Speaker 1: Hello and Welcome to Western SIEV episode three hundred and fifteen,
Speaker 1: Great England's Glory. After Dudley's death, Elizabeth turned increasingly to
Speaker 1: his stepson, the Earl of Essex, for support. Essex, in
Speaker 1: short order became the Queen's new favorite. Unlike his stepfather,
Speaker 1: Essex was extremely popular with the people. Interestingly enough, Elizabeth
Speaker 1: hated that she wanted Essex to be totally dependent on
Speaker 1: her for his success. Seesil did everything he could to
Speaker 1: take the young man under his wing and groom him
Speaker 1: for future success, but Essex was too impatient, and he
Speaker 1: wanted to advance now Closs. He was terribly jealous of
Speaker 1: Cecil's son Robert, whose influence at court was also growing exponentially.
Speaker 1: Elizabeth herself was now fifty five years old, but she
Speaker 1: remained remarkably healthy for her age. Age and victory had
Speaker 1: invested her with even greater dignity and presence, and when
Speaker 1: her people saw her pass by in her golden coach,
Speaker 1: she appeared to them like a goddess. Essex was clever
Speaker 1: enough to defer to her as such, conveying to her
Speaker 1: overtly and through subtle symbolism. Beloved of his age, his
Speaker 1: love and devotion, he told her, quote, I do confess
Speaker 1: that as a man I have been more subject to
Speaker 1: your natural beauty than as a subject to the power
Speaker 1: of a king end quote. Naively, though he thought his
Speaker 1: influence would in the future be unchallenged, but it was
Speaker 1: not to be. Soon, another rival for the Queen's attention
Speaker 1: rose to prominence. Sir Charles Blount, son of the powerful
Speaker 1: Lord Mountjoy. Essex was so jealous of the young man
Speaker 1: he poked fun at him endlessly, so much so that
Speaker 1: Blount felt compelled to challenge Essex to a duel, which
Speaker 1: he won, slashing the earl in the thigh and disarming him. Officially,
Speaker 1: Elizabeth was against dueling, but in private, when she heard
Speaker 1: what had happened, she was pleased someone had taken Essex
Speaker 1: down a peg. But when she later heard that Essex
Speaker 1: had challenged Sir Walter Raleigh to a duel, she was furious.
Speaker 1: Though Essex remained unconcerned. The bigger issue for Essex, however,
Speaker 1: remained money, i e. He didn't have it and lived
Speaker 1: well above his means. The Queen made arrangements to support
Speaker 1: his lifestyle to some extent, at least for the moment.
Speaker 1: Now In the spring, Elizabeth decided to green light an
Speaker 1: English naval expedition to Portugal. The goal was to place
Speaker 1: the Portuguese pretender Don Antonio on the throne and thus
Speaker 1: removed forever the threat Philip posed to England. The Queen
Speaker 1: forbade Essex from going, but he went anyway. Desperate for
Speaker 1: booty to clear his ever mounting debts. She sent a
Speaker 1: squadron to intercept his ship, but it was too late.
Speaker 1: The Queen then sent a series of angry letters demanding
Speaker 1: his return, but by then the English fleet had set
Speaker 1: sail for the Azores, hoping to intercept the Spanish treasure fleet.
Speaker 1: That move was directly contrary to Elizabeth's express orders, but
Speaker 1: the fleet went anyway. After the Portuguese failed to rise
Speaker 1: in rebellion, dooming the original endeavor, the fleet was ultimately
Speaker 1: driven back by Gails. In the end, about eleven thousand
Speaker 1: englishmen died of disease, and Elizabeth was out forty nine
Speaker 1: thousand pounds. The expedition had been an unmitigated disaster, for
Speaker 1: which the Queen blamed one of the men in charge,
Speaker 1: Sir Francis Drake. Then, in July, as we learned last time,
Speaker 1: word reached England that Henri the third of France had
Speaker 1: been assassinated. Elizabeth was determined to see Henry of Navarre,
Speaker 1: a Protestant, assume the throne in time. As we will see,
Speaker 1: her support of Navarre will prove crucial in his ability
Speaker 1: to become Henry the fourth. On April the sixth, Francis
Speaker 1: Walsingham died. The Queen did not immediately replace him. Walsingham
Speaker 1: had been an extremely effective in his role as chiefs Bymaster.
