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6 | <Metadata name="gsdlsourcefilename">import/englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/eliz5.html</Metadata>
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10 | <Metadata name="Source">eliz5.html</Metadata>
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12 | <Metadata name="Language">en</Metadata>
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13 | <Metadata name="Encoding">windows_1252</Metadata>
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14 | <Metadata name="Author">Marilee Mongello</Metadata>
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15 | <Metadata name="Content">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana</Metadata>
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16 | <Metadata name="Page_topic">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits with commentary, Primary Sources Elizabeth Tudor 1533 to 1603 The Virgin Queen Gloriana</Metadata>
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17 | <Metadata name="Title">Queen Elizabeth I: Biography, Portraits, Primary Sources</Metadata>
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18 | <Metadata name="FileFormat">HTML</Metadata>
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19 | <Metadata name="URL">http://englishhistory.net/tudor/monarchs/eliz5.html</Metadata>
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24 | <Metadata name="dc.Subject">Tudor period|Monarchs</Metadata>
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26 | <Metadata name="lastmodified">1395194700</Metadata>
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33 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">philipos-crop.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
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34 | <Metadata name="gsdlassocfile">eliz1-oldercrop.jpg:image/jpeg:</Metadata>
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35 | </Description>
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36 | <Content>
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37 |
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38 | <table border="0" cellpadding="3" width="100%" height="667">
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39 | <tr>
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40 | <td width="25%" height="29"></td>
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41 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="29"><p align="center">&nbsp;</td>
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42 | <td width="25%" height="29"></td>
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43 | </tr>
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44 | <tr>
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45 | <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
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46 | <td width="50%" height="3">
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47 | <p align="center">
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48 | <IMG height=98 alt="Queen Elizabeth I"
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49 | src="_httpdocimg_/eliz1-queenuse.gif" width=422></td>
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50 | <td width="25%" height="3"></td>
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51 | </tr>
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52 | <tr>
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53 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
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54 | <td valign="top" width="50%" height="610">
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55 | <p align="center">
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56 | <IMG height=427 alt="crop from the famous 'Armada Portrait' of Elizabeth I"
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57 | src="_httpdocimg_/eliz5-mainpic.jpg" width=325 border=2><blockquote>
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58 | <p align="left">
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59 | &nbsp;</blockquote>
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60 | <DIV align=left>Visit
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61 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.marileecody.com%2feliz1-images.html">Elizabethan
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62 | Images</a> to view portraits of the queen and her courtiers, with
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63 | commentary.<BR>Read poems, letters, and speeches by the queen at <A
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64 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fprimary.html">Primary
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65 | Sources</A>.</DIV>
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66 | <DIV align=left>&nbsp;</DIV>
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67 | <DIV align=left>Read ES Beesly's 1892 biography of Queen
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68 | Elizabeth I at <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fsecondary.html">
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69 | Secondary Sources</a>.<BR><BR>Visit <A
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70 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2fboleyn.html">the Anne
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71 | Boleyn website</A> to learn more about Elizabeth's mother.<BR>Visit <A
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72 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2frelative%2fmaryqos.html">the Mary,
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73 | queen of Scots website</A> to learn more about Elizabeth's
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74 | cousin.<BR><BR>Test your knowledge of Elizabeth's life and times at <A
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75 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2ftudor1.html">Tudor
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76 | Quizzes</A>.</DIV>
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77 | <DIV align=left>&nbsp;</DIV>
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78 | <DIV align=left>Meet other Elizabethan enthusiasts at
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79 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fwww.alassea.net%2ffl%2felizabeth">The Virgin Queen
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80 | fanlisting</a>.</DIV>
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81 | <DIV align=left>&nbsp;</DIV>
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82 | </td>
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83 | <td width="25%" height="610"></td>
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84 | </tr>
