The Elizabethan period in England was a time of growing patriotism: a feeling of pride in being English. English explorers sought new trade routes and tried to expand British trade into the Spanish colonies in the Americas. Sir Francis Drake, one of the commanders in the defeat of the Spanish Armada, was one of the founders of England's naval tradition. His ship, the Golden Hind, was one of the first to sail right around ('circumnavigate') the world. In Elizabeth l's time, English settlers first began to colonies the eastern coast of America. This colonization, particularly by people who disagree with the religious views of the next two kings, greatly increased in the next century.
The Elizabethhan period is also remembered for the richness of its poetry and drama, especially the plays and poems of William Shakespeare.