Question

Compare Elizabeth I of England and King Philip II of Spain in terms of their personalities as rulers, their relationship to religion, and their foreign policy.

Answer 1

Answer:

King Philip II of Spain was, personality-wise, less cautious than Elizabeth I of England. He sought a more active foreign policy, in part because he had to, since he was not only a king, but the emperor of a huge Spanish Empire that included territories all over the world.

King Philip was a devout catholic who saw himself as a defender of the Pope, and as a leader of the counter-reformation. His anti-protestanism was one of his motivations for invading England in 1588.

Elizabeth I was more reserved, in part because he did not have as much power as Philip II. She was the king of a small island-country, not the empress of a transoceanic empire. She was relatively tolerant of other religiouns while being anglican herself.

She did not had a lot military success until the Anglo-English war when her army defeated the Spanish Armada.