In 1873 the city of Buda on the west side of the River Danube and the city of Pest on the east side were amalgamated, creating the city of Budapest, the capital city of Hungary.
In 1869 the Suez Canal opens for shipping after 10 years construction. Work began on the 25th of April 1859 on the modern Suez Canal which links the Mediterranean and Red Sea allowing ships to pass from West Africa and East Asia to Europe. Originally 164 kilometre (102 mile) and 8 meters (26ft) deep the canal has been enlarged since to incorporate new larger ships and is currently 193 kilometres (120 miles) long, 24 m (79 ft) deep and 205 metres (673 ft) wide.
In 1558 Mary I of England Died and her sister Elizabeth became Queen Elizabeth of England and Ireland
. Elizabeth was the daughter of King Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn and became Queen after the death of her sister Mary on the 17th of November 1558. Queen Elizabeth was one of the great Monarch in English History and her 45 year reign as Queen was considered the Golden Ages.
Elizabeth was a Protestant which gave her many enemies during her reign with many wanting a Catholic on the throne. In 1568 Queen Mary’s second attempt to defeat the Scottish Nobles she fled to the England and was welcomed by her friend and cousin Queen Elizabeth I. After Mary became involved in various plots by Spanish and English Catholics to overthrow Queen Elizabeth, Mary was placed under arrest. In 1586 another foiled plot directly started by Mary she was tried and convicted of treason. She was executed on the 8th of February 1587.
A year later King Phillip of Spain also wanted a catholic on the throne and had amassed a naval fleet called the ‘Spanish Armada’ which he sent to defeat the English. Elizabeth was a great public speaker and addressed her people about the impending battle, ‘I know I have the body of a weak, feeble woman; but I have the heart and stomach of a king - and of a King of England too’ she proclaimed. A fleet led by Sir Francis Drake defeated the Spanish Armada. Elizabeth never married and never gave birth to an heir. When she died on this day in 1603 the son of Mary Queen of Scotts became King James VI of England, Ireland and Scotland uniting the realm.
Queen Elizabeth died on the 24th of March 1603, without a male heir, the crown passed to James VI of Scotland (the son of Mary Queen of Scots) who became James the first of England and Ireland, uniting the realms and creating the United Kingdom.
