove a problem, but her Legitimacy too. In many ways the virgin queen was a living breathing symbol of the British break from Rome! Her very birth was the culmination of a nation religious upheaval, this lead to division in Britain that lasted throughout her reign and beyond. So not only did this woman, as an infant, upset the hearts and homes of many, she now planed to bring England to ruin with her irrational female rule.
I don’t know about you guys, but this whole female rule thing seems a bit iffy, Men are kings because they are strong willed and clever. It was scientifically proven that a gentleman’s brain is larger than that of a lady and thus he was endowed not only with superior physical strength but superior intellect. Holding Court also played a major role in keeping a country. And a Lady, especially a queen could never stay up late drinking and socialising with men.
I Hope Hillary Clinton is taking note.
am i Doin tis right??
ReplyDeleteduring the lecture on Queen Elizabeth I by mr. C Brady on the 12-10-07, four of the key factors are:
ReplyDelete-religion
-marriage
-power
-sex
MARRIAGE/RELIGION
marriage and religion overlap each other because one of the main reasons Queen Elizabeth chose not marry was because of religion.
she did not want to devide her country into two an start a civil war.
If she was to marry a catholic or a protestant, she would alienate the religion which she did not marry into. Queen Elizabeth had many marriage offers but she chose to refuse them all...
and some for good reasons!!
Thomas Howered III wanted to marry her but only because his ambition was to overthrow her from her throne an take over as king!!
Elizabeth also had an offer of marriage from king philip II of Spain, but she rejected him to because she feared she would alienate the protestants, but interestingly enough she thought it ok to rob the Spainish whhich could have resulted in angering the catholics of Britian.
POWER
Because Elizabeth was a woman she could not carry out the political duties the way a king could.
males would gather information by stayin up all night drinking gambleing an whoring, Elizabeth could not do this.
As she could not get information this way she had to come up with another idea so that she could maintain a vigulance on the people of her country.
she showed that she was cunning by keeping a selection of men, her "favourites" close to her...but not to close!!
she used these men as pawns in a game to give her information and security. This gave her allies and people on her side.
but these "favourites" did not always work out, like in the case of Robert Devereux the earl of Essex, who tried to kidnap Queen Elizabeth!!
Having these favourites carried a price tag, her father Henry the 8th used to pay them with church land, but by the time elizabeth came into power there was no church land left so she needed to come up with other methods of payment. she paided these men with
-jobs
-liences to export/import
-liences to travel the high seas to see what they could find.
-she also allowed her men to intersept ships traveling to Spain from South America with large amounts of money and claim it for england. this worked rather well untill Spain declares war!!
One of the other main points of the lecture was "is Queen Elizabeth really a virgin Queen??"
people can argue that she is not because it has been said that she had sexual relations with Thomas Seymore. It is said that between the age of 11 and 12 Thomas Seymore was seen leaving her bedroom in the early hours of the morning. Mr. C Brady also stated that there are claims she was seen playing with him in bed!
It was not until 1603 when Queeen Elizabeth was on her death bed that she appointed James the 6th of scotland as her succesor, This may have been for power reasons, she wanted to hold onto controlling her country for as long as possible.
while this blog has clearly divided the class opinion as too why the Queen did not marrie i think one thing is clear from the lecturer, "Queen Elizabeth I" was an iconic piller in her day, tho she did not marrie and purduce a ligimate heir to the thrown, she was eirafuitably a business woman who not only strenghtend englands ecomony but made her self a very rich woman. all in all i think i can have nothing bu respect for the Queen. and i am in aw of her sturbornness to not name her successer untill she was minutes from death on her death bed, this shows how strong minded she was and how she would not be dictated too, by any one least of all the arch bishop.
ReplyDeleteJohn you said that queen Elizabeth strenghtend England's economy but at the end of her rein she left England in financial difficulty because of her radical methods of paying her debts to her favourites by stealing from Spain this led to Spain declaring war.The war continued afterwards, especially in Ireland, at a cost of almost £6 million to the crown.In the end she and the monarch were in bankruptcy and were caught up in a religious war.I agree with john because i have great respect for Elizabeth I I think she was a good leader and an influential figure for feminest women of all ages
ReplyDelete