Editing Elizabeth I (section)

==Wars and overseas trade==
Elizabeth's foreign policy was largely defensive. The exception was the [[English expedition to France (1562–1563)|English occupation]] of [[Le Havre]] from October 1562 to June 1563, which ended in failure when Elizabeth's [[Huguenot]] allies joined with the Catholics to retake the port. Elizabeth's intention had been to exchange Le Havre for [[Pale of Calais|Calais]], lost to France in January 1558.<ref>Frieda, 191.</ref> Only through the activities of her fleets did Elizabeth pursue an aggressive policy. This paid off in the [[Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)|war against Spain]], 80% of which was fought at sea.<ref name="loades61">Loades, 61.</ref> She knighted [[Francis Drake]] after [[Francis Drake's Circumnavigation|his circumnavigation]] of the globe from 1577 to 1580, and he won fame for his raids on Spanish ports and fleets. An element of [[piracy]] and self-enrichment drove Elizabethan seafarers, over whom the Queen had little control.<ref>Flynn and Spence, 126–128.</ref><ref>Somerset, 607–611.</ref>

===Netherlands===
[[File:Elzbieta przyjmuj ca ambasadoró.jpg|upright=1.35|thumb|Elizabeth receiving Dutch ambassadors, 1560s, attributed to [[Levina Teerlinc]]]]

After the occupation and loss of Le Havre in 1562–1563, Elizabeth avoided military expeditions on the continent until 1585, when she sent an English army to aid the Protestant [[Dutch Revolt|Dutch rebels]] against Philip II.<ref name="haigh135">Haigh, 135.</ref> This followed the deaths in 1584 of the Queen's allies [[William the Silent]], Prince of Orange, and the Duke of Anjou, and the surrender of a series of Dutch towns to [[Alexander Farnese, Duke of Parma]], Philip's governor of the [[Spanish Netherlands]]. In December 1584, an alliance between Philip II and the French [[Catholic League (French)|Catholic League]] at [[Treaty of Joinville|Joinville]] undermined the ability of Anjou's brother, [[Henry III of France]], to counter [[Spanish Empire|Spanish]] domination of the Netherlands. It also extended Spanish influence along the [[English Channel|channel]] coast of France, where the Catholic League was strong, and exposed England to invasion.<ref name=haigh135/> The [[Siege of Antwerp (1584–1585)|siege of Antwerp]] in the summer of 1585 by the Duke of Parma necessitated some reaction on the part of the English and the Dutch. The outcome was the [[Treaty of Nonsuch]] of August 1585, in which Elizabeth promised military support to the Dutch.<ref>Strong and van Dorsten, 20–26.</ref> The treaty marked the beginning of the [[Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)|Anglo-Spanish War]].

The expedition was led by Elizabeth's former suitor, the Earl of Leicester. Elizabeth from the start did not really back this course of action. Her strategy, to support the Dutch on the surface with an English army, while beginning secret peace talks with Spain within days of Leicester's arrival in Holland,<ref>Strong and van Dorsten, 43.</ref> had necessarily to be at odds with Leicester's, who had set up [[English protectorate of the Netherlands|a protectorate]] and was expected by the Dutch to fight an active campaign. Elizabeth, on the other hand, wanted him "to avoid at all costs any decisive action with the enemy".<ref>Strong and van Dorsten, 72.</ref> He enraged Elizabeth by accepting the post of Governor-General from the [[Dutch States General]]. Elizabeth saw this as a Dutch ploy to force her to accept sovereignty over the Netherlands,<ref>Strong and van Dorsten, 50.</ref> which so far she had always declined. She wrote to Leicester:

{{Blockquote|We could never have imagined (had we not seen it fall out in experience) that a man raised up by ourself and extraordinarily favoured by us, above any other subject of this land, would have in so contemptible a sort broken our commandment in a cause that so greatly touches us in honour&nbsp;... And therefore our express pleasure and commandment is that, all delays and excuses laid apart, you do presently upon the duty of your allegiance obey and fulfill whatsoever the bearer hereof shall direct you to do in our name. Whereof fail you not, as you will answer the contrary at your utmost peril.<ref>Letter to Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, 10 February 1586, delivered by [[Thomas Heneage]]. Loades, 94.</ref>}}