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85 | </table>
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86 |
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87 | <blockquote>
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88 | <blockquote>
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89 | <blockquote>
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90 | <hr>
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91 | </blockquote>
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92 | </blockquote>
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93 | <p><font size="4">'She is certainly a great Queen and were she only a Catholic
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94 | she would be our dearly beloved.&nbsp; Just look how well she governs!&nbsp;
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95 | She is only a woman, only mistress of half an island, and yet she makes
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96 | herself feared by Spain, by France, by the Empire, by all....&nbsp; Our
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97 | children would have ruled the whole world.'&nbsp;&nbsp; </font><I><FONT size=-1>
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98 | Pope Sixtus V describes Elizabeth, c1588</FONT></I><font size="2"> </font></p>
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99 | <blockquote>
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100 | <blockquote>
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101 | <hr>
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102 | <p>When news of the execution of Mary, queen of Scots reached Europe, it
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103 | gave Philip II of Spain yet another reason to look askance at his former
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104 | sister-in-law.&nbsp; English harassment of Spanish shipping and their
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105 | support of rebellions against his rule had long angered him.&nbsp; He had
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106 | tried diplomacy; it had been successful enough until Elizabeth's
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107 | Protestant councilors grew suspicious of his motives and angry over his
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108 | treatment of continental Protestants.&nbsp; After diplomacy came a gradual
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109 | cooling between the countries; Philip even tried his hand at encouraging
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110 | Irish rebellions against Elizabeth.&nbsp; And Philip grew increasingly
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111 | pious as the years passed, and thus more inclined to take the
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112 | excommunication of 1570 more seriously.</p>
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113 | <p>
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114 | <img border="2" src="_httpdocimg_/philipos-crop.jpg" lowsrc="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/Philip%20II%20of%20Spain" width="155" height="282" align="left">Serious consequences were avoided for the first thirty years of
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115 | Elizabeth's rule due to her own prevarication and Philip's more pressing
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116 | problems.&nbsp; But as the 1580s began, it was clear that something must
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117 | give.&nbsp; Philip could no longer afford the blatant piracy of the English,
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118 | publicly disavowed but privately approved by Elizabeth (who always received
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119 | the largest share of profits.)&nbsp; She had even gone so far as to knight
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120 | her greatest pirate, Sir Francis Drake, in 1581.&nbsp; Four years later, the
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121 | English openly supported the Netherlands when it revolted against Philip, a
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122 | dangerous but popular policy for Elizabeth.&nbsp; Furthermore, Philip had
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123 | long claimed the throne of Portugal but had only recently seized it by force
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124 | of arms.&nbsp; If he wished to maintain control, he needed to defend the
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125 | rich and wide-ranging Portuguese colonies.</p>
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126 | <p>Philip also needed to end the Protestant menace to Europe.&nbsp; He
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127 | supported plans to free Mary, queen of Scots and place her on the English
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128 | throne.&nbsp; His ambassador Mendoza had been peripherally involved in the
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129 | Babington Plot and was expelled from England as a result.&nbsp; Many of
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130 | Elizabeth's councilors, most importantly the influential Robert Dudley, had
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131 | advocated a tougher approach to Spanish meddling.&nbsp; But always the
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132 | queen, mindful of her treasury and always desiring peace, had held back.&nbsp;
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133 | She would send a few troops and some money, but little else.&nbsp; Philip,
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134 | however, had less love of peace and a more pressing piety.&nbsp; England
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135 | would be brought back into the Catholic fold, as the pope had commanded in
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136 | 1570.&nbsp; The execution of Mary, queen of Scots in early 1587 gave him
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137 | added impetus to act.&nbsp; The English had sought to publicize Mary's
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138 | various crimes, but most Europeans, even the Scots who had applauded her
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139 | overthrow years ago, preferred the more tragic image of an innocent queen
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140 | trapped by Elizabeth's wily councilors.&nbsp; </p>
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141 | <p>Philip spent much of 1587 finally preparing his long-rumored 'Armada'
