Antoine Lavoisier

Empirical evidence on this point varies in reliability and is difficult to evaluate.[1]. Elizabeth also adopted one of her mother's mottoes, Semper Eadem ("Always the Same"). Standard biographies have never mentioned the incident, and some biologists have expressed skepticism that it would be possible. Whilst her Tudor predecessors had used a gold lion and a red dragon as heraldic supporters, Elizabeth used a gold lion and a gold dragon. The story may be apocryphal. Elizabeth's arms were the same as those used by Henry IV: Quarterly, Azure three fleurs-de-lys Or (for France) and Gules three lions passant guardant in pale Or (for England). Supposedly, Lavoisier decided to blink as many times as possible, and had an assistant count the blinks, which numbered between 15 and 20. Prior to that time she was referred to as Queen Elizabeth.

A story relates how Lavoisier arranged a final experiment at his death intended to determine whether and for how long a severed head remains conscious after decapitation. She has been retroactively known as Queen Elizabeth I since the accession of Elizabeth II in 1952. Lavoisier's real memorial is chemistry itself. The supremacy phrase was never actually restored, and "etc." remained in the style, to be removed only in 1801. The statue was melted down during the Second World War and has never been replaced. It was inserted into the style with a view to restoring the phrase "of the Church of England and also of Ireland in Earth Supreme Head", which had been added by Henry VIII but later removed by Mary I. Lack of money prevented alterations being made and, in any case, the French argued pragmatically that all men in wigs looked alike anyway. Whilst most of the style matched the styles of her predecessors, Elizabeth I was the first to use "etc.".

It was later discovered that the sculptor had not actually copied Lavoisier's head for the statue, but used a spare head of the Marquis de Condorcet, the Secretary of the Academy of Sciences during Lavoisier's last years. Elizabeth I used the official style "Elizabeth, by the Grace of God, Queen of England, France and Ireland, Fidei defensor, etc.". About a century after his death, a statue of Lavoisier was erected in Paris. "Majesty", which Henry VIII first used on a consistent basis, did not become exclusive until the reign of Elizabeth's successor, James I. When his private belongings were delivered to his widow, a brief note was included reading "To the widow of Lavoisier, who was falsely convicted.". Like her predecessors since Henry VIII, Elizabeth used the style "Majesty", as well as "Highness" and "Grace". One and a half years following his death, Lavoisier was exonerated by the French government. In children's and young adults' fiction, Elizabeth's story is told in Elizabeth I, Red Rose of the House of Tudor, a book in the Royal Diaries series published by Scholastic, and also in Beware, Princess Elizabeth by Carolyn Meyer.

An appeal to spare his life was cut short by the judge: "The Republic has no need of geniuses [or, alternately, "scientists."]." His importance for science was expressed by the mathematician Joseph Louis Lagrange who lamented the beheading by saying: "It took them only an instant to cut off that head, but France may not produce another like it in a century.". Elizabeth's story is spliced with her mother's in Maxwell's book The Secret Diary of Anne Boleyn. Maxwell also writes of a fictional child Elizabeth and Dudley had in The Queen's Bastard. Decades ago, Margaret Irwin produced a trilogy based on Elizabeth's youth: Young Bess, Elizabeth, Captive Princess and Elizabeth and the Prince of Spain.. One of his actions that may have sealed his fate was a contretemps a few years earlier with the young Jean-Paul Marat, who subsequently became a leading revolutionary. They include: I, Elizabeth by Rosalind Miles, The Virgin's Lover and The Queen's Fool by Philippa Gregory, Queen of This Realm by Jean Plaidy, and Virgin: Prelude to the Throne by Robin Maxwell. Ironically, Lavoisier was one of the few liberals in his position. There have been many novels written about Elizabeth. As one of 28 French tax collectors and a powerful figure in the unpopular Ferme Générale, Lavoisier was branded a traitor during the Reign of Terror by revolutionists in 1794, and tried, convicted and guillotined all on one day in Paris, at the age of 51. In television, the actresses Glenda Jackson (in the BBC drama series Elizabeth R in 1971, and the 1972 historical film Mary Queen of Scots) and Miranda Richardson (in the 1986 classic BBC sitcom Blackadder — a comic interpretation of Elizabeth known fondly as Queenie) both played the role with consummate talent, creating memorable (if wildly contrasting) portraits of Elizabeth I.