Elizabeth's "commandment" was that her emissary read out her letters of disapproval publicly before the Dutch Council of State, Leicester having to stand nearby.<ref>Chamberlin, 263–264</ref> This public humiliation of her "Lieutenant-General" combined with her continued talks for a separate peace with Spain{{Efn|Elizabeth's ambassador in France was actively misleading her as to the true intentions of the Spanish king, who only tried to buy time for his great assault upon England<ref>Parker, 193.</ref>}} irreversibly undermined Leicester's standing among the Dutch. The military campaign was severely hampered by Elizabeth's repeated refusals to send promised funds for her starving soldiers. Her unwillingness to commit herself to the cause, Leicester's own shortcomings as a political and military leader, and the faction-ridden and chaotic situation of Dutch politics led to the failure of the campaign.<ref>Haynes, 15; Strong and van Dorsten, 72–79.</ref> Leicester finally resigned his command in December 1587.<ref>Wilson, 294–295.</ref> The Spanish still controlled the southern provinces of the Netherlands, and the threat of the invasion of England remained.<ref name=haigh138/>

Support for the Dutch nevertheless continued. Leicester's replacement was Sir [[Francis Vere]] who became sergeant major-general of all Elizabeth's troops in the Low Countries by 1589. This was a position he retained during fifteen campaigns with almost unbroken success. Vere enjoyed excellent relations with the Dutch under [[Maurice of Nassau]], and worked in close co-operation with them to help secure the country for the cause of independence. Vere's troops shattered the myth of Spanish invincibility, and he thus secured Elizabeth's respect and admiration.<ref>Knight, Charles Raleigh: ''Historical records of The Buffs, East Kent Regiment (3rd Foot) formerly designated the Holland Regiment and Prince George of Denmark's Regiment''. Vol I. London, Gale & Polden, 1905, [http://ia600408.us.archive.org/BookReader/BookReaderImages.php?zip=/23/items/historicalrecor00kniggoog/historicalrecor00kniggoog_tif.zip&file=historicalrecor00kniggoog_tif/historicalrecor00kniggoog_0072.tif&scale=4&rotate=0 p.&nbsp;36-45]</ref> English support for the Dutch finished after Elizabeth's death, but by that time the Dutch were strong enough to hold their own.<ref>{{cite book|last=Markham, Clement|author-link=Clements Markham|title=The Sir Francis Vere: Elizabeth I's Greatest Soldier and the Eighty Years War|year=2007|publisher=Leonaur LTD|page=278|isbn=978-1782825296}}</ref>

===Spain===
{{Main|Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)}}
[[File:Nícholas-Hilliard-Elizabeth-I-Queen-of-England-c-1586-87.tif|thumb|left|Portrait from 1586 to 1587, by Nicholas Hilliard, around the time of the voyages of [[Francis Drake]]]]

With England at war with Spain in 1585, Francis Drake undertook a year long voyage raiding Spanish ports and ships in the [[Caribbean]]. In 1587 he made a [[Singeing the King of Spain's Beard|successful raid]] on [[Cádiz]], destroying the Spanish fleet of war ships intended for the ''Enterprise of England'',<ref>Parker, 193–194.</ref> as Philip II had decided to take the war to England.<ref name="haigh138">Haigh, 138.</ref>