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142 | against England.&nbsp; While Elizabeth's council had long warned her of this
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143 | possibility, Philip's own advisors believed he could ill afford this new
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144 | battle.&nbsp; The Spanish fleet and army had fought too long and hard over
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145 | the years.&nbsp; They comprised the largest and best-prepared army and navy
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146 | in the world; they had been successful against the Turks, had watched their
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147 | traditional enemy, France, succumb to internal religious turmoil, had seized
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148 | Portugal, and fought throughout the Low Countries.&nbsp; But victories could
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149 | be as tiresome and expensive as defeats.&nbsp; Morale was low and leadership
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150 | was lacking.</p>
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151 | <p>Philip's advisors consistently stressed the expense of the proposed
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152 | battle.&nbsp; But for the king, expenses were driving him to fight.&nbsp; He
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153 | needed to stop the English from seizing Spanish ships filled with precious
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154 | coin and goods.&nbsp; Each loss was a further blow to a nearly empty
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155 | treasury.&nbsp; There was no better time to fight than now, he declared, for
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156 | the murder of Mary Stuart had at last united European opinion against
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157 | Elizabeth.&nbsp; In July 1587, he received official approval from the pope
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158 | for the invasion, provided England returned to Catholicism.&nbsp; The pope
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159 | even agreed to allow Philip to choose the next English ruler.&nbsp; It would
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160 | in all likelihood be the Spanish king himself for he claimed descent from
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161 | the famous Edward III.</p>
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162 | <p>As further impetus to Philip, even as he negotiated approval of the
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163 | invasion with the pope, Drake led an expedition into Spain itself, seizing
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164 | and destroying many vessels.&nbsp; Elizabeth protested that Drake had acted
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165 | without her knowledge; this may have been true.&nbsp; Certainly the queen
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166 | had no desire for war.&nbsp; But her protestations did not matter.&nbsp; It
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167 | was an audacious act which could not go unpunished.&nbsp; </p>
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168 | <p>Elizabeth, of course, knew of the Spanish army lodged in the Low
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169 | Countries, so close to English shores and able to intercept English
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170 | shipping.&nbsp; When word came that these forces were being steadily
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171 | increased and an armada of Spanish ships was being prepared for battle, she
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172 | could no longer debate and hesitate.&nbsp; The impending threat was too
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173 | obvious to ignore.</p>
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174 | <p>Yet what could England do against the great Spanish fleet?&nbsp; All of
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175 | Europe, and many Englishmen, believed England could not withstand the
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176 | overwhelming Spanish force.</p>
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177 | <hr>
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178 | </blockquote>
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179 | </blockquote>
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180 | <p><font size="4">'Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved
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181 | myself that, under God, I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in
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182 | the loyal hearts and good-will of my subjects... I know I have the body but of
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183 | a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a
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184 | king of England too, and think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince
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185 | of Europe, should dare to invade the borders of my realm...'&nbsp;&nbsp;
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186 | </font> <i>
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187 | <font size="2">from Elizabeth I's speech to the troops at Tilbury, 1588</font></i></p>
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188 | <blockquote>
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189 | <blockquote>
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190 | <hr>
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191 | <p>The Armada which sailed against England is sometimes called 'The
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192 | Invincible Armada', but its correct name is La Armada Grande.&nbsp; Its
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193 | supreme commander was the duke of Medina Sidonia, a nobleman who had done
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194 | all he could to avoid this appointment.&nbsp; He spent hours urging Philip,
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195 | in the most polite and obsequious way possible,
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196 | to find someone else, pointing out his own lack of experience in naval
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197 | matters.&nbsp; But the king would not listen.&nbsp; Spain's greatest naval
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198 | commander Don Alvaro de Bazan the elder, the marquess of Santa Cruz, had