While in government work, he helped develop the metric system to secure uniformity of weights and measures throughout France. The same year British actress Judi Dench won an Academy Award for her supporting performance as the Virgin Queen in the popular Shakespeare in Love, a performance of only eleven minutes (the shortest ever to win an Oscar). He did become interested in French politics, and as a result, he obtained a position as tax collector in the Ferme Générale, a tax farming company, at the age of 26, where he attempted to introduce reforms in the French monetary and taxation system. In 1998 Australian actress Cate Blanchett made her big break and received an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress for her critically acclaimed performance in Elizabeth. He received a law degree and was admitted to the bar, but never practiced as a lawyer. In recent years, the story of Elizabeth has been filmed more than ever. Of key significance in Lavoisier's life was his study of law. Those who have made an impression in the role of Elizabeth in the last 100 years, have included French actress Sarah Bernhardt in Les Amours de la reine Élisabeth (1912), Florence Eldridge in Mary of Scotland (1936), Flora Robson in Fire Over England (1937) and The Lion Has Wings (1939), Bette Davis in The Private Lives of Elizabeth and Essex (1939) and The Virgin Queen (1955) and Jean Simmons in Young Bess (1953).

His contributions are considered the most important in advancing the science of chemistry to the level of what had been achieved in physics and mathematics. Notable portrayals of Queen Elizabeth in film and television have been plentiful; in fact, she is the most filmed British monarch. For the first time the modern notion of elements is laid out systematically; the three or four elements of classical chemistry gave way to the modern system, and Lavoisier worked out reactions in chemical equations that respect the conservation of mass (see, for example, the nitrogen cycle). Benjamin Britten wrote an opera, Gloriana, about the relationship between Elizabeth and Lord Essex, composed for the coronation of Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom. He established the consistent use of chemical balance, used oxygen to overthrow the phlogiston theory, and developed a new system of chemical nomenclature which held that oxygen was an essential constituent of all acids (which later turned out to be erroneous). Elizabeth is often shown holding a sieve, a symbol of virginity. Lavoisier's fundamental contributions to chemistry were a result of a conscious effort to fit all experiments into the framework of a single theory. Elizabeth was often painted in rich and stylised gowns.

While many leading chemists of the time refused to believe Lavoisier's new revelations, the Elementary Treatise was written well enough to convince the younger generation. Many artists glorified Elizabeth I and masked her age in their portraits. His list, however, also included light and caloric, which he believed to be material substances. As Sir Walter said in relation to her foreign policy, "Her Majesty did all by halves". It also forms the basis for the modern list of elements. In reality, however, she often wavered before coming to the aid of her Protestant allies. In addition, it contained a list of elements, or substances that could not be broken down further, which included oxygen, nitrogen, hydrogen, phosphorus, mercury, zinc, and sulphur. She was depicted in later years as a great defender of Protestantism in Europe.

Also, Lavoisier clarified the concept of an element as a simple substance that could not be broken down by any known method of chemical analysis, and he devised a theory of the formation of chemical compounds from elements. Her achievements, however, were greatly magnified after her death. His Traité Élémentaire de Chimie (Elementary Treatise of Chemistry, 1789, translated into English by Robert Kerr) is considered to be the first modern chemical textbook, and presented a unified view of new theories of chemistry, contained a clear statement of the Law of Conservation of Mass, and denied the existence of phlogiston. Elizabeth was also able to prevent the outbreak of a religious or civil war on English soil. Their system facilitated communication of discoveries between chemists of different backgrounds and is still largely in use today, including names such as sulfuric acid, sulfates, and sulfites. Under her, England managed to avoid a crippling Spanish invasion. He described it in Méthode de nomenclature chimique (Method of Chemical Nomenclature, 1787). Elizabeth was a successful monarch, helping steady the nation even after inheriting an enormous national debt from her sister Mary.

With the French chemists Claude-Louis Berthollet, Antoine Fourcroy and Guyton de Morveau, Lavoisier devised a chemical nomenclature, or a system of names describing the structure of chemical compounds. Her problems in Ireland also serve to blemish her record. He discovered the components of water were oxygen and hydrogen, and that air was a mixture of gases - primarily nitrogen and oxygen. Elizabeth has also been criticised for supporting the English slave trade. Lavoisier also investigated the composition of water and air, which at the time were considered elements. Though England achieved military victories, Elizabeth was far less pivotal than other monarchs such as Henry V. These experiments provided evidence for the law of the conservation of matter. Many historians, however, have taken a far more dispassionate view of Elizabeth's reign.