On 12 July 1588, the [[Spanish Armada]], a great fleet of ships, set sail for the channel, planning to ferry a Spanish invasion force under the Duke of Parma to the coast of southeast England from the Netherlands. To intercept the Armada, Elizabeth sent her navy led by Francis Drake and [[Charles Howard, 1st Earl of Nottingham|Charles Howard]]. The armada was defeated by a combination of miscalculation,{{Efn|When the Spanish naval commander, the [[Alonso de Guzmán El Bueno, 7th Duke of Medina Sidonia|Duke of Medina Sidonia]], reached the coast near Calais, he found the Duke of Parma's troops unready and was forced to wait, giving the English the opportunity to launch their attack.<ref>Loades, 64.</ref>}} misfortune, and an attack of English [[fire ships]] off [[Gravelines]] at midnight on 28–29 July (7–8 August New Style), which dispersed the [[Habsburg Spain|Spanish]] ships to the northeast.<ref>Black, 349.</ref> The Armada straggled home to Spain in shattered remnants, after [[Spanish Armada in Ireland|disastrous losses on the coast of Ireland]] (after some ships had tried to struggle back to Spain via the [[North Sea]], and then back south past the west coast of Ireland).<ref name="neale300">Neale, 300.</ref> Unaware of the Armada's fate, English militias mustered to defend the country under the Earl of Leicester's command. Leicester invited Elizabeth to inspect her troops at [[Tilbury]] in Essex on 8 August. Wearing a silver breastplate over a white velvet dress, she addressed them in her [[Speech to the Troops at Tilbury]]:

{{Blockquote|My loving people, we have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourself to armed multitudes for fear of treachery; but I assure you, I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people&nbsp;... 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, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any Prince of Europe should dare to invade the borders of my realm.<ref>Somerset, 591; Neale, 297–298.</ref>}}

[[File:Elizabeth I (Armada Portrait).jpg|thumb|upright=1.35|Portrait commemorating the defeat of the [[Spanish Armada]], depicted in the background. Elizabeth's hand rests on the globe, symbolising her international power. One of three known versions of the "[[Armada Portrait]]".]]

When no invasion came, the nation rejoiced. Elizabeth's procession to a thanksgiving service at [[Old St Paul's Cathedral|St Paul's Cathedral]] rivalled that of her coronation as a spectacle.<ref name=neale300/> The defeat of the armada was a potent propaganda victory, both for Elizabeth and for Protestant England. The English took their delivery as a symbol of God's favour and of the nation's inviolability under a virgin queen.<ref name=loades61/> However, the victory was not a turning point in the war, which continued for another sixteen years.<ref name="xucglh">Black, 353.</ref>

In 1589, the year after the Spanish Armada, Elizabeth sent to Spain the ''[[English Armada]]'' or ''Counter Armada'' with 23,375 men and 150 ships, led by Francis Drake as admiral and [[John Norris (soldier)|John Norreys]] as general. The English fleet suffered a catastrophic defeat with 11,000–15,000 killed, wounded or died of disease<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Bucholz |first1=R. O. |title=Early modern England 1485–1714: a narrative history |last2=Key |first2=Newton |date=2009 |publisher=John Wiley and Sons |isbn=978-1-4051-6275-3 |page=145}}.</ref><ref>Hampden, John ''Francis Drake, privateer: contemporary narratives and documents'' (Taylor & Francis, 1972). {{ISBN|978-0-8173-5703-0}}, 254.</ref><ref name="Fernández Duro 1972 p.51">Fernández Duro, Cesáreo (1972). ''Armada Española desde la Unión de los Reinos de Castilla y Aragón.'' Museo Naval de Madrid, Instituto de Historia y Cultura Naval, Tomo III, Capítulo III. Madrid, p. 51.</ref> and 40 ships sunk or captured.<ref name="Fernández Duro 1972 p.51"/> The advantage England had won upon the destruction of the Spanish Armada was lost, and the Spanish victory marked a revival of Philip II's naval power through the next decade.<ref>Elliott, J. H. ''La Europa dividida (1559–1598)'' (Editorial Critica, 2002). {{ISBN|978-8-4843-2669-4}}, 333.</ref>

While the English navy kept an eye on the next invasion, it was left for English privateers to see to the hunt for Spanish and Portuguese treasure ships. They would take part in highly lucrative joint stock expeditions to raid and plunder settlements and shipping in the Atlantic and on the Spanish Main. Known as ''[[Elizabethan Sea Dogs]]''; they included the likes of Drake, Hawkins and Raleigh. Elizabeth's court and powerful London merchants were at the forefront of promoting, equipping and financing these expeditions, which were authorized by Elizabeth. She alone would receive nearly a third of the profits, which in addition filled her realm's coffers.{{sfn|Bicheno|2012|pp=308-309}} One of the most notable prizes was a large and highly valuable Portuguese [[Carrack]], the ''[[Madre de Deus]]'' which was taken [[Battle of Flores (1592)|in battle]] off the Azores in 1592. It was subject to mass theft after arrival in Dartmouth, which angered Elizabeth, but even so the rest of the cargo was still half the wealth of the English treasury at the time.

