Elizabeth I was queen of England from 1558 to 1603. She was born in 1533 and died in 1603. Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. She returned England to Protestantism while still managing to secure order. She refused to marry or name her successor as marriage could have created foreign alliance difficulties or encouraged factionalism at home. Her rightful heir was her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, who, threatened by rebellion in Scotland, fled to England. Imprisoned by Elizabeth I in 1567, Mary plotted with English Roman Catholics and with Spain, France and the Pope. The threat to the English throne which this posed resulted in Mary's execution in 1587 and led to outright war with Spain. In 1588 Philip of Spain's invasion fleet, the ' Armada', was defeated. There were two further Armadas in the 1590s, and an Irish revolt in 1595, assisted by Spain, which was eventually put down in 1601. The financial strains caused by the war against Spain (made worse by poor harvests) meant that Elizabeth did not try to put the Crown on a permanently solvent basis. In addition to sharp debates over revenue-raising measures such as monopolies, Parliament continued its pressure on the Queen to deal with the question of the succession. However, Elizabeth died in 1603 still refusing to name her successor.
To Queen Elizabeth I may be traced the origins of the English colonisation of North America .In 1578 she granted to Sir Humphrey Gilbert letters patent to conquer and possess any heathen lands not already in the hands of Christians. Humphrey Gilbert's expedition failed, but in 1584 Elizabeth granted a similar charter to Walter Raleigh. In 1585, with the Queen's assistance, Walter Raleigh sent seven vessels and 100 colonists to settle in Virginia, which had been taken in the Queen's name under the charter of 1584 and named by Elizabeth. In 1603 Gosnold named one of the Elizabeth Islands for her. Research Elizabeth I
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