Nevertheless, the weight gained was lost from the air. Elizabeth I was the winner, with 48 points. He burnt phosphorus and sulfur in air, and proved that the products weighed more than the original. In 2005, in the History Channel documentary Britain's Greatest Monarch, a group of historians and commentators analysed twelve British monarchs[1] and gave them overall marks out of 60 for greatness (they were marked out of 10 in six categories, such as military prowess and legacy). He showed that, although matter changes its state in a chemical reaction, the quantity of matter is the same at the end as at the beginning of every chemical reaction. She placed seventh in the 100 Greatest Britons poll, which was conducted by the British Broadcasting Corporation in 2002, outranking all other British monarchs. Lavoisier's experiments were among the first truly quantitative chemical experiments ever performed; that is, he carefully weighed the reactants and products involved, a crucial step in the advancement of chemistry. Elizabeth proved to be one of the most popular monarchs in English or British history.

In Reflexions sur le Phlogistique, 1783, Lavoisier showed the phlogiston theory to be inconsistent. Accession Councils, rather than new Sovereigns, continue to issue proclamations in modern practice. In 1779, he named this part of the air oxygen (Greek for acid-former), and the other azote (Greek for no life). James I's proclamation broke precedent because it was issued not by the new Sovereign him or herself, but by a Council of Accession, as James was in Scotland at the time. In Sur la combustion en general (On Combustion in general), 1777 and Considérations Générales sur la Nature des Acides (General Consideration on the Nature of Acids), 1778), he demonstrated that the "air" responsible for combustion was also the source of acidity. James VI was proclaimed King of England as James I a few hours after Elizabeth's death. This tendency to use the results of others without acknowledgment, then draw conclusions is said to be characteristic of Lavoisier. In any event, none of the alternative heirs pressed their claims to the Throne.

However, he tried to take credit for Priestley's discoveries. There is no evidence to prove any of these tales. Lavoisier's work was partly based on the work of Priestley (he corresponded with Priestley and fellow members of the Lunar Society). Finally, a third legend suggests that she remained silent until her death. He also discovered that the inflammable air of Henry Cavendish which he termed hydrogen (Greek for water-former), combined with oxygen to produce a dew, as Joseph Priestley had reported, which appeared to be water. According to another, she said, "Who but a King could succeed a Queen?". Lavoisier's explanation of combustion replaced the phlogiston theory, which postulates that materials release a substance called phlogiston when they burn. According to one story, when asked whom she would name her heir, she replied, "Who could that be but my cousin Scotland?".

He also demonstrated the role of oxygen in metal rusting, as well as its role in animal and plant respiration: working with Pierre-Simon Laplace, Lavoisier conducted experiments that showed that respiration was essentially a slow combustion of organic material using inhaled oxygen. It is sometimes claimed that Elizabeth named James her heir on her deathbed. Through these experiments, he demonstrated that burning is a process that involves the combination of a substance with oxygen. They included Edward Seymour, Baron Beauchamp (the illegitimate son of the Lady Catherine Grey) and William Stanley, 6th Earl of Derby (Lady Anne Stanley's uncle). Some of Lavoisier's most important experiments examined the nature of combustion, or burning. Still other claimants were possible. Beginning in 1775, he served in the Royal Gunpowder Administration, where his work led to improvements in the production of gunpowder and the use of agricultural chemistry by designing a new method for preparing saltpeter. If, however, the rules of male primogeniture were upheld, the successor would be James VI, King of Scots.

In 1771, he married 13-year-old Marie-Anne Pierette Paulze, who translated from English for him, illustrated his books, and assisted him in his research. If the will were upheld, then Elizabeth would have been succeeded by Lady Anne Stanley. In 1769 he worked on the first geological map of France. The will of Henry VIII declared that Elizabeth was to be succeeded by the descendants of his younger sister, Mary Tudor, Duchess of Suffolk, rather than by the Scottish descendants of his elder sister, Margaret Tudor. He was elected a member of the French Academy of Sciences in 1768 for an essay on street lighting. The Latin inscription on their tomb translates to "Partners both in Throne and grave, here rest we two sisters, Elizabeth and Mary, in the hope of one resurrection". In 1767 he worked on a geological survey of Alsace-Lorraine. Elizabeth was buried in Westminster Abbey, immediately next to her sister Mary I.

His first chemical publication appeared in 1764. She died on 24 March at Richmond Palace at 69, at which age she was the oldest English Sovereign ever to reign; the mark was not surpassed until George II died in his seventy-seventh year in 1760. He attended the College Mazarin from 1754 to 1761, studying chemistry, botany, astronomy, and mathematics. Elizabeth I fell ill in February 1603, suffering from frailty and insomnia. Born to a wealthy family in Paris, Antoine Laurent Lavoisier inherited a large fortune when his mother died. During her last ailment, the Queen is reported to have declared that she had sent "wolves, not shepherds, to govern Ireland, for they have left me nothing to govern over but ashes and carcasses": see The Sayings of Queen Elizabeth (1925). . After a devastating winter siege, Lord Mountjoy defeated both the Spanish and the Irish troops at the Battle of Kinsale; Lord Tyrone surrendered a few days after Elizabeth's death.

