In the Days of Queen Elizabeth
Historical Note
THE reign of Queen Elizabeth (1558-1603) was a period
of great glory. The discoveries of her bold
sea-captains, Drake, Frobisher, and others, widened the
boundaries of the world, commerce flourished, the East
India Company and other great trading corporations
sprang into existence, and the wealth of England grew
apace.
In 1568, Mary, Queen of Scots, fled to England, but was
imprisoned by order of Elizabeth. During her long
confinement several conspiracies were devised by the
Catholics to set her on the throne in place of
Elizabeth. In one of these she was implicated, and
after some hesitation, Elizabeth signed a warrant for
her execution. To avenge her death, and restore
Catholicism, which had been superseded in England by
Protestantism on the accession of Elizabeth, Philip II
of Spain prepared to invade England. English troops had
aided the Netherlanders in their revolt against Spanish
rule, English freebooters had looted the Spanish
treasure-ships returning from the New World, and to
make the punishment for all these offenses swift and
sure, a fleet was prepared for the invasion so powerful
that it was christened the "Invincible Armada." But the
confidence of Spain was short-lived; the Armada was
defeated by the English fleet; the work of destruction
begun by Drake, Howard, and Hawkins was completed by
the storm-swept Atlantic; and only one third of the
mighty Armada returned to tell Philip of the disaster
that marks the beginning of the downfall of Spanish
supremacy in Europe.
The Elizabethan period is called the Golden Age of
English literature. The old mystery plays continued far
into Elizabeth's reign; but the drama was fast coming
to its own. High among the poets and dramatists are
Spenser, Jonson, and Marlowe, while above them all
towers the figure of Shakespeare, the crowning glory of
the Elizabethan age.
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