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Elizabeth the First, Queen of England By Kimberly Ladies and Gentlemen, my name is Queen Elizabeth the First! I was born in Greenwich, England on September 7, 1553. I am famous for loving England, my country, and the glamour of my court. I was a very successful queen. I am the daughter of Anne Boleyn and King Henry the Eighth. My father wanted a boy, but I was the second girl born. My childhood was hard, but also fun. I lived in the country with my half sister, Mary. We hardly ever saw our parents, but there was a park full of deer nearby and people were kind. When I was only two, King Henry had my mother’s head cut off. I was smart and studied writing, music, religion, and languages. It was hard learning five different languages. It was fun learning to shoot with a bow and arrow, but I didn’t like to sew. When I was 17, my sister Mary became queen. She was cruel and people liked me better than her. When they tried to make me queen instead, Mary had me locked up in the Tower of London. I was worried Mary would have my head cut off, but after a while, Mary set me free. Life started to get bad in England. Many people were poor, many died of the flu, and there was a war with France. Mary became known as “Bloody Mary” because she killed people who did not agree with her ideas about religion. Mary died when I was 25, and I became queen of England. I loved being queen, and stopped people from fighting about religion. My cousin, Mary Stuart, was queen of Scotland and I couldn’t trust her. She planned to kill me, so I had her head cut off. My sailors and explorers found new ways to get to India and China. They began trading, and England became rich. Francis Drake sailed all around the world. Other explorers started colonies in America. I hated war, and felt peace was better for my people. But soon we were at war with Spain. The Spanish Armada had attacked England, but my sailors won. England had entered a Golden Age. My court became filled with musicians, poets, and scholars. William Shakespeare wrote many plays. I became famous for making England strong again. I died on March 24, 1603 at Richmond Palace at the age of 69. I was one of England’s greatest rulers. Now, let’s get to the main purpose of why I’m here today. I went on the Lewis and Clark expedition to explore the plains and mountains on the other side of the country. President Jefferson wanted us to go on the expedition in order to learn about on the Indians who lived on the plains and in the mountains. The President also wanted maps to be made. He chose two men to lead the expedition. Maybe you’ve heard of them? William Clark and Meriwether Lewis. I traveled with them from 1805 until 1806. The men and I discovered the Pacific Northwest. We learned about the plants and animals. We had to ride on horses and travel in boats. On the expedition, we got horses and food along the way. I became famous because of my important role in helping Lewis and Clark on their expedition and because I am a brave and knowledgeable person. I was honored by having a river, a mountain peak, and a mountain pass named after me. I was also honored by having a U.S. dollar coin commemorating me. I died from a fever on December 20, 1812 near the Missouri River. |
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