Due to his prominence in the pre-revolutionary government in France, he was beheaded at the height of the French Revolution. The Spanish, meanwhile, sent over 3,000 troops to aid the Irish, with the justification that intervention countered Elizabeth's previously aid to the Dutch rebels in their campaign against Spain. He was also an investor and administrator of the Ferme Générale, a private tax collection company; chairman of the board of the Discount Bank (later the Banque de France); and a powerful member of a number of other aristocratic administrative councils. Lord Mountjoy attempted to blockade Lord Tyrone's troops and starve them into submission; the campaign effectively cast the English strategy of the earlier Desmond Rebellion (1580-83) into a larger theatre, with proportionatley greater casualties. Lavoisier is often referred to as the father of modern chemistry. Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy was sent to Ireland to replace Lord Essex. He stated the first version of the Law of Conservation of Matter, recognized and named oxygen (1778), disproved the phlogiston theory, and helped to reform chemical nomenclature. In 1601, Lord Essex led a revolt against the Queen, but was executed.

Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier (August 26, 1743 – May 8, 1794) was a French nobleman prominent in the histories of chemistry, finance, biology, and economics. He failed utterly, and returned to England without the Queen's permission in 1600, and was punished by the loss of all political offices. , 1982. One of the leading members of the navy, Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and put in charge of the attempt to crush the Irish rebellion in 1599. "The Chemist Who Lost His Head: The Story of Antoine Lavoisier.", Coward, McCann & Geoghegan, Inc. In 1598, the Earl of Tyrone offered a truce; upon its expiry, the English suffered their worst defeat in Ireland at the Battle of the Yellow Ford. Grey, Vivian. Spain attempted to send two further Armadas, but both expeditions were foiled.

Gunpowder: Alchemy, Bombards, & Pyrotechnics by Jack Kelly - The history of the explosive that changed the world (Basic Books, 2004 - 0-465-03718-6). Seeking to avoid further war, Elizabeth made a series of truces with the earl. Hundred Greatest Men, 1885 www.lib.utexas.edu. The chief executor of Crown authority in the north of Ireland, Hugh O'Neill, 2nd Earl of Tyrone, was declared a traitor in 1595. Antoine Lavoisier, Elements of Chemistry, Dover Publications Inc., New York, NY,1965, 511 pages. At the same time as England was fighting Spain, it also faced a rebellion in Ireland, known as the Nine Years War. Reprinted Bruxelles: Cultures et Civilisations, 1965. These reforms, however, were only superficial; the practice of deriving funds from the grants of monopolies continued.

Traité élémentaire de chimie, présenté dans un ordre nouveau et d'après les découvertes modernes, 2 vols. Paris: Chez Cuchet, 1789. Shortly thereafter, twelve royal monopolies were ended by royal proclamation; further sanctions could be sought in the courts of common law. Lavoisier, A. In her famous "Golden Speech", Elizabeth promised reforms. Donovan, Arthur, "Antoine Lavoisier: Science, Administration, and Revolution.", Cambridge University Press, 1993. Elizabeth became somewhat unpopular because of her practice of granting royal monopolies the abolition of which Parliament continued to demand. Lavoisier, théoricien et expérimentateur. Paris: Presses Universitaires de France, 1955. His political mantle was inherited by his son, Robert Cecil, who had previously become Secretary of State in 1590.

Daumas, M. In 1598, Elizabeth's chief advisor, Lord Burghley, died. La révolution chimique: Lavoisier. Paris: Alcan, 1890. In part because of the war, Raleigh and Gilbert's overseas colonisation attempts failed, and North American settlement thus did not proceed until James I negotiated peace in the Treaty of London, 1604. Berthelot, M. The Anglo-Spanish War, meanwhile, reached a stalemate after Philip II died later in the year. Further battles continued until 1598, when France and Spain finally made peace.

England attempted to attack the Azores in 1597, but their plan was foiled. Elizabeth sent a further 2,000 troops to France after the Spanish took Calais. In 1596, England finally withdrew from France, with Henry IV firmly in control, and the Holy League, which opposed him, demolished. They burnt some villages, seized supplies and then returned.

