Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada

WITH 'HER' COUNTRY ON THE LINE, ELIZABETH GAVE A ROUSING SPEECH

Extract from her 'Tilbury speech'

...and it had to be good, as the Spanish had a vastly superior army and navy. There seemed little real hope that Elizabeth and the Protestant Church of England that helped fuel Phillip's rage, would survive...

Elizabeth pledged to be right there in the midst of battle (didn't work out so well for Harold Godwinson back in 1066...), and made strong, clear religious references to help boost her army's resolve and determination to fight to the death if need be (and it seemed like it would be!)

She also tackled head on any fears that a woman wouldn't match Phillip as a leader.

The famous Tilbury speech was given after the major, decisive Battle of Gravelines - there was still more to be done, and further invasion attempts were anticipated, so this was no lets all chill out, job done speech, but a further call to arms.

You can read the speech at the Wiki, or a shorter version here.


This battle is STILL seen as a key event in the history of Britain, and remains a source of national pride and self-identity for some, placing Britain as a powerful, independent island nation.

Just as with the Battle of Hastings, luck and the weather would play a major role!

Below, I use two video sources to list some key points on the background to the war, and why Spain lost. Here are some useful resources for your own wider reading, and to look deeper into this major moment in European and global history - setting the scene for an English/British empire that would cover more than half the globe, often replacing Spanish rule!

Elizabeth - songs and music for the virgin queen

Like any subject, you can make links from History to other areas you may study or have an interest in - including music!

Click here and you'll hear some music designed as a tribute to Elizabeth I (autoplays), and you can read about it too...

Click here to find out about the oldest known song about her.

The Guardian newspaper (a UK broadsheet or 'quality') asked its readers for songs about queens - click here to see what they came up with...

The current Queen Elizabeth (II, but actually QE I of Scotland) will be familiar with this song, the national anthem of the UK (but the different national teams of Scotland and Wales usually play different anthems at sporting events), which raises the monarch above every other person in the kingdom, and is like a prayer offered for his or her protection.

In singing it, you are agreeing to be subject to their rule, and accepting their superior status, based on the family they were born into - a principal that helped inform Elizabeth's decision to resist pressure to hand Mary over to the angry Scots; that would have risked the populace seeing monarchs as replaceable and subject to overthrow.

The British national anthem is controversial today with some Scots as it contains lines celebrating the English army killing Scots, and causes some divides with some of the Welsh and Northern Irish too (read this Daily Mail report on the anthem being blanked by some in the 2012 Olympics football team). The history of how the 'British' nations became unified, a process which Elizabeth advanced with her much firmer grip on Ireland, is certainly reflected in today's national anthem.

This Daily Telegraph article highlights some concerns with the anthem, linking back to its historical roots. Elizabeth's cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, would not have been happy with the lines on the Scots!

The anthem remains a very sensitive issue:

Article from The Independent.

Elizabeth - the movies

We've looked at the trailers for these, and you might find it useful to view the full versions of these at home!

Note that the first film was rated 15 by the film censors in Britain (details here), so speak to your parents before seeking to watch this.

The second film, picking up the story when Elizabeth is better established as queen but still facing opposition and dealing with powerful men trying to control her, was rated 12 (details here). Here's the trailer (an extended UK version; the shorter US trailer is here) for it: