5 - The Catholic Threat

• Ambassador


  Representative of another country
• Divine Right of Kings


  Monarch appointed by and answerable only to God
• Jesuits


  Specially trained to persuade people to become Catholics or deepen their Catholic faith. E.g. Robert Parsons & Edmund Campion.
• Mass


  Catholic Church service
• Mary Queen of Scots


  Figurehead for catholic plots
• Pope


  Head of the Catholic Church
• Recusancy


  Refusal to attend Anglican Church services
• Treason


  Crime against the monarch/country
• Threat from Catholics in England:


  Pope advising Catholics not to go to Protestant Church services.

  Penalties lenient to begin with as she did not want to alienate anyone – hoped that change/acceptance of new church would happen and avoid rebellion.

  Elizabeth feared that Catholics were a threat to national security.
• Threat from foreign Catholic alliance:

  • Elizabeth feared that France and Spain would create a ‘Catholic

  Alliance’ against England.
• Elizabeth and her Privy Council were worried especially after:


  St Bartholomew's Day Massacre 1572 – thousands of Protestants

  had been massacred in Paris

  The murder of William of Orange 1584 – leader of Dutch Protestants

  had been shot dead by a Catholic. Privy Council worried about Elizabeth's safety.
• Threat from Jesuit priests:


  • 1580 Catholic Priests (Jesuits) sent as missionaries to England to

  promote Catholicism

  • They provided leadership for Catholics

  • 1581 Elizabeth ordered them to be arrested - Edmund Campion

  (Jesuit) gave free copies of a book criticising the Anglican Church.

  He was captured. He refused to renounce his Catholic faith so he was hanged, drawn and quartered in 1581.
• • 1585 Elizabeth reacted more strongly by passing Acts against Catholic
  • Priests which said that Catholic priests ordained and since 1585 they had 40 days to leave England or be executed for high treason.
  • Anyone trying to persuade someone to convert to Catholicism was guilty of treason.
  • The fine for Recusants was increased to £20 a month.
  • She became increasingly less tolerant of Catholics
• Early Toleration:

  • Tolerance marked the first years.

  • In the early days Elizabeth sought to find a way to keep both Protestants and Catholics happy. This was the aim of the Religious Settlement. However, as time went on with increasing threats and deterioration in the relationship with Spain and the Pope there was less tolerance.

  • Rich Catholic families who continued to try to practice their faith found themselves at risk and Priests attending them with Mass forced into hiding places (Priest holes)

  • Both faced severe punishments if caught.
• 1570 Pope excommunicates Elizabeth:


  • Released Catholics from their oath of allegiance to Elizabeth

  • Gave Catholics permission to plot against Elizabeth

  • Elizabeth responded by making the Treason Act in 1571 making it a

  treasonable offence to say that Elizabeth was not the rightful queen
• Recusancy:

  • Recusants = people who refused to attend Anglican Church services

  • 1568 William Allen set up training college to train Priests as missionaries to England. Aim – re-establish Catholic faith, even if meant becoming a martyr

  • After 1574 Seminary priests were being smuggled into England. Jesuits Priests arrived in disguise ready to hold mass and spread the message against Elizabeth.
• Recusancy:

  • 1581 Elizabeth increased fines to £20 and treasonable offence for anyone trying to convert someone to the Catholic faith

  • 438 Seminary Priests sent to England.

  • 1585 Act of Parliament ordered all Jesuits and Seminary Priests to leave England or face death. Anyone found hiding, priest could also be sentenced to death

  • 1593 an Act of Parliament was passed forbidding Catholics meeting together and confined Catholics within a 8km radius of their homes.
• Edmund Campion:


  • He was a Jesuit and Recusant

  • 1580 sent to England on mission to spread catholic faith

  • Arrived in secret

  • Went to Lancashire – moved South – preached in homes of rich Catholic families

  • Caught and arrested in 1581

  • Tried for treason – tortured and executed in 1581
• Aim of the Rebellion of the Northern Earls 1569:


  • Release Mary Queen of Scots from house arrest.

  • Marry Mary to Duke of Norfolk (Elizabeth found out about the marriage. Norfolk begged for forgiveness, Norfolk was sent to the tower)

  • Capture the North of England

  • Depose Elizabeth and replace her with Mary

  • Restore Catholicism
• Action of the Rebellion of the Northern Earls 1569:


  • Leaders were Earls of Northumberland & Westmoreland.

