Catholic Threat

Question 1

How was the issue of Catholics addressed at 1559 Parliament?

Answer 1

25/27 bishops (other than Llandaff, Sodor and Man) refused to take the Oath of Supremacy and were sacked - this removed much Catholic opposition from the House of Lords

However, Liz did not deal with Catholics too harshly (did not want to make martyrs) and ordered Parker not to ask the Oath for a 3rd time (the penalty for refusing this was the death penalty)

Question 2

How did the 1559 Penalties on the Laity and Clergy address the issue of Catholics?

Answer 2

Penalties for anyone who supported the Pope as Head of the Church with penalties ranging from loss of property to imprisonment

Penalties for persuading priest to perform RC mass with penalties ranging from a 100 mark fine (around £8,250 today) to life imprisonment

Penalties on clergy for not following the BCP with penalties ranging from 6 months imprisonment to life imprisonment

Question 3

How did the 39 Articles attack Catholic doctrine?

Answer 3

Included declarations that ‘the Bishop of Rome hath no jurisdiction in this Realm of England’ and that masses offered for souls were ‘blasphemous fables and dangerous deceits’ - these were issued in 1563 and became law in 1571

Question 4

How did the 1563 Parliament address the issue of Catholics?

Answer 4

Oath of Supremacy extended

Act for the Assurance of the Queen’s Power passed which enforced penalties for denying the Oath of Supremacy ranging from loss of land, goods and imprisonment ‘at the Queen’s pleasure’ for the first offence to the death penalty for the second offence (this is more severe than initial penalties for not taking the oath, but the Queen told Parker not to ask for the Oath a second time to avoid making martyrs as she did originally)

Question 5

What did the 1564 enquiry into JPs reveal?

Answer 5

Elizabeth’s settlement was not being enforced in Northern England due to defiant JPs (around half were not doing their job)

Question 6

Why was Elizabeth’s policy towards Catholics in the 1560s moderate?

Answer 6

Personal toleration (did not want to make ‘windows into men’s souls’)

International situation (did not want war with Catholic Europe)

Inability to enforce her will on Catholics (JPs, areas like Lancashire still heavily Catholic)

Question 7

Why did Elizabeth’s policy towards Catholics change from the late 1560s?

Answer 7

The new Pope Pius V was extremely anti-Protestant and anti-Elizabeth (while the old Pope had just hoped Liz would go Catholic)

Increased tensions with Spain made England’s Catholic population a threat (e.g. 1567 Alva in the Netherlands, 1568 Bullion Affair, 1568 Massacre of San Juan de Ulloa)

Dangers of English Catholics manifested in Revolt of Northern Earls

Question 8

What happened in 1570 which made English Catholics far more dangerous to Elizabeth?

Answer 8

Pope Pius V issued a papal bull of excommunication

Question 9

How serious was the papal bull?

Answer 9

Serious - meant that RCs no longer had to obey Liz as she was no longer the rightful queen in their eyes

Not serious - papal bull not widely published due to treason laws, most Catholics happy w/ via media, came too late to assist in NE

Question 10

What was passed in 1571 to pacify the threat of Catholics?

Answer 10

3 treason laws (needed after papal bull, NE and Ridolfi plot)

1. re-enacted terms of Henry VIII’s 1534 treason act
2. made it treason to bring the papal bull into England
3. made it an offence to leave England for more than 6 months without permission (aimed at Catholics who had gone abroad to plot)

Question 11

What happened in 1574 that revived fears of Catholics among the government?

Answer 11

William Allen’s seminary priests (Catholic priests whose role was to provide spiritual relief to English Catholics) began arriving in 1574

By 1578, over 100 had come to England

Question 12

How can we see that the threat from seminary priests was serious?

Answer 12

Elizabeth resorted to executing them (she had not executed anybody on religious grounds for her entire reign)

1577 - Cuthbert Mayne
1578 - two more executed

Question 13

Who joined the seminary priests in 1580?

Answer 13

Jesuits, members of a militant Catholic monastic order

Question 14

What did Edmund Campion do?

Answer 14

He entered England as part of a Jesuit group and started preaching, managing to minister to Catholics in Berkshire, Oxfordshire, Northamptonshire and Lancashire

He published ‘Ten Reasons’, which questioned the validity of the Anglican Church

He was captured and executed in 1581

Question 15

What did the Pope issue in 1580?

Answer 15

The papal pronouncement, which encouraged the assassination of Elizabeth

Question 16

What Act was passed in response to the papal pronouncement?

Answer 16

The 1581 ‘Act to retain her Majesty’s subjects in their due obedience’ was passed which imposed several penalties:

1. fine of 200 marks and life imprisonment for saying mass
2. fine of £20!! (up from 12 pence in 1559) for recusancy

Question 17

How did penalties for recusancy intensify in 1587?

Answer 17

Introduction of cumulative monthly fines and the forfeiture of two-thirds of the recusant’s estate

e.g. Lord Vaux of Harrowden had to pawn his Parliamentary robes

Question 18

Why did the government become more anti-Catholic in the early 1580s?

Answer 18

Threats:
1583 Throckmorton Plot
1584 Parry Plot
1584 Assassination of William of Orange makes papal pronouncement far more threatening

Question 19

What Act was passed in 1585 to combat Catholic threat?

Answer 19

Act Against Jesuits and Seminary Priests

Stated that any RC priest had to leave England within 40 days

Act contained the ‘Bloody Question’ (‘do you obey the queen or the Pope?’), which resulted in 21 executions of priests in 1588

Question 20

How many priests were executed in total under the 1585 Act Against Jesuits and Seminary Priests?

Answer 20

123 from 1586-1603

Question 21

Did Catholics stay loyal to Elizabeth during the Armada?

Answer 21

Yes, the majority do

Question 22

What did William Allen do during the Armada?

Answer 22

William Allen wrote ‘An Admonition to the people of England’ which was meant to encourage English Catholics to rise in rebellion

In this, he called Liz ‘an incestuous bastard, begotten and born in sin’

Question 23

What happened in response to Allen’s admonition?

Answer 23

Wright (an English RC) wrote a response to Allen’s admonition, saying that English Catholics should stay loyal to Liz as the Armada was not a religious war, but rather a war of aggression by a foreign power

Question 24

What did missionaries do wrong in the 1590s?

Answer 24

Missionary activity at this point was focused mainly on London and the South East (ports), but this was a tactical error. Most Catholics were in the North and the West Country

Question 25

Did Elizabeth’s policy towards Catholics work?

Answer 25

Yes, Catholicism went into decline by the end of her reign

By 1603, only 10% of the population had Catholic sympathies and only 2% were active recusants

Question 26

Was the Catholic challenge serious?

Answer 26

Threatened Liz’s life - plots, rebellion, papal pronouncement etc…

Liz had to take a strong stance against recusancy (but this was not among the general population)

Jesuits and seminary priests (made tactical mistakes, internal arguments)

Question 27

Example of internal disagreement between Jesuits and seminary priests?

Answer 27

Jesuits wanted Sp to invade Eng in the 1590s, but the seminary priests did not, as they were cautious about Philip’s aims