Speaker 1: His efforts were one of the reasons Elizabeth was both
Speaker 1: still alive and on her throne. Walsingham's duty were quietly
Speaker 1: assumed by Robert Cecil Now. Robert Cecil had been born
Speaker 1: in fifteen sixty three, allegedly as the result of being
Speaker 1: dropped by his nurse maid. He had a deformed back
Speaker 1: and his growth had been stunted. Elizabeth called him her
Speaker 1: Pigmy or elf. He resented the name, but of course
Speaker 1: never said anything to the Queen herself. Robert had been
Speaker 1: educated at Oxford. He was quick and excelled as a courtier.
Speaker 1: While he was never as close to Elizabeth as her
Speaker 1: father had been, the Queen trusted him implicitly. Essex's insistence
Speaker 1: on regarding Cecil as his chief rival led to the
Speaker 1: formation of the factions which were to dominate the last
Speaker 1: years of Elizabeth's reign and led to a lot of squabbling,
Speaker 1: bribery and outright opportunism. Essex and his younger followers were
Speaker 1: all keen for military glory and the continuance of the
Speaker 1: war with Spain, while the faction headed by Robert Cecil
Speaker 1: and his stood for peace and stability. From fifteen ninety onwards,
Speaker 1: Essex began building an aristocratic following at court and in
Speaker 1: the country. Those who had been excluded from office by Cecil,
Speaker 1: as well as those who agreed that the war against
Speaker 1: Spain should be aggressively pursued, hastened to offer Essex their allegiance.
Speaker 1: He also courted the support openly of the London Puritans.
Speaker 1: Cecil meanwhile kept a vice like grip on court appointments
Speaker 1: and political offices, and in the Parliament. His father led
Speaker 1: the House of Lords, while the younger Cecil led the Commons.
Speaker 1: So what we have here is a situation not unlike
Speaker 1: the later years of Henry the Eighth. All of Elizabeth's
Speaker 1: advisers were aging, slowing down, or in many cases dying.
Speaker 1: A younger, less easily meliable generation was coming into being.
Speaker 1: Men like Essex were dismissive of their elders and their opinions. Elizabeth,
Speaker 1: more often than not, now found herself simply trying to
Speaker 1: keep the peace. In fifteen ninety one, Essex came under
Speaker 1: the increasing influence of the brilliant Francis Bacon. Francis Bacon
Speaker 1: was a thirty year old lawyer and member of Parliament.
Speaker 1: In his time, he had published great works of history, philosophy,
Speaker 1: and legal theory. One man wrote of him, quote of
Speaker 1: middling stature, his countenance had indented with age before he
Speaker 1: was old, his presence grave and comely end quote. He
Speaker 1: was the future Lord Chancellor, and he was cleverer than
Speaker 1: Cecil and Essex. But the Queen never liked him and
Speaker 1: never appointed him to the high office that he deserved.
Speaker 1: Both Francis and his elder brother Anthony were also homosexual,
Speaker 1: and this may have something to do with her aversion.
Speaker 1: But Essex always ignored Bacon's most important piece of advice.
Speaker 1: Bacon told Essex over and over again he had to
Speaker 1: forget all of these notions of military glory. He needed
Speaker 1: to seek advancement through peaceful means. But Essex wanted the glory,
Speaker 1: so he just kept doing what he was doing, never
Speaker 1: perceiving that was the exact opposite of what the Queen wanted,
Speaker 1: and that she was the source of all his influence.
Speaker 1: But there remained larger issues for Elizabeth than court factionalism.
Speaker 1: There remained squabbles over the succession, a taboo subject with
Speaker 1: the Queen, which men avoided if they were wise. Elizabeth
Speaker 1: had a tremendous aversion than ever before now towards naming
Speaker 1: her successor, fearing that the factions at her court would
Speaker 1: be easy prey for would be conspirators as she grew older.
