Why has Elizabeth's reign been seen as a Golden Age?

The Tudors – The Golden Age of Elizabeth I, 1558-1603

In this course, Professor Susan Doran (University of Oxford) explores the idea of the reign of Elizabeth I as a ‘golden age’ through six key questions: (1) Why has Elizabeth's reign been seen as a Golden Age?; (2) Did Elizabeth's reign ‘settle’ religion in England?; (3) Did Elizabeth's reign see a new consensus politics?; (4) Was there new economic and imperial activity under Elizabeth?; (5) How far was there a cultural renaissance under Elizabeth?; and (6) Was there an educational revolution under Elizabeth?

Why has Elizabeth's reign been seen as a Golden Age?

In this module, we consider the question, ‘Why has Elizabeth's reign been seen as a Golden Age?’, focusing in particular on: (i) the ‘positioning’ of Elizabeth’s reign between the (so-called) mid-Tudor crisis (1547-58) and the early Stuarts (1603-49); (ii) the political and religious stability of Elizabeth’s reign compared to her predecessors; (iii) the resurgence of Antwerp as a centre of international trade after a mid-century slump, and the opening of new markets in the Netherlands and Germany; (iv) the importance of trading companies such as the Muscovy Company and the Levant Company in opening trading routes in Russia, the Middle East and South Asia; (v) the impact of the arrival in England of highly-skilled craftsmen from France and the Low Countries; (vi) the glitz and glamour of the Elizabethan court compared to both her predecessor and her successor; and (vii) Elizabeth’s military victories, especially the defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, compared to the military setbacks of her predecessor, Mary I, and successor, James I.