Henry VII had always wanted a son a male air who would continue and secure the tutor Dynasty when Henry's second wife Anne bolain became pregnant with his second child astrologers midwives and Royal doctors confidently predicted that she would give birth to a son therefore when Elizabeth was born on September 7th 1533 in green witch the initial reaction was not of Joy but of disappointment Henry failed to attend his daughter's festivities and parties establishing a clear example of Elizabeth's upbring although Henry publicly accepted his daughter Elizabeth she was set aside due to her mother's arrest and execution which led to her being declared illegitimate despite this animosity she received a royal education and was influenced in her religious views by her father's sixth wife the Protestant Katherine Park Elizabeth's path to becoming Queen seemed unlikely as both her siblings had to die without heirs for her to become Queen her younger brother Edward became king when Henry passed away in 1547 but he died at a young age her sister Mary inherited the throne in 1553 A Reign marked by her attempts to restore Catholicism in England and the persecution of pro assistant earning her the nickname Bloody Mary Elizabeth was careful and confirmed during his sister's Rule still she was imprisoned for 2 months and placed on house arrest for her alleged connections to the Wyatt Rebellion which aimed to prevent Mary's marriage to Spanish King Philip II when Mary died childless in 1558 Elizabeth the ascended the throne and was crowned Queen of England on January 15th 1559 let's examine the structure of government during her reign as the Queen of England Elizabeth had the utmost Authority and Rule she could call and dis of parliament declare war and make peace Appo and dismiss ministers and judges and determine who to marry and who to name as a successor below the queen was the Royal Court a group of over 1,000 people that surrounded the queen wherever she went the court included personal servants entertainers nobility ambassadors foreign visitors and other influential government members the queen always brought her Court along even when traveling around England in her royal progress inside the court was the all powerful privy Council a group of around 10 to 20 influential figures that advised the queen and managed the administration of government these were the Queen's most trusted advisers and ministers to decide who to include in her government Elizabeth used the system of patronage which meant that she could give and take away titles and positions of power to whoever she pleased in exchange for their loyalty this system was quite successful as economic instability at the time further increased loyalty to the Queen the privy Council also helped to manage relationships between the queen and the rest of parliament this system was split into the House of Lords compromised of noblemen and Bishops and the House of Commons which was elected they passed laws and approved taxes Elizabeth didn't call Parliament much during her Reign only summoning them 13 times most of the time to Grant her taxes on the local level Elizabeth appointed noblemen to the Lord lieutenants who governed the counties and raised local militias and the justice of peace who kept Law and Order in their localities let's take a look at some of the key figures in government make sure to remember these names Williams CLE was Elizabeth's most influential and longest serving Minister and adviser he became Secretary of State in 15 58 and made Lord berley in 1571 cesil was also Lord Treasurer and responsible for the government's money he was loyal to Elizabeth and had a say on several issues we'll cover in future episodes such as religion and Foreign Affairs Robert Dudley he of Lester was an ambitious adviser and Elizabeth closer's Minister during the start of her Reign their relationship was so intimate that rumors spread of a secret romance between them further aggravated by The Unexplained death of Dudley's wife he was a determin Protestant and a little freaky having several Affairs scandals and pregnancies within the court leading to his banishment Francis Walsingham was Elizabeth spy Master he attended the queen security and ran a network of spies and agent provocar who are people employed by Walsingham to encourage suspicious people to plot against her to justify their arrests and execution later although benefiting from her unanimous power Elizabeth inherited the throne at a terrible time religious instability the loss of Cay the high cost of War epidemic disease and poor harvest during her sister's Reign had created an atmosphere sphere of Despair and crisis the arrival of a young and promising Queen created a sense of Hope in England yet Elizabeth had one significant problem she was a woman of course this was not actually a problem still Elizabeth had to overcome the Prejudice and stereotype surrounding female rulers at the time especially after the disaster of the later stages of her sister Mary's Reign given the widespread believ that women couldn't rule effectively there was pressure on Elizabeth to find a husband who could rule for her also