Chapter 20 - Foreign affairs

• Issues with succession:

  • Elizabeth was single 
  • Mary Queen of Scots was the heir (during the early part of her reign)
  • Mary arguably had a stronger claim than Liz as Henry VIII’s sister, Margaret had married James IV in 1503
  • Also Liz was considered illegitimate to catholics
  • Elizabeth believed this was a personal issue and it should not be debated by parliament
• Potential suitors:

  1. RObert dudley

  • Was elizabeth’s preferred choice
  • Cecil did not support this as he believed his influence would fall
  • Amy Dudley death was a scandal liz didn't want to be involved in

  1. Philip II of Spain

  • Offered his hand in marriage to elizabeth + powerful
  • but lacked serious intent due to his catholicism
  • Was married to Mary 

  1. Archdukes ferdinand and Charles 

  • Both catholic 
  • But powerful sons of emperor ferdinand
  • Allowed links with HRE to be formed 

  1. Prince Erik of Sweden 

  • Protestant 
  • Uninterested in marriage 
• in 1579 it was proclaimed that Elizabeth could still have children at the age of 46, which meant that the Duke of Anjou, 24 year-old brother of the French King Henry III, became a suitor. But he was opposed by Dudley and Walsingham due to the fear of French influence.
• Parliament first raised the issue of marriage/succession in 1559.

  Elizabeth insisted that it was her decision.

  Elizabeth almost died of smallpox in 1562 - this heightened the issue of succession.

  • They say to Elizabeth that she needed to name a successor or there could be drastic repercussions
• The issue of succession was raised again in parliament in 1566

  Dudley and Cecil debated the issue at the privy council but failed to convince the queen to change her views.

  She was furious:

  • Dudley and Pembroke were temporarily banned form the presence chamber 
  • Councillors were publicly rebuked 
  • Mps and lords were told off 
  • She re-asserted her belief that succession was a private matter 
• LADY CATHERINE GREY:

  • Potential successor in Liz's early reign
  • Sister of Lady jane grey
  • 1561 she married the earl of Hertford (somerset’s son) without asking permission and immediately fell pregnant
  • Liz feared that if she had a son then she would cause rebellion 
  • She was placed in tower with Hertford 
  • She had a second child in prison 
  • 1562 - marriage annulled and Seymours were censured as fornicators by a church commission 
  • 1563 Catherine placed under house arrest and died in 1568 
• Mary Queen of Scots

  • Had a stronger claim to the throne than Elizabeth
  • 1559 Henry II of France died and Mary became queen of France 
  • 1560 her husband Francis died 
  • 1561 - Mary returned to Scotland 
  • October 1562 - Liz nearly died of smallpox
  • 1563 - parliament requested clarification over liz’s successor
  • 1567 - Mary flees to England
• The final succession:

  By the end of her reign Liz had lost most control of governing.

  Her ministers wanted to stay in power, thus wanted a clear succession and wooed James VI

  Robert Cecil kept in contact with James from 1601 onwards and ensured that he was rewarded by ensuring a swift accession. 

  It was the most effective and seamless switch of dynasty
• Mary Queen of scots married Lord Darnley in 1565

  Danley died suspiciously in 1567

  Mary then married the main suspect, the earl of bothwell in may 1567.

  June 1567 - uprisings against Mary led by the Lords of the Regent

  Mary fled to England and held indefinitely.

  Her son James becomes King with the Earl of Moray as regent.

  Following Mary's entrance of England, she became the focus of several plots
• Elizabeth was excommunicated from the catholic church in 1570

  This made foreign policy as well as relations with Mary Queen of Scots more tense
• Regicide - killing a monarch
• Sea beggars - Dutch pirates licensed by William of Orange
• John Hawkins - was a merchant from plymouth.

  Was a privateer and slave trader and was rear admiral against the armada
• 1571 - Ridolfi plot

  • A conspircay involving Mary marrying the Duke of Norfolk and overthrow Liz .Norfolk was executed for his involvement in this plot
  • The plot was organised by the Italian banker, Roberto Ridolfi
• 1583 - Throckmorton Plot

  • spanish landing in sussex was to be followed nu overthrow of Liz and replacing her with Mary 
  • Foiled by Walsignham’s spy network 
  • Led to the creation of the bonds of association 
  • Worsened anglo-spanish relations
  • Tightened Mary’s captivity
• 1585 - Parry plot

  • Plot to assassinate the queen 
  • Led to acceleration of parliaments passing of a bill to ensure the Queen’s safety
• 1586 - Babington Plot

  • Mary complicit in a plot to assassinate Liz but exposed by Walsingham
  • Moved to Fotheringhay castle for trial 
  • Enabled Burghhley to secure the EXECUTION OF MARY
• Elizabeth had previously refused to execute Mary because it undermined the divine law and she feared rebellion

  She refused to sign the death warrant until 1st Feb 1587 due to parliamentary pressure but still refused to send the warrant 

  Cecil wanted to act quickly and still went through with the execution without permission 

  Mary was executed on the 8th Feb 1587 and died a catholic Martyr

  • Cecil was disgraced for weeks 
  • davidson , secretary of the council, was sent to the tower and had his career ruined
• The probability of Mary's execution had been growing due to her implications in several plots, outbreak of war with spain and Philip II making closer links with the French Guise family, whom Mary was a part of.

