Week 20
During our third evening discussing Elizabeth I, we will turn to the incredible story of The Armada of 1588. In 1587-88, one nation, Spain, led by Elizabeth's former brother-in-law, Philip II, took on the task of overthrowing the government of England. This was most unusual. Although Europeans nations warred with one another almost continually, there was a certain code among sovereigns that recognized that they were all in the same boat. And that a certain respect for the power of sovereigns required that one king treat with another king or queen as legitimate and as fellow royalty. In many cases they were also "family." The decision of King Philip II of Castile to organize a naval fleet of many hundreds of ships and thousands of soldiers set up one of the most important confrontations in all of early modern history. The two parties were badly mismatched. The population and territory of Spain was several times that of England. And the resources of the government of Spain drew on the riches of almost the whole world. England was small and its government was weak. All observers predicted the defeat and destruction of the government of Queen Elizabeth I. That the outcome of the Battle of 1588 was different than expected is owed to the leadership genius of one of the greatest sovereigns in all of European history.
SEE BELOW A LINK TO A COPY OF THE ELIZABETH CHRONOLOGY.
It will print out to 6 pages. Use this in place of the previous PDF I sent out. I have corrected some dates on this PDF.
REQUIRED READING:
Elizabeth I: Collected Works,
Janel Mueller, Mary Beth Rose,
University of Chicago Press; 1 edition (May 1, 2002),
ISBN 0226504654