In the 1500s there were many great kings and queens, a few of whom will go down in history as some of the greatest leaders of all time. With Elizabeth I being Queen of England from 1533 to 1603 and Mary Stuart ruling Scotland from 1542 to 1567, Mary Stuart was always eager to take Elizabeth I's place and she was always trying to find new ways to try to take the throne. . However, if Mary Stuart succeeded in accessing the throne, would she be a good queen? Although Mary Stuart was educated and had strong views on religion, she was emotionally unstable, showed neglect towards her country and had terrible relations with the Scottish people, showing that she could not rule in as Queen of England. religion came primarily from being born in a time filled with religious unrest. She was raised with a lot of things going on around her, which greatly affected her outlook and stance on religion. Mary was a devout Catholic and did not waver from what she believed. Her strong beliefs led to numerous assassination attempts against her by Protestants. This happened because Mary, the Catholic queen, had the support of all Catholics in England, which allowed her to rise up against the Protestants at any time. Many Catholics also attempted to assassinate Elizabeth I for the same reasons the public attacked Mary, but vice versa, because Elizabeth was a Protestant queen. Mary was not only a threat because she had the support of the Catholic population of England, she also had the support of the Pope (Trueman). Being Catholic and having the help of the Pope has shown that choosing a side and sticking to it in the religious battle can have many positive effects on trying to capture the throne. Many Protestants fear...... middle of paper ......traits are high she is compared to Elizabeth I so Mary Stuart was a bad queen but was this doubly visible when she lived the same age as the great, Elizabeth I. Works Cited Grendler, Paul F. "Mary Stuart." Encyclopedia of the Renaissance. Ed. Grendler. New York: The Sons of Charles Scribner, 2000. N. pag. World history in context. Internet. March 17, 2014. “Mary, Queen of Scots.” Encyclopedia of World Biography. Detroit: Gale, 1998. N. pag. World history in context. Internet. 17 March 2014. “The Scottish itinerary of Mary Queen of Scots”. Summary (1987): n. page. PDF file. Trueman, Chris. “Mary, Queen of Scots.” History learning site. History learning site, nd Web. April 2, 2014. Weir, Alison. Mary, Queen of Scots and the Murder of Lord Darnley. Np: Ballantine, 2004. Print.