  The bonds of association showed that ministers intended to have Mary executed
• Benefits and costs from Mary’s execution

  • Most english people welcomed it 
  • Parliament were supportive largely due to the war with spain (also needed money for the war)
  • No longer a credible catholic claimant - plots stopped - cecil happy
  • Any future plot could only be seen as an act of war in support of spain
  • Went against divine law and worsened relations with spain 
• Anglo-Spanish relations were codial (relatively good) during the 1560’s/first decade of her reign - philip also offered his hand in marriage 

  but they deteriorated towards the end of the decade for four reasons

  1. John Hawkins - blockaded Mexican port in 1568
  2. Netherlands - Philip II wanted more control in spain + protestant minsters wanted to help the protestant Dutch
  3. Harassment of the spanish - Nov' 1568, storm forced spanish ships to port in England, Liz stole the 400,000 florins worth of cargo. also a breakdown in trade
  4. Revolt of Northern Earls in 1569 + Liz's Excommunication in 1570
• Netherlands splits into 2 unions:

  Union of Utrecht (northern & protestant)

  Unions of Arras (southern & Catholic)

  • Spain made peace with Arras 

  THe spanish Duke of Parma began a campaign against Utrecht. 
• 1580 - Spain annexed Portugal
• 1581 - Liz supported the claims of the Portuguese pretender, Don Antonio
• 1572 - Liz expelled the Sea beggars from English ports

  • They were dutch pirates/privateers who were licensed by rebel leader William of Orange 
  • Sea beggars were forced to land in dutch port Brielle and started a rebellion against spanish rule in the Netherland’s which worked to sour anglo-spanish relations
• November 1576 - Pacification of Ghent

  The Dutch provinces called for the expulsion of all foreign troops and the restoration of their autonomy

  • This was favoured by Elizabeth
• things that wrosened anglo-spanish relations in the 1580's:

  • Liz's support of Don Antonio
  • Liz knights Sir Francis Drake
  • Liz treats the spanish ambassador with contempt
  • Duke of Parma reconquers most of Dutch northern provinces
  • William of Orange assassinated
  • Treaty of Joinville 1584
  • Treaty of Nonsuch 1585
• 1584 - Philip II and the Catholic League in France agreed the Treaty of Joinville

  The catholic league was led by the Guise family

  the treaty planned to end protestantism and isolated England
• To counteract Joinville Liz signed The Treaty of Nonsuch with the Duth rebels in 1585.

  Sent 6000 troops + Robert Dudley to netherlands

  But went badly because:

  • Troops were badly organised + paid badly 
  • Troops alienated the dutch 
  • Dutch felt betrayed when two officers, William Stanley and Rowland Yorke, deserted to join Parma
  • English commanders quarrelled among themselves 
  • Leicester argued with the Dutch - Dutch though Liz was trying to betray them 
  • Leicester returned to England in 1588 which encouraged philip to exploit divisions between the English and Dutch
• Spanish Armada

  • Philip II was convinced he was doing gods work and engaged in a catholic crusade 
  • Armada was made and the plan was:
  • Have 130 ships 
  • Gather army of 35,000 in Netherlands 
  • Use the armada to launch the invasion 
  • April 1587 - Francis Drake raids the port of Cadiz and delays the Armada in what came to be known as the singeing of the kings beard
  • Summer 1588 - Armada finally deploys aiming to reach Gravelines
• 30th July - 6th August - Armada spotted off coast of Cornawall and engaged 

  • Battle of Gravelines - English use fire ships to break up the spanish
  • The english forces came off better from the skirmishes and engaged the ships while the spanish army was trying to board off the french coast 
  • Unfavourable winds forced the spanish to retreat, going around scotland to return to spanish, losing many ships in the process 
  • The weather being on the English side showed THAT GOD WAS ON THEIR SIDE.
• War between the countries continued for 16 more years and only ended after the deaths of both monarchs 

  • The war was fought in france, the netherlands, ireland and the Carribean 
  • Liz’s top priority was national security and the war threatened that 
  • William Cecil believed Philip was looking to conquer England and return it to catholicism 
  • John Hawkins wanted to use the war and the english navy to expand 
• War at Sea:

  • In 1585 and 1587 England had been successful in small-scale naval engagements off the coasts of Spain and the caribbean 
  • From 1595 the english made attacks on mainland spain including the capture and short-lived occupation of Cadiz which humiliated Philip and prevented spanish merchants from sailing 
  • There was no follow-up to the occupation 
  • Hawkins and Drake advocated for an attack on Panama but the attack failed and they both died 
• • In 1596 Philip ordered a fleet to invade England but it set sail in autumn and sank in storms 
  • Spain also tried to exploit the rebellion in Ireland 
  • False english intelligence sprouted fear of invasion in 1599 and all naval activity was diverted to prevent spanish landings in ireland 
  • In the end little was achieved at great cost
• Elizabeth's potential suitors were:

  • Robert Dudley
  • Philip II of Spain
  • Archdukes Ferdinand and Charles
  • Prince Erik of Sweden
  • Duke of Anjou (came later)
• Robert Dudley and the earl of Pembroke were temporarily banned from the presence chamber in 1566 for raising the succession
• in 1559 there is a protestant rebellion in scotland led by the lords congregation

  • France Sends troops to catholics England sends aid to protestants
  • Cecil convinces Liz to sign the 1560 treaty of Berwick which sends 8000 english troops to Scotland
• English intervention in scotland was a success

  1560 Treaty of Edinburgh

  • all foreign troops leave
  • Freedom of worship in Scotland (protestantism made legal)
• 1564 Treaty of Troyes was a failure for Liz

  • saw the hugenots turn on the english
  • England had to give up claims on calais and vacate Le Harve
• 1568 - Spanish ambassador to England replaced by De Spes

  • he was a catholic who immediately contacted Mary QoS