  • November 1569, 4,600 marched on Durham Cathedral, held a Catholic mass and tore up English prayer books.

  • Marched south to Bramham Moor. Gave up the idea of a siege at York and retreated North when they heard of the advance of the Queen’s army.

  • January 1570 the two earls escaped to Scotland.
• Consequences of the Rebellion of the Northern Earls 1569:


  • Northumberland was captured, tried for treason and beheaded at York

  • Westmoreland escaped

  • Duke of Norfolk was pardoned

  • 800 rebels were executed to reinforce Elizabeth’s rule

  • Plot failed because it was badly planned, lacked support for replacing Elizabeth with a Catholic monarch

  • Aid from the Spanish Ambassador De Spes did not happen. Philip believed Mary would support France rather than Spain if she became Queen so was reluctant to send help.
• 1571 Ridolfi Plot


  • The plot was organised by an Italian Banker called Roberto Ridolfi

  • The aim was to overthrow Elizabeth

  • It involved Mary OS, Philip II of Spain, Duke of Norfolk and the Spanish Ambassador De Spes.

  • A Spanish army would invade, Mary would marry the duke of Norfolk become queen and make England a Catholic country again.

  • Spymaster Walsingham and Cecil uncovered the plot.

  • Norfolk was found guilty of treason and sentenced to death

  • Ridolfi and De Spes were expelled from England

  • Elizabeth refused to execute Mary despite demands from Parliament.
• Throckmorton Plot 1583 - 84


  • Francis Throckmorton led a plot to overthrow Elizabeth.

  • It involved French Catholic forces, was backed by the Spanish and money from the Pope. Throckmorton acted as go between MQS and de Mendoza (Spanish Ambassador)

  • Secret Service discovered the plot – Throckmorton was tortured and executed. De Mendoza was expelled from England.

  • MQS was moved to a more secure place – Tutbury Castle and was banned form having visitors.
• 1584 -5 Increasing Catholic Threat:


  • Elizabeth’s life was threatened with an assassination attempt by John Somerville

  • They were worried because William of Orange had been assassinated by a Catholic

  • ‘Bond of Association’ stated that if Elizabeth was murdered Parliament would make sure they punished whoever was responsible.

  • The early tolerance changed and Jesuit Priests were ordered to leave the country within 40 days
• Catholic Plot - The Babington Plot 1586


  • Walsingham uncovered another Catholic plot

  • He claimed that MQS was involved

  • Anthony Babington was leader of the plot to overthrow Elizabeth and replace her with MQS

  • Coded letters delivered in beer barrels were intercepted by Walsingham.

  • August 1586 Babington was arrested and confessed.

  • Armed with evidence Walsingham persuaded Elizabeth to put MQS on trial.
• Result to the Babington Plot 1586:


  • MQS was moved to Fotheringay Castle and tried in October 1586. She was found guilty but Elizabeth refused to sign her death warrant.

  • Elizabeth finally agreed in 1587. She refused to release the paperwork but Walsingham went behind her back and persuaded her secretary William Davison to get the document.

  • Davison passed the signed document to Fotheringay and MQS was executed.

  • Elizabeth was furious and Davison was sent to the tower.
• The role of Mary Queen of Scots:

  • Mary arrived In England in 1568 after escaping imprisonment in Scotland

  • Elizabeth had a choice = she could send Mary back to Scotland, execute her, help her regain the throne of Scotland, allow her to go to France or recognise her as the heir to the throne of England. She made the decision to keep Mary captive – BIG MISTAKE.

  • Elizabeth did not want to execute her because: they were cousins, believed in Divine Right of Kings, feared revenge from Spain.

  • October 1586 Mary was tried for treason, found guilty and executed on 8th February 1587.
• Mary Queen of Scots:

  • Mary was seen by English Catholics as rightful (legitimate) ruler of England. She became a threat to Elizabeth because English Catholics saw her as an alternative monarch to Elizabeth.

  • She was supported by English Catholic nobles, French king – later by Spain and Pope.

  • Even though she was placed under house arrest and moved to various places to prevent her being a figurehead for a rebellion, that was exactly what she was even if she, herself was not involved.

  • She implicated in plots – Ridolfi 1571, Throckmorton 1583, Babington 1586.