34. Why was the reign of Queen Elizabeth I called ‘the Golden Age’? What were the prominent writers, poets, painters, philosophers and scientists of that period?

Her 45-year reign is generally considered one of the most glorious in English history. During it a secure Church of England was established. Elizabeth religious policy was of a compromise and settlement between Roman Catholicism and Protestantism. Elizabeth's reign also saw many brave voyages of discovery, including those of Francis Drake, Walter Raleigh and Humphrey Gilbert, particularly to the Americas. These expeditions prepared England for an age of colonisation and trade expansion, which Elizabeth herself recognised by establishing the East India Company in 1600.

The arts flourished during Elizabeth's reign. Country houses such as Longleat and Hardwick Hall were built, miniature painting reached its high point, theatres thrived[ai] (процветать) - the Queen attended the first performance of Shakespeare's 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'. Composers such as William Byrd and Thomas Tallis worked in Elizabeth's court .

The Spanish Armada was defeated; the Armada was intended to overthrow the Queen and re-establish Roman Catholicism by conquest, as Philip II believed he had a claim to the English throne through his marriage to Mary.

Scientific Study and Exploration

Along with a thriving economy and the flourishing arts, England's Golden Age opened an entire new world to the English realm through scientific study. Men like Sir Francis Bacon, who structured the idea of a defined scientific method, worked in England's Golden Age. To Bacon, we can also add Dr. John Dee, a famous alchemist.

The era is most famous for theatre, as William Shakespeare and many others composed plays that broke free of England's past style of theatre.

35. Why did Elizabeth support many English seamen that caused trouble to Spanish ships? Who were the most famous seamen of the time?

The defeat of the Spanish Armada is one of the most famous events in English history. Spain was the most powerful country in the world. And Phillip II planned to invade in England and had begun to prepare a great fleet. Queen of an island nation, Elizabeth began to recognize that she had to find a power and influence to keep England’s enemies at bay while she built up a strong fleet. So, Elizabeth supported and licensed men who had previously been pirates in English waters, turning them into state-sponsored privateers practicing legal piracy against England’s enemies. These men gained valuable experience on the seas and, when needed, used their military skills to strengthen the Royal Navy. Also these seamen weakened Spain by waging an unofficial war on Spanish shipping at little cost to the English state.

There were a lot of famous and outstanding seamen of that time. And one of them is Sir Francis Drake, who was a navigator, politician and was known as slave trader. He became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe. Queen Elizabeth thought very highly of him and appointed him second-in-command of the English fleet that sailed against the Spanish Armada in 1588.

Another man is Sir Walter Raleigh. He was an Elizabethan explorer and scholar. Sir Walter Raleigh advocated the colonisation of what we now call the United States of America and, for right or wrong, Raleigh will always be associated with the introduction of the potato and tobacco into England.