There were a number of failures; the most notable being Drake and Hawkins on a [[Drake's Assault on Panama|disastrous expedition]] to the Caribbean in 1595 during which both died, the news of which shocked Elizabeth.{{sfn|Bicheno|2012|pp=285-86}} Despite this, a new breed of Sea Dogs came to fruition, the likes of [[James Lancaster]], [[William Parker (privateer)|William Parker]] and the most successful of all [[Christopher Newport]]. Although they failed to capture any of the major treasure ships, Elizabeth's 'Sea Dogs' were highly successful; a strategy of harassment brought in an average of 15% of nation's imports every year throughout the war.{{sfn|MacCaffrey|1994|p=108}}

In 1596 Elizabeth sent the [[Capture of Cádiz|second English armada]] to Cádiz, in the hope of seizing the treasure fleet. Led by her favorite the Earl of Essex, Elizabeth's fleet with Dutch support, succeeded in capturing Cádiz costing the Spanish some 32 ships sunk along with the treasure in them.{{sfn|Wernham|1994|pp=130-33}} The victory was hailed as a triumph, and Essex became a hero - his prestige rivalling Elizabeth's. The Queen accused Essex of pilfering Spanish treasure, and questioned why he had dished out knighthoods whilst in Cádiz, reminding him he had no authority to do so.{{sfn|Hammer|1999|pp=371-373}}

Meanwhile, in revenge for Cádiz, Philip II sent his [[second Spanish Armada]] to England a few months later, but this met with disaster - storms swept away the fleet before it saw sight of England, costing nearly 5,000 men and 40 ships sunk. This, along with the Cádiz raid forced Spain to declare bankruptcy that year. Undeterred, Philip sent the [[third Armada]] in 1597, but near the English coast another storm dispersed the fleet, losing another 28 ships sunk or captured and 2,000 men.{{sfn|Bicheno|2012|pp=289-293}} Elizabeth awarded Charles Howard the title of the [[Earl of Nottingham]] for his performance during the campaign. The Queen nevertheless was furious with the Earl of Essex who had been away on a [[Islands Voyage|failed expedition to the Azores]], accusing him of making England defenseless – their relationship became ever more strained.{{sfn|Graham|2013|pp=214-15}}

After the death of Philip II in 1598, his successor Philip III built up his fleet once more and sent the [[fourth Spanish Armada]] to Ireland in 1601 to assist the rebels there. The Spanish this time made landfall and held the town of [[Kinsale]] for three months but following the defeat of the rebels outside the town the Spanish were forced to surrender their entire force along the Southwest Irish coast.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tenace |first1=Edward |title=A Strategy of Reactions: The Armadas of 1596 and 1597 and the Spanish Struggle for European Hegemony |journal=English Historical Review |date=2003 |volume=118 |issue=478 |pages=855–882 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/3491126 |access-date=26 February 2025 |publisher=Oxford University Press|doi=10.1093/ehr/118.478.855 |jstor=3491126 }}</ref> This defeat weakened Spanish resolve in the war against England; both sides were nevertheless exhausted and peace was signed between England and Spain with the [[Treaty of London (1604)|Treaty of London]] in 1604, a year after Elizabeth's death.{{sfn|Wernham|1994|p=413}}

[[Walter Raleigh]] claimed after her death that Elizabeth's caution had impeded the war against Spain:

{{Blockquote|If the late queen would have believed her men of war as she did her scribes, we had in her time beaten that great empire in pieces and made their kings of figs and oranges as in old times. But her Majesty did all by halves, and by petty invasions taught the Spaniard how to defend himself, and to see his own weakness.<ref>Haigh, 145.</ref>}}