so if Elizabeth died without an heir there would be a risk of Civil War the privy Council and Parliament pressured Elizabeth to marry and produce an heir as soon as possible but who could she possibly marry let's take a look at the contenders early in her Reign Philip II the most powerful man in the world and her sister's former husband proposed to Elizabeth but she declined as a Catholic king would be unacceptable to strict Protestants and Puritans who feared a return to Catholicism and Philip's influence in English politics if you want to learn more about Philip II uh I have a whole video about him there was also the French King's brother and heir to the throne Francis Duke of vju but you know he was French other foreign contenders included Eric of Sweden and Philip II's brother Charles of Austria but Elizabeth rejected them all at home many within Parliament H to be contenders to Mary Elizabeth but the only person who actually had a chance was her favorite adviser and possible Crush Robert Dudley as I mentioned before he was an ambitious and good-looking man and Elizabeth spent a lot of time with him but he was already married so when his wife unexpectedly was found dead it didn't help his cause so who would Elizabeth marry who would fulfill the role of husband and king or Elizabeth drum roll please no one Parliament and the privie council repeatedly asked the queen to marry and name and Heir but she would always refuse when they asked Elizabeth to find her husband in 1563 she declined to discuss the matter any further Elizabeth would be married to England also she wanted to live and die a virgin and having to choose between any of her contenders would have caused a lot of division within her court if Elizabeth were to marry Dudley his scandals would haunt her if she were to marry a Catholic like Phillip she would anger the Protestants and vice versa and if Elizabeth married a foreign leader she would have been drawn to a necessary Wars and lose sole control of English Affairs therefore Elizabeth decided to stay as the Virgin Queen placing England's stability and security over the Dynasty's continuation Elizabeth and Parliament fought on more issues than just marriage they also clashed over matters of religion freedom of speech and monopolies Elizabeth managed to mediate these problems but towards the end of her reign in 1601 Elizabeth faced a threat within her own preview Council and what would later be known as the Essex Rebellion as Elizabeth aged her grip on Parliament weakened allowing a new breed of ambitious politicians to rise including a man known as Robert Deo the second Earl of essence despite being close to Elizabeth once their relationship soured due to her preference for her adviser Robert cile when married without telling the queen his relationship with Elizabeth deteriorated further culminating in a confrontation in which Elizabeth reportedly slapped him and in response he attempted to pull out his sword resulting in his banishment from court but he was given a second chance Essex was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and told to crush the Irish Rebellion however he failed to do so ignoring Elizabeth's instructions to stay and fight in Ireland he made peace with the Irish and returned to England leading to trees and accusations consequently in 16 00 a special Court stripped Essex of all his positions and placed him under house arrest rebellion was his only solution in 1601 Essex fortified his mansion and gathered his supporters around 300 loyal Rebels when four privy counselors were sent to his house to question him he held them as hostages and proceeded to March to the center of London to capture the Queen the Essex Rebellion had begun he hoped to march to London rally the angered population and Dethrone the queen but Essex had overestimated his power many in the nobility did not want to risk their possessions of power and people in London just didn't care he was captured arrested and eventually executed for treason the Essex Rebellion is a clear example of Elizabeth's power stumbling by the end of her rule regardless she managed to keep England stable following Henry VII's break from Rome in 1534 England experienced several years of religious upheaval and the establishment of national Catholicism a state backed version of Catholicism characterized by government control over spiritual matters this period saw a series of dramatic shifts from Henry's initial creation of the Church of England to the Protestant reforms of Edward I 6 and the Bloody Catholic comeback during Mary the first Reign England was undoubtedly a Christian Nation but within Christianity people disagreed on exactly what practices and beliefs to follow when Elizabeth ascended to the throne she had to deal not only with the Christians but also with the Protestants who were returning from Exile after his sister's persecution worst of all the the returning Protestants didn't unanimously agree on what type of protestantism to follow some were Puritans other lutherans other Calvinists and even swingan but don't worry we're only going to focus on Catholic Protestants and Puritans so what do all