Catholic Threat

• Before 1580 opposition to the religious settlement was limited:

  • Most Catholics remained loyal to the pope on the inside but followed Elizabeth's laws and attended protestant church services; these were known as church papists
• After 1580, the threat from catholics increased:

  • in 1580, the pope said it would not be a sin to kill Elizabeth, increasing the risk of assassination
  • Catholics began to plot to make Mary Queen of Scots the catholic queen of england
  • Phillip of spain planned an invasion
• Elizabeth's government responded to the threats by persecuting Catholics:

  • In 1581, the fine for recusancy increased by 10,000% to £20
  • In 1585, Elizabeth introduced the death penalty for anyone sheltering a catholic priest
  • In 1593, a new law banned catholics from travelling more than 5 miles away from their homes
• Elizabeth's government successfully crushed catholic threat:

  • There were 3 million Catholics in England in 1588; by 1603 there were just 40,000
  • However some opposition still remained and in 1605, catholics tried to assassinate the new king - James - in the gunpowder plot
• Jesuits were Catholic priests who were specially trained to convert people back to catholicism
• Jesuits began to arrive in England in the 1580s:

  • Jesuits trained in special seminaries in catholic countries like france spain and italy
  • They arrived in England on a mission to convert people back to Catholicism
  • The leader of the jesuits in england was Edmund Campion
  • Jesuits were hidden by wealthy catholics in priest holes
• Walsingham developed a effective spy network:

  • he was a privy councillor
  • Hundreds of agents tracking down Jesuits and Catholic plotters
  • Employed priest hunters to catch catholic priests
  • In 1581, Campion was captured by walsinghams agents and hanged, drawn and quartered
• Mary Queen of Scots was Elizabeths Catholic cousin:

  • forced to flee from a protestant rebellion in Scotland
  • Since 1568, she had been in prison in England
• Mary was a serious threat to Elizabeth because:

  • Had a stronger claim to the throne than Elizabeth
  • Was a figurehead for a catholic rebellion
  • Had powerful foreign supporters (Spain, france, Pope)
• Elizabeth refused to execute Mary because:

  • Mary was her cousin
  • Did not want to execute a fellow queen
• Catholic plots were attempts by Catholics to replace Elizabeth with Mary Queen of Scots
• 1583 Throckmorton plot:

  • A young Catholic noble, Throckmorton, plotted with the french to invade England and put Mary on the throne
  • The plot was also supported by the Phillip of Spain and the pope
  • Walsingham's spies uncovered the plot and Throckmorton was tortured and executed
  • Elizabeth refused to execute mary
• 1586 Babington plot:

  • Another young catholic noble, Babington, plotted with Phillip of spain and French to invade England and put Elizabeth on the throne
  • Babington communicated with mary by hiding coded letters in beer barrels that went into Mary's prison
  • Walsingham discovered the system and waited until he had proof of Mary's involvement
• 1587 Execution of Mary Queen of Scots

  • Cecil and Walsingham manipulated Elizabeth into signing Mary's death warrant
  • mary was beheaded
  • Elizabeth refused to talk to Cecil for a year
• In the 1580s, an Anglo Spanish war broke out, leading to the launch of the Spanish Armada in 1588
• Causes of the rivalry with spain:

  • Elizabeth refused to marry Phillip of spain
  • English privateers such as Francis Drake stole Gold from spanish ships. Elizabeth knighted drake
  • Phillip supported Catholic Plots against Elizabeth
  • In 1585, Elizabeth agreed to send 7,000 soldiers to the Netherlands to support protestant rebels Fighting Phillips army
  • the execution of Elizabeth angered phillip
• The Spanish Armada was Phillips invasion fleet of 130 ships
• The Armada planned to sail to the Netherlands to pick up 20,000 Spanish soldiers before invading England.

  However the Armada never landed in England and only 80 ships made it back to spain
• The Armada failed for several reason:

  1. Spanish mistakes - The leader of the armada had no experience of sailing and got sea sick. The Spanish army came a week late, leaving the armada vulnerable
  2. English Strengths - Used fire ships to break the Armada's crescent formation. Their Ships were smaller so that are more manoeuvrable than the spanish
  3. The weather - The Armada was driven north by a storm and forced to return to spain via scotland and ireland. 40 ships were shipwrecked.
• Phillip sent 2 more Armada's to England in the 1590s but they were both wrecked by storms