Elizabeth I Takes the Plate

In the history of the world, men have mostly been the dominant governing body, ruling as kings, tyrants, and conquerors. Not many times has a woman attempted such feats as men have. This is especially true for the English Isles where generations of kings have reigned for centuries. However, this dynamic changed when one of the most influential women in the history of the world rose to power. In 1558, Queen Elizabeth rose to the throne under the Tudor dynasty. Elizabeth I was a powerful influence on how the world would soon see how a woman could be just as great a ruler as a man.

Elizabeth Tudor was born in Greenwich Palace on September of 1533 to the crazed tyrant, Henry VIII, and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. King Henry VIII had hoped for a son so as to inherit the throne and continue the Tudor line after he would no longer be able to. To do this, he defied the Catholic Church and cut ties with the church and England in order to end his marriage with his first wife, Catherine of Aragon. This was the spark that fueled the religious unrest when Elizabeth would later come to receive the throne. However, with Elizabeth’s birth, King Henry VIII was not entirely thrilled and, therefore, executed Anne Boleyn when Elizabeth was three for not producing a son during the marriage. Along with the execution, King Henry had other children to tend to. This, in turn, led to a turbulent childhood for Elizabeth as she passed into obscurity, but it was not a loss for her.

In her youth, Elizabeth grew up away from the castle and was raised by as King Henry focused more on his two other children, Edward and Mary. However, Elizabeth was not completely neglected; she was given the best education only royalty could have offered and “thrived in her ...

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...country. Without her, England may never have grown to be such a world power. On her own, she brought a country out of strife and conflict and built it into this empire. She never witnessed it, but she ushered in the Golden Age for England. Elizabeth is the perfect example of women’s influence on the world. On her own, she built up England from shambles and stayed true to being a strong, independent woman.

Works Cited

Ahsan, Lubna. “Gender Roles during the Golden Period (1558-1603).” New Horizons. 31 Dec. 2012. Gale Power Search. Web. 4 March 2014.

Greenblatt, Stephen J. “Elizabeth I.) Britannica School. Encyclopedia Brittanica, Inc. 2014. Web. 4 March 2014.

Huso, Deborah. “The Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I ruled England for 45 years, becoming one of the most powerful women in western history.” Success. May 2011: General Onefile. Web. 4 March 2014.