Elizabeth: Catholic Challenge

• The Catholic challenge


  The Catholic Church became increasingly hostile to Protestantism and Elizabeth's rule
• The Counter Reformation


  The Catholic Church's attempt to reverse the Protestant Reformation in Europe and stop its spread in England
• In 1566, the pope issued an instruction to English Catholics to not attend Church of England services
• Heresy

  Denying the teachings of the Catholic Church
• The Catholic Church dealt with heretics severely, with many being executed for their beliefs
• The Catholic threat at home

  • Counter Reformation - Europe attempts to reverse the spread of Protestantism
  • Catholic hostility towards Protestants
• The extent of the Catholic threat

  • 1559 Elizabeth's religious settlement
  • The pope instructs English Catholics not to attend Church of England services
  • One-third of the English nobility and a large part of the gentry are recusants
• Catholic nobility tended to be from traditional and powerful families that had prospered under Mary Tudor, such as the Neviles and the Percys. They resented their loss of influence under Elizabeth and disliked the growing influence of her favourites, such as Sir William Cecil and Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester, who they saw as Protestant upstarts
• The nobility in the north were very influential and had always enjoyed freedom of action (independence) from the Crown, so they were well placed to incite a rebellion against Elizabeth
• The pope's instruction that Catholics were not to attend Church of England services gave them a powerful religious reason to rebel
• 1517 Start of the Reformation under Martin Luther

  • 1553-58 Catholicism is restored under Mary Tudor
  • 1545-63 Council of Trent and Counter Reformation lead to determination to reverse gains made by Protestantism in Europe and England since Reformation
• Recusants practised the Catholic religion in secret. Elizabeth tolerated them initially, as she did not want to turn them into religious martyrs (people prepared to die for their religion) and to avoid a Catholic rebellion
• The Catholic challenge abroad

  • Represented a real threat to Queen Elizabeth's monarchy, as they could seek to remove her and replace her with a Catholic monarch
  • Mary of Europe's most powerful rulers tended to be Catholic and, encouraged by the papacy, could attack England
• Extent of Catholic challenge from abroad in 1570

  • Spain
  • France
  • The papacy
• When religious war began in France, Elizabeth backed French Protestants, to take back Calais in return, but this failed, as French Protestants made peace with the Catholics later that year
• Elizabeth could not afford to see both France and Spain as enemies, as the would increase threats to her there
• Excommunication


  Being formally excluded from the Catholic Church and unable to receive its sacraments
• The pope had already excommunicated Elizabeth in 1570. This could only encourage Catholic powers, such as France and Spain, to attack England
• In 1566 the Dutch rebelled against Spanish occupation. Elizabeth outwardly condemned the Dutch rebels, known as the Sea Beggars, but many made their way to England. Spanish atrocities against Protestants (hundreds were put to death in the Netherlands) put Elizabeth under pressure to shelter rebels, who attacked Spanish ships in the Channel
• Spain was further angered by England's seizure of the Genoese loan in 1568. The Italian city of Genoa lent gold to the Spanish government. Ships carrying the loan sheltered in English ports, where Elizabeth seized it, arguing it belonged to Italian bankers not Spain
• By 1570, Spanish rule in the Netherlands was secure. The Privy Council now feared a Spanish invasion, as Spanish troops were in the Spanish Netherlands close to England
• The presence of Mary, Queen of Scots, as an alternative Catholic monarch encouraged the Spanish government to plot against Elizabeth