Also in 1595, a Spanish force under Don Carlos de Amesquita landed in Cornwall. In 1595 and 1596, a disastrous expedition on the Spanish Main led to the deaths of both Sir John Hawkins and Sir Francis Drake. English privateers continued attacking Spanish treasure ships from the Americas; the most famous privateers included Sir John Hawkins and Sir Martin Frobisher. Although Henry broke his promises and converted to Catholicism, Elizabeth remained beside him.

Elizabeth sent 20,000 troops and subsidies of over £300,000 to Henry IV, and 8,000 troops and subsidies of over £1,000,000 to the Dutch. The war was also waged in the Netherlands, which continued to fight for its independence from Spain, and France, where a Protestant, Henry IV, claimed the Throne. The battle, however, was not decisive, and war with Spain continued. The Armada was forced to return to Spain, sustaining severe losses on the north and west coasts of Ireland; the victory tremendously increased Elizabeth's popularity.

The Spanish plan was foiled by the English fleet under Charles Howard, 2nd Baron Howard of Effingham and Sir Francis Drake, aided by bad weather. She famously declared, "I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a King, and of a King of England too". Elizabeth attempted to encourage her troops with a notable speech, known as the Speech to the Troops at Tilbury. In July 1588, the Spanish Armada, a grand fleet of 130 ships bearing over 30,000 men, set sail in the hopes of helping the Spanish army under the Duke of Parma in the Netherlands cross the English Channel and invade England.

In April 1587, Sir Francis Drake burnt the Spanish fleet at Cádiz, delaying Philip's plans. In her will, Mary had left Philip her claim to the English Throne; under force of the threat from Elizabeth's policies in the Netherlands and the east Atlantic, Philip began making plans for an invasion. Mary Stuart was convicted of complicity in the plot and executed at Fotheringhay Castle on February 8, 1587. However, a further scheme against Elizabeth, the Babington Plot, was revealed by Sir Francis Walsingham, who headed the English spy network.

Fearing such conspiracies, Parliament had passed the Act of Association 1584, under which anyone associated with a plot to murder the Sovereign would be excluded from the line of succession. This, together with economic conflict with Spain and English piracy against Spanish colonies, led to the outbreak of the Anglo-Spanish War in 1585 and in 1586 the Spanish ambassador was expelled from England for his participation in conspiracies against Elizabeth. After the assassination of the Dutch Stadholder William I, England began to side openly with the United Provinces of the Netherlands, who were at the time rebelling against Spanish rule. Meanwhile, Philip II conquered Portugal, and with the Portuguese Throne came the command of the high seas.

In 1580, Pope Gregory XIII sent a force to aid Desmond Rebellions in Ireland, but failed; the rebellion itself was crushed by 1583. However, Anjou, who is in any case said to have preferred men to women, returned to France and died in 1584 before he could be married. The Spanish Ambassador reported that she actually declared that the Duke of Anjou would be her husband. During the latter's visit in 1581, it is said that Elizabeth "drew off a ring from her finger and put it upon the Duke of Anjou's upon certain conditions betwixt them two".

Elizabeth even began marriage negotiations with Henry, Duke of Anjou (later King Henry III of France and of Poland), and afterwards with his younger brother François, Duke of Anjou and Alençon. The St Bartholomew's Day Massacre, in which thousands of French Protestants (Huguenots) were killed, strained the alliance but did not break it. Also in 1572, Elizabeth made an alliance with France. In 1572, Lord Burghley was raised to the powerful position of Lord High Treasurer; his post as Secretary of State was taken up by the head of Elizabeth's spy network, Sir Francis Walsingham.

In 1571, Sir William Cecil was created Baron Burghley. Spain, which had been friendly to England since Philip's marriage to Elizabeth's predecessor, ceased to be on cordial terms. After the Catholic Ridolfi Plot was discovered (much to Elizabeth's shock) and foiled, the Duke of Norfolk was executed and Mary lost the little liberty she had remaining. The 4th Duke of Norfolk was also involved in the first of these plots, the Ridolfi Plot of 1571.

Philip II participated in some conspiracies to remove Elizabeth, albeit reluctantly. Philip was already involved in putting down a rebellion in the Netherlands, and could not afford to declare war on England. After Philip had launched a surprise attack on the English privateers Sir Francis Drake and John Hawkins in 1568, Elizabeth ordered the seizure of a Spanish treasure ship in 1569. Elizabeth then found a new enemy in her brother-in-law, Philip II, King of Spain.