these fancy names mean before continue we must understand the difference between the various religious beliefs in England at the time the Catholics believed that the Pope in Rome was the absolute head of the church followed by Cardinals Bishops and Priests on the contrary Protestants did not follow the pope but still believed in the importance of archbishops and Bishops and the extreme Puritans didn't think any of them were necessary Christians believed that the church was a link between God and the people and had the authority to forgive sins in contrast Protestants and Puritans believed that this connection with God was only between the individual and God who was the only Authority that could forgive sins these two groups disagreed on several more issues Christians believed in the seven sacraments and Protestants and Puritans only in two Christians believe Services should only be held in the Original Latin and Priests should wear fancy clothes while Protestants and Puritans thought that they should be in English and priest should wear simple clothes Christians believed that priest should remain celibate while Protestants and Puritans allowed them to marry and geographically these groups also lived in different parts of the Isles with Christians centered in the north and west of England and Protestants and Puritans living within the South and the West I could go on and on about these differences but what you should know is that these differences had divided and increased tensions in England so now that we understand the significance of these terms what were Elizabeth's personal religious beliefs as mentioned in the last episode Elizabeth was raised under her father's Protestant values and was influenced by Henry v8's sixth wife the Protestant Catherine par but Elizabeth also conformed to his sister's strict Catholic rule so Elizabeth's exact religious stance remains somewhat of an enigma as she didn't elaborate much on her beliefs kambridge historian Richard Rex characterizes her approach to religion as designed to elicit particular responses from particular audiences at particular times which basically means that she was an opportunist still sufficient evidence suggest that Elizabeth the was both religious and interested in protestantism in 1559 much of English population still followed Catholic beliefs and practices therefore Elizabeth adopted religious policies that did not turn away Catholics and drive them against her regime unlike her sister's Mary's methods Elizabeth did not persecute Catholics well except for those who threatened her rule as we'll see in the second half of this video still Elizabeth was smart and she understood that she could not allow Catholicism to dominate England she knew that from the Catholic point of view she was nothing more than an IL legitimate bastard child as her father's divorce from Katherine of Iran was never recognized by the pope as the Elizabethan religious settlements proed the queen still cared about influencing her religious values in English society so let's take a look at what these settlements changed and how they attempted to appease different religious groups in England the Elizabethan religious settlements established in 1559 aimed to firmly position Elizabeth Protestant views in English Christianity and remove the Pope's Authority from England while at the same time seeking to appease Catholics Puritans and other Protestant groups such as Lu lutherans Calvinists and Sans Elizabeth hoped to compromise by passing several laws on how religion should run in England but we're only going to focus on the 1559 Act of uniformity and the 1559 Act of Supremacy the act of uniformity dealt with how the church was organized it made Church attendance mandatory on Sunday and holy days and creates the new book of common prayer although angering both Catholics and Puritans Elizabeth retains some Catholic Traditions which she hoped would keep everybody happy the act of Supremacy made Elizabeth the Supreme governor of the Church of England therefore all clergy and Royal officials had to swear an oath of allegiance to her eliminating the pope from the equation she specifically chose the wording Supreme Governor instead of supreme head to compromise with the extreme Catholics and Puritans who believed that a woman could not hold a position of such religious power also by making the clergy swear an oath Elizabeth could distinguish between loyal subjects and possible threats to her Reign and that's the perfect transition to the second part of this video which will discuss the instability and threats that followed these acts although Elizabeth attempted to play both by still allowing Catholic practices in private many Catholics in England were unhappy with Elizabeth settlements this discontent brw tensions and became a growing threat to Elizabeth's stability which first blew up with the 1569 Northern Rebellion but first we must discuss a crucial figure in Elizabeth's Reign Mary Queen of Scots Mary was Henry VII's great- granddaughter and Elizabeth's second cousin most importantly if you agree that Henry's divorce with Katherine of aragan was not allowed under Christianity