Though some historians have criticised Elizabeth on similar grounds,{{Efn|For example, C. H. Wilson castigates Elizabeth for half-heartedness in the war against Spain.<ref name="Haigh, 183">Haigh, 183.</ref>}} Elizabeth had good reason not to place too much trust in her commanders, who once in action tended, as she put it herself, "to be transported with an haviour of vainglory".<ref>Somerset, 655.</ref>

===France===
[[File:England Queen Elizabeth I sixpence 1593.jpg|thumb|Silver [[Sixpence (British coin)|sixpence]] struck 1593 identifying Elizabeth as "[[by the Grace of God]] Queen of England, [[English claim to the French throne|France]], and Ireland"]]

When the Protestant [[Henry IV of France|Henry IV]] inherited the French throne in 1589, Elizabeth sent him military support. It was her first venture into France since the retreat from Le Havre in 1563. Henry's succession was strongly contested by the Catholic League and by Philip II, and Elizabeth feared a Spanish takeover of the channel ports.

The subsequent early English campaigns in France, however, were disorganised and ineffective.<ref name="haigh142">Haigh, 142.</ref> [[Peregrine Bertie, 13th Baron Willoughby de Eresby|Peregrine Bertie]], largely ignoring Elizabeth's orders, roamed northern France to little effect, with an army of 4,000 men. He withdrew in disarray in December 1590 following the failure of the [[Siege of Paris (1590)|Siege of Paris]]. The following year, John Norreys, led 3,000 men to campaign in Brittany, which despite [[Battle of Château-Laudran|victory at Quenelec]] in June ended inconclusively.

In July, Elizabeth sent out another force under [[Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex]], to help Henry IV in [[Siege of Rouen (1591–1592)|besieging Rouen]] which Norreys joined. Essex however accomplished nothing and returned home in January 1592, and Henry abandoned the siege in April.<ref>Haigh, 143.</ref> As usual, Elizabeth lacked control over her commanders once they were abroad. "Where he is, or what he doth, or what he is to do," she wrote of Essex, "we are ignorant".<ref>Haigh, 143–144.</ref> Norreys left for London to plead in person for more support. Elizabeth dithered, and in Norreys' absence in May 1592, a Catholic League and Spanish army almost destroyed the remains of his [[Battle of Craon|army at Craon]], north-west France. As for all such expeditions, Elizabeth was unwilling to invest in the supplies and reinforcements requested by the commanders.

In March 1593, Henry converted to Catholicism in Paris to secure his hold on the French crown. Elizabeth was distraught and shocked at this move, and she resented any further attempts by Henry to win her over and ordered all of her forces home.{{sfn|Rowse|1950|p=419}} Despite this, the Catholic leaguers did not trust Henry and still opposed him - their Spanish allies meanwhile continued to [[Brittany campaign|campaign in Brittany]] and advanced on the major port of [[Brest, France|Brest]]. King Philip of Spain was intent on establishing advanced bases in western France from which his rebuilt navy could constantly threaten England. Norreys wrote to Elizabeth warning her about this threat - and after some hesitation saw the danger and so sent another force in 1594. Norreys with 4,000 men worked with his French counterpart [[Jean VI d'Aumont]]. This time success was achieved; after taking a number of towns, they laid siege to an encroaching Spanish fort near Brest [[Siege of Fort Crozon|which was overrun and destroyed]]. This was a decisive victory ending the threat, and not long after the Catholic league collapsed. Elizabeth hailed Norreys a hero, but then ordered him back to England along with his troops.{{sfn|MacCaffrey|1994|pp=189-91}}

