1603: The Death of Queen Elizabeth I, the Return of the Black Plague, the Rise of Shakespeare, Piracy, Witchcraft and the Birth of the Stuart Era In this groundbreaking work, the noted British historian documents the extraordinary occurrences of a single year that so dramatically affected the fate of a nation: the death of Queen Elizabeth I, the return of the Black Plague, the rise of Shakespeare, witchcraft, and the birth of the Stuart era.