and therefore Elizabeth was illegitimate Mary Queen of Scots was the legitimate heir to the throne of England Mary was the daughter of the Scottish King James I and the French Mary of Greece being James V's only daughter she became the Queen of Scotland at just six days of age at her mother's request she was sent to France at the age of five and raised Catholic she returned to Scotland in 1561 but her sheltered upbringing in France did not prepare her for the return to the highlands where the political landscape was quite hostile to her return after a series of tragic events including the possible assassination of her second husband Mary escaped and sought refuge in England only to be held captive by her cousin Elizabeth the for 18 years if you have to remember one thing about Mary Queen of Scots it is that she was Elizabeth's biggest threat and a pawn for many of Elizabeth's enemies to gain popular support and legitimacy so now that we know about Mary Queen of Scots Let Us return to the 1569 Northern Rebellion fueled by the alienation of Northern arrol and Elizabeth's reluctance to name an heir the Duke of Norfolk planned to marry Mery of Scots remove Elizabeth from power and with the assistance of Spain take over the now Catholic England at first the Revolt looked promising as the Duke of Norfolk and his 6,000 supporters took over and held mass in Durham cathedral but support from Spain never arrived a vast Army sent by Elizabeth crushed the revolt and 800 Rebels were put to death ending the northern Rebellion although the Revolt failed it proved that Mary was a legitimate threat to Elizabeth a year later in 1570 Elizabeth was excommunicated by the pope she was called the heretic and the pretend Queen which motivated Catholics around England to go against the Queen's role sparking up several rebellions in the years to come 1571 Italian Banker Roberto roli planned to assassinate Elizabeth and make Mary Queen he supposedly had the support from Philip II the Duke of Norfolk and Mary herself but William Cil discovered the plot and redoli was exiled never to return to England again as for the Duke of Norfolk this was his second offense and Elizabeth didn't hesitate to make an example of him by executing him in 1572 as for Mary Elizabeth decided to keep her alive as her execution could possibly in an alliance between France and Spain against England which Elizabeth could not afford in 1583 after a decade of relative peace a young Catholic lawyer Francis thort organized a plan to get the pope and Philip II to pay for the French army to invade England and replace Elizabeth with you guessed it Mary Queen of Scots however Walsingham Elizabeth bymaster who we learned about in the first episode discovered the so-called throckmort plot leading to the torture and execution of its Mastermind 3 years later in 1586 the Duke of geese who had collaborated with the previous plot once again planned to invade England murder Elizabeth and you guessed it again Place Mary Queen of Scots on the throne Philip II and the pope supported the rebellion and a Catholic named Anthony babington served as a connection by encrypting and sending letters to Mary I don't want to sound like a broken record but once again Walsingham intercepted the letter sent to Mary this time proving her direct connection and plot the plotters were arrested and hung and Elizabeth had had enough in October 1586 Mary was sent sentenced to death for treason still Elizabeth delayed her death as she did not wish to kill her cousin but on the 8th of February 1587 Mary Queen of Scots was executed the Catholics weren't Elizabeth's only threat the Puritans also posed challenges during her Reign the strict Protestant group initially accepted Elizabeth settlements but later campaigned for further reforms advocating for the Banning of activities like theater and gambling and promoting a simpler style of worship with no images or decoration in churches some of Elizabeth's closest advisers such as Walsingham and Robert Dudley were Puritans although they kept their beliefs to themselves while not as threatening as their Catholic counterparts Elizabeth became increasingly less accepting of Puritan ideas and practices by the late 1580s through a series of rules including prohibiting members of parliament from discussing religious matters without her permission and imposing punishments like fines and even cutting hands Elizabeth managed to control the group and mitigate any danger they post ithan Society is usually characterized by its extravagant Fashions exemplified by Queen Elizabeth herself its iconic and enduring theater spearheaded by William Shakespeare and its age of Discovery with explorers like Francis Drake leading expeditions to the new world and returning to England with immense riches if we pause the video here we might all conclude that the Elizabethan age was unquestionably a golden age but was it truly let's delve into life in Elizabethan society and English exploration an attempt to answer the question was the Elizabethan age generally a golden Age first let us examine the structure of Elizabethan Society for centuries it was common knowledge