In 1595 Henry [[French Wars of Religion#War with Spain (1595–1598)|declared war on Spain]] and wanted England to form an alliance with France. Elizabeth however was not interested, owing to her mistrust of Henry and the fear that France was becoming more dominant. The Spanish however [[Siege of Calais (1596)|captured Calais in 1596]], and with Spain now in sight of England once more, Elizabeth relented – [[Triple Alliance (1596)|the triple alliance]] was formed along with the Dutch Republic. Elizabeth however still hesitated, attempting to barter for either Boulogne or an indemnity in money, the latter of which was agreed. When Spanish forces seized [[Amiens]] in March 1597, Elizabeth sent a force of some 4,200 men under [[Thomas Baskerville (general)|Thomas Baskerville]] to Picardy, joining Henry's forces.{{sfn|MacCaffrey|1994|p=207}} The Anglo-French force arrived, then [[Siege of Amiens (1597)|besieged Amiens and drove off a relief army]]. The town then surrendered, following which French overtures for peace with Spain began. Henry wanted Elizabeth to be part of this peace but she refused, reminding him of the alliance with the Dutch. Henry ultimately went behind Elizabeth's back to sign the [[Peace of Vervins|peace with Spain at Vervins]]. She thus accused the French king of 'perfidy and double-dealing'.{{sfn|Wernham|1994|p=235}}

===Ireland===
{{Main|Tudor conquest of Ireland}}
[[File:The Image of Irelande - plate12.jpg|thumb|right|250px|The Irish [[Gaels|Gaelic]] chieftain [[Turlough Luineach O'Neill|O'Neale]] and the other [[Kern (soldier)|kerns]] kneel to [[Henry Sidney]] in submission.]]

Although Ireland was one of her two kingdoms, Elizabeth faced a hostile, and in places virtually autonomous,{{Efn|One observer wrote that [[Ulster]], for example, was "as unknown to the English here as the most inland part of Virginia".<ref>Somerset, 667.</ref>}} Irish population that adhered to Catholicism and was willing to defy her authority and plot with her enemies. Her policy there was to grant land to her courtiers and prevent the rebels from giving Spain a base from which to attack England.<ref>Loades, 55.</ref> In the course of a series of uprisings, Crown forces pursued [[scorched-earth]] tactics, burning the land and slaughtering man, woman and child. During a revolt in [[Munster]] led by [[Gerald FitzGerald, 14th Earl of Desmond|Gerald FitzGerald, Earl of Desmond]], in 1582, an estimated 30,000 Irish people starved to death. The poet and colonist [[Edmund Spenser]] wrote that the victims "were brought to such wretchedness as that any stony heart would have rued the same".<ref>Somerset, 668.</ref> Elizabeth advised her commanders that the Irish, "that rude and barbarous nation", be well treated, but she or her commanders showed no remorse when force and bloodshed served their authoritarian purpose.<ref>Somerset, 668–669.</ref>

Between 1593 and 1603, Elizabeth faced her most severe test in Ireland during the [[Nine Years' War (Ireland)|Nine Years' War]], a revolt that took place at the height of hostilities with [[Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)|Spain]], who backed the rebel leader, [[Hugh O'Neill, Earl of Tyrone]].<ref name="Loades, 98">Loades, 98.</ref> In spring 1599, Elizabeth sent [[Essex in Ireland|Robert Devereux]] to put the revolt down. To her frustration,{{Efn|In a letter of 19 July 1599 to Essex, Elizabeth wrote: "For what can be more true (if things be rightly examined) than that your two month's journey has brought in never a capital rebel against whom it had been worthy to have adventured one thousand men".<ref name="Loades, 98"/>}} he made little progress and returned to England in defiance of her orders. He was replaced by [[Charles Blount, 8th Baron Mountjoy|Charles Blount]], who within three years defeated the rebels who were supported by the Spanish. The decisive battle took place at [[Battle of Kinsale|Kinsale in 1602]]; Elizabeth lauded the victory, hailing Mountjoy a hero. The financial cost of the Irish war however was considerable and Elizabeth's realm only just avoided bankruptcy. O'Neill finally surrendered in 1603 at the [[Treaty of Mellifont]], a few days after Elizabeth's death.<ref>Loades, 98–99.</ref>

