Elizabeth managed to kill quite a few people, put them into prison, subject them to fine, and drive them into exile—standard means among the rulers of the times for enforcing religious conformity. The strongly Protestant were never,as they were in Scotland, dominant in the Church. Unlike Scotland, Calvinism never took hold, and certainly up until the second decade of Elizabeth’s reign, the majority of the people outside the urban centers were still Catholic in sentiment. The Church catered to this by preserving many Catholic forms in worship, although they quickly eliminated the popular religion of the people. In any case, there is no clash between Catholics and Calvinists as there was in France. Even the Catholic nobles in England were linked by interest with the Tudor dynasty, and for many years Elizabeth held out hope that she might—out of expediency—turn Catholic herself.
Perhaps including Shakespeare. Stephen Greenblatt, Will In The World.
I saw the movie today and liked it. Cate Blanchett is very good, very regal, albeit on the verge of a nervous breakdown in that she knows she can never have Walter Raleigh and that Armada is on the way.
Perhaps a bit of dramatic license, but her rallying her forces in armor borrows from Henry V prior to Agincourt and is pretty good drama.
Except for being somewhat stagy it was a nice way to spend an afternoon.
The Armada sequences are really good.
I have read a bit on this period of English history, and I have never heard that before. But whatever her personal wishes were, it didn't matter. She did what she thought would be good for England, so she avoided as much bloodshed as possible. She was raised a Protestant, and she remained a Protestant.