The Elizabethan period was in every respect remarkable. It was great
in its men of thought, great in its literature, and equally great in
its men of action. It was greatest, however, in its successful
resistance to the armed hand of religious oppression. "Practically the
reign of Elizabeth," as Bishop Creighton remarks, "saw England
established as a Protestant country."[2]
[2] See "The Dictionary of English History" ("The Reformation"),
p. 860.
The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 gave renewed courage to the
cause of the Reformation, not only in England, but in every Protestant
country in Europe. It meant that a movement had begun which, though
it might be temporarily hindered, would secure to all civilized
countries, which accepted it, the right of private judgment and of
liberty of conscience in matters of religion.