Ap Euro Dbq Elizabeth the First

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treason. This shows how powerful Elizabeth was and the great power she has over her country.

Negative attitudes toward female ruling styles, as evident in Elizabeth I of England’s reign, tend to cause women to rule in such a way that they portray themselves to be as strong as men. Jacques Bochetel de La Forest, for example, dismissively critiques Elizabeth’s response to a Parliament petition and even states that she is basically worthless, or dead. In response, Elizabeth brings up the fact that she works with men who respect her as a female ruler, in other words justifying that his disliking is in no way due to her gender. Recognize, however, that Bochetel is from France and Elizabeth ruled England, 2 countries who encountered major disputes amongst them. Therefore, Bochetel’s negative attitude towards Elizabeth’s ruling style may simply be due to the desire for a weakened English government, and furthermore a victorious French army (4). Moreover, Elizabeth herself while speaking to her troops explains that although she is physically feeble and weak, she is mentally just as strong as a king. One must keep in mind that this was said previous to her invasion of Phillip II’s Spanish Armada, who disagreed with her politique style of ruling and therefore most likely caused her to want to defend herself. Moreover, further recognize that her troops may also fear the Spanish Armada due to the previous Council of Blood in which Phillip II and his ally the Duke of Alba murdered many innocent Protestants, which happens to be the religion of Elizabeth herself. With this fear amongst her army, as a ruler Elizabeth may simply be trying to ensure her troops of their strength, and therefore lead them to a victory over the Spanish Armada (7). Going along with this, one must also remember that Elizabeth and Phillip II have pure hatred towards each other. Not only for religious reasons, as Elizabeth was a Protestant and Phillip II was extremely Catholic, but also for political reasons. These include disputes over war and even disputes over marriage. Therefore, Phillip II’s negative views towards Elizabeth, and Elizabeth’s motives towards defending these views against her, along with their differences in ruling styles, are for both religious and political reasons.

Many who were against Elizabeth’s reign used religious support to prove her inability to rule. Scottish religious reformer John Knox used scripture and the interpretation of said scripture to support his belief that Elizabeth, and therefore any woman, was incapable of ruling. Knox even goes as far on his interpretation of his cited scripture as to say that women are forbidden to rule. The excerpt of scripture comes from a man stating he will not stand for women having authority over men (1). It is important to remember that John Knox was a Presbyterian and, under the religion, interpretations of scripture were very strict. Therefore, his religious beliefs influenced him that Elizabeth and all women were unfit for ruling or any type of occupation of power. According to the bishops of the Church of England, women must be subservient to their husbands. Because they are bishops they held this view to a higher level of belief and followed beliefs like this one to the point. The bishops explain that wives are to obey their husbands and not command because it is the job of the husband to lead (3). When this document was published, in 1562, the Church believed women had very little to contribute to the society other than playing the roles of mothers and loyal, obedient housewives. This however, doesn’t hold a strong enough argument as to why Elizabeth was unable to rule because of religious beliefs and concerns.

Women’s ability to be higher than men was not something only found in politics. During the Renaissance period, for reference, women were denied the right to the same education as men and were disregarded for their knowledge in the subjects of the arts and even when competing for acknowledgements of their work by the intellectuals of the time. Just a few women, to set the example, include Christine de Pizan and Isabella D’Este. Pizan was the first woman in history to earn a living as an author. She wrote a history of famous women designed to refute masculine myths about women, this led to her being remembered as the first feminist in European history. D’este was an art patron whose collection included many famous works. Her life illustrated that becoming an art patron was the most socially accepted role for a well-educated Renaissance woman. D’Este was the most famous Renaissance women.