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199 | died and there had been a long, fruitless search for a suitable replacement.&nbsp;
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200 | The conscientious Medina Sidonia was Philip's choice, much to the duke's
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201 | everlasting regret.</p>
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202 | <p>The Armada sailed from Lisbon on 20 May 1588, a grand procession of 130
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203 | ships and over 30,000 men.&nbsp; However, half of the vessels were transport
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204 | ships and the majority of men were soldiers, not sailors.&nbsp; Medina
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205 | Sidonia was to sail to Flanders, where he would join the prince of Parma who
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206 | waited with more soldiers and transports.&nbsp; But the Armada stopped first
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207 | in Corunna for some repair work and Medina Sidonia wrote to Philip, asking
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208 | for the invasion to be postponed indefinitely.&nbsp; The king was adamant,
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209 | however, and the fleet sailed to Flanders.&nbsp; </p>
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210 | <p>Their arrival was expected and observed by the English.&nbsp; Under the
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211 | command of Lord Howard, they set out from Plymouth, under cover of night.&nbsp;
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212 | They managed to destroy some of the chief Spanish ships so that, with
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213 | reinforcements, their numbers roughly equaled the Spanish.&nbsp; More
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214 | importantly, in terms of command and gunnery, the English had a far superior
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215 | advantage.&nbsp; By the time of the great battle off Gravelines, each fleet
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216 | had roughly sixty warships.&nbsp; The Spaniards fought heroically, but
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217 | Howard was relentless.&nbsp; The English ships were more agile and their
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218 | commanders more inventive.&nbsp; They did not allow the Spanish time to regroup
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219 | and refit.&nbsp; Only one Spanish ship was captured but several sank or ran
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220 | ashore.&nbsp; Medina Sidonia decided to lead the remaining fleet home,
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221 | sailing along the north of Scotland and Ireland.&nbsp; They met constant
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222 | storms and rough seas, and not one pilot remained in the whole fleet.&nbsp;
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223 | Each passing storm destroyed more ships until, when the Armada finally
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224 | limped home in the mid-September, half the fleet and most of its men were
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225 | gone.</p>
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226 | <p>The defeat of the Armada was justly celebrated in Elizabeth's time.&nbsp;
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227 | It continues to be one of the most famous naval victories in history.&nbsp;
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228 | There is an engaging aspect to the whole story - the English fleet taking on
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229 | the greatest naval power in the world and, against all odds, winning a
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230 | stunning victory.&nbsp; The psychological effect upon both nations was
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231 | enormous.&nbsp; </p>
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232 | <p>Yet, upon closer inspection, the victory was neither as unexpected or
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233 | immediately successful as is often believed.&nbsp; The English navy had
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234 | always been superior in tactics and gunnery than the Spanish, but had
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235 | suffered from Elizabeth's penny-pinching support.&nbsp; They simply never
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236 | had enough money to build the ships and pay the sailors needed to become a
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237 | world-class naval power.&nbsp; The Spanish took so long to rebuild their
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238 | navy that England finally had their opportunity, and they seized it with
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239 | enthusiasm.&nbsp; England would become the undisputed master of the seas.</p>
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240 | <p>But Spain was not nearly finished as a world power.&nbsp; Barely two
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241 | years after the Armada, they were virtually omnipotent in European affairs.&nbsp;
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242 | The religious turmoil in France had weakened their traditional enemy to such
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243 | an extent that Spain stood unchallenged until 1598, when Henri of Navarre
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244 | converted to Catholicism.&nbsp; The balance of power in Europe was thus
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245 | restored.&nbsp; But Spain's army continued to grow until their dominance of
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246 | land warfare equaled England's naval power.&nbsp; </p>
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247 | <p>For Elizabeth, of course, the most important development was the most
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248 | immediate - a brilliant victory over her greatest enemy, whose threats to
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249 | invade had haunted most years of her reign.&nbsp; She could breathe a
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250 | much-deserved sigh of relief.&nbsp; And she deserved no small credit for the
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251 | success.&nbsp; Her speech to the troops at Tilbury, rallying them to fight,
