5. Foreign policy Flashcards
What were Elizabeth’s key aims in foreign policy?
Protect cloth trade between England and Netherlands.
Prevent hostile countries building up a power base along the English channel or Ireland
Protect the northern borders.
What country was Scotland traditionally allied with?
France
What were Elizabeth’s views on marriage?
Believed the issue of marriage lay within the royal prerogative.
Elizabeth’s councillors’ refusal to acknowledge this was a source of tension.
What aspects of Mary’s legacy made Elizabeth not want to associate with it?
The restoration of Roman Catholicism and the authority of the Pope.
Persecution of heretics.
Unpopular Spanish marriage and the loss of Calais.
Who were Elizabeth’s main suitors?
Robert Dudley, Philip II of Spain, and Archdukes Ferdinand and Charles
What problems were there with Robert Dudley?
He was the future earl of Leicester.
This match horrified Sir William Cecil who would lose a significant amount of his influence.
It would have also created many political risks due to the mysterious death of Dudley’s wife.
What problems were there with Philip II of Spain?
Lacked serious intent partly because of his profound Catholicism.
What problems were there with Archdukes Ferdinand and Charles?
They were both Catholic
When did parliament first raise the issue of marriage?
January 1559
It was deflected by Elizabeth and there was no consensus.
When did Elizabeth contract smallpox?
October 1562
What was the impact of Elizabeth contracting smallpox?
If she died, it could result in civil war, foreign invasion, or religious strife.
This emphasised the potential threat of Elizabeth’s procrastination.
When did Parliament press members of the privy council to bring up the issue of marriage again?
1566
What was the result of parliament bringing up the issue of marriage for a second time?
Elizbeth was furious and banished Leicester from the Presence Chamber and publicly rebuked other members.
What decision on marriage did Elizabeth make?
Elizabeth came to the conclusion that the disadvantages of marrying outweighed the advantages.
What decision on succession did Elizabeth make?
The execution of Mary, Queen of Scots placed James IV of Scotland in the strongest position to succeed.
Elizabeth refused to name a successor but as her influence ebbed, arrangements for succession were already in place.
Who ruled Scotland?
Mary of Guise as regent for her Catholic daughter, Mary, Queen of Scots who was in France.
How did Scottish nobles view their regent?
Many were Protestant and mistrustful of the French regent.
What was Mary, Queen of Scots’ reputation in Scotland?
Her marriage to the Earl of Darnley set off a brief civil war, forcing Mary to flee England to France in 1567.
When was William, Prince of Orange murdered?
1582
How was the murder of William, Prince of Orange significant?
He was the leader of the Dutch protestants was murdered by a catholic who claimed that William was a threat to the Catholic Church and society in the Netherlands.
What was England’s relationship with France?
France was England’s traditional enemy.
Peace negotiations were delayed because of England’s insistence that Calais was returned.
What was the Treaty of Cateau-Cambresis?
Passed in 1559.
Calais would stay in French hands
Who became King and Queen of France?
In July 1559
The Catholic Francis II and Mary Stuart became King and Queen of France.
What plots were there against Elizabeth?
The Northern Rebellion, Ridolfi, Throckmorton, Parry, Babington
When was the Northern Rebellion?
1569
When was the Ridolfi plot?
1571
When was the Throckmorton plot?
1583
When was the Parry plot?
1585
When was the Babington plot?
1586
What were the causes of the Northern Rebellion?
Elizabeth tried to limit their power by putting Southern lords in charge of some lands.
The Northern Earls were also strong Catholics.
The arrival of Mary, Queen of Scots in England in 1568, pushed them to the brink of rebellion.
What was the significance of the Northern Rebellion?
Elizabeth’s reaction to the rebellion was swift. Over 800 rebels were executed, warning other potential rebels.
What was the significance of the Throkmorton plot?
Creation of the bond of Association.
Worsened Anglo-Spanish relations.
Tightened conditions of Mary’s captivity.
What was the significance of the Parry plot?
Acceleration of parliamentary proceedings on a bill to ensure the queen’s safety.
What was the significance of the Babington plot?
Enabled Burghley to secure Mary’s execution.
