What century was the Elizabethan era?

The Elizabethan era was in the 16th century during her reign between 1558 and 1603.

Elisabeth I. was the last Tudor sovereign of England. A daughter of Henry VIII. and Anne Boleyn she was declared illegitimate after the execution of her mother but was raised carefully together with her half-brother Edward VI.. After the death of Mary I. she was accepted as Queen by the Parliament and re-established the Anglican State Church. Her appeasement policy concerning the Catholics - Uniformity Act 1559 - prevented an alliance between Spain and the Pope at the benefit of Mary I. Queen of Scots. In 1558 Mary had fled from Scotland and was imprisoned by Elisabeth, she finally was beheaded in Fotheringhay 1587.
A rebellion of North English noblemen in 1569 was turned down effortlessly. When Pope Pius V. banned Elisabeth in 1570 the Catholics were subjected to a strict extraordinary legislation.
Elisabeth supported the English piracy in the Caribbean against Spain, her victory over the Spanish Armada 1588 in the English Channel granted her a world historic success.
Elisabeth had a huge personal contribution to the national rise of England, she always sticked to the great statesman of her epoque William Cecil Lord Burghley against all envies. The "Virgin Queen" Elisabeth I. certainly had some personal shortcomings, she was moody and unpredictable, but she always remained a child of her epoque, the "Merry old England".

Christoph