Editing Elizabethan era (section)

==Government==
{{Main|Elizabethan government}}
[[File:Cecil Court of Wards.jpg|thumb|right|[[William Cecil, 1st Baron Burghley|William Cecil]] presiding over the [[Court of Wards and Liveries|Court of Wards]]]]
Elizabethan England was not particularly successful in a military sense during the period, but it avoided major defeats and built up a powerful navy. On balance, it can be said that Elizabeth provided the country with a long period of general if not total peace and generally increased prosperity due in large part to stealing from Spanish treasure ships, raiding settlements with low defenses, and selling African slaves. Having inherited a virtually bankrupt state from previous reigns, her frugal policies restored fiscal responsibility. Her fiscal restraint cleared the regime of debt by 1574, and ten years later the Crown enjoyed a surplus of £300,000.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Aaron |first=Melissa D. |title=Global Economics |date=2005 |page=25}} In the later decades of the reign, the costs of warfare – defeating the [[English Armada]] of 1589 and funding the campaigns in the Netherlands – obliterated the surplus; England had a debt of £350,000 at Elizabeth's death in 1603.</ref> Economically, [[Sir Thomas Gresham]]'s founding of the [[Royal Exchange (London)|Royal Exchange]] (1565), the first stock exchange in England and one of the earliest in Europe, proved to be a development of the first importance, for the economic development of England and soon for the world as a whole. With taxes lower than other European countries of the period, the economy expanded; though the wealth was distributed with wild unevenness, there was more wealth to go around at the end of Elizabeth's reign than at the beginning.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Cook |first=Ann Jennalie |title=The Privileged Playgoers of Shakespeare's London, 1576–1642 |date=1981 |publisher=Princeton University Press |isbn=0691064547 |pages=49–96}}</ref> This general peace and prosperity allowed the attractive developments that "Golden Age" advocates have stressed.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Hibbert |first=Christopher |title=The Virgin Queen: Elizabeth I, Genius of the Golden Age |date=1991 |publisher=Da Capo Press |isbn=0201608170}}</ref>

===Plots, intrigues, and conspiracies===
The Elizabethan Age was also an age of plots and conspiracies, frequently political, and often involving the highest levels of Elizabethan society. High officials in Madrid, Paris, and Rome sought to kill Elizabeth, a Protestant, and replace her with [[Mary, Queen of Scots]], a Catholic. That would be a prelude to the religious recovery of England for Catholicism. In 1570, the [[Ridolfi plot]] was thwarted. In 1584, the [[Throckmorton Plot]] was discovered, after [[Francis Throckmorton]] confessed his involvement in a plot to overthrow the Queen and restore the Catholic Church in England. Another major [[Conspiracy (political)|conspiracy]] was the [[Babington Plot]] – the event which most directly led to Mary's execution, the discovery of which involved a [[double agent]], [[Gilbert Gifford]], acting under the direction of [[Francis Walsingham]], the Queen's highly effective spy master.

The [[Essex Rebellion]] of 1601 has a dramatic element, as just before the uprising, supporters of the [[Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex|Earl of Essex]], among them Charles and Joscelyn Percy (younger brothers of the [[Henry Percy, 9th Earl of Northumberland|Earl of Northumberland]]), paid for a performance of ''[[Richard II (play)|Richard II]]'' at the [[Globe Theatre]], apparently to stir public ill will towards the monarchy.<ref name="bate256">{{Cite book |last=Jonathan Bate |title=Soul of the Age |publisher=Penguin |year=2008 |isbn=978-0-670-91482-1 |location=London |pages=256–286 |author-link=Jonathan Bate}}</ref> It was reported at the trial of Essex by [[Lord Chamberlain's Men|Chamberlain's Men]] actor [[Augustine Phillips]], that the conspirators paid the company forty [[shilling]]s "above the ordinary" (i. e., above their usual rate) to stage the play, which the players felt was too old and "out of use" to attract a large audience.<ref name="bate256" />

In the last decades of the reign, Elizabeth gave [[James VI and I|James VI of Scotland]] an [[English subsidy of James VI|annual annuity or subsidy]] which contributed to an "amity" or peace between England and Scotland.<ref>[[Julian Goodare]], ''State and Society in Early Modern Scotland'' (Oxford, 1999), pp. 118–119.</ref> It became clear that [[Succession to Elizabeth I|he would be her successor]]. Plots continued in the new reign. In the [[Bye Plot]] of 1603, two Catholic priests planned to kidnap King James and hold him in the [[Tower of London]] until he agreed to be more tolerant towards Catholics. Most dramatic was the 1605 [[Gunpowder Plot]] to blow up the House of Lords during the State Opening of Parliament. It was discovered in time with eight conspirators executed, including [[Guy Fawkes]], who became the iconic evil traitor in English lore.<ref>J. A. Sharpe (2005) ''Remember, Remember: A Cultural History of Guy Fawkes Day'', Harvard University Press {{ISBN|0674019350}}</ref>