What role is Burghley play in Mary’s execution?
He believed that Elizabeth’s personal safety and the security of the Protestant state required Mary’s execution.
He pressured parliament to petition Elizabeth who refused to sign the death warrant until 1st February 1587.
When was Mary executed?
8th February 1587
What threats did Mary pose to Elizabeth?
Next in line for the English throne; The natural leader of the English Catholics; Her presence in England caused the Northern Rebellion; Had the support of the Guise family in France; Instigated the Babington Plot
How were Mary’s threats to Elizabeth weakened?
Henry VIII had excluded the Stuarts from the succession; English saw her as too foreign to be Queen; Most English Catholics were loyal to Elizabeth; The Northern rebellion had little support; The Guises were mostly distracted by problems in their own territories; The Babbington plot failed and horrified many Catholics
What relationship did England have with Spain at the beginning of Elizabeth’s reign?
Spain was Catholic, but Philip II needed to maintain an alliance with England to maintain trade
A Scottish and French attack on England would cut off his trade route with England.
So he was initially prepared to support a Protestant England against the claims of Mary Stuart.
Why did Anglo-Spanish relations deteriorate in the 1560s?
September 1568- John Hawkins tried to harm Spanish trade in the Caribbean.
Philip II wanted direct control of the Netherlands and Elizabeth was pressured to aid Dutch Protestants.
Their trade relationship broke down.
Philip encouraged the Northern Rebellion in 1569.
When did Elizabeth expel sea beggars from English ports?
1572
What impact did the expulsion of sea beggars have?
They were forced to land in the Dutch port of Brielle.
This was unchecked by the Spanish and sparked a revolt.
When had all Netherland provinces revolted against Spain
1576
This was supported by Elizabeth.
What did the provinces in the Netherlands produce?
The Pacification of Ghent and called for the expulsion of all foreign troops.
What was the impact of the provinces in the Netherlands dividing?
The formation of two separate entities…
Union of Utrecht (Protestant)
Union of Arras (Catholic)
Which union did Spain ally with?
The Union of Arras and planned to reclaim the Northern areas.
How much of the Netherlands did Spain reclaim?
After 1580 Parma’s reconquest of the North left only Holland and Zeeland unclaimed.
When and what was the Treaty of Joinville?
Signed by Spain and the Catholic League in France at the end of 1584
What was the significance of the treaty of Joinville?
With the Guises as his allies, Philip II no longer had a political motive to prevent him from supporting Mary, Queen of Scots.
What treaty did Elizabeth sign to counteract the treaty of Joinville?
1585- Treaty of Nonsuch with the Netherlands.
She sent troops to the Netherlands under the Earl of Leicester.
Why were the troops in the Netherlands ineffective?
The troops were poorly paid and ill-disciplined. English commanders quarreled with each other and Leicester quarreled with the Dutch.
Which English commanders deserted?
William Stanley and Rowland Yorke deserted and joined Parma.
The Dutch thought Elizabeth was trying to do a deal with Parma behind their backs.
When was there a successful English attack on Spanish ships in the harbour at Cadiz?
April 1587
Meant the sailing of the Spanish Armada was delayed.
When did the Spanish Armada set sail the first time?
22nd July 1587
Why did the first attack of the Spanish Armada fail?
After brief fighting between 30th July- 6th August 1587 the Spanish were forced to return to Spain due to bad weather.
When did England accelerate attacks on the Spanish mainland?
From 1595, the English made three attacks
What impact did the three English attacks have?
Humiliated Phillip II and blocked some Spanish merchant vessels.
However, there was no follow-up to these attacks and victory was short-lived.
When did Philip order another fleet to invade England?
1596
The ships were defeated by storms but was an open threat to England.
When was Sir Francis Vere made commander of the English forces?
1589
What impact did Sir Francis Vere have?
He forged a positive relationship with the Dutch leader Maurice of Nassau.
Territories lost to the Duke of Parma were slowly recovered.
When had all Spanish troops been expelled from all the northern Netherlands?
By 1594.
The Netherlands remained under Spanish sovereignty but achieved a degree of autonomy.