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252 | remains justly famous; it is among her most stirring:</p>
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253 | <blockquote>
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254 | <p>My loving people,
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255 | We have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed
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256 | how we commit our selves to armed multitudes, for fear of treachery; but I
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257 | assure you I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving
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258 | people. Let tyrants fear, I have always so behaved myself that, under God, I
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259 | have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and
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260 | good-will of my subjects; and therefore I am come amongst you, as you see,
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261 | at this time, not for my recreation and disport, but being resolved, in the
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262 | midst and heat of the battle, to live and die amongst you all; to lay down
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263 | for my God, and for my kingdom, and my people, my honour and my blood, even
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264 | in the dust. I know I have the body but of a weak and feeble woman; but I
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265 | have the heart and stomach of a king, and of a king of England too, and
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266 | think foul scorn that Parma or Spain, or any prince of Europe, should dare
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267 | to invade the borders of my realm; to which rather than any dishonour shall
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268 | grow by me, I myself will take up arms, I myself will be your general,
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269 | judge, and rewarder of every one of your virtues in the field. I know
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270 | already, for your forwardness you have deserved rewards and crowns; and We
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271 | do assure you in the word of a prince, they shall be duly paid you. In the
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272 | mean time, my lieutenant general shall be in my stead, than whom never
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273 | prince commanded a more noble or worthy subject; not doubting but by your
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274 | obedience to my general, by your concord in the camp, and your valour in the
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275 | field, we shall shortly have a famous victory over those enemies of my God,
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276 | of my kingdom, and of my people. <br>
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277 | &nbsp;</p>
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278 | </blockquote>
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279 | <p>She enjoyed a renaissance of sorts among her people after the Armada.&nbsp;
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280 | She had already ruled for thirty years.&nbsp; Those years of peace and
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281 | general prosperity had led to an inevitable resentment amongst her subjects,
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282 | particularly the young noblemen who now dominated her court.&nbsp; They
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283 | wanted adventure, glory, grand military exploits; they were fervent
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284 | nationalists who wanted England to finally challenge the great powers of
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285 | Europe; they believed themselves capable of anything.&nbsp; And Elizabeth,
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286 | nearing sixty, would regard them with either amusement or anger.&nbsp; They
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287 | did not know the price of war, she would complain; they did not understand
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288 | how difficult it had been to bring peace and security to England.&nbsp; They
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289 | had not lived through the tumultuous reigns of her father and siblings.&nbsp;
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290 | They did not remember the bitter religious divide, which even now she only
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291 | bridged with her inestimable charm and intellect.&nbsp; England was at peace
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292 | and her young courtiers chafed at peace.&nbsp; But for the queen, peace was
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293 | her greatest gift to her 'loving people.'&nbsp; She knew its importance, the
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294 | dear price it had cost her.&nbsp; 'To be a King and wear a crown is a thing
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295 | more pleasant to them that see it, than it is pleasant to them that bear
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296 | it,' she remarked in her Golden Speech of 1601.</p>
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297 | <p>But she also knew those young courtiers disagreed, however much they
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298 | fawned over her, pretending she was still the young queen of thirty.&nbsp;
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299 | Elizabeth was content to play the game for her vanity would not allow
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300 | otherwise.&nbsp; To grow old was a curse to her, she remarked; 'I am not
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301 | sick, I feel no pain, yet I pine away.'&nbsp; To have a young mind in an old
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302 | body was another common lament.&nbsp; She felt the loss of her youth keenly
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303 | and did what she could to create a timeless role for herself.&nbsp; She wore
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304 | wigs and heavy make-up and still dressed in the opulent gowns of a maid, a
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305 | fetching style when she was younger but now merely a reminder of her lack of
