The Elizabethan era was the period of Queen Elizabeth I's reign (1558–1603) which followed the Tudor period and is often referred to as the "Golden Age".
The Queen adopted some religious policies, after her father Henry VIII created Protestantism and split from the Roman Catholic Church. These protestant policies included the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity (1559), the Prayer Book of 1559, and the Thirty-Nine Articles (1563), but still preserved many traditional Catholic ceremonies. Elizabeth didn't persecute Catholics, with penalties for recusancy being mild and often not enforced.
Elizabeth's sister, Mary Queen of Scots, was at the centre of plots to overthrow her, in attempt to return the country to it's Catholic Faith. Two major failed attempts were the Northern Uprising in 1569 and the Ridolfi Plot of 1571 which had enlisted Spanish support. It seemed that if Mary was alive, Elizabeth's life was in danger.
Francis Walsingham, one of the queens loyal ministers, intercepted letter from Mary to plotter which included information that could bring Mary to trial.
Her trial was held on 15 October 1586 at Fotheringhay. She had no lawyer and was quickly found guilty of treason with a death sentence. In February 1587 the warrant was signed by the queen and her sister was executed and it is said she wept for days.
Education began at home. For boys they attended grammar school, but girls weren't allowed education other than petty schools (schools for all children aged from 5 to 7), and then only with a restricted curriculum. Only wealthy people let their daughters to be taught at home. Some endowed schooling became available which meant for some poor boys could go to school if their families didn't need them.
Influential writers Richard Hakluyt and John Dee were trying to get the establishment of England's own overseas empire. Spain was well established in the Americas, while Portugal, with Spain from 1580, had empires in Africa, Asia and South America. France was also exploring the North America. England wanted to create its own colonies, focusing on the West Indies.
From 1577 to 1580, Sir Francis Drake circumnavigated the globe. He performed daring raids against the Spanish and his great victory over them at Cadiz in 1587 caused him to become a famous hero. In 1583, Humphrey Gilbert sailed to Newfoundland, taking the harbour of St John's together with all land within two hundred leagues to the north and south of it.
In 1584, the queen let Sir Walter Raleigh colonise Virginia. In 1600, the queen chartered the East India Company, establishing trading posts, which in later became British India.
Famously Philip II of Spain attempted to invade England with the Spanish Armada in 1588 who were defeated.
Theatre was a popular past time within this period, with the works of William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe and Ben Jonson widely known. It is often referred to as English Renaissance Theatre.
Travelling musicians were also in great demand in churches, at Court, at country houses, and at local festivals. Some important composers were William Byrd (1543–1623), John Dowland (1563–1626) Thomas Campion (1567–1620), and Robert Johnson (c. 1583–c. 1634).
References:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/tudors/elizabeth_i_01.shtml
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabethan_era
http://faculty.history.wisc.edu/sommerville/361/361-14.htm
My thoughts on this:
I get the impression that due to the plots against the Queen and the changing religions of the previous monarchies, Shakespeare used Henry V as a patriotic play, showing a King with great strength and commitment to gain more support for the new monarch and attempt to halt negative feelings for her. Henry is seen fighting for the Nation and talking of love, suggesting that monarchs are in fact normal people and a do care for the country and it's people (which is also highlighted by the peace treaty the English and French Nations sign).
No comments:
Post a Comment