Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada

Queen Elizabeth I has been thought out to be one of England's greatest monarchs. Although not having the same temper as her father, she was courageous and had a deep love for her country. Elizabeth was popular with her people and was very involved with all conflicts. In one battle, Good Queen Bess went against all odds and defeated the very edgy Philip of Spain and his Armada. This is understood to be Elizabeth's greatest victory, and also when she reached her peak of power.

The story begins with Philip II, the ruler of Spain and a strong Catholic. Philip had had previous ties with Elizabeth before she took the throne. He was the husband of her late sister Mary. Mary, also a Catholic, forced her religion upon her people. Her reign was not a long one, and she died young. Elizabeth, being next on Henry's Order of Succession took hold of the English throne, pushing Philip out of control. Elizabeth made changes among England. One of which was the church. She did not continue with the Catholic Church, but developed one of her own, Anglican. Philip was anything but happy about this, his religion was important to him and he wanted England back the way it was (Snellgrove, 131). Yet another act of Elizabeth angered Philip. She had sent English troops to fight alongside the Dutch in their revolt. The icing on the cake was how she handled her conflict with Mary Queen of Scots. Mary was claiming the English throne and also posing as a threat to Elizabeth. Elizabeth was strongly urged to execute Mary, she was reluctant and really did not want to but ended up killing her anyway. All the while, Philip was finishing his plans of what he wanted to do with England. He had finally decided to attack.