Tudor Dynesty, Part 5, Queen Elizabeth I
BillJones
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My only Elizabeth I coin is a 1600 six pence. This piece is an overdate variety although I can't remember the whole 159? date that is under the 1600. Elizabeth I coins were harder to find than I imagined. The gold pieces are especially expensive, which why I don't have one.
Elizabeth I, "The Virgin Queen,"1558 - 1603
The reign of Queen Elizabeth I put to rest any concerns about the ability a woman to be the head of state. During Elizabeth's rule England defeated her arch rival, Spain, and emerged as a world power. In addition culture bloomed as William Shakespeare pursued his illustrious career as a poet and playwright. Her only major failure was that she did not provide the Tutor Dynasty with an heir who could hold the crown in the family.
When Elizabeth became queen, she was a beautiful 25 year old woman. Many assumed that she would soon marry, and she had many suitors. One of the first was King Philip II of Spain who proposed to Elizabeth almost before her sister was cold in her grave. Elizabeth rejected his proposal out of hand.
Another more serious suitor was Robert Dudley. The queen elevated the handsome Dudley to the Earl of Leicester which was often a position given to the king or the queen's son. The position carried with it the rights to much land and power. Dudley lived in an apartment next to the queen and acted has her host at entertainments. After waiting for a number of years Dudley secretly wed the Countess of Essex, which angered the queen greatly. Ultimately Dudley got back into the queen's good graces and became a lieutenant-general in the army. He would be one of the leading defenders during the Spanish invasion of 1588.
Although Elizabeth had other beaus including Sir Christopher Hatton, Robert Devereux and Sir Walter Raleigh, she would marry none of them. Her image was that of "the virgin queen" who was married to her country and her subjects. Elizabeth actually seemed to detest marriage perhaps because of the mockery her father had made of it by having her mother, Anne Boleyn, executed. She expressed displeasure whenever members of her royal court were wed.
Like most British heads of state, Elizabeth I had a rival who was looking to take her throne. That rival was Mary Stuart who is better known as Mary Queen of Scots. Mary Stuart was the granddaughter of King Henry VIII's older sister, Margaret, which made her Elizabeth's cousin. Mary claimed that she was the rightful heir to the British crown because the Catholic Church had not recognized Henry's divorce from Catherine of Aragon. That made Elizabeth an illegitimate child of Henry VIII.
In a complicated series of events Mary won and lost the Scottish crown and was forced to abdicate her throne to her one year old son, James. Elizabeth granted sanctuary to Mary, but refused to see her. In the coming years Mary continued to plot with the Catholics in England and the French to overthrow Elizabeth. In response Elizabeth put Mary under house arrest, but Mary continued her scheming. Ultimately Elizabeth reluctantly had Mary put to death. Elizabeth grieved over the death of her cousin, but many in England rejoiced over her demise.
Elizabeth's finest hour was in 1588 when she rallied her troops to defeat the Spanish Armada. "I know I have the body of a weak and feeble woman," she said, "but I have the heart and the stomach of a king and of king of England too." A well timed storm at sea, the superior design of the British ships and the battle hardened experience of their captains brought the defeat of the Armada and changed the course of world history. England became the leading European power, and would spread that influence thought out the world.
Despite the fact that Elizabeth used every device to fight off aging that was at her disposal, she died in 1603 at age 69. Since she left no heir, the English crown passed to King James VI of Scotland, who became King James I of England. In an ironic twist of fate, King James I was the son of Elizabeth's bitter rival, Mary Queen of Scots. In the end Mary Stuart's son wore the crown that she gave her life to obtain.
Comments
An excellent article. I look forward to the next one.
Very informative post.
In addition, these sixpence are one of the most common coins dug at the Jamestown site. This is also a genuine coin from colonial times.
Latin American Collection
The English navy as noted in the earlier post about Queen Mary was small but scrappy. One thing they did that sent the Spanish ships up the NE coast of England was a series of feints with small decoy ships that gave the Spanish the idea that a sizable force was opposing them - for that reason the Spanish armada moved up north to round the British Isles when the well timed storm wrecked the Spanish fleet. It was as though feints and fate predestined the Spanish to fail, miserably no less.
At her execution, Mary Queen of Scots hid her small dog in her clothing and wore a wig. It took the headsman three strokes to behead her. The first stroke may have been intended to knock her out, but it did not. After she had been beheaded the headsman, unaware of the wig, reached down and lifted what he thought was her head but only came up with the wig.
She was 45 years old and had short grey hair by then. The aspect of her execution that is forever troubling is that James VI of Scotland did nothing other than breaking off diplomatic relations for a few days. His aspiration for the accession to the English throne surely was paramount, not the well being of the woman who brought him into this world.
I might remind you that Mary Queen of Scots had not seen her son since he was six months old. She didn't care about him. From what I have read she was a totally self absorbed woman who was more interested in gaining power and her love life.
This is that last one for the Tudors, I guess, unless the esteemed author writes an epilogue.
Some additional comments for this thread:
The Spanish may have had a large fleet, but were not capably lead. The commander was arrogant, thinking the British were trifling. How many times in history has a David defeated a Goliath? The Greeks against the Persians immediately come to mind. The Russian navy against the Japanese in 1904 was a more recent example.
QE1 is one of my favorite historical figures, and I've been looking to get a really nice large size silver piece for a while. A few years ago at NYINC, I saw a superb shilling for over $2k. I was too much of a noob then and let it pass; I still regret it now, but in fairness the dealer didn't do anything to help me get comfortable buying it. He just gave me the stink eye and I left.
Another was a gorgeous crown in CRO's inventory. PCGS AU50 or 55, I forget. Anyway, I didn't have the funds at the time to even make an offer.
The most recently, at an NYINC a couple of years ago, I saw a high grade 1/2 crown that was just to die for. But, other items got priority that show and I had to let that go too. Too bad. Haven't seen one since, in hand, that made my eyes pop out!
EVP
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Thanks. Love these articles.
The Russian navy against the Japanese in 1904 was a more recent example.
On the way out of the Baltic sea, east of Great Britain the Russian fleet was already edgy and then they spotted what appeared to them to be the Japanese navy. Actually it was a British fishing fleet which they fired on. It is known now as the Battle of Dogger Bank for where the action happened. In fact, vs. an unarmed fishing fleet the Russian navy accomplished the only "victory" in their naval campaign that year.
@BillJones, beautiful coin. Also, I have enjoyed your posts on these coins immensely!
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