Queen Elizabeth Dbq
Queen Elizabeth I of England, who ruled for 45 years from 1558-1603, had an uneasy reign. Since she was a female monarch and not male, which was rare in England, people believed that she wouldn’t be a competent monarch. The people who were not favorable for female monarchs or even females in general, believed very strongly abut the issue. John Knox, a Scottish religious reformer, declared in First Blast of the Trumpet Against the Monstrous Regiment of Women, that a women ruler is “against all nature” (D1). However, there are some who are favorable to Queen Elizabeth’s rule as a female. Marcus Gheeraerts, an English court painter, depicts Queen Elizabeth as a person who is rich and in control by dressing her in extravagant clothes and putting the world underneath her (D8). During Queen Elizabeth’s reign, there were those who were not favorable to her rule and those who were, but apart from what others said, she herself thought that she was a competent ruler. Those who were against the rule of Queen Elizabeth based their beliefs on the fact that women cannot do the same jobs as men. For example, Nicholas Heath, archbishop of York, says in a debate before the House of Lords that since women cannot preach the holy sacraments (D2), jobs men do, and that she cannot be called an apostle or an evangelist, she cannot be supreme head of the church (D2) and, because the first Act of Supremacy in 1534 declared the English monarchy is the head of the church (D3), by extension she cannot be ruler of England. In a way, Queen Elizabeth agrees with that because she believed that women have a place in society, which is to obey their husbands and to ease from commanding (D5). That can be proven through the book The Second Book f Homilies (D5) that talks about the aforementioned women’s place in society. What proves that Queen Elizabeth may agree is that the book was authorized by her. Though there were people who opposed her rule, there were people who favored Queen