The Impacts of the Queen Elizabeth's Famous Speech Against the Spanish Armada

The text is a famous speech delivered by Queen Elizabeth I to the British troops before the big battle against the Spanish Armada, on 1588. The relationship between Spain and England was not good. Queen Elizabeth was Protestant, whereas Phillip was Catholic, so it was only logical that they would not get along. But religion was not the only cause for the poor relations between the two countries. King Phillip had proposed years ago to Queen Elizabeth but she refused his proposal and some historians think this could also be an influencing factor.

Moreover, Queen Elizabeth was allowing the English pirates to raid Spanish boats in exchange for some of the profits. All of the reasons mentioned above created a growing tension between the two countries, until war was unavoidable. Still, Queen Elizabeth had hoped to solve the problems between England and Spain peacefully and, when it came to war, the British ships weren’t ready. They were at a disadvantage and they were most likely going to lose the war, so Queen Elizabeth I gave this speech to encourage the troops before battle.

The author of the text was Queen Elithabeth herself. It has many versions and it’s unsure which one of them is the real one or even if the whole text is actually true. A few historians doubt its authenticity, but the vast majority accept that she did write those lines.

The speech was addressed to the British soldiers that were about to fight a battle that was, supposedly, difficult to win. Some books say that when she gave the speech she was only escorted by 6 guards, when usually she had a lot more protection. This was a meaningful gesture, because in the text Queen Elizabeth says that she trusts her people and her actions showed it too.

In one of the most famous lines of the speech “I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman; but I have the heart of a king” she acknowledges her physical weakness and, if you read between the lines she also states that she is both king and queen of the country. Every word she says sounds really powerful and promises to protect the country against all threads.

Queen Elizabeth levels herself with her people when she says she will fight with them and die among them if need be. She is saying that she is not better than them, she thinks of them as equals. The soldiers were simple people who spent their whole lives fighting for their country for very little money. Hearing those words coming from the queen must have been very satisfying.

But the Queen later clarifies that she is not actually going to fight with them, her lieutenant general will lead her army. She ends the speech with a positive note, giving hope to the soldiers and assuring them that the victory possible. In conclusion, the text was written by the Queen of England in a time her troops needed encouragement. The British army was smaller and no one believed that victory was possible. With her speech, she sends a powerful message of union and optimism. At the end of the day, her troops weren’t as inferior and ended up winning the battle, favoured by the British weather.

In my opinion, the speech probably was helpful, Reading it in the present time, she sounds powerful and convincing, so I can only imagine what must have been like to hear it from her directly.