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306 | marriage and family.&nbsp; Her older subjects understood her melancholy; of
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307 | the younger ones, Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Francis Bacon were clever
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308 | enough to guess its cause.&nbsp; But most did not.</p>
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309 | <p>And the queen no longer had the comfort of loyal Cecil and her beloved
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310 | Dudley.&nbsp; Though Dudley had commanded the troops at Tilbury, he had died
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311 | barely a month afterwards.&nbsp; Cecil was now very old and had ceded much
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312 | of his influence to his ambitious son Robert and Sir Francis Walsingham, who
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313 | died in 1590.&nbsp; The queen thus turned to another favorite, a young man
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314 | who was a last link to Dudley.&nbsp; His name was Robert Devereux, earl of
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315 | Essex; he was Dudley's stepson and his mother was Elizabeth's cousin,
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316 | Lettice Knollys.&nbsp; </p>
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317 | <p>Essex remains one of the more interesting courtiers of Elizabeth's later
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318 | years.&nbsp; He was the mortal enemy of Raleigh (who found him arrogant and
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319 | overbearing) and close friends with Bacon.&nbsp; He became the great
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320 | favorite of Elizabeth's later years because, for a while, he was the ablest
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321 | flirt and wit at court.&nbsp; But his ambitions went far beyond being the
|
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322 | queen's 'wild-horse'.&nbsp; In this, he was encouraged by his flighty mother
|
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323 | and sycophantic admirers.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p>
|
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324 | <p>Essex believed in the primacy of the nobility at Elizabeth's court and
|
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325 | disliked the influence of Cecil and his son, Robert, and other 'upstarts'
|
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326 | such as Raleigh.&nbsp; He was too proud, which the queen - depending upon
|
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327 | her mood - found endearing or infuriating.&nbsp; And he dreamed of military
|
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328 | glory, badgering the queen to send him to Ireland to quell rebellions or
|
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329 | with the navy to harass Spanish ships.&nbsp; Elizabeth often refused; she
|
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330 | genuinely enjoyed his company and would not risk his life.&nbsp; And when
|
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331 | she did succumb, Essex performed disastrously.&nbsp; Though a daring and
|
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332 | brave soldier, he was a terrible commander and his exploits cost the frugal
|
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333 | queen dearly.&nbsp; </p>
|
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334 | <p>His worst offense, however, was a slip of the tongue.&nbsp; Elizabeth
|
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335 | would respond to Essex's tantrums by banishing him to the country until he
|
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336 | begged forgiveness.&nbsp; Once, he decided to pretend illness instead.&nbsp;
|
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337 | When news of his condition reached Elizabeth, she sent a letter asking after
|
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338 | his health - but nothing more.&nbsp; Someone mentioned the queen's
|
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339 | conditions for letting him return.&nbsp; Infuriated, Essex cried out, 'Her
|
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340 | conditions!&nbsp; Her conditions are as crooked as her carcase.'&nbsp; Those
|
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341 | words reached the queen and she never forgot them.</p>
|
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342 | <p>Essex did return to court.&nbsp; But his subsequent behavior was
|
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343 | outlandish and insulting; he even dared to turn his back on Elizabeth during
|
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344 | a council meeting.&nbsp; The final blow came when he led a rebellion against
|
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345 | the queen.&nbsp; With his friend, the earl of Southampton, he planned to
|
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346 | gather a small army and seize the queen and throne.&nbsp; When captured, as
|
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347 | inevitably he was, for his supporters were few and even those deserted him,
|
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348 | Essex declared he only meant to save the queen from evil counsel.&nbsp; But
|
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349 | Elizabeth, who had so often vacillated over executions, only hesitated once
|
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350 | with Essex.&nbsp; He was executed on 25 February 1601.</p>
|
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351 | <p>Despite scurrilous gossip, Elizabeth's affection for Essex was more
|
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352 | maternal than romantic.&nbsp; She had no choice but to sign his
|
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353 | death-warrant but it broke her heart.&nbsp; When her godson, Sir John
|
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354 | Harington, visited in the winter of 1602, he found her taste for old
|
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355 | pleasures gone.&nbsp; Harington read some of his rhymes and Elizabeth, with
|
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356 | a little smile, remarked, 'When thou dost feel creeping time at thy gate,
|
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357 | these fooleries will please thee less; I am past my relish for such
|
