Armada and Religious Settlement

• Religious Settlement


  Compromise/"middle way" - mixing bits of the Catholic and Protestant churches to keep both happy
• Act of Supremacy


  1. Made Elizabeth supreme governor of the Church of England

  2. All clergy and royal officials had to swear an oath of allegiance to her
• Act of Uniformity


  1. Established the appearance of churches and the form of services they held

  2. Limited Catholic decorations

  3. Book of Common Prayer - open to interpretation

  4. Ensured everybody went to Church
• Royal Injunctions


  1. Instructions by Cecil on issues to reinforce the acts of Supremacy and Uniformity

  2. Bible and services in English

  3. Pilgrimages and monuments to 'fake' miracles were banned
• Challenges to the Religious Settlement


  • Puritans (Extreme Protestants)
  • Devout Catholics
• Crucifix Controversy


  • Elizabeth insisted all churches had a crucifix. Puritan bishops threatened to resign
  • Elizabeth backs down - not enough Protestant bishops to replace them, shows they challenged her authority
• Vestment Controversy


  • Elizabeth wanted all clergy to wear special vestments - the Puritans objected
  • The Puritans back down when Elizabeth sacks 37 bishops
  • Elizabeth shows her authority and there was no major resistance
• Devout Catholics


  • Non conformity - many English Catholics refused to attend the new, more Protestant like services (recusants)
  • Revolt of the Northern Earls, 1569 - Catholic earls wanted to remove Elizabeth, make MQS queen, held a Catholic mass at Durham cathedral, got as far as Leeds
  • Threats from abroad - Pope, France, Spain - strong Catholic countries that wanted to restore Catholicism in England
• Philip II launches the Spanish Armada in 1588


  • Treaty of Joinville (support from French Catholics)
  • Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots
  • Rejecting Philip's marriage proposals
  • England would be a useful addition to Philip II's empire
• Philip II launches the Spanish Armada in 1588


  • Excommunication/papal bull in 1570
  • Restore Catholicism in England
  • Backed Catholic plots against Elizabeth
  • The Pope promised to forgive sins and reward the invasion, if successful

  
• Philip II launches the Spanish Armada in 1588


  • Treaty of Nonsuch (Elizabeth sending troops to support the Dutch rebels against Spain)
  • Drake sacking Spanish ships and colonies in the New World

  
• What happened to the Armada of 1588?

  1. 29th July: The Armada is spotted in the English Channel

  2. 31st July: Battle of Plymouth. Two Spanish ships are captured

  3. 3rd-4th August: Battle of the Isle of Wight. Spanish ships are outgunned by the English and forced to move further up the channel towards Calais

  4. 8th August: Battle of Gravelines. Fireships cause the Spanish to panic. The Spanish fleet never links up with the Duke of Parma and is scattered

  
• The English ships were smaller and more able to move/turn quickly away from the Spanish

  
• The Spanish galleons were huge warships that were fast out at sea but difficult to manoeuvre at war
• Elizabeth listened to the advice of a navy leader John Hawkins who told her she needed to improve her Navy. She had done this months before the invasion
• The English galleons were better designed for the power of the canons. The canons could be reloaded quicker on the English ships
• The English tactics pushed the Spanish Armada further down the English Channel on the 31st July 1558, which did not allow the Spanish to rest

  
• The English knew their seas well, were experienced sailors and knew exactly where to push the Spanish ships towards in the rough seas
• The Duke of Medina Sidonia had to fight without the Duke of Palma's ships which were not ready
• Spain were late setting sail from Spain because of bad weather. They spent 10 weeks at sea before meeting the English
• Food and drink was rotting in the Spanish ships by the time they arrived in England. They were low on supplies
• The English were able to fire 6 times as many canons as the Spanish
• The English weather was unusually stormy during the Spanish attack and split the Spanish formation. The wind blew the Spanish away from London

  
• Communication between the Duke of Medina Sidonia and the Duke of Palma were poor at sea so this delayed the two sides meeting up
• England were ready to attack the Spanish 2 days before the Spanish arrived from Calais

  
• The English canons were able to fire a longer distance than the Spanish canons
• At The Battle of Gravelines on 8th August, the English sent in fireships (ships on fire) to split up the Spanish formation

  
• The Spanish barrels were made of poor quality wood - they were easier to destroy and the English knew this
• The Spanish were running out of canon balls towards the end of the Battle of Gravelines