QUEEN ELIZABETH.--1558 TO 1603.
[Illustration: QUEEN ELIZABETH REVIEWING HER TROOPS.]
1. Elizabeth is one of the most celebrated of our sovereigns, for she
was a remarkably clever woman, although, like her father, she was
harsh and tyrannical.
2. It was a merry day in England when she was crowned, for great
numbers of the people had not liked queen Mary. The citizens of
London testified their joy by decorating the outsides of their houses
with draperies of silk and satin; and by having shows and pageants in
the streets, as was customary, at that time, on all joyful occasions.
3. In one place, a fountain ran with wine; in another, a boy, dressed
to represent an angel with wings, descended from the top of an arch,
as the queen’s chariot was passing under, and presented her with a
bible; then was drawn up again by a cord, to look as if he flew away;
and there were many other things of the same kind, which I have not
room to tell of.
4. The ladies and gentlemen who attended the queeen rode on
horseback, for coaches were not used in England till some years
afterwards, when a gentleman, from Holland, brought a carriage over
here, and then the English soon began to build coaches, and ladies
of rank left off riding on horses, as they used to do, seated on a
pillion, behind their husbands.
5. Elizabeth was a good queen in many respects, for she was a friend
to learning, commerce, and all useful arts; and she chose able
ministers, who ruled the country with wisdom and prudence; but she
behaved very cruelly about religion, for although numbers of the
people were still Catholics, she made a law that everybody should go
to Protestant churches; and those who did not were put in prison, or
made to pay such large sums of money, that they were quite ruined.
6. In other countries, particularly the Netherlands, the Protestants
were as ill-treated as the Catholics were here, so that a great many
of them came to England, and were very useful in teaching the English
several arts and manufactures they did not know before.
7. Pins, needles, and paper, were now first made in England, and the
cotton and other factories were greatly improved, so that there was
more employment for the working classes.
8. Then workhouses were established for the destitute, and all
householders, for the first time, were obliged to pay a tax, called
the poor rate, to support and find the poor in food and clothes, so
that they might not be driven, by want, to beg or steal.
9. The middle classes became more wealthy, and lived in better style
than at any former period, especially the citizens of London, many
of whom were rich merchants, living like noblemen, and among these
was Sir Thomas Gresham, who built the first Royal Exchange, at his
own expense, and gave a grand dinner there to the queen, in the year
1570.
10. English merchants now began to think of trading to the East
Indies: but as it required a great deal of money to fit out ships,
to make so long a voyage, for it took about four times as long then
as it does now, a number of rich merchants joined together, and for
a sum of money, obtained a charter from the queen, which made it
unlawful for any other persons to carry on any trade with that part
of the world.
11. It is very interesting to read how this East India Company first
were only permitted just to land in India, and buy and sell a few
goods; then, how they obtained permission of the emperor, for there
was an emperor of India then, to build some warehouses on the sea
coast, and form a little settlement, called a factory; then how they
gradually established more factories, and took soldiers to protect
them, and gained possession of lands, where they built towns, so that
many English families went to live there.
12. Such was the beginning of the British empire in India; and, I
dare say, that if the emperor could have foreseen the consequences,
he would not have consented to have an English factory built on his
coast.
13. In the reign of Elizabeth, Captain Francis Drake made a voyage
all round the world, though he was not the first navigator who did
so, but he was the first English one.
14. This was a grand exploit, as few people had believed, then, that
it was possible, or that the world was really a round body; so you
see how these voyages tended to increase knowledge, as well as to
improve commerce.
15. When Drake returned, the queen went to dine with him on board his
ship, and made him a knight, after which he was called Sir Francis
Drake, and he soon became an admiral.
16. In the mean time, several voyages had been made to America, and
Sir Walter Raleigh, who was one of the great men of the time, had
taken possession of a tract of land for the queen of England, which
he called Virginia, and it still bears that name.
17. The Europeans behaved very unjustly about America, for although
the natives were savages, they had no right to take away their lands.
18. But they did so in every place they went to; and if they were
Spaniards, they set up the Spanish flag, and the commander of the
ship said, “I take this country for the king of Spain;” and then
would fight with the poor natives, and kill them or drive them away;
and, I am sorry to say, the English used to act much in the same
manner.
19. The Spaniards who had taken some of the West India Islands, and
settled colonies in South America, wanted slaves to work in the gold
mines, and their sugar plantations; so an English captain took out
some ships to Africa, and carried off a great many negroes, whom
he sold in the West Indies, for a large price; and from that time
this trade was carried on to a great extent, and was permitted, by
government, until the beginning of the present century.
