ELIZABETH AND MARY QUEEN OF SCOTS
Many of the plots against Elizabeth centered about Mary Stuart, the ill- starred Queen of Scots. She was a granddaughter of Henry VII, and extreme Roman Catholics claimed that she had a better right to the English throne than Elizabeth, because the pope had declared the marriage of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn null and void. Mary, a fervent Roman Catholic, did not please her Scotch subjects, who had adopted Calvinistic doctrines. She also discredited herself by marrying the man who had murdered her former husband. An uprising of the Scottish nobles compelled Mary to abdicate the throne in favor of her infant son [28] and to take refuge in England. Elizabeth kept her rival in captivity for nearly twenty years. In 1586 A.D., the former queen was found guilty of conspiring against Elizabeth's life and was beheaded.
[Illustration: Map, WESTERN EUROPE IN THE TIME OF ELIZABETH]
[Illustration: LONDON BRIDGE IN THE TIME OF ELIZABETH The old structure was completed early in the thirteenth century. It measured 924 feet in length and had 20 narrow arches. Note the rows of houses and shops on the bridge, the chapel in the center and the gate above which the heads of traitors were exhibited on pikes. The present London Bridge was completed in 1831 A.D.]
ELIZABETH AND PHILIP II
Philip II, the king of Spain, also threatened Elizabeth's security. At the outset of her reign Philip had made her an offer of marriage, but she refused to give herself, or England, a Spanish master. As time went on, Philip turned into an open enemy of the Protestant queen and did his best to stir up sedition among her Roman Catholic subjects. It must be admitted that Philip could plead strong justification for his attitude. Elizabeth allowed the English "sea dogs" [29] to plunder Spanish colonies and seize Spanish vessels laden with the treasure of the New World. Moreover, she aided the rebellious Dutch, at first secretly and at length openly, in their struggle against Spain. Philip put up with these aggressions for many years, but finally came to the conclusion that he could never subdue the Netherlands or end the piracy and smuggling in Spanish America without first conquering England. The execution of Mary Stuart removed his last doubts, for Mary had left him her claims to the English throne. He at once made ready to invade England. Philip seems to have believed that as soon as a Spanish army landed in the island, the Roman Catholics would rally to his cause. But the Spanish king never had a chance to verify his belief; the decisive battle took place on the sea.
THE "INVINCIBLE ARMADA," 1588 A.D.
Philip had not completed his preparations before Sir Francis Drake sailed into Cadiz harbor and destroyed a vast amount of naval stores and shipping. This exploit, which Drake called "singeing the king of Spain's beard," delayed the expedition for a year. The "Invincible Armada" [30] set out at last in 1588 A.D. The Spanish vessels, though somewhat larger than those of the English, were inferior in number, speed, and gunnery to their adversaries, while the Spanish officers, mostly unused to the sea, were no match for men like Drake, Frobisher, and Raleigh, the best mariners of the age. The Armada suffered severely in a nine-days fight in the Channel, and many vessels which escaped the English guns met shipwreck off the Scotch and Irish coasts. Less than half of the Armada returned in safety to Spain.
[Illustration: THE SPANISH ARMADA IN THE ENGLISH CHANNEL. After an engraving by the Society of Antiquarians following a tapestry in the House of Lords.]