Queen Elizabeth I Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Queen Elizabeth I - Research Paper Example But not many people really know that much about her, regardless of how recognizable she might be. However, Queen Elizabeth I was much more than a just a leader and inspiration, as well as, patron of the fine arts. She was, also, in many ways, a woman well ahead of her time. She defied, both, the expectations of her â€Å"weaker† genders’ ability to lead and the societal and biological conventions expected of her gender. History King Henry VIII is remembered as the British King who grew quite round and had a rather large number of wives; several of whom he had executed. Henry’s first wife, a devout Catholic, gave him his eldest child, Mary. He had this marriage annulled, which ended, both, his married relationship but, also, the relationship of England with the Catholic Church. His second marriage, to Anne Boleyn, produced his second daughter, Elizabeth, born on September 7, 1533. Anne Boleyn, sadly, was beheaded on her husband’s order for the crime of adul tery, when Elizabeth was only two years old. In a solely political move, Henry had both of his daughters legally eliminated from consideration as his heirs; he did this, most likely, to make room for a male heir. It was Henry’s wife, Jane Seymour, who finally produced him his only male heir, Edward, in 1537. Edward would take the throne with his father’s death in 1547, however, he ruled for only 6 years before his own young life ended in 1553. Edward had named, his cousin, Lady Jane Grey, to be his heir. Mary, whose legitimacy to take the throne had been reinstated, disagreed with her half brother’s choice. She, ultimately, took the throne, from Lady Jane Gray, within nine days of her taking power. Mary became Queen; her primary agenda became to stamp out the Protestantism, which her father had promoted during his reign, and reinstate Catholicism as the national religion of England. (Wilde) Until this point, Elizabeth’s life was rather typical of any Prot estant child of English nobility. She received a good education; she excelled in the areas of music and languages. When Mary took the throne, Elizabeth has supported her half-sister’s decision. However, Protestant plots against Mary, encouraging the placement of Elizabeth on the throne, resulted in Elizabeth being, technically, arrested. She was released quickly, having had no involvement in any such plots. However, It has been thought that Mary remained suspicious of Elizabeth until her death in 1558.(Wilde) Elizabeth’s life changed rapidly as she became Queen Elizabeth I, sovereign of England and Ireland; the beginning of what would be a, nearly, 45 year rule.(Prichard 618) Discussion Thrust into the crown, Elizabeth immediately inherited all of Mary’s problems as she took the throne. The two most paramount concerns were the religious division of England and the current war with France. In one of her first actions as Queen was to put an end to the religious tu rmoil; during her time as Queen, Mary, had burned Protestant churches and executed 300 Protestants as heretics. Elizabeth quickly passed the â€Å"Act of Supremacy,† which reestablished the Church of England and the â€Å"Act of Uniformity,† which established the formatting of a universal prayer book.(Wilde) She ended the war with France and imprisoned, her cousin, Mary, Queen of Scots, for conspiracy against her and attempts upon her life. Mary, Queen of Scotland, also, had a blood connection to the throne and supporters that

Analysis of The Quote by Ellie Wiesel Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Analysis of The Quote by Ellie Wiesel - Essay Example It is not only about violence, murder, and terror. All these negative causes are not so numerous in our lives. On the other side, people are more inclined to be lazy, greedy and, finally, indifferent to each other, in particular, and to the environment, on the whole. Needless to say, indifferent people are helpless in loving somebody. It is impossible for them, as they feel free to neglect the virtues of the moral and right attitude toward each other. Hence, indifference gives birth to a host of negative feelings where hatred and cruelty are at the core. Among the rest of the quotes by Ellie Wiesel, the aforementioned highlights the roots of the human tragedy today as it was in the past. In other words, seeing indifference in one’s actions and attitudes toward a person or the mankind, there is no way other than the redemption. Redemption from everything one dreamed about and thought of in a sweet memory. Day by day, this feeling would likely grow up until one loses the temper and does harm to the environment where he/she lives. The consequences may simply overgrow into a collapse of living in mutual understanding of peace. What is more, Wiesel is right when she strikes out the concept of â€Å"hate† as lower in the meaning compared to the concept of â€Å"indifference.† It is natural to anyone to get rid of any haunting prejudices about the negative meaning of indifference just because it is an ability to make a change. No one is likely to pinpoint the threat of indifference able to ruin lives of people in need. An abrupt halt of passion and desire to help and to keep up with those in need is like a heart failure for a serious patient, so to speak. Thus, indifference is a hidden trick of the devil on his way toward total destruction of morale and humane as the pivotal virtues of the societal life.