that one's position in society was divinely appointed with an unmovable pyramid-like structure ordained by God of course God was at the top followed by the Queen the Nobles peasants animals plants and then everything else however English society experienced significant social change during Elizabeth's Reign cities and towns like London grew with the population of England growing from 3 to 4 million during the last half of the 16th century yet 90% of the population still lived and survived in the countryside this caused the chain of divine appointments to undergo some changes which didn't significantly impact the poor but we'll discuss that later first let's look at the rise of the Gentry which became a key feature of Elizabeth in England the structure of society in the countryside was led by the nobility who owned most of the land below the nobility were the Gentry who owned smaller Estates then yman farmers who owned even smaller amounts of land and then tenant farmers who rented Land from the above below the land owners and renters were the common folk who had to work the land to provide for themselves and their families unlike the Nobles and everyone below them the Gentry didn't belong to fancy families and did not work the land instead there were Knights misters and gentlemen who lived in the countryside so how did this exclusive Club grow in size wealth and influence firstly Henry the's dissolution of the monasteries made about a quarter of the land in England available for purchase which greatly benefited the Gentry additionally increasing wealth from the new World Trade and exploration population GR growth and Rising prices helped the Gentry families multiply their fortunes Additionally the tutor family had become suspicious and felt threatened by some powerful noble families and so they revoked and gave out fewer titles the growing Gentry took advantage and filled this Gap notable figures like William Cil who originated from the Gentry and ascended to influential positions within elizab Bean's government are a perfect example of the rise of the Gentry this growth in the Gentry meant that more people had extra time and money and were Keen to sponsor architectural artistic and intellectual activities which became symbols of status the statutes of apparel passed in 1574 strictly controlled the clothes people were allowed to wear based on their social rank further solidifying societal structure and limiting social Mobility theater however was widely enjoyed throughout Elizabethan society as it appealed to people of all social classes Elizabethan theater mirrored the social hierarchy of English society commoners known as Groundlings stood in a pit to watch the place while the wealthier indiv indviduals such as Nobles the Gentry and Merchants occupied the higher and more comfortable seats as extraordinary talents emerged during this period theaters had to be constructed to accommodate the growing audiences leading to the construction of new theaters such as the globe notable playwrights of the time included the infamous William Shakespeare Christopher Marlo and Ben Johnson these plays reflected the society in which they were performed mirroring the crazy political landscape rigid social norms and religious tensions of Elizabeth in England the theater became very successful because it was cheap to attend and featured various themes including Shakespeare's historical plays Middleton's comedies and Marlo's tragedies but it wasn't all perfect for instance theater threatened the government as it was seen as a potential tool for influencing the people towards Revolution and misconduct this led to the increased censorship and requirements for licenses to control the content and messages in place Puritans also complained as they believed that theater encouraged drunken behavior and sinful habits such as prostitution yet the theater became a crucial part of Elizabethan lifestyle and plays written at the time such as Romeo and Juliet by William Shakespeare are still widely recognized to this day although the rice of the Gentry and the thriving theater scene characterize the Elizabethan era as prosperous and culturally vibrant many particularly the laboring classes remained relatively poor and struggled to survive inflation diseases poor harvests Rising prices and declining wages created horrid conditions and challenges for Ordinary People leading some to homelessness and even becoming vagabonds as they wandered around for work and occasionally resorted to begging for survival there were many reasons for these conditions monasteries for centuries provided help for the poor until their dissolution under Henry VII now those struggling had no support this combined with the preference for growing wool instead of food poor harvests and population growth led to a food shortage England's main expert of wool to the Netherlands was also disrupted by the Dutch Independence Wars against their Spanish overlords these economic challenges primarily affected the lower levels of society while those at the the top remained largely unaffected but that doesn't mean nothing was done the Government tried to address the