===Russia===
Elizabeth continued to maintain the diplomatic relations with the [[Tsardom of Russia]] that were originally established by her half-brother, Edward VI. She often wrote to Tsar [[Ivan the Terrible]] on amicable terms, though the Tsar was often annoyed by her focus on commerce rather than on the possibility of a military alliance. Ivan even proposed to her once, and during his later reign, asked for a guarantee to be granted asylum in England should his rule be jeopardised.<ref name="muscovy"/> When this failed, he asked to marry [[Mary Hastings]], which Elizabeth declined to speak to the Russian ambassador about.<ref>{{cite book |first=Carol |last=Levin |title=A Biographical Encyclopedia of Early Modern Englishwomen: Exemplary Lives and Memorable Acts, 1500-1650 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |year=2016 |pages=510–511 |isbn=9781315440712}}</ref> English merchant and explorer [[Anthony Jenkinson]], who began his career as a representative of the [[Muscovy Company]], became the Queen's [[List of ambassadors of the Kingdom of England to Russia|special ambassador]] to the court of Tsar Ivan.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Coote |first=Charles Henry |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NAkkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT20 |title=Early Voyages and Travels to Russia and Persia by Anthony Jenkinson and other Englishmen |date=2017 |publisher=Taylor & Francis |isbn=978-1-3171-4661-2 |page=1, Introduction |access-date=3 February 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210819042642/https://books.google.com/books?id=NAkkDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT20 |archive-date=19 August 2021 |url-status=live}}</ref>

Upon his death in 1584, Ivan was succeeded by his son [[Feodor I]]. Unlike his father, Feodor had no enthusiasm in maintaining exclusive trading rights with England. He declared his kingdom open to all foreigners, and dismissed the English ambassador [[Jerome Bowes]], whose pomposity had been tolerated by Ivan. Elizabeth sent a new ambassador, Dr. Giles Fletcher, to demand from the regent [[Boris Godunov]] that he convince the Tsar to reconsider. The negotiations failed, due to Fletcher addressing Feodor with two of his many titles omitted. Elizabeth continued to appeal to Feodor in half appealing, half reproachful letters. She proposed an alliance, something which she had refused to do when offered one by Feodor's father, but was turned down.<ref name="muscovy">Crankshaw, Edward, ''Russia and Britain'', Collins, ''The Nations and Britain'' series.</ref>

===Muslim states===
[[File:MoorishAmbassador to Elizabeth I.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|[[Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud]] was the Moorish ambassador to Elizabeth in 1600.]]

Trade and diplomatic relations developed between England and the [[Barbary states]] during the rule of Elizabeth.<ref name="vaughan">{{Cite book |last=Virginia Mason Vaughan |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=19_SIlq3ZvsC&pg=PA57 |title=Performing Blackness on English Stages, 1500–1800 |date=2005 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-5218-4584-7 |page=57 |access-date=22 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714114006/https://books.google.com/books?id=19_SIlq3ZvsC&pg=PA57 |archive-date=14 July 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=Allardyce Nicoll |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=OeakAOji13EC&pg=PA90 |title=Shakespeare Survey With Index 1–10 |date=2002 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-0-5215-2347-9 |page=90 |access-date=22 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191222173632/https://books.google.com/books?id=OeakAOji13EC&pg=PA90 |archive-date=22 December 2019 |url-status=live}}</ref> England established a trading relationship with [[Saadi Sultanate|Morocco]] in opposition to Spain, selling armour, ammunition, timber, and metal in exchange for Moroccan sugar, in spite of a [[papal]] ban.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Bartels |first=Emily Carroll |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S6Z9J0OJmmQC&pg=PA24 |title=Speaking of the Moor |date=2008 |publisher=University of Pennsylvania Press |isbn=978-0-8122-4076-4 |page=24 |access-date=22 October 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200714114007/https://books.google.com/books?id=S6Z9J0OJmmQC&pg=PA24 |archive-date=14 July 2020 |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1600, [[Abd el-Ouahed ben Messaoud]], the principal secretary to the Moroccan ruler Mulai [[Ahmad al-Mansur]], visited England as an ambassador to the English court,<ref name="vaughan"/><ref>[[University of Birmingham]] Collections [http://mimsy.bham.ac.uk/detail.php?t=objects&type=related&kv=101212 Mimsy.bham.ac.uk] {{Webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090228082016/http://mimsy.bham.ac.uk/detail.php?t=objects&type=related&kv=101212 |date=28 February 2009}}</ref> to negotiate an [[Anglo-Moroccan alliance]] against Spain.<ref name="tate.org.uk">[[Tate Gallery]] exhibition "East-West: Objects between cultures", [http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/east-west-objects-between-cultures/east-west-room-1 Tate.org.uk] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131226012823/http://www.tate.org.uk/whats-on/tate-britain/exhibition/east-west-objects-between-cultures/east-west-room-1 |date=26 December 2013}}</ref><ref name="vaughan"/> Elizabeth "agreed to sell munitions supplies to Morocco, and she and Mulai Ahmad al-Mansur talked on and off about mounting a joint operation against the Spanish".<ref name="Kupperman39">Kupperman, 39.</ref> Discussions, however, remained inconclusive, and both rulers died within two years of the embassy.<ref>Nicoll, 96.</ref>

