The Catholic Threat

• Many Catholics in England were not happy with Elizabeth’s Settlement - They had enjoyed religious freedom under Queen Mary, Elizabeth’s sister, and they were now being asked to change or deny their belief
• Many Catholics did not want to have to give up their religious freedom and left to live in exile abroad - Others grudgingly accepted the new regime
• To strengthen her position, Elizabeth passed laws to minimise the Catholic threat
• How did the 1559 Act of Uniformity minimise Catholic threat?

  Those who refused to attend Church of England services (recusants) were forced to pay a fine of a shilling a week for not attending church on Sundays or holy days
• How did the 1581 Act to retain the Queen's subjects in their due obedience minimise Catholic threat

  • Catholics who were still refusing to attend services in the Protestant Church were forced to pay an even bigger fine of £20 per month, the equivalent of thousands of pounds in today’s money. 
  • In addition, anyone found to have persuaded someone to convert to Catholicism was guilty of treason and could be put to death
• Despite Elizabeth passing laws to reduce Catholic threat, a fear of Catholic plots was an on-going and serious threat.
• The rulers of the most powerful countries in Europe - Spain and France - were Catholic, and plots often had foreign backing
•  In 1570 the Pope issued a Papal Bull of Excommunication against Elizabeth and actively encouraged plots against her
• Papal Bull - A formal proclamation issued by the Pope - In 1570 Pope Pius V issued a bull excommunicating Queen Elizabeth from the Catholic Church.
• The main figurehead for people plotting against Elizabeth was Mary, Queen of Scots - She had a claim to the English throne, and was the great niece of Henry VIII, so was seen as a potential replacement for Elizabeth.