She instead began the persecution of her religious enemies, leading to various conspiracies to remove her from the Throne. After the Bull of Deposition was issued, however, Elizabeth chose not to continue her policy of religious toleration. The Bull of Deposition, Regnans in Excelsis, was only issued in 1570, arriving after the Rebellion had been put down. Pope Pius V aided the Catholic Rebellion by excommunicating Elizabeth and declaring her deposed in a Papal Bull.

In 1569, Elizabeth faced a major uprising, known as the Northern Rebellion, instigated by Thomas Howard, 4th Duke of Norfolk, Charles Neville, 6th Earl of Westmorland and Thomas Percy, 7th Earl of Northumberland. Elizabeth chose the last option: Mary was kept confined for eighteen years, much of it in Sheffield Castle and Sheffield Manor in the custody of George Talbot, 6th Earl of Shrewsbury, and his redoubtable wife Bess of Hardwick. Elizabeth was faced with a conundrum: sending her back to the Scottish nobles was deemed too cruel; sending her to France would put a powerful pawn in the hands of the French king; forcefully restoring her to the Scottish Throne may have been seen as an heroic gesture, but would cause too much conflict with the Scots; and imprisoning her in England would allow her to participate in plots against the Queen. She later escaped from her prison and fled to England, where she was captured by English forces.

Mary I, however, was unpopular in Scotland, where she had been imprisoned. Elizabeth was once again forced to consider a Scottish successor, from the line of her father's sister, Margaret Tudor, Queen of Scots. Her heiress was her sister, the Lady Mary Grey, a hunchbacked dwarf. She had left a son, but he was deemed illegitimate.

In 1568, the last viable English heir to the throne, Catherine Grey, died. Scottish nobles then rebelled, imprisoning Mary and forcing her to abdicate in favour of her infant son, who consequently became James VI. Lord Darnley was murdered in 1567 after the couple had several disputes, and Mary then married the alleged murderer, James Hepburn, 4th Earl of Bothwell. Elizabeth had suggested that if she married the Protestant Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, then Elizabeth would "proceed to the inquisition of her right and title to be our next cousin and heir." Mary Stuart refused, and in 1565 married a Catholic, Henry Stuart, Lord Darnley.

Mary, Queen of Scots, had to suffer her own troubles in Scotland. Each possible heir had his or her disadvantages: Mary I was a Catholic, Lady Catherine Grey had married without the Queen's consent and the Puritan Lord Huntingdon was unwilling to accept the Crown. An even more distant possible successor was Henry Hastings, 3rd Earl of Huntingdon, who could claim descent only from Edward III, who reigned during the fourteenth century. The alternative line descended from Henry VIII's younger sister, Mary Tudor, Duchess of Suffolk; the heir in this line would be the Lady Catherine Grey, Lady Jane Grey's sister.

One possible line was that of Margaret Tudor, Henry VIII's elder sister, which led to Mary I, Queen of Scots. Different lines of succession were considered during Elizabeth's reign. The House of Commons threatened to withhold funds until the Queen agreed to provide for the succession, but Elizabeth still refused. Parliament did not reconvene until Elizabeth needed its assent to raise taxes in 1566.

She refused to do either, and in April, she prorogued Parliament. In 1563, alarmed by the Queen's near-fatal illness, Parliament demanded that she marry or nominate an heir to prevent civil war upon her death. At the end of 1562, Elizabeth had fallen ill with smallpox, but later recovered. Elizabeth, however, did not give up her claim to the French Crown, which had been maintained since the reign of Edward III during the period of the Hundred Years' War in the fourteenth century, and was not renounced until the reign of George III during the eighteenth century.

She made peace with France in 1564; she agreed to give up her claims to the last English possession on the French mainland, Calais, after the defeat of an English expedition at Le Havre. Elizabeth secretly gave aid to the Huguenots. In France, meanwhile, Catholic persecution of the Huguenots led to the outbreak of the French Wars of Religion. Upon the death of her husband Francis II, Mary Stuart returned to Scotland.

Though Mary vehemently refused to ratify the treaty, it had the desired effect, and the French threat was removed from Britain. Under pressure from the English, Mary's representatives signed the Treaty of Edinburgh, under which French troops were to be withdrawn from Scotland. A group of Scottish lords allied to Elizabeth deposed Mary of Guise. In Scotland, Mary Stuart's mother, Mary of Guise attempted to increase French influence in Britain by allowing French army fortifications in Scotland.