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358 | matters.'&nbsp; To the earl of Nottingham, mourning the loss of his wife,
|
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359 | she said, ' I am tied with a chain of iron about my neck.&nbsp; I am tied,
|
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360 | I am tied, and the case is altered with me.'</p>
|
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361 | <p>She mentioned Essex at times, but this was merely a symptom of her
|
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362 | awareness that all of the work and struggle of her reign had ended in
|
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363 | solitude.&nbsp; She had often remarked on the essential loneliness of the
|
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364 | crown but she felt it most deeply now.&nbsp; </p>
|
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365 | <p>Her council, led by Robert Cecil, whose father had died in 1601, watched
|
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366 | her slow decline while preparing<img border="0" src="_httpdocimg_/eliz1-oldercrop.jpg" lowsrc="http://englishhistory.net/tudor/portrait%20of%20Elizabeth%20I%20in%20old%20age" alt="portrait of Elizabeth I in old age" width="165" height="171" align="right"> for the future.&nbsp; Elizabeth still had
|
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367 | not named a successor.&nbsp; She had always understood its dangerous
|
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368 | implications.&nbsp; Yet there was no real doubt that she meant for James VI
|
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369 | of Scotland, son of Mary queen of Scots, to succeed her.&nbsp; He had
|
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370 | married a Protestant princess and was already a father.&nbsp; And he had
|
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371 | long since made his peace with Elizabeth, exchanging frequent letters and
|
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372 | accepting her political advice.</p>
|
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373 | <p>Elizabeth retired to Richmond Palace, her 'warm, snug box' in March 1603.&nbsp;
|
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374 | Her death was preceded by physical weakness and mental depression, but there
|
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375 | were no overt causes.&nbsp; She was almost seventy years old, ancient for
|
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376 | her time.&nbsp; She rested in a low chair by the fire, refusing to let
|
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377 | doctors examine her.&nbsp; As the days passed, her condition slowly
|
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378 | worsened.&nbsp; She stood for hours on end until, finally, she was persuaded
|
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379 | to lay upon cushions on the floor.&nbsp; She rested there for two days, not
|
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380 | speaking.&nbsp; A doctor ventured close and asked how she could bear the
|
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381 | endless silence.&nbsp; She replied simply, 'I meditate.'&nbsp; For the third
|
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382 | and fourth day, she continued to rest in silence, with a finger often in her
|
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383 | mouth.&nbsp; Her attendants were terrified; they must move her but she
|
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384 | refused.&nbsp; The younger Cecil visited and said, 'Your Majesty, to content
|
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385 | the people, you must go to bed.'&nbsp; Elizabeth replied, with some of her
|
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386 | old spirit, 'Little man, little man, the word <i>must</i> is not used to
|
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387 | princes.'</p>
|
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388 | <p>Finally, she grew so weak that they could carry her to bed.&nbsp; She
|
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389 | asked for music and, for a time, it brought some comfort.&nbsp; Her
|
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390 | councilors assembled; did she have any instructions regarding the
|
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391 | succession?&nbsp; She made a sign when Cecil mentioned the king of Scotland.&nbsp;
|
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392 | It was enough.&nbsp; He returned to his office to begin the paperwork for a
|
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393 | new ruler.</p>
|
---|
394 | <p>Meanwhile, Archbishop Whitgift, whom she once called her 'little black
|
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395 | husband', arrived to pray.&nbsp; He was old and his knees ached terribly,
|
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396 | but he knelt at the royal bedside until she finally slept.&nbsp; She slept on into
|
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397 | the early hours of 24 March until, at last, as the courtiers watched and
|
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398 | waited, the steady breathing stopped.&nbsp; 'Her Majesty departed this life,
|
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399 | mildly like a lamb, easily like a ripe apple from the tree,' John Manningham
|
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400 | was told.</p>
|
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401 | <p>That same morning, the chief councilors rode to Whitehall where Cecil
|
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402 | drafted the proclamation of the queen's death and James's succession.&nbsp;
|
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403 | He read it aloud first at Whitehall and then at St Paul's and finally
|
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404 | Cheapside cross.&nbsp; The councilors then formally demanded entrance to the
|
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405 | Tower of London in the name of King James I of England.&nbsp; Elizabeth's
|
---|
406 | maids and ladies were still waiting in the Coffer Room at Richmond Palace.&nbsp;
|
---|
407 | When news of the peaceful transition of power came, they began to prepare
|
---|
408 | for Elizabeth's funeral.&nbsp; </p>
|
---|
409 | <p>The new king received the news of his accession on 27 March, for the
|
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410 | ambitious Robert Carey had ridden at top speed to Edinburgh; his journey was
|
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411 | so quick that its speed would not be matched until 1832.&nbsp; But while