Diplomatic relations were also established with the [[Ottoman Empire]] with the chartering of the [[Levant Company]] and the dispatch of the first English ambassador to the [[Sublime Porte]], [[William Harborne]], in 1578.<ref name=Kupperman39/> For the first time, a treaty of commerce was signed in 1580.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MziRd4ddZz4C&pg=PA353 |title=The Encyclopedia of world history by Peter N. Stearns |page=353 |access-date=2 May 2010}}</ref> Numerous envoys were dispatched in both directions and epistolar exchanges occurred between Elizabeth and Sultan [[Murad III]].<ref name=Kupperman39/> In one correspondence, Murad entertained the notion that [[Protestantism and Islam]] had "much more in common than either did with Roman Catholicism, as both rejected the worship of idols", and argued for an alliance between England and the Ottoman Empire.<ref>Kupperman, 40.</ref> To the dismay of Catholic Europe, England exported tin and lead (for cannon-casting) and munitions to the Ottoman Empire, and Elizabeth seriously discussed joint military operations with Murad III during the outbreak of war with Spain in 1585, as Francis Walsingham was lobbying for a direct Ottoman military involvement against the common Spanish enemy.<ref>Kupperman, 41.</ref>

===America===
In 1583, [[Humphrey Gilbert]] sailed west to establish a colony in [[Newfoundland]]. He never returned to England. Gilbert's half-brother [[Walter Raleigh]] explored the Atlantic Coast and claimed the territory of [[Colony of Virginia|Virginia]], perhaps named in honour of Elizabeth, the "Virgin Queen". This territory was much larger than the present-day state of [[Virginia]], extending from [[New England]] to the [[Carolinas]]. In 1585, Raleigh returned to Virginia with a small group of people. They landed on [[Roanoke Island]], off present-day [[North Carolina]]. After the failure of the first colony, Raleigh recruited another group and put [[John White (colonist and artist)|John White]] in command. When Raleigh returned in 1590, there was no trace of the [[Roanoke Colony]] he had left, but it was the first English settlement in North America.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Daniel Farabaugh |title=United States History |date=2016 |publisher=McGraw-Hill |isbn=978-1-2595-8409-1 |edition=4th |pages=45–47 |chapter=Chapter 2}}</ref>

===East India Company===
Following successful privateering against Spanish and Portuguese vessels, English voyagers travelled the globe in search of riches. As a result, London merchants presented a petition to Elizabeth with the aim of delivering a decisive blow to the Spanish and Portuguese monopoly of far-eastern trade.{{sfn|Wernham|1994|pp=333–334}} On 31 December 1600 the merchants received its charter from Elizabeth, and the [[East India Company]] was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region and China. [[James Lancaster]] commanded the first expedition the following year which was a success establishing its first [[Factory (trading post)|factory]] at [[Banten (town)|Bantum]] on [[Java]] in 1602. For a period of 15 years, the company was awarded a monopoly on English trade with all countries east of the [[Cape of Good Hope]] and west of the [[Straits of Magellan]]. The Company eventually controlled half of world trade and substantial territory in India in the 18th and 19th centuries.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Foster, Sir William |title=England's Quest of Eastern Trade |date=1998 |publisher=A. & C. Black |isbn=978-0-4151-5518-2 |location=London |pages=155–157 |orig-date=1933}}</ref>