In 1559, Mary had declared herself Queen of England, supported by the French. The Queen found a dangerous rival in her cousin, the Catholic Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots and wife of the French King Francis II. What is known for certain is that marrying anyone would have cost Elizabeth large amounts of money and independence as all of the estates and incomes Elizabeth inherited from her father, Henry VIII, were only hers until she wed. It could also have been that given the unstable political situation Elizabeth could have feared an armed struggle among aristocratic factions if she married someone not seen as equally favorable to all factions.

It is also possible that Elizabeth did not wish to share the power of the Crown with another. Elizabeth decided that if she couldn't have him, she would not marry at all. However, her council refused to sanction the marriage because of his status and his family's participation in the Lady Jane Grey matter. There were also rumors that she would only marry one man, Robert Dudley, 1st Earl of Leicester, with whom she was deeply in love.

Contemporary gossip was that she had suffered from a physical defect that she was afraid to reveal, perhaps scarring from smallpox. Alternatively, she may have been psychologically scarred by her rumoured childhood relationship with Lord Seymour. She may have felt repulsed by the mistreatment of Henry VIII's wives. Her reason for never marrying is unclear.

Soon after her accession, many questioned whom Elizabeth would marry. The enforcement of English customs in Ireland proved unpopular with its inhabitants, as did the Queen's religious policies. Her other realm, Ireland, never benefited from such a philosophy. She adopted a principle of "England for the English".

Though Philip II aided her in ending the Italian Wars with the Peace of Cateau Cambrésis, Elizabeth remained independent in her diplomacy. Elizabeth also reduced Spanish influence in England. Elizabeth's chief advisors were Sir William Cecil, a Secretary of State, and Sir Nicholas Bacon, the Lord Keeper of the Great Seal. Under Elizabeth, factionalism in the Council and conflicts at court were greatly diminished.

She also appointed an entirely new Privy Council, removing many Catholic counsellors in the process. These were removed from the ecclesiastical bench and replaced by appointees who would submit to the Queen's supremacy. Many bishops were unwilling to conform to the Elizabethan religious policy. The Act of Supremacy 1559 required public officials to take an oath acknowledging the Sovereign's control over the Church or face severe punishment.

The Queen assumed the title "Supreme Governor of the Church of England", rather than "Supreme Head", primarily because several bishops and many members of the public felt that a woman could not be the head of the Church. Papal control over the Church of England had been reinstated under Mary I, but was ended by Elizabeth. The Act of Uniformity 1559 required the use of the Protestant Book of Common Prayer in church services. One of the most important concerns during Elizabeth's early reign was religion; she relied primarily on Sir William Cecil for advice on the matter.

He only accepted out of loyalty to Anne Boleyn's memory, since he found working with Elizabeth difficult at times. She later persuaded her mother's chaplain, Matthew Parker, to become Archbishop. Elizabeth I's coronation was the last one during which the Latin service was used; future coronations used the English service. The communion was celebrated not by Oglethorpe, but by the Queen's personal chaplain, to avoid the usage of the Roman rites.

Since the senior bishops declined to participate in the coronation (since Elizabeth was illegitimate under both canon law and statute and since she was a Protestant), the relatively unimportant Owen Oglethorpe, Bishop of Carlisle had to crown her. There was no Archbishop of Canterbury at the time; Reginald Cardinal Pole, the last Catholic holder of the office, had died shortly after Mary I. Elizabeth was crowned on 15 January 1559. She was far more popular than her sister, and it is said that upon Mary's death, the people rejoiced in the streets.

In 1558, upon Mary I's death, Elizabeth ascended the throne. For the remainder of her reign, the staunchly Catholic Mary persecuted Protestants, and came to be known as "Bloody Mary" because of a desire to present her assertion of authority as cruel. After two months in the Tower, Elizabeth was put under house arrest under the guard of Sir Henry Bedingfield; by the end of that year, when Mary was falsely rumoured to be pregnant, Elizabeth was allowed to return to court at Philip's behest, as he worried that his wife might die in childbirth, in which case he preferred Lady Elizabeth to succeed rather than her next-closest relative, Mary I of Scotland. Mary attempted to remove Elizabeth from the line of succession, but Parliament would not allow it.

There were demands for Elizabeth's execution, but few Englishmen wished to put a member of the popular Tudor dynasty to death. Wyatt's Rebellion in 1554 sought to prevent Mary from marrying Philip and, after its failure, Elizabeth was imprisoned in the Tower of London. Mary I contracted a marriage with the Spanish prince Philip, later King Philip II of Spain, and she worried that the people might depose her and put Elizabeth on the throne in her stead. Armed with popular support, Mary rode triumphantly into London, her half-sister Elizabeth at her side.

