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Un destino trágico
La desgracia parecra perseguir a la peRueva. Enri-
Rue 7*** de *nglaterra la pidiw en matrimonio para su
hiKo el prrncipe Eduardo, apenas al nacer, con miras
a unificar definitiWamente los dos reinos, pero ante
la negatiWa de la madre de la KoWen reina, Rue pre-
ferra la alian[a con Francia, la guerra entre ambos
reinos se reanudw. A los cinco avos, Marra fue en-
Wiada a Francia para casarse con Francisco, heredero
del trono galo, mismo al Rue accediw a los 17 avos
cuando su marido fue coronado como Francisco **.
Entonces su situaciwn internacional se tornw inte-
resante. Reina de Escocia, reina consorte de Francia
y heredera del trono inglns, al ser sobrina en segun-
do grado y la pariente WiWa mgs cercana de la rei-
na *sabel *, Ruien no tenra hiKos. El |nico problema
es Rue Marra era catwlica, lo Rue hacra su posiciwn
aun mgs complicada, pues sus s|bditos escoceses
eran calWinistas y los ingleses anglicanos, por lo
Rue ninguno de ellos la Ruerra. 1ara colmo, un avo
despuns de ser coronada en Francia se conWirtiw en
reina Wiuda al morir su KoWen marido, Winndose obli-
gada a regresar a Escocia, donde comen[w a reinar
de inmediato.
Sus actos de gobierno deKaron el eKemplo de una
muKer culta e inteligente, Rue lucha contra una sociedad
cerrada e intolerante, pero tambinn habla de una mu-
Ker renacentista Rue por su educaciwn francesa nunca
pudo entender a sus s|bditos, toscos e indiWidualistas.
Decretw la libertad de culto, algo inndito en la Europa de
las guerras de religiwn, y a cambio los calWinistas no le
permitieron eKercer libremente su fe catwlica. A pesar de
todo consiguiw darle al reino cuatro avos de pa[, necesa-
rios para que éste recobrara el aliento.
A tragic fate
Misfortune seemed to chase the little queen. Hen-
ry VIII had requested at her birth for her hand in
marriage in name of his son, Prince Edward, with
the perpous to finally unify the two kingdoms,
but with the refusal of the girl’s mother- who pre-
ferred the alliance with France - the war between
the two kingdoms resumed. At five years old, Mary
was sent to France to marry Francis, heir of the
French throne, to which she acceded at age sev-
enteen when her husband was crowned as Francis
II. Her international situation was very interest-
ing. Queen of Scotland, Queen consort of France
and heiress to the English throne, by being niece
in second degree and the closest living relative of
Queen Elizabeth I (who had no children). The only
problem is that Mary was Catholic, which made her
position even more difficult, since her Scottish
subjects were Calvinists and the English were An-
glicans, so none of them wanted her. To make mat-
ters worse, a year after being crowned in France
she became Widowed Queen when her young hus-
band died, forcing her to return to Scotland, where
she became Queen immediately.
Her acts of government show an educated and
intelligent woman struggling against a closed and
intolerant society, but also a Renaissance woman
that, because of her French education, could never
understand her subjects, rough and individualistic.
She decreed freedom of religion, something unprec-
edented in the Europe of religiouswars, and in return
the Calvinists did not allow her to freely practice her
Catholic faith. Yet she managed to give the kingdom
four years of peace, necessary to regain its breath.
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QerToOBKeT •
characters
11.Eli[abeth *de
*nglaterra,reina
protestanteconquien
MarratuWoconictos
de índolepolítica./
Eli-
zabeth I of England,
Protestant Queen
who had conflicts
of a political nature
whit Mary.
12.Francisco **de
Francia,Ruiensecasw
conMaríayseconvir-
tiwenreydeEscocia./
Francis II of France,
whomarriedMary
and became king of
Scotland.
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