Elizabeth I was queen of England from 1558 to 1603. She never married but was a strong Protestant ruler who supported the arts. During her reign, England had various political conflicts with Catholic Spain over religion and trade, as well as with Catholic Scotland and Ireland. Shakespeare's plays were popular during this time and performed regularly for the queen, though their relationship was professional rather than close. The character of Portia in The Merchant of Venice shares similarities with Elizabeth I as a strong female leader.

1. Elizabeth I and the Politics of
the Elizabethan Era
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2. Who was Elizabeth I?
Elizabeth I was the
queen of England from
1558 to 1603.
She became queen at
the age of 25.
She died on 24 March
1603 (aged 69) .

3. Religion
She was a Protestant.
Her strong belief in the religion
Protestant has given her much
trouble with other countries.

4. The queen
When she was the queen, she had
more power than a modern day
president or prime minister.
She often disagreed with the
Parliament.
She ruled England from Whitehall
in London.

5. Her family
Elizabeth was the daughter of King
Henry VIII and his second wife,
Anne Boleyn.

6. Her marriage
She never married.
Parliament wanted her to get married
so that she would have children and
that the king or queen would remain
protestant.

7. Elizabeth and Literature
Like other rich people at that time,
she was a patroness of poetry, drama,
music and the crafts.
She was a very gifted scholar who was
an accomplished linguist with the
ability to speak several languages
Hence there was a widespread
increase in literacy and great
achievements in the arts, and many
great poets and playwrights emerged

8. Elizabethan Politics
International relations do not come easily…
There are always the pros…
And the conflicts…

9. Elizabethan Politics
•So we will embark on this mini tour
•To learn of Elizabeth’s England’s politics…
•And Elizabeth’s England’s allies…
•And its foes…

10. Netherlands
Alliance
England forged alliance with Netherlands (an ally)
August 14, 1585 - Queen Elizabeth issues a
declaration taking the Netherlands under her
protection
December 8, 1585 - Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of
Leicester (close friend of Elizabeth) leads the
English army to fight the Spanish forces who are
occupying the Netherlands
In return, Netherlands helped fight the Spanish
Armanda when the English fleet was in peril

11. Netherlands and England
Scene 1—Spanish forces occupying Netherlands

12. Netherlands and England
Scene 2—England helps Dutch fight off the Spanish forces
+

13. Netherlands and England
Scene 3—Dutch assisted England to fend off the
Spanish Armanda invasion
+
VS

14. Spain
Conflicts
Differences in religion between Protestant England
and Catholic Spain
The triumph of the England’s new Protestant
church angered the King of Spain, Philip II
Competition in trade Anglo-Spanish War from
1585-1604
Elizabeth refused Philip II’s hand in marriage and
caused a terrible shock to his personal pride
The sturdy independence of the English people
was a severe blow to his pride of country.

15. Spain
Actions that caused/resulted from conflicts
England privateers/pirates plundered from Spain’s
treasure ships who protested and demanded
restitution. Elizabeth refused.
King Philip II’s hatred turned into determination to
conquer England. He started on his preparation for
war against England
1588, August 8-The amazing and renowned
Spanish Armada of 132 ships was defeated by the
English fleet of 34 ships and 163 armed merchant
vessels with the help of Dutch army who helped to
ward off Spanish reinforcements.

16. England & Spain
Protestant England VS Catholic Spain
King
Queen VS Philip II
Elizabeth

17. Scotland
Conflicts
Religious reasons---Protestant England and
Catholic Scotland could not get along

18. Scotland
Actions linked to Conflicts
Elizabeth cancelled a meeting with Mary, Queen of
Scots because of Mary’s continued attacks of
French Protestants (in fact they never met)
The Catholic Mary Queen of Scots was imprisoned
by Elizabeth I

19. Scotland
Actions linked to Conflicts
Many protestants wanted to replace Queen
Elizabeth with Queen Mary whom they think
should be the rightful heir to the throne of England.
Babington Plot:
Sir Francis Walsingham discovered Anthony
Babington’s plot to assassinate Queen Elizabeth
and replace her with Mary Queen of Scots, leading
to the execution of Queen Mary on 8 February
1587

20. Ireland (9 Years War)
AKA Tyrone’s Rebellion
Irish and Spain against Elizabeth I’s
England
Conflict between Hugh O’Neill’s ambitions
to control Ireland and England’s advance
on Ireland
Ireland’s previous religion was Catholic.
Strength was about 14000 vs 17000 men

21. Ireland
War ended with Irish defeat on March 1603
O’Neill and other Irish commanders
received good terms from the new King,
James I
They were given full control of their estates and
granted full pardons, but they must remain loyal
to England from then.
Elizabeth I had died a week before the
surrender.