increasing poverty through different strategies and loss some successful While others only worsened the situation before Elizabeth measures were already in place to Aid the less fortunate such as Charities and the poor rate a local text overseen by the justices of peace that aimed to improve the life of the poor the statue of artifices implemented in 1563 imprisoned those who refused to pay the poor rate and the 1576 poor Relief act required the justices of peace to provide the poor with wool and raw materials to build with the 1601 poor L act categorized individuals based on their capacity to work and offered support accordingly the elderly and the sick who couldn't work were sent to poor houses where they were taken care of while those who could work were sent to workhouses to sustain themselves although not eradicating poverty these laws attempted to Aid the poor and marked the state's first significant step into helping the poor with welfare still the Elizabeth and age was definitely not a golden age for the common folk let's talk about English Sailors and Explorations during Elizabeth's Reign after the discovery of America by Christopher Columbus in 1492 English Sailors were involved in Exploration colonization the Looting of Spanish ships the sale of goods in West Africa and the extremely profitable and unethical slave trade John Hawkings was England's first slave trader known for his expertise in kidnapping West Africans and selling them as slaves in the new world between 1562 and 1567 Hawkings and his cousin Francis Drake whom we will talk about in a minute made three trips to West Africa during these Expeditions they captured an estimated 1,300 African people transporting them in terrible and lethal conditions across the Atlantic and selling them to the Spanish these initial Expeditions helped to build what we know today as the Triangular Trade which involves taking slaves from West Africa and selling them to the West Indies and then buying sugar cotton and tobacco to take back to England Francis Drake a colleague and cousin of John Hawkings was a sea captain Privateer Navigator slave trader and politician ated by profit technological advancements and Adventure Drake embarked on a journey from December 1577 to September 1580 initially aimed at raiding Spanish colonies in the Pacific instead he became the second person to ever circumnavigate the globe leading to Queen Elizabeth nighing him for his achievements as he had improved England's reputation in the seas and oceans Additionally the discovery of direct roots to India in the Far East introduced the trade of spices silks porcelain perfume and tea culminating in the establishment of several International English companies these included the movia company set to trade with Moscow in Russia the Levant company in the Middle East and the East India company established in 1600 England also ventured into colonization for the first time under the leadership of nobleman and Explorer Walter Riley after a successful military expedition to Ireland in 1580 Riley gained enormous favor and Trust from Elizabeth the this led to his appointment as captain of the Queen's guard the highest office at court Queen Elizabeth granted Riley a royal Charter in 1584 along allowing him to explore and colonize non-Christian lands in return for 1/5th of all the gold and silver acquired Riley's initiative in securing funding for New World Expeditions inspired future Explorations and changed England's colonization strategies leading to increased Investments through joint stock companies in 1592 Riley's secret marriage led to his expulsion from court and imprisonment in the Tower of London yet Riley managed to regain the Queen's favor as he successfully captured gadii in 1597 for the majority of early tutor history Spain and England had remained on friendly terms the Treaty of Medina Delo the marriage of Katherine of aragan with Henry VII and their hatred for the French had United the kingdoms for Mutual benefit this Alliance continued to prosper when Philip II and Elizabeth's sister Queen Mary the married in 1554 and embarked in a romantic war against the French until 1559 after Mary's death Elizabeth ascended to the throne and at first maintained amicable relations with Philip he even convinced the pope not to excommunicate Elizabeth in 1558 however if we fast forward to 1585 the two former allies had begun a resentful War across the seas and oceans so how did we get to this point Charles the 5th the Holy Roman Emperor and king of Spain abdicated in 1555 dividing his territories among his sons Ferdinand became Holy Roman Emperor while Philip became king of Spain inheriting territories in Italy the new world and the hburg lands in the Netherlands these Dutch territories became the focal point of the outbreak of War and the creation of the Spanish Armada as we mentioned in the last episode the Netherlands was a essential to the English economy being England's primary trade partner for the growing export of wo Additionally the Netherlands was strategically important as a continental army could be sent from the port of antor in a mere day to invade England at any time when