
1568: Elizabeth I’s Piratical Year
By Susan Ronald
Elizabeth I was the most enigmatic of British monarchs.
Hot-tempered, whimsical, yet fiercely intelligent, she was a Machiavellian Queen. But what made her the woman she was? In this brilliantly original book, the Elizabethan expert Susan Ronald argues there was one year early in her reign when Elizabeth learnt the secret of manipulating the great powers of her age – and laid the foundations for England’s domination of the seas.
Ronald tracks Elizabeth’s personal foray into piracy in 1568, showing her cunning in out-manoeuvring Philip II of Spain and his highly capable general the Duke of Alba – who headed up an army of 50,000 mercenaries only one hundred miles away from London twenty years before the Spanish Armada sailed. It uncovers a completely new side to Elizabeth’s character, and throws new light on the making of her monarchy. 1568: Elizabeth I’s Piratical Year is essential reading for specialists and the general reader alike.
Susan Ronald is an American author and Elizabethan historian.