Speaker 1: She was apprehensive in case that there are already moves
Speaker 1: to replace her with a younger, preferably male sovereign. Already
Speaker 1: several of her courtiers were secretly ingratiating themselves with James
Speaker 1: of Scotland, the likeliest candidate for succession. Therefore, that August,
Speaker 1: when the hot headed MP Member of Parliament Peter Wentworth
Speaker 1: impertinently published a tract entitled A Pithy Exploration to Her
Speaker 1: Majesty for establishing the succession, he was summarily thrown into
Speaker 1: prison and then of course, there was the issue of France.
Speaker 1: For months, Henry the fourth that Henry of Navarre had
Speaker 1: been begging Elizabeth for aid, as the French Catholics had
Speaker 1: effectively allied themselves with Philip of Spain. As we learned
Speaker 1: last week, Elizabeth initially hadn't really wanted to get involved,
Speaker 1: but neither did she want a victorious Spanish army on
Speaker 1: the other side of the channel. So eventually she relented
Speaker 1: and sent about four thousand men to Normandy, but she
Speaker 1: was determined not to spend any additional money unless she
Speaker 1: absolutely had to. Essex requested command, and Elizabeth initially said no,
Speaker 1: but when Henry the fourth asked for him personally, she
Speaker 1: agreed reluctantly, and she had been right to say no.
Speaker 1: From the word goo. Essex treated the war like some
Speaker 1: sort of grand game, like a sport. Well, Henry the
Speaker 1: fourth besieged Noah, Essex failed to do the same to Rouent,
Speaker 1: which is what he was supposed to have been doing.
Speaker 1: The English campaign ended miserably. Essex took one small town
Speaker 1: and that was about it. Most of the English soldiers
Speaker 1: died of disease. When Elizabeth ordered him to resign his
Speaker 1: command and returned he did so, blaming Robert Cecil for
Speaker 1: poisoning her mind against him. Cecil had done no such thing.
Speaker 1: Matters grew. When Essex returned in January fifteen ninety two.
Speaker 1: He had expected to be elected the chancellor of Oxford University,
Speaker 1: though he was no scholar, and was infuriated that Cecil's
Speaker 1: candidate had been elected instead. That next month, Essex forged
Speaker 1: a partnership with Anthony Bacon, Sir Francis's brother, who agreed
Speaker 1: to help him build his own network of spies to
Speaker 1: impress the Queen. Essex also continued to reach out to
Speaker 1: Henry the Fourth for support. Essex's hope for advancement got
Speaker 1: a sudden boost that summer when Sir Walter Raleigh fell
Speaker 1: from favor. Raleigh had committed the mortal sin of impregnating
Speaker 1: one of Elizabeth's ladies in waiting. Worse still, he had
Speaker 1: married the girl in secret, without royal permission. Raleigh was
Speaker 1: summoned back from Panama, where he was presently harassing Spanish ships,
Speaker 1: and promptly escorted to the Tower. He wasn't there very long.
Speaker 1: By August, Raleigh had been pardoned, but never again enjoyed
Speaker 1: royal favor under Elizabeth. At the new year, the court
Speaker 1: was diverted with masks and other novelties of the season.