===English Navy and defeat of the Armada===
[[File:English Ships and the Spanish Armada, August 1588 RMG BHC0262.jpg|thumb|upright=1.1|right|The Spanish Armada fighting the English navy at the [[Naval battle of Gravelines|Battle of Gravelines]] in 1588]]
While Henry VIII had launched the [[Royal Navy]], Edward and Mary had ignored it and it was little more than a system of coastal defense. Elizabeth made naval strength a high priority.<ref>{{Cite book |first=Julian S. |last=Corbett |date=1898 |url=https://archive.org/details/drakeandtudorna01corbgoog |title=Drake and the Tudor Navy, With a History of the Rise of England as a Maritime Power|publisher=New York, B. Franklin }}</ref> She risked war with Spain by supporting the "[[Elizabethan Sea Dogs|Sea Dogs]]", such as [[John Hawkins (naval commander)|John Hawkins]] and [[Francis Drake]], who preyed on the Spanish merchant ships carrying gold and silver from the New World. The Navy yards were leaders in technical innovation, and the captains devised new tactics. Parker (1996) argues that the full-rigged ship was one of the greatest technological advances of the century and permanently transformed naval warfare. In 1573 English shipwrights introduced designs, first demonstrated in the "Dreadnaught", that allowed the ships to sail faster and maneuver better and permitted heavier guns.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Parker |first=Geoffrey |year=1996 |title=The 'Dreadnought' Revolution of Tudor England |journal=Mariner's Mirror |volume=82 |issue=3 |pages=269–300 |doi=10.1080/00253359.1996.10656603}}</ref> Whereas before warships had tried to grapple with each other so that soldiers could board the enemy ship, now they stood off and fired broadsides that would sink the enemy vessel. When Spain finally decided to invade and conquer England it was a fiasco. Superior English ships and seamanship foiled the invasion and led to the destruction of the [[Spanish Armada]] in 1588, marking the high point of Elizabeth's reign. Technically, the Armada failed because Spain's over-complex strategy required coordination between the invasion fleet and the Spanish army on shore. Moreover, the poor design of the Spanish cannons meant they were much slower in reloading in a close-range battle. Spain and France still had stronger fleets, but England was catching up.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Parker |first=Geoffrey |year=1888 |title=Why the Armada Failed |journal=History Today |volume=38 |issue=5 |pages=26–33}}</ref>

Parker has speculated on the dire consequences if the Spanish had landed their invasion army in 1588. He argues that the Spanish army was larger, more experienced, better equipped, more confident, and had better financing. The English defenses, on the other hand, were thin and outdated; England had too few soldiers and they were at best only partially trained. Spain had chosen England's weakest link and probably could have captured London in a week. Parker adds that a Catholic uprising in the north and in Ireland could have brought total defeat.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Parker |first=Geoffrey |year=1976 |title=If the Armada Had Landed |journal=History |volume=61 |issue=203 |pages=358–368 |doi=10.1111/j.1468-229X.1976.tb01347.x}}</ref>

The following year England launched an equally unsuccessful expedition to Spain with the [[English Armada|Drake–Norris Expedition]]. The advantage England had won upon the destruction of the Spanish Armada was lost and would mark a revival of Spanish naval power. A [[Capture of Cádiz|second English armada]] sent in 1596 succeeded in capturing and sacking Cádiz, and was one of the most signal English victories of the war. Further Spanish Armadas also failed - in [[2nd Spanish Armada|1596]], [[3rd Spanish Armada|1597]] and [[4th Spanish Armada|1601]]. The war ended with the [[Treaty of London, 1604|Treaty of London]] the year following Elizabeth's death.

===Colonising the New World===
{{Main|English colonial empire}}
The discoveries of Christopher Columbus electrified all of Western Europe, especially maritime powers like England. King Henry VII commissioned [[John Cabot]] to lead a voyage to find a northern route to the [[Maluku Islands|Spice Islands]] of Asia; this began the search for the [[North West Passage]]. Cabot sailed in 1497 and reached [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Andrews |first=Kenneth |title=Trade, Plunder and Settlement: Maritime Enterprise and the Genesis of the British Empire, 1480–1630 |date=1984 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0-521-27698-5 |pages=45}}</ref> He led another voyage to the Americas the following year, but nothing was heard of him or his ships again.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ferguson |first=Niall |title=Colossus: The Price of America's Empire |publisher=Penguin Books |year=2004 |isbn=0143034790 |page=4 |author-link=Niall Ferguson}}</ref>