Charles I Ruled these territories they were allowed considerable self-government however when Philip II took over in 1556 he opted for a Hands-On approach as anti- Catholic sentiment grew in the area the outbreak of protestant Dutch resistance to Catholics in 1566 and subsequent embargo surved damaged both the English and Dutch economies and Spanish Anglo relations as Elizabeth was uneased when a Spanish Army of 10,000 soldiers which later grew to 50,000 landed in the Netherlands to control their Revolt as this was seen as a national security threat to England yet Elizabeth was hesitant about this war as it would break her fundamental policy of straying away from foreign Continental conflict also common opinion at the time Associated war with manly leaders such as Henry VII so their overspending was often ignored or even encouraged but if if Elizabeth was to have an expensive War the reactions would be pretty negative and maybe even lead to Revolution but as we already know the war started in 1585 so let's take a look at the six wait seven reasons that pushed Elizabeth to declare war on her ex- brother-in-law Philip II and England's old Ally first religion you probably already know this one if you've seen episode 2 but Elizabeth was a Protestant and so was England after her religious settlements and Philip and Spain were a deeply Catholic Nation therefore both so each other's Rel religion as wrong and as a threat to their National Security but if we were to ask Philip himself what he resented most about Elizabeth he would probably mention another reason as after the death of Elizabeth's sister and Philip's wife Mary the first he hoped to maintain his influence in England and remain in the family by marrying Elizabeth however he was painfully rejected fostering bitterness towards Elizabeth and the English royal family in the 1560s as trade became increasingly common throughout the new world several attacks occurred across the Atlantic mostly incited by English ships on the Spanish Cambridge historian Richard Rex describes these as the Marine equivalent of Border incidents as the English attempted to assert themselves throughout the world's oceans these conflicts which could easily be described as an act of piracy escalated throughout the end of the 16th century with English Sailors such as Hawkings and Drake targeting and stealing Treasures from the Spanish ships in the new world surprisingly Elizabeth also participated in these acts of piracy in 1568 she ordered the seizure of a Spanish ship stationed in Southampton destined to the Netherlands this ship was crucial for the Spanish as it was carrying a loan from Italian Bankers that HED to support the Spanish struggle in the area but Elizabeth played the cards right claiming that since the ship hadn't technically reached the Netherlands she was stealing from the Italians and not the Spanish and thus adopting an anti-papal stance rather than directly attacking Philip and his efforts these attacks were mostly driven by easy financial gain but significantly and needlessly escalated tensions between England and Spain Philip was Furious as from his point of view Elizabeth encouraged participated and rewarded this Behavior the needed him to involve himself in English internal struggles but first in 1580 Philip would get a significant boost as the list of successors for the Portuguese Throne was in a critical situation the lucky and opportunistic Philip whose mother was Portuguese took advantage of the situation claiming the throne and after a small scuffle Incorporated Portugal into his Empire this created the most powerful and extensive Empire the world had ever seen making him the richest and most powerful man in the world with this vast power also came vast Ambitions and to Catholic England was one of them the arrival of Mary Queen of Scots a Catholic Contender of Elizabeth in 1568 allowed Philip the perfect opportunity to stick his nose in English Affairs and attempt to Dethrone Elizabeth from his Palace in ales Corel we went through all these plots in detail in episode 3 but if you remember Philip attempted to support plots to restore Catholicism in England as there is evidence that he aided financed and supported the 1571 rolfy plot the 1583 thore plot and the 1586 babington plot when Mary Queen of Scots was assass at in 1587 Philip lost his legitimate option to Dethrone Elizabeth without armed conflict with France and Civil War they were no longer a threat and England and Spain the traditional enemies of the French now found their historic Alliance unnecessary although some of Elizabeth's advisers entertained the notion of a French British alliance against the Spanish as the Dutch conflict impacted the National Security of both England and France Elizabeth never took this idea seriously eat a tree from did you eat after a lot of hesitation Elizabeth finally moved the First Pawn induced by the rebels loss of Anor which placed England directly in sight of his Spanish invasion in 1585 the Earl of Lester LED an army of 6,000 men to support the Dutch Rebels against Philip II Elizabeth had fully committed to the war however the ear of Lester proved to