20. But we must now think of what was going on in England. Elizabeth
had a cousin, named Mary, who was queen of Scotland, and was next
heir to the English crown.
21. She was young and beautiful, and had been married to the king of
France, who was now dead; so she had returned to Scotland, and, after
a time, married lord Darnley, and had a son, who was our king James
the First.
22. Lord Darnley was murdered, and Mary married another lord, who was
disliked by the Scots, so that there was a civil war, and she was
obliged to resign the crown, and after much ill-treatment, escaped to
England, and begged the protection of queen Elizabeth.
23. Now the queen had always been jealous of her, and she was now
cruel enough to shut her up in a castle, and, after keeping her a
prisoner for eighteen years, in different places, gave orders for
her execution, and the unfortunate queen of Scots was beheaded in
Fotheringay castle.
24. Soon after this event, news arrived that a large fleet was
coming to invade England. The king of Spain, Philip the Second, had
been married to our queen Mary; and had offered his hand to queen
Elizabeth, but she had resolved not to marry at all, and at any rate,
she would not have had Philip, for she did not like him.
25. He was, therefore, offended; and was also angry because the queen
had been kind to the Protestants who had fled to England from the
Netherlands, for he was king of those countries as well as of Spain;
and her admirals having attacked some of his settlements in America,
he determined to invade England, and make himself king there too, if
he could.
26. He got ready the largest fleet that was ever known, and called
it the Invincible Armada; but it did not prove to be invincible,
although the English had but a very small navy at that time, not more
than fifteen ships of war; but the merchants lent their ships, and
manned them at their own expense; and people of all classes gave
money to pay soldiers, to defend the country, in case the Spaniards
should effect a landing.
27. But they never did land; for the English vessels, though so much
smaller than Spanish ships, were lighter, and more manageable, and
kept them from coming near the shore; and when they anchored off
Calais, the English admiral sent fire ships among them, and burnt
some of them, which created such terror, that they sailed away as
fast as they could, some one way and some another, and the English
ships chased them and disabled a great many; while others were
wrecked by a violent storm; and thus the Armada was nearly destroyed.
28. Small handbills were printed and sent about the country, to let
the people know that the danger was over.
29. Many more books were now published, and there were many clever
authors in this reign, especially Shakespeare, who wrote a number of
beautiful plays.
30. The queen was a great admirer of Shakespeare’s plays, and used
to go to see them acted; but the theatres were then not much better
than the shows at a country fair, and the performance was in the day
time.
31. People of fashion, in those days, dined at eleven o’clock; the
merchants and tradespeople, at twelve; and laborers, at one; and all
public amusements were between dinner and supper, which was taken
about six.
32. These amusements did not show very good taste, for gentlemen and
ladies of rank used to go and see cock fighting, and bull and bear
baiting, which are cruel disgusting exhibitions, and I only mention
them to show you the difference between the manners at that time and
this.
33. I will now give you an idea what kind of dress people used to
wear in the time of queen Elizabeth. The gowns were open before,
with a stiff bodice, just like a pair of stays, laced in front, and
a large ruff round the neck.
34. In the street, most ladies used to wear a little black velvet
mask, and shoes with such high heels they could scarcely walk in
them. Gentlemen wore short jackets, reaching a little below the
waist, with a belt and sword, a cloak, and a high-crowned hat.
35. One great improvement was made in dress in this reign, by the
invention of stockings, which, for a long time, were all knitted;
but they were found much more convenient than the cloth hose, that
everybody used to wear, till then.
36. Queen Elizabeth died, after a long, prosperous and peaceful
reign, of forty-five years, in 1603, having named for her successor,
her cousin, James Stuart, king of Scotland: and thus the two kingdoms
of England and Scotland came to be united, and took the name of Great
Britain.
QUESTIONS.
1. What was the character of queen Elizabeth?
4. What was the fashion of riding at this period?
5. Mention the good and bad features of Elizabeth’s government.
6. How were new manufactures brought into England, and what were
they?
8. What provision was made for the poor?
9. When was the Royal Exchange built, and by whom?
10. What was the origin of the East India Company?
13. Who was the first English captain that sailed round the world?
15. What honors were bestowed on him on his return?
19. How was the slave trade begun?
26. What was the Spanish Armada?
29. What celebrated author lived in this reign?
36. When did Elizabeth die?