Lady Jane ascended the throne, but was deposed less than two weeks later. Contravening the Act of Succession 1544, it excluded both Mary and Elizabeth from succeeding to the throne and declared Lady Jane Grey to be his heiress. In 1553, however, Edward died at the age of fifteen, having left a will which purported to supersede his father's. As long as her Protestant half-brother remained on the throne, Elizabeth's own position remained secure.

Under the influence of Catherine Parr and Ascham, Elizabeth was raised a Protestant. She came to speak or read six languages: her native English, as well as French, Italian, Spanish, Greek, and Latin. There, Elizabeth received her education under Roger Ascham. It is believed that Seymour made advances towards Elizabeth while she lived in his household.

Catherine Parr married Thomas Seymour, 1st Baron Seymour of Sudeley, Edward VI's uncle, and took Elizabeth into her household. Henry VIII died in 1547 and was succeeded by Edward VI. However, from her father she did inherit her red hair. She also inherited her mother's onyx black eyes and petite girth and not her father's enormous weight.

Elizabeth also inherited her mother's delicate bone structure, physique and facial features. In terms of personality, Elizabeth was far more like her mother than her father: neurotic, glamorous, flirtatious, charismatic and religiously tolerant. One companion, to whom she referred with affection throughout her life, was the Irishman Thomas Butler, later 3rd Earl of Ormonde (ob.1615). Later, Parker would become the first Archbishop of Canterbury after Elizabeth became queen in 1558.

Matthew Parker, her mother's favourite priest, took a special interest in Elizabeth's well-being, particularly since a fearful Anne had entrusted her daughter's spiritual welfare to Parker before her death. She had been appointed to Elizabeth's household before Anne Boleyn's death. Chapernowne developed a close relationship with Elizabeth and remained her confidante and good friend for life. At the age of four, Elizabeth had a new governess, Katherine Chapernowne, who was often referred to as "Kat".

Elizabeth's first governess was Lady Margaret Bryan, a baroness whom Elizabeth called "Muggie". Henry's last wife Catherine Parr helped reconcile the King with Elizabeth, and she, along with her half-sister, Mary, daughter of Catherine of Aragon, was reinstated in the line of succession after Prince Edward under the Act of Succession 1544. Thereafter she was addressed as Lady Elizabeth and lived in exile from her father as he married his succession of wives. Elizabeth was three years old at that time and was also declared illegitimate and lost the title of princess.

After Queen Anne failed to produce a male heir, Henry had her executed on charges of treason (adultery against the King was considered treason), incest with her elder brother and witchcraft. Her maternal uncle was George Boleyn, Viscount Rochford. Her maternal aunt was Lady Mary Boleyn. Her surviving paternal aunts included Margaret Tudor and Mary Tudor.

Henry would have preferred a son to ensure the Tudor succession, but upon her birth, Elizabeth was the heiress presumptive to the throne of England. She was born in the Palace of Placentia in Greenwich, on September 7, 1533. Elizabeth was the only surviving child of King Henry VIII of England by his second wife, Anne Boleyn, Marchioness of Pembroke, whom he secretly married sometime between the winter of 1532 and late January of 1533. .

Virginia, an English colony in North America and afterwards a member of the United States, was named after Elizabeth I, the "Virgin Queen". Elizabeth also reduced the number of Privy Counsellors from thirty-nine to nineteen, and later to fourteen. Only eight peerage dignities, one earldom and seven baronies in the Peerage of England, and one barony in the Peerage of Ireland, were created during Elizabeth's reign. The reign was marked by prudence in the granting of honours and dignities.

She granted Royal Charters to several famous organizations, including Trinity College, Dublin (1592) and the British East India Company (1600). Like her father Henry VIII, she was a writer and poet. This last quality, viewed with impatience by her counsellors, often saved her from political and marital misalliances. Elizabeth was a short-tempered and sometimes indecisive ruler.

In addition, Francis Drake became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe; Francis Bacon laid out his philosophical and political views; and English colonisation of North America took place under Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Humphrey Gilbert. Playwrights William Shakespeare, Christopher Marlowe, and Ben Jonson all flourished during this era. Elizabeth's reign is referred to as the Elizabethan era or the Golden Age and was marked by increases in English power and influence worldwide. She reigned during a period of great religious turmoil in English history.

Sometimes referred to as The Virgin Queen, Gloriana, or Good Queen Bess, Elizabeth I was the fifth and final monarch of the Tudor dynasty, having succeeded her half-sister, Mary I. Elizabeth I (7 September 1533 – 24 March 1603 ) was Queen of England and Queen of Ireland from 17 November 1558 until her death.