Queen elizabeth i

Elizabeth I's most important achievements

  • 1558

    Her reign provided a period of stability and peace in England

    She is the ninth longest reigning British monarch. The reign of Elizabeth I, known as the Elizabethan era, was a period in which England enjoyed stability and internal peace. During the Elizabethan Era, the nation is considered to have been more prosperous than most of the nations in Europe with only Spain being their major rival.
  • 1558

    She brought about the famous Elizabethan Religious Settlement

    The Act of Supremacy of 1558 was passed which re-established Church of England’s independence from Rome and gave her the title of Supreme Governor of the Church of England. The following year, the Act of Uniformity was passed which found a middle ground by which the Church of England was moderately Protestant but also continued many of the Catholic traditions.
  • 1558

    Period of great English exploration

    The primary motive for the Queen for encouraging exploration was to open profitable trading routes. Sir Francis Drake is perhaps the most famous navigator of the period. He was authorized by Queen Elizabeth I to carry out expeditions to raid Spanish treasure ships in the New World. Other prominent explorers of the Elizabethan era include Sir Walter Raleigh, Sir John Hawkins, Sir Humphrey Gilbert, Sir Richard Greenville and Sir Martin Frobisher.
  • 1558

    One of the most splendid ages in English literature

    From the advent of her reign, Elizabeth I was a major patron of the stage, and drama flourished under her support. She invited theatre companies to perform at her palaces, thus increasing their reputation. She also prevented the shutting down of the London theatres on the basis of their “immorality.” Most famous writers of the age include William Shakespeare, Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, Edmund Spenser, Sir Philip Sidne, John Lyly and Thomas Nashe.
  • Jul 29, 1558

    England famously defeated the great Spanish Armada during her reign

  • 1559

    Queen of England and Ireland

  • 1574

    Her policies cleared debt and provided economic prosperity