Short answers, pulled from the story.
Elizabeth I ascended to the throne on the 17th of November 1558. She inherited a kingdom that was financially bankrupt, religiously fractured, and surrounded by hostile Catholic powers. Her father Henry VIII had left behind a legacy of war and debt while her sister Mary I had alienated the populace through brutal persecution of Protestants.
The English navy defeated the Spanish Armada in 1588 using superior ships and tactics. Philip II of Spain launched a massive fleet of 130 ships to invade England but the English ships could stand off and fire broadsides which rendered the Spanish ships obsolete. This victory established England as a major naval power even though the war continued for another decade.
Sir Francis Walsingham operated a vast intelligence network that penetrated the highest levels of European society. His double agent Gilbert Gifford played a crucial role in uncovering the Babington Plot which ultimately led to Mary Queen of Scots execution in 1587. The stakes were life and death and the consequences of failure were total.
The Globe Theatre was built in 1599 and became the stage for Shakespeare greatest tragedies and comedies. It drew audiences of up to 15000 people a week and served as a reflection of the society that produced it. The theater explored themes of power love and betrayal while poetry and music also reached new heights during the Elizabethan era.
The majority of the population lived in rural villages working as tenant farmers in thatched huts with one or two rooms. The towns were overcrowded and unhygienic with no sewers or drains and rubbish was simply abandoned in the streets. Rats thrived in these conditions and the Black Death pandemic struck repeatedly with outbreaks in 1563 1589 and 1603.