Why Is Elizabeth 1 Important

Queen Elizabeth I of England, also known as the Virgin Queen and the Faerie Queen from one of Edmund Spenser many poems, was a very influential person. She kept England from war for the 30 years of her 44 year-long reign and solved many problems that England had at the time. She improved England and art gained importance during her rule. It was under her rule that England became a leading world power. There are many reasons why Elizabeth I is the most influential person from the Renaissance and here are some of them.

Elizabeth was born on September 7, 1533 in Greenwich, England. Her parents were King Henry VIII and his second wife, Anne Boleyn. Henry the VIII had six wives and wanted a son. This want for a son led Henry VIII to make his two oldest daughters Mary and Elizabeth illegitimate, making sure his son Edward would become king. Elizabeth “received tutoring and excelled at languages and music,” leading to her love of the arts later in life. After her sister, “gained the support of the English people and unseated Grey after only nine days on the throne,” Mary set on to bring the Roman Catholic Church back to England. As Elizabeth “went along with the religious change, she remained a candidate for the throne for those who wanted a return to Protestantism.“ Although Elizabeth may have hoped to use Mary’s strategy of gaining the support of the people to unseat whoever is on the
throne to become queen herself, she did not become queen until 5 years later when Mary died.

Elizabeth had many achievements and contributions to the Renaissance.
Her army’s “defeat the infamous Spanish Armada in 1588” which caused her to win the war. If she had not defeated Spain then they would had taken over England and that would had changed history because there would no longer be an England. Elizabeth also “called for the passage of the Act of Supremacy, which re-established the Church of England.” The Church of England was the Church her father Henry VIII first established. These were just some of Elizabeth’s many contributions to the
Renaissance.

Elizabeth faced many challenges during her reign. One of them was from Mary Stuart, queen of Scots. Mary “was considered by many English Catholics to be the rightful monarch of England.” This caused tension between Elizabeth and Mary. Elizabeth “jailed her cousin in 1567” on charges of being connected with many assassination attempts and “kept Mary imprisoned for nearly 20 years before she finally agreed to have her cousin executed in 1587.” There had been many people who wanted the throne for themselves and Elizabeth stopped them all from getting the throne.

Elizabeth never married, just like she wanted and even “skillfully kept marriage negotiations going for months, even years” with different people in France and Spain to avoid war. She also made room in her schedule to enjoy the arts. She “enjoyed dancing and watching plays” in her free time. One of her goals was to improve England, which she did. When she first became queen France was at war with England and there were tension in religion, she “acted swiftly to address these two pressing issues,” which helped England become stronger.

Elizabeth I is still studied today because of her role in the Renaissance. If she had not won or avoided so many wars then our history would be very different. Elizabeth was a strong leader and improved England in many ways. One of them is that art “flourished during Elizabeth's time with the creation of works by such greats as William Shakespeare and Christopher Marlowe.” Elizabeth I is still studied today because she was influential and changed England for the better in many ways, which also changed Europe and our world.

Elizabeth I was the most influential person from the Renaissance. She always used things to her advantage. It was under her ruler that England became powerful. Elizabeth even managed to avoid wars during most of her reign. The most influential person from the Renaissance is Queen Elizabeth I of England without a doubt.