Conservapedia - User contributions [en]

Queen Victoria

2007-07-22T04:32:18Z

MrCactus:

Queen Victoria (March 24 1818 - January 22 1901) was a monarch of the [[United Kingdom]]

To date she is Britain's longest serving monarch.

[[Category:UK Monarchs]]

Alfred the Great

2007-07-22T04:29:54Z

MrCactus:

[[Image:Alfred.jpg|thumb|200px|right|Alfred the Great]]
'''Alfred the Great''' lived from 848 to 898 AD and was King of [[Wessex]] who defended [[England]] against the [[Vikings]].

There is a well known story of a king who, after being defeated in battle, was forced to take refuge in the marshes and act as a serving man for a poor woman living there. One day the woman asked him to watch some cakes she was baking, and the hapless king assented. The king was quickly lost in his thoughts, and after some time awoke with a start to see the woman gesticulating towards the charred cakes and rating him for his carelessness and lack of thrift.

It was in the year 870, when Alfred ruled as co-regent with his brother Ethelred that the [[Danes]] (Vikings) began to invade his kingdom in force. In 871, the [[Saxons]] fought the Danes in eight pitched battles, with varying fortunes. Although King Ethelred fell in the last of these battles and his kingdom was worn out by fighting, King Alfred was able to make a treaty with the Danes by which they withdrew in 872. For several years the peace was kept, and Alfred dedicated himself to restoring his kingdom to a state of defense.

But in 876 the Danes renewed the war, launching an invasion in overwhelming force. Alfred defeated the Danes in momentous battles against great odds by land and sea, and effectually trapped the main body of the invaders at the port of Exeter so that they promised to retreat and never return if their lives were spared. But Alfred’s forces were weakened in the struggle, and when the Danes received reinforcements and treacherously renewed the invasion, he was unable to resist the onslaught. Thus it was that the king, after many brilliant victories, found himself a fugitive on the isle of Athelney in the marshes of England.

Alfred is regarded as the greatest of English kings, and he was the only one that the English have ever called 'the great'. In 886, when he freed London from the Danish invaders, he proclaimed himself 'King of the Anglo-Saxons' and 'King of the English'. At the time of his death in A.D. 899 he ruled Wessex and Western Mercia, and was acknowledged king of all the English who were not living under Danish occupation. For these reasons, and many others, he is regarded as the first monarch of all the English as a united people. He was also an intellectual, and translated by his own hand many [[Latin]] texts into English so his people could read them. According to his biographer the Welsh monk named Asser, he was a deeply complex man who suffered a number of emotional and mental disorders, probably what we today would call [[obsessive compulsive disorder]]. But of all the English [[king]]s he is the only one who is not regarded as flawed in any way, and his own personal character has molded the English national character to the present day. He was succeeded as king by his eldest son Edward, known to history as [[Edward the Elder]].

[[Category:UK Monarchs]]

Elizabeth I

2007-07-22T04:25:41Z

MrCactus:

Queen '''Elizabeth I''' (1533 to 1603) was the queen of [[England]] from 1558 until her death in 1603. She was the child of King [[Henry VIII]] and was preceded as English monarch by her older half-sister [[Mary I]] (Bloody Mary). Mary's strict [[Catholicism]] caused the relationship to be strained, and for a while during Mary's reign Elizabeth was locked up. Elizabeth remained unmarried throughout her life and therefore produced no heirs. Queen Elizabeth I chose her cousin James VI of [[Scotland]] ([[James I]] of England) to succeed her, which was somewhat ironic since she put his mother [[Mary Queen of Scots]] to death in 1586.

==Monarch==

In 1558 Queen Elizabeth I took the throne and became one of many noteworthy monarchs of England. After almost forty five years of ruling she died in 1603, the ruler of one of the most powerful and influencial nations of that age. Queen Elizabeth I was able to skilfully manage and keep peace between the [[Parliament]] and deal with the religious tension still present in England between Catholics and the still relatively new Anglican Protestanism. In 1588 she also triumphed over the massive [[Spanish Armada]] that made an effort to invade England, a victory that was in large part due to her famous admirals, [[Sir Walter Raleigh]] and [[Sir Richard Walsingham]]. At that time [[Spain]] was the most powerful nation in Europe. The loss of the Spanish Armada was the beginning of a fairly rapid loss of their top nation status. The period of Queen Elizabeth's successful rule is called the [[Elizabethan Age]].

For many centuries England had been considered a European backwater, situated on a remote and cold island. But this very fact now made England powerful. Freed from any European entanglement by repudiating the Pope, England turned its back on mainland Europe and looked to the world, a process started during the reign of Elizabeth I. England prominently joined the [[Age of Exploration]]. Over the following 200 years, by sending ships and people across the globe, England founded many countries that are very important today: the [[USA]], [[Canada]], and [[Australia]], to name just three.

[[Category:UK Monarchs]]

Mary I

2007-07-20T13:00:57Z

MrCactus:

Mary I of [[England]] lived from 1516-1558. She was the daughter of King [[Henry VIII]]; her mother was [[Catherine of Aragon]]. Her mother was a stern [[Catholic]] and she raised Mary to be that way also.

In 1554, after the death of [[Edward VI]], Mary became queen. She was determined to return England to the Roman Catholic Church, and she did so, making many enemies in [[Parliament]]. She persecuted [[Protestant]]s, eventually executing about 300. Many Protestant scholars fled overseas, often to [[Geneva]]. Because of her persecutions, she earned the nickname of "Bloody Mary." She also imbued England with a deeper hatred of Catholicism.

She did, however, possess an appreciation for the arts, acting as patron for such figures as Christopher Marlowe and Ben Johnson.

[[Category:UK Monarchs]]

Elizabeth I

2007-07-20T12:56:26Z

MrCactus:

Queen '''Elizabeth I''' was the second daughter of King [[Henry VIII]] and Catherine Parr. She was preceded as English monarch by her older half-sister [[Mary I]] (Bloody Mary). Mary's strict [[Catholicism]] caused the relationship to be strained, and for a while during Mary's reign Elizabeth was locked up. She was released, however, and named by Mary as her successor before Mary's early death. Elizabeth remained unmarried throughout her life and therefore produced no heirs. Queen Elizabeth I chose her cousin James VI of Scotland([[James I]] of England) to succeed her, which was somewhat ironic since she put his mother [[Mary Queen of Scots]] to death in 1586.

In 1558 Queen Elizabeth I took the throne and became one of many noteworthy monarchs of England. After almost forty five years of ruling she died in 1603, the ruler of one of the most powerful and influencial nations of that age. Queen Elizabeth I was able to skilfully manage and keep peace between the Parliament and many religious conflicts that were arising. In 1588 she also triumphed over the massive [[Spanish Armada]] that made an effort to invade [[England]], a victory that was in large part due to her famous admirals, Sir Walter Raleigh and Sir Richard Walsingham. At that time [[Spain]] was the most powerful nation in Europe. The loss of the Spanish Armada was the beginning of a fairly rapid loss of their top nation status. The period of Queen Elizabeth's successful rule is called the [[Elizabethan Age]].

For many centuries England had been considered a European backwater, situated on a remote and cold island. But this very fact now made England powerful. Freed from any European entanglement by repudiating the Pope, England turned its back on Europe and looked to the world, a process started during the reign of Elizabeth I. Over the following 200 years, by sending ships and people across the globe, England founded many countries that are very important today: the USA, Canada, and Australia, to name just three.

[[Category:UK Monarchs]]