be an inept military commander having no real experience in Continental Warfare but it was enough to slow down Spanish armies in the Netherlands at first Philip also hesitated as he hoped to avoid direct conflict with England his Focus was instead on defeating and expelling the Muslim navies and armies of the Mediterranean and taking full military and religious control of his Dutch territories yet Elizabeth's bold move to side with the Dutch Rebels proved too much for philli who gave instructions to start building the largest Fleet ever seen in Europe also known as the Spanish Armada Philip who probably jinxed it called it Lada invinci or the Invincible Armada as hopes and motivations were over the roof to invade England and finally restore Catholicism preparations for the attack occupied most of 1587 but were set back by Francis Drake who raided kith that same year yet ignoring the initial sign Philip decided to send 130 ships and around 20,000 men cross the English Channel to meet up with 27,000 more men to invade England before we begin talking about the events that unfolded I wanted to clarify that these have been very debated dramatized and romanticized by both British and Spanish historians I've attempted to use sources from both sides to try and give you the real events of how it all went down when the Spanish Armada left the port of Lisbon on May 28th it was met by its major rival the weather as they had to stop their trip to seek refuge in Galia the Armada regrouped and set sail to the English Channel again and when on July 19th word came that the Armada had been cited Elizabeth was petrified as although the British did have the defensive advantage and remarkable experience fighting in the sea if the Spanish were to successfully land on the English Shores Spanish Army way more experienced in Continental Warfare would have probably overrun the weak Inland defenses and possibly conquer England the initial Expedition throughout the English Channel was actually going quite well the strongholds of the Spanish ships and their tight formation were his sight to behold and philli thought that this would be enough as he believed that the presence of such a large Fleet would be sufficient to force Elizabeth into peace but oh boy was he wrong some historians agree that the battle was lost even before it started due to the lack of shelter and treacherous Waters despite having a chance to attack the English under favorable conditions the Spanish command stuck to the initial plan the English Fleet positioned itself behind the Spanish and on July 31st 1588 began attacking them but from a distance as the English avoided close combat as they were inferior and would rather use their longrange cannons this was 9 days of combat that would decide the whole conflict as the English knew that if the Spanish Armada reached the Flemish Coast the campaign would be lost yet the Armada persisted the English Channel which is shaped like a funnel forced the Spanish forward and the strong winds combined with longrange attacks hindered any Spanish attempt to land in England anyways the fleet still needed to pick up their forces waiting in Dutch territories so on July 27th the Spanish decided to Anchor engrav lines near calal this left the Armada vulnerable and packed together marking a decisive moment in the battle the English command made a desperate but brilliant decision sending fire ships filled with anything that would burn including gunpowder towards the Armada the results were devastating for the Spanish who had to quickly cut their anchors and flee to avoid losing their entire fleet after another battle the wind forced the Spanish to return by navigating around the British Isles where the forces of nature delivered the final blow to Philip's hopeful plan this 40 day voage was horrible and destroyed a portion of the Armada as the harsh storms of the Scottish and Irish coasts caused several shipwrecks but still a surprising amount of boats returned to the port of Santander many English people believed that the Invincible Armada had been defeated by the wrath of God Elizabeth's image was now remembered in a romantic and perfect light as she was hailed as the savior of her people many stories of the conflict end here but the attack of 1588 was not the only attempt at Seaborn attacks during the war Francis Drake attempted to launch a naval attack on Spain to fully destroy their Fleet once and for all with a fleet larger than the Spanish Armada itself but instead this attack suffered the greatest naval catastrophe in English History combat was also seen in the new world as the so-called Elizabeth and Sea Dogs continued to disrupt Spanish colonial trade the war was still ongoing when Elizabeth died after a short illness on March 24th 16003 at the age of 69 by the time of her death English involvement in the war was seen as a success as she was able to withhold her main foreign policy objective of national security so that's it I'll include a couple of past paper questions to finish the video so make sure to see if you can answer the questions comfortably if not rewatch the video thanks for watching and good luck e for