beliefs. Another source, Levine, states that Elizabeth cared only about outward conformity and not what an individual believed (76). The idea of having one church in England inevitably would mean aggravating the Catholics or the Protestants (Levine 73). In the queen’s opinion “there is only one Jesus Christ, the rest is a dispute over trifles” (Weir 54). The idea of one church that the queen called for would inevitably cause conflict with and opposition from the Catholics and Protestants. Catholics in the north stirred up a rebellion against the Queen after the capture and detainment of Mary Stuart. Elizabeth’s armed forces quickly put down this rebellion. After this uprising, the Queen felt the need to justify her policies for the past ten years; she did so by issuing a statement describing her reasoning for her religious indecision. She reiterated that a person’s belief in a certain religion made no difference. She did stress that she wanted conformity because that was the only way to maintain order. She quoted a Greek prince’s idea of people’s roles in society, “That king to be in most surety that so ruled over his subjects, as a father over the children,” to restate her demand for outward conformity about religion (Levine 73-74).The queen again faced a challenge when Philip II of Spain decided to launch his Invincible Armada. One of the occurrences that led to Philip’s decision to release his Armada was the English piracy of Spanish ships. Spain and Portugal claimed a monopoly on the new world colonies. The English, who wanted to take advantage of trade in the new colonies, broke through the blockades set up by the Spanish, and later, the English looted Spanish ships (renaissance). In his old, audacious age, Philip decided that he would use his forces against Elizabeth and her heretical ways. He readied his navy for a crusade against Elizabeth (Erickson 366)....
