Ap Euro Elizabeth Dbq

The daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn, Elizabeth I was a member of the once prominent and powerful Tudor family. The reign of Elizabeth, preceded by the reigns of her half-siblings Edward VI and Mary I, was a prosperous time for England, and it brought much success and stability to the nation. This period also saw the formation of many new ideas such as misogynistic criticisms against the queen, which contrasted with the support she received from other English citizens. Elizabeth responded to these ideas by establishing her dominance and demonstrating her capability as a ruler over her dominion.

          One of the challenges that Elizabeth faced during her rule was the criticism that she attracted due to the fact that she was a woman.  Many sexist ideas arose claiming that women rulers were against nature and that Elizabeth’s supremacy was invalid due to the fact she was a woman (1,2). John Knox, a religious reformer of Scotland, used scripture as the basis of his argument that women should not be able rule. This was probably due to the fact that the reformed Christian religion he pioneered in Scotland (Presbyterianism, which is a form of Calvinism) strove to adhere strictly to the bible. His statement may also stem from the fact that Elizabeth’s predecessor, who was also a woman, persecuted and executed many Protestants, an act that he greatly opposed. Nicholas Heath’s statements in a debate before the House of Lords reverberates the statements of Knox and clearly illustrate Heath’s contempt toward the idea of a female ruler. Many of these oppositions came from members of the clergy such as bishops and priests (5,7). In The Second Book of Homilies, bishops of the Church made it clear that they believed in the subservience of wives to their husbands.  This can be attributed to the fact that members of the clergy are usually on the conservative side.  Another clergy member Edward Rishton, who was a catholic priest, displayed his contempt for Elizabeth because she had become more important to the lay people than God and he was displeased with that. 

        Despite the vilification Elizabeth received, she also garnered much support during her reign as queen of England. Much of the praise that she received came from citizens who directly worked for her such as personal chaplains and personal surgeons (9, 10). William Tooker, Elizabeth’s personal chaplain, chronicled a touching ceremony where Elizabeth used her “royal touch” to cure skin diseases such as the struma. Similarly, William Clowes, Elizabeth’s personal surgeon, gave laudatory statements of her healing powers told all of England to pray to God to give the queen a long life. Both of these statements are very much biased due to the fact that both of the authors of these documents worked for the queen. They probably were unable to criticize her in any way for fear of losing their jobs or being executed.  These supporters accepted Elizabeth’s political power, claiming that she was supreme ruler of England and that it was ok for England to have a woman ruler (3, 4).