Speaker 1: By February fifteen ninety three, Essex's intelligence service was well established,
Speaker 1: and the Queen was so impressed with it that she
Speaker 1: at last appointed him a Privy Councilor at the age
Speaker 1: of only twenty seven. He could now play his part
Speaker 1: as a statesman, and he did it diligently, attending every
Speaker 1: council meeting and cooperating with his rivals for the benefit
Speaker 1: of the state. A colleague later would write, quote, his
Speaker 1: lordship has become a new man, clean forsaking all his
Speaker 1: former youthful tricks, carrying himself with honorable gravity, and singularly
Speaker 1: liked for his speeches and judgment end quote. Where a
Speaker 1: knowledge of foreign affairs was concerned, there were few now
Speaker 1: to match him. But being Essex, he was also determined
Speaker 1: to explore his position and virtually bankrupted himself and extending
Speaker 1: his patronage. When the post of Attorney General, which was
Speaker 1: in the Queen's gift, became vacant in April, he exerted
Speaker 1: his influence to secure it for Francis Bacon. But Bacon
Speaker 1: had recently challenged the granting of a subsidy to the
Speaker 1: crown in Parliament, and Elizabeth was not at all pleased
Speaker 1: with him. When Essex put his name forward, she erupted
Speaker 1: in fury and barred Bacon from her presence. Now, meanwhile,
Speaker 1: Philip the Second had not forgotten about England, nor given
Speaker 1: up on the idea of retaking the island for the
Speaker 1: Catholic faith. England once more looked like a prime target
Speaker 1: for foreign exploitation. But Elizabeth told Parliament, my fear not
Speaker 1: all his threatenings, his great preparation and mighty forces, do
Speaker 1: not stir me. For though he come against me with
Speaker 1: a greater power than ever was, I doubt not, but
Speaker 1: God assisting me, I shall be able to defeat and
Speaker 1: overthrow him. For my cause is just, and it standeth
Speaker 1: upon a sure foundation that I shall not fail. God
Speaker 1: assisting the quarrel of the righteous, Parliament, at the end
Speaker 1: of the proceedings duly voted her a treble subsidy, just
Speaker 1: in case she did not need it. In the end,
Speaker 1: unfavorable winds prevented the Spanish fleet from sailing, and Elizabeth
Speaker 1: once more chalked it up to divine favor. In the meantime,
Speaker 1: Elizabeth continued to support Henry the Fourth in his war
Speaker 1: against the Catholic League in Spain, even after he converted
Speaker 1: to Catholicism, a point that I'm going to cover in
Speaker 1: greater detail next week. Henry had been quick to pass
Speaker 1: religious edicts granting freedom of worship kind of, and those
Speaker 1: allayed any fears the English queen might have had. That
Speaker 1: summer saw an even worse epidemic of plague than previous years.
Speaker 1: The London theaters were closed, and apart from brief visits
Speaker 1: to Sutton Palace in Surrey and Parham Park and Cowdrey
Speaker 1: Park in Sussex, essentially remained at Windsor until Christmas. Here
Speaker 1: she celebrated her sixtieth birthday and spent her time translating Boethius,
Speaker 1: mostly in her own hand. Just twelve days the manuscript
Speaker 1: actually survives. You can still go and see it. That winter,
Speaker 1: Essex uncovered a quote unquote plot against the Queen's life.
Speaker 1: I'm putting plot in air quotes here because it's pretty
Speaker 1: clear that Essex, through torture and downright deceit, fabricated the
Speaker 1: entire thing just to whip up anti Spanish sentiment. In fact,
Speaker 1: William Cecil told Elizabeth such the unfortunate accused was drawn
Speaker 1: and quartered. Regardless, that same summer was townright miserable for
Speaker 1: just about everyone in England. It reigned constantly, ruining the harvest,
Speaker 1: which invariably meant high prices and famine. In July, Elizabeth
Speaker 1: gave Essex four thousand pounds to pay his debt, but
Speaker 1: indicate he would get nothing for his friends. At this
Speaker 1: point it was mattering less and less. Honestly, he had
Speaker 1: grown enough as a statesman that English ambassadors were sending
Speaker 1: him his own reports. James the sixth was now his friend.
Speaker 1: The following summer was just as wet, and there was
Speaker 1: a second poor harvest. Thousands died that winter, and the
Speaker 1: jubilant mood that swelled the nation after the Armada was
Speaker 1: defeated was now but a distant memory. In fact, in
Speaker 1: July fifteen ninety five, the Spanish were able to raid Cornwall,
Speaker 1: sacking one small town. Alarmed, Elizabeth ordered that England's coastal
Speaker 1: defenses be strengthened. Sir Francis Drake was now back in
Speaker 1: favor and suggested a further rate on Panama in the
Speaker 1: hope of diverting King Philip and of course, seizing even
Speaker 1: more Spanish treasure, and the Queen agreed to this UD's. Unfortunately,
Speaker 1: England's great hero never came home. When his fleet returned,
Speaker 1: having achieved nothing in the spring of fifteen ninety six,
Speaker 1: it brought with him news of his death, not from
Speaker 1: some gallant conduct, but from dysentery on the twenty ninth
Speaker 1: of January in Panama, where he was buried at sea.