|
---|
412 | James was initially welcomed peacefully and happily, his reign would quickly
|
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413 | turn sour.&nbsp; It was not long before even Robert Cecil, who became the
|
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414 | most powerful statesman of James's reign, wrote to Harington:</p>
|
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415 | <blockquote>
|
---|
416 | <p>You know all my former steps: good knight, rest content, and give heed to
|
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417 | one that hath sorrowed in the bright lustre of a court, and gone heavily
|
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418 | even on the best-seeming fair ground.&nbsp; Tis a great task to prove one's
|
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419 | honesty, and yet not spoil one's fortune.&nbsp; You have tasted a little
|
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420 | hereof in our blessed Queen's time, who was more than a man and, in troth,
|
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421 | sometimes less than a woman.&nbsp; I wish I waited now in her Presence
|
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422 | Chamber, with ease at my foot, and rest in my bed.&nbsp; I am pushed from
|
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423 | the shore of comfort, and know not where the winds and waves of a court may
|
---|
424 | bear me.</p>
|
---|
425 | </blockquote>
|
---|
426 | <p>And the common people realized their loss as well, as Godfrey Goodman,
|
---|
427 | bishop of Gloucester wrote:</p>
|
---|
428 | <blockquote>
|
---|
429 | <p>After a few years, when we had experience of a Scottish government, the
|
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430 | Queen did seem to revive; then was her memory much magnified: such ringing
|
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431 | of bells, such public joy and sermons in commemoration of her, the picture
|
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432 | of her tomb painted in many churches, and in effect more solemnity and joy
|
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433 | in memory of her coronation than was for the coming-in of King James.</p>
|
---|
434 | </blockquote>
|
---|
435 | <p>Elizabeth's funeral procession, composed of more than a thousand
|
---|
436 | mourners, began on 28 April.&nbsp; It was a stirring tribute to the queen,
|
---|
437 | never forgotten by those who witnessed its passing.&nbsp; But her tomb, paid
|
---|
438 | for by the new king, was less impressive than that provided to his disgraced
|
---|
439 | mother, and cost far less.&nbsp; It can still be visited in Westminster
|
---|
440 | Abbey, where Elizabeth rests alongside her half-sister Queen Mary I.&nbsp; </p>
|
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441 | <hr>
|
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442 | </blockquote>
|
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443 | </blockquote>
|
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444 | </blockquote>
|
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445 |
|
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446 | <p align="center"><font size="4">'My good mistress is gone, I shall not
|
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447 | hastily put forth for a new master.'<br></font><i><font size="2">Sir John Harington, Nugae Antiquae</font></i></p>
|
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448 | <blockquote>
|
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449 | <blockquote>
|
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450 | <blockquote>
|
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451 | <hr>
|
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452 | <P align="center"><FONT size=-1><A
|
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453 | href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs.html">to Tudor
|
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454 | Monarchs</A><BR>
|
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455 | <a href="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=1&amp;href=http:%2f%2fenglishhistory.net%2ftudor%2fmonarchs%2feliz4.html">back to
|
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456 | Queen Elizabeth I, part four</a></FONT><B><BR></B></P>
|
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457 | <P align="left"><font size="-1"><b>Note:</b> The complicated story of Robert
|
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458 | Devereux, earl of Essex, is most beautifully told in Lytton Strachey's
|
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459 | 'Elizabeth and Essex: A Tragic History'.&nbsp; Strachey often wanders far
|
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460 | off course, and his psychological portrait of Elizabeth is flawed, but he
|
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461 | writes like a dream.&nbsp; As for conventional biographies of Elizabeth I,
|
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462 | my favorite is by Lacey Baldwin Smith.<br>Thanks for
|
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463 | exploring / reading my Queen Elizabeth I website.&nbsp; <i>-Marilee</i></font></P>
|
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464 | </blockquote>
|
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465 | </blockquote>
|
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466 | </blockquote>
|
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467 |
|
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468 | <P align="center"><i><font size="2">last
|
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469 | revised 8 March 2004</font></i></P>
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470 |
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471 |
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472 |
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473 | <!-- text below generated by server. PLEASE REMOVE --><!-- Counter/Statistics data collection code --><script language="JavaScript" src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;href=http:%2f%2fhostingprod.com%2fjs%5fsource%2fgeov2.js"></script><script language="javascript">geovisit();</script><noscript><img src="_httpextlink_&amp;rl=0&amp;el=direct&amp;href=http://visit.webhosting.yahoo.com/visit.gif?us1108082767" alt="setstats" border="0" width="1" height="1"></noscript>
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475 | </Content>
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476 | </Section>
|
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477 | </Archive>
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