Foreign Policy of Queen Elizabeth of England

Realising the value of her position in the marriage market the English Queen was ever seemingly contemplating matrimony and at ways ready to entertain proposals. Yet in every case she found specific objections.

Her suitors were, merely pawns in the game of politics and according to political exigencies she either, prolonged the courtship or terminated them quickly. More than once she was forced by the circum­stances of her own making into taking a consort. But her gambler’s luck did not desert her she was at ways able to retreat though, at times with difficulty.

Irish Episode:

In its relations with the Irish Elizabeth’s government made no more progress than the government of previous English rulers. She was determined to reduce Ireland to obedience. She employed repression instead of conciliation. Uprisings were savagely put down; the land of the rebels was confiscated and granted to Englishmen who often remained absentee landlords.

Despite the brutal manner in which they were quelled the uprisings continued. Thus instead of subduing Ireland, the high handed method of the Tudor Sovereigns fomented the bitter racial enmity, religious antagonism and incessant strife which became the heritage of later rulers.

Danger from Mary Stuart:

A perpetual danger to Elizabeth was Mary Stuart, better known as Mary Queen of Scots she mas brought up in France as an ardent Catholic and shared the belief of her Church that as an illegitimate child of Henery VIII Elizabeth was a usurper.

Mary was a great-grand daughter of Henery VII and there­fore considered herself to be the rightful climate to the throne and became the leader of the Catholic discontent. She equalled Elizabeth in coloness and courage, but lacked the discretion of the English Queen.

In 1865, the Scottish Queen married her cousin Lord Darnby, an English nobleman in order to strengthen her claim. This was the beginning of her downfall. Lord Darnby was murdered and Mary’s complicity in the affair was established. Furious at this the Scot nobles rose in revolt and expelled her and Mary was forced to seek refuge in English soil made the problem all the more perplexing.

Mary became the centre of all discontent one after the other plots were hatched to dethrone Elizabeth and place her on the throne often these plots were aided by Spain and France. Mary’s guilt was definitely establi­shed in the Babington plot and she was executed in 1587.

Philip and Spanish Armada:

With Mary dead, Philip II of Sain realised that there was only one way to reclaim England for Catholicism and to stop the English attacks on Spanish commerce and that was by force. Hence he prepared to invade England. After extensive preparations, Philip’s fleet which the spariards had named the ‘Invincible Armada’, sailed, for England in May 1588 with disastrous results for Spain. The danger of invasion had drawn all Englishmen together.

English patriotism was excited to a high Pitch and Roman Catholics and protestants stood together to beat back the attacks of the enemy.

The crushing defeat administered to the Spaniards shattered once and for all the tradition of Spanish invincibility. No longer need England fear and invasion.

Conscious of their supremacy at sea .the English turned on the Spaniards with a greater fusy, preying on Spanish commerce, plundering Spanish possessions and ever burning Spanish towns. English trade rapidly increased and English discoveries were sailing on every sea.

End of Elizabeth:

The defeat of Armada was the climax of Elizabeth’s reign. During the last fifteen years of her life, she increasingly lost touch with the new generation and the loveliness of old age oppressed her. Her faithful ministers had passed from the scene and their successors were seeking to make their future secure by planning how to win the favour of the new ruler when he should ascend the throne. On March 24, 1603 the last and the greatest representative of the House of Tudor quietly passed away.