Speaker 1: By fifteen ninety six, state business was effectively run by
Speaker 1: the leaders of the two factions within the Privy Council,
Speaker 1: Robert Cecil and Essex. Spurred by news and rumors that
Speaker 1: Philip intended to launch a second armada, Elizabeth prepared an
Speaker 1: expedition to destroy the new fleet before it could get moving.
Speaker 1: Essex seemed like the obvious choice to command. In March,
Speaker 1: Elizabeth pointed Essex and Lord Howard, who had previously defeated
Speaker 1: the Armada, as joint commanders, the latter having vastly more experience.
Speaker 1: Both made for Plymouth to muster their men in ships.
Speaker 1: But then, on May the sixteenth, alarming news reached the
Speaker 1: Queen the Spanish had taken Calais. She immediately recalled Howard
Speaker 1: and Essex to her side. The fleet, she said was
Speaker 1: needed to defend the coast. Both men grudgingly returned, as
Speaker 1: did Raleigh, who had only recently just come back from Guinea.
Speaker 1: He was reluctantly by the queen appointed Rear Admiral, and
Speaker 1: the expedition once more received the green light. On the
Speaker 1: third of June, Elizabeth formally appointed cecil Secretary of State
Speaker 1: opposed he had filled an all but name since fifteen ninety.
Speaker 1: On the same day, the expedition sailed for Spain, where
Speaker 1: the following month Essex carried out a daring and very
Speaker 1: successful raid on the rich port of Cadiz quote the
Speaker 1: Pearl of Andalusia. Some of Philip's ships were being kept
Speaker 1: in readiness there for the invasion of England. Taken unawares,
Speaker 1: Spanish forces in the area could do little, and for
Speaker 1: about two weeks, English troops ransacked and burned the town,
Speaker 1: mostly ignoring Essex's orders to spare its churches and religious houses.
Speaker 1: Raleigh would later observe quote, if any man had a
Speaker 1: desire to see Hell itself, it was then most lively
Speaker 1: figured end quote. He had actually distinguished himself, particularly during
Speaker 1: the fighting, although he was severely wounded in the leg
Speaker 1: and had to walk with a stick for a long
Speaker 1: time thereafter. It was in fact he who had made
Speaker 1: many of the critical decisions that had ensured success, but
Speaker 1: his rival, Essex, was determined to take all the credit himself.
Speaker 1: Raleigh's praises remained unsung. Predictably, the reconciliation between the two
Speaker 1: didn't long survive cad Is. When Elizabeth received the first
Speaker 1: reports of victory, she wrote to Essex, quote, you have
Speaker 1: made me famous, dreadful, and renowned, not more for your
Speaker 1: victory than for your courage. Let the army know I
Speaker 1: care not so much for being queen as that I
Speaker 1: am the sovereign of such subjects. Now Full of success,
Speaker 1: Essex botched the ransoming of a Spanish merchant fleet. Trapped
Speaker 1: in the harbor, its owners decided to burn their ships
Speaker 1: rather than lose the twenty million ducats on board of
Speaker 1: the English. Undaunted, Essex decided that rather than to go
Speaker 1: on and attack Lisbon, where the bulk of Phillips or Modelae,
Speaker 1: his forces should try to intercept the Spanish treasure fleet
Speaker 1: as it left ports bound for the Indies. But his
Speaker 1: colleagues overreled him thereby depriving the English of the chance
Speaker 1: to sive thousands of pounds worth of booty. To make
Speaker 1: matters worse, Essex gave most of the loot from Catas
Speaker 1: to his men, rather than reserving it for the Queen.
Speaker 1: That being said, Essex had finally achieved his ambition and
Speaker 1: proved himself a hero. And when he returned to England
Speaker 1: he looked like a second Drake or even Scipio. For Connus,
Speaker 1: one wrote, quote, he took a charter of the people's hearts,
Speaker 1: which was never canceled end quote. Preachers raised him as
Speaker 1: the champion of Protestantism and spoke of his honor, justice
Speaker 1: and wisdom. There was no doubt he was the most
Speaker 1: popular and important man in the kingdom. Next week we
Speaker 1: shall see how Essex flies too close to the sun,
Speaker 1: And then that same sun sets on Elizabeth in England,
Speaker 1: ending what is relatively short but pivotal reign of the
Speaker 1: Tudor dynasty. On