22. Roman Catholic Church
Conflicts
It is obvious that religious conflicts occurred
between Roman Catholic Church and Protestant
England
During the English Reformation, many
monasteries and churches were dissolved or
destroyed.
Mary Queen then reunited the Church of England
with the Roman Catholic Church and persecuted
protestants

23. Roman Catholic Church
Elizabeth I then enforced the act of supremacy
Act of supremacy prevented Catholics from getting
high positions or being teachers
Elizabeth I tried to eliminate the Catholic Church
but Catholics in Ireland resisted her efforts
The main religion was thus changed into
Protestant
This is in direct contrast with Spain’s catholic
religion and the Roman Catholic Church

24. Roman Catholic Church
Northumberland plot
Plot to overthrow Queen Elizabeth I, but
failed
Pope Pius V decided to help the rebels,
resulting in even more distrust by
Elizabeth I towards the Catholics.

25. Shakespeare’s Relationship with
Queen Elizabeth I
?

26. Shakespeare’s Relationship with
Queen Elizabeth I
During her reign, Queen Elizabeth I regularly
invited Shakespeare and his acting company, The
Lord Chamberlain’s Men, later The King’s Men, to
perform in her court. Because of this, many people
tend to assume that the queen had a very close
relationship with Shakespeare. However, this is
not true.
There is little historical evidence that Shakespeare
talked much to Queen Elizabeth, let alone be close
to her.

27. Shakespeare’s Relationship with
Queen Elizabeth I
Elizabeth I very much liked Shakespeare’s plays,
and stood against the puritans who wished to
close down the theatres. She was an active and
generous patron of the theatre. Without her
support, the Elizabethan theatres would not have
survived.
During Elizabeth’s reign, court performances by
acting companies were popularised by her and
Shakespeare's company was selected to perform
in her court more than any other company.

28. Shakespeare’s Relationship with
Queen Elizabeth I
Indeed, the Queen was very fond of
Shakespeare’s plays. According to historical
sources, the Lord Chamberlain's Men performed
at court thirty-two times, compared to thirty-
seven performances by all other companies
combined.
One of Shakespeare’s plays that Elizabeth saw
was Henry IV, Part One. Apparently, the Queen
liked the character of Falstaff so much that she
asked Shakespeare to write a play that showed
the character in love. At the Queen’s insistence,
Shakespeare revived Falstaff in the play The
Merry Wives of Winsdor.

29. Shakespeare’s Relationship with
Queen Elizabeth I
However, it appears that Shakepeare worked for
the Queen as she demanded but there is no
indication that their relationship was closer than
that.
In a modern context, their relationship would be
similar to a employer- employee relationship. The
two had no close relationship with one another and
did not know each other personally.

30. Compare Elizabeth I to Portia:
how is Portia’s character a tribute
to Elizabeth I?

31. Portia
Portia is the lead female in the
Merchant of Venice play
She is also the heroine who saves
the day when she finds a fault in the
contract given by Shylock and forces
Shylock to drop the charges against
Antonio.

32. Portia
She is very much like an independent
woman who has rose to such high
ranks like today’s Michelle Obama or
Condolezza Rice.
She is a strong-headed woman.

33. Queen Elizabeth I
Queen Elizabeth I had the same character as
Portia.
Perhaps Portia was an inspiration drawn from as
well as a tribute paid to Elizabeth I who was a
patron of Shakespeare’s works.
Queen Elizabeth I had been famous for the defeat
of the Spanish Armada
She had also created an Elizabethan Era in which
English dramas and plays had flourished during
this period.

34. Queen Elizabeth I
She is celebrated as the ruler of a golden age.
Her work on the throne is enormous and helped to
give England its own identity.
She was a successful monarch and also another
strong woman like Portia. The Pope once
commented, "She is only a woman, only mistress
of half an island."

35. Comparing Portia to Queen
Elizabeth 1
Unmarried Married
Dogged survivor, in an Portia mentioned this
age when government famous quote about
was ramshackle and mercy." The quality of
limited and when mercy is not strain'd,
monarchs in It droppeth as the gentle
neighbouring countries rain from heaven
faced internal problems Upon the place beneath.
that jeopardised their It is twice blest:
thrones. It blesseth him that gives
and him that takes.”

36. Comparing Portia to Queen
Elizabeth 1
Smart, defeated the When Portia wanted to
Spanish Armada help Antonio, she
during her rule. came up with this
Heiress of the England Christian moral to let
Empire Shylock have a
chance to show some
mercy first rather than
need compulsion to
show it.
Heiress of Belmont

38. References
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elizabeth_I_of_England Retrieved 18 May 2009.
The Merchant of Venice by William Shakespeare edited by Robert Wilks
Elizabeth R http://www.elizabethi.org by Heather Thomas (M.Phil)
1998-2009 retrieved 19 May 2009.
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/elizabethan-age.htm
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/the-spanish-armada.htm
http://www.elizabethan-era.org.uk/queen-elizabeth-i.htm

39. THE END