Mary I of England
Saturday, November 11, 2017
Not So Bloody Mary?
Let's face it; Mary I does not have a good rep in history. I mean, her nickname is "Bloody Mary" and there are literally spooky chants associated with her. But, I did some research and modern historians don't think she was really as bad as she is perceived to be. For one, like Mrs. Quinet talked about in class, Mary only ordered a few more executions than her little sister, Elizabeth, did. So Mary wasn't really THAT bloody. Aside from that, she actually did have quite a few accomplishments. She started the naval expansion which lead to the great English navy under Elizabeth's reign (Ex: Spanish Armada 1588). Under Mary's authority, fiscal policy reforms and colonial explorations were also started. Elizabeth is credited for many of these advances; but, in actuality, Mary initiated the efforts for them. Elizabeth built upon it, but I feel like it's not right that Mary is completely dissociated from her positive actions. In fact, the stigma associated with her is pretty subjective as other leaders did pretty questionable stuff too (Henry VIII?).
Mary I of England
Mary I of England
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Bloody Mary may be one of the most misunderstood and interesting rulers of all time. Many of the points you said are very true, and many people often forget to point them out. I did my 8th grade World History paper on Bloody Mary, so I have always felt some sort of connection to her. This post brought up many great points, but I think you did overlook one thing. You said that Mary only killed a few more people than Elizabeth. This is true, but one thing we must take into account is how long each of them ruled. Elizabeth ruled for a long 44 year tenure. Many people at the time may have wished this wasn't so long. Mary, on the other hand, ruled for a quick 5 year span form 1553 to 1558 when she died. The two rulers may have killed a similar amount of people, but Elizabeth ruled for almost 9 times as long as Mary. You can see why Mary may have gotten her nickname now. This still, however, does not change the fact that Mary's accomplished are often overlooked or accredited to Elizabeth like you've said.
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