In 1562 Elizabeth sent [[privateer]]s also named '[[Elizabethan Sea Dogs]]'; these included the likes of [[John Hawkins (naval commander)|Hawkins]] and [[Francis Drake|Drake]] to seize booty from Spanish and Portuguese ships off the coast of [[West Africa]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Thomas |first=Hugh |title=The Slave Trade: the History of the Atlantic Slave Trade |publisher=Simon & Schuster |year=1997 |isbn=0684810638 |pages=155–158}}</ref> When the [[Anglo-Spanish War (1585)|Anglo-Spanish Wars]] intensified after 1585, Elizabeth approved further raids against Spanish ports in the Americas and shipping returning to Europe with treasure.<ref>{{Harvnb|Ferguson|2004|p=7}}</ref> Meanwhile, the influential writers [[Richard Hakluyt]] and [[John Dee]] were beginning to press for the establishment of England's own overseas empire. Spain was well established in the Americas, while Portugal, in union with Spain from 1580, had an ambitious global empire in Africa, Asia, and South America. France was exploring North America.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Lloyd |first=Trevor Owen |title=The British Empire 1558–1995 |date=1994 |publisher=Oxford University Press |isbn=0-19-873134-5 |pages=4–8}}</ref> England was stimulated to create its own colonies, with an emphasis on the [[West Indies]] rather than in North America.

[[Martin Frobisher]] landed at [[Frobisher Bay]] on [[Baffin Island]] in August 1576; He returned in 1577, claiming it in Queen Elizabeth's name, and a third voyage tried but failed to find a settlement in Frobisher Bay.<ref>{{cite DCB |first=Alan |last=Cooke |title=Frobisher, Sir Martin |volume=1|url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/frobisher_martin_1E.html}}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |last=McDermott |first=James |title=Martin Frobisher: Elizabethan privateer |date=2001 |publisher=Yale University Press |isbn=0-300-08380-7 |page=[https://archive.org/details/martinfrobishere0000mcde/page/190 190]}}</ref>

[[File:1590 or later Marcus Gheeraerts, Sir Francis Drake Buckland Abbey, Devon.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Francis Drake]]]]
From 1577 to 1580, [[Francis Drake]] [[Francis Drake's Circumnavigation|circumnavigated]] the globe. Combined with his daring raids against the Spanish and his great victory over them at [[Singeing the King of Spain's Beard|Cádiz in 1587]], he became a famous hero<ref>{{Cite journal |first=John |last=Cummins |year=1996 |title='That golden knight': Drake and his reputation |journal=History Today |volume=46 |issue=1 |pages=14–21}}; {{Cite book |last=Wathen |first=Bruce |title=Sir Francis Drake: The Construction of a Hero |date=2009 |publisher=D.S.Brewer |isbn=978-1843841869}}</ref>—his exploits are still celebrated—but England did not follow up on his claims.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Sugden |first=John |title=Sir Francis Drake |date=1990 |publisher=Random House |isbn=1448129508 |page=118}}</ref> In 1583, [[Humphrey Gilbert]] sailed to Newfoundland, taking possession of the harbour of [[St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador|St. John's]] together with all land within two hundred [[League (unit)|leagues]] to the north and south of it.<ref>{{cite DCB |title=Gilbert, Sir Humphrey |first=David B. |last=Quinn |volume=1 |url=http://www.biographi.ca/en/bio/gilbert_humphrey_1E.html}}</ref>

In 1584, the queen granted [[Walter Raleigh]] a charter for the colonisation of [[Virginia Colony|Virginia]]; it was named in her honour. Raleigh and Elizabeth sought both immediate riches and a base for privateers to raid the Spanish treasure fleets. Raleigh sent others to found the [[Roanoke Colony]]; it remains a mystery why the settlers all disappeared.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Quinn |first=David B. |title=Set fair for Roanoke: voyages and colonies, 1584–1606 |date=1985 |publisher=University of North Carolina Press Books |isbn=0807841234 |ol=2840495M}}</ref> In 1600, the queen chartered the [[East India Company]] in an attempt to break the Spanish and Portuguese monopoly of far Eastern trade.<ref name="Wernham">{{Cite book |last=Wernham |first=R.B |title=The Return of the Armadas: The Last Years of the Elizabethan Wars Against Spain 1595–1603 |publisher=Clarendon Press |year=1994 |isbn=978-0-19-820443-5 |location=Oxford |pages=333–334}}</ref> It established trading posts, which in later centuries evolved into [[British India]], on the coasts of what is now India and [[Bangladesh]]. Larger scale colonisation to [[North America]] began shortly after Elizabeth's death.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Andrews |first=Kenneth R. |title=Trade, Plunder, and Settlement: Maritime Enterprise and the Genesis of the British Empire, 1480–1630 |date=1985 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=0521276985}}</ref>