Gloriana's reign

: brutality, deceit and faith : a quest for survival

Abstract

Europe, 1559: Elizabeth Tudor has just been crowned, the emperor renounced few years past and divided his dominions between his son Philip and his brother Ferdinand. The Habsburgs strived to implement the Universal Monarchy while Islam loomed along the horizon forming a huge crescent from Algiers to the gates of Vienna. The Protestant reformation had erupted into the scene producing a schism inside Western Christianity. England stood in a dire position, too poor, too remote, ravaged by internal conflicts because of the paradoxical reigns of Edward and Mary. Her future seemed to point towards submission but Elizabeth would have none of it; aided by ruthless pirates, competent bureaucrats and faithful partisans she was able to produce a strategy that would catapult England into independence and power. Her comprehension of the rapports de force and her gelid approach always focused on raison d'état above everything else managed to quell internal foes and defy external competitors. Gloriana, Walsingham and Drake formed the vertices of a complex triangle; their chores prevented the disintegration of the state and merged different forces to rally the national banner behind the same cause – to fight for queen and country. This thesis – shamelessly Machiavellian – narrates the kingdom's decisions from a strategic perspective and allows the reader to see that "quando l'atto accusa, il risultato scusa."

Date of Award	16 May 2016
Original language	English
Awarding Institution	Universidade Católica Portuguesa
Supervisor	Francisco Proença Garcia (Supervisor)