catholics

Question 1

What was the Religious Settlement?

Answer 1

When Elizabeth had come to the throne in 1558 she sought a ‘middle way’ between Catholics and Protestants. To ensure this the Elizabethan Religious Settlement of 1559 was deliberately vague and gave little mention of liturgy (the way religion should be practised). This meant that as long as the people recognised Elizabeth’s supremacy (authority) over the Church and at least followed the new prayer book they were safe. It held the same structure as the Catholic Church in that bishops retained responsibility for the organisation, administration and supervision of the church and its clergy.

Question 2

Why was the Catholic threat greater by the 1580s?

Answer 2

treason act, law against catholics, Jesuits sent to England, Papal bull. Mary queen of Scots and the war with Spain

Question 3

why in the 1580s was Mary queen of Scots a increasing threat

Answer 3

From 1568 Elizabeth’s cousin and rival, Mary, Queen of Scots was imprisoned in England. She had been overthrown by the nobles of Scotland and had escaped to England. Catholics saw Mary as the rightful queen of England.

Question 4

why in the 1580s was the papal bull a increasing threat

Answer 4

In 1570 the Pope produced a Papal Bull of Excommunication that said that Elizabeth was excommunicated (thrown out) of the Catholic Church and he ordered Catholics not to obey her. This meant that by the 1580s Elizabeth was under threat from the Catholic Church.

Question 5

why were catholic priests an increasing threat in the 1580s

Answer 5

From the mid 1570s newly trained Catholic priests began arriving in England and from 1580 onwards the Pope sent specially trained priests called Jesuits to aid them.

Question 6

what was the treason act and when was it

Answer 6

In 1571 new Treason Acts were passed which made it an offence to deny Elizabeth was the queen of England.

Question 7

what was the law passed in 1581

Answer 7

In 1581 Parliament passed a new law against Catholics. Recusants (those who refused to attend church) had to pay a bigger fine of £20 per month and those who tried to encourage people to become Catholic could be accused of treason.

Question 8

why was the bond of associations an increasing threat in the 1580s

Answer 8

In 1584 William of Orange, the leader of the Dutch Protestants was murdered by a Catholic. Parliament responded by passing the Bond of Association. This stated that if Elizabeth was murdered, Parliament would make sure that the murderers were punished along with anyone who had benefitted from Elizabeth’s death.

Question 9

why was war and increasing threat in the 1580s

Answer 9

In 1585 war broke out between England and Spain. Parliament ordered all Catholic priests to leave the country within 40 days. If they were found in England after that time they would be executed.

Question 10

when was the Throckmorton plot and what was it and what was Elizabeths action

Answer 10

it happened in 1583 and was when A young Catholic man, Francis Throckmorton, organised a plan for a French army to invade England and replace Elizabeth with Mary, Queen of Scots, paid for by the Pope and King Philip II of Spain. Throckmorton was executed and Mary was moved to Tutbury Castle in Staffordshire, where she was held in isolation and allowed no visitors.

Question 11

when was the Babington plot and what was it and what was Elizabeths action

Answer 11

Sir Anthony Babington planned to rescue Mary, Queen of Scots from jail and murder Elizabeth. Secret letters between the plotters and Mary were discovered which gave the evidence needed to prove Mary’s guilt. This finally led to the execution of Mary, Babington and six other plotters.

Question 12

how were the plots against Elizabeth discovered

Answer 12

The Queen’s spymaster, Sir Francis Walsingham, had been intercepting letters from Mary, Queen of Scots for some time. He had a network of spies across Europe and was able to use these in order to protect Elizabeth from the Catholic threat.

These spies would post information about threats to the queen both from abroad and from within the country. Walsingham realised the importance of properly trained spies and set up a spy school in which to educate them. All spies had to learn how to decipher code and this was important in the discovery of the Babington Plot.

Question 13

how was Mary queen of Scots related to Elizabeth

Answer 13

Mary, Queen of Scots was Elizabeth’s cousin (not to be confused with Mary I, who was Elizabeth’s sister).

Question 14

what was Mary queen of Scots background

Answer 14

Mary’s life had been filled with dramatic events. She had become Queen of Scotland in 1542 when she was just six days old.

Her first two husbands died and she was implicated in the second one’s murder. She was forced to abdicate and was imprisoned. She managed to escape and fled to England where she sought refuge from Elizabeth in 1568.

Mary’s threat to Elizabeth suddenly became more immediate now that she was in the country. In the short term, Elizabeth allowed Mary to live in Carlisle Castle as a closely guarded ‘guest’. But now she was faced with a dilemma: what should she do with Mary?

Question 15

Why did Mary pose a threat to Elizabeth?

Answer 15

Mary, Queen of Scots was a threat to Elizabeth’s rule because she had two claims to the English throne:

Many people believed Elizabeth to be illegitimate and so felt she had no right to be on the throne. (Her father, Henry VIII, had divorced his first wife. Catholics didn’t recognise divorce and so viewed his second marriage to Elizabeth’s mother as illegal.)
Elizabeth had converted England’s official religion to Protestantism, leaving many Catholics disgruntled. Mary was a Catholic and many viewed her as their figurehead and a rightful replacement to the throne.

Question 16

what 3 options could be used to deal with Mary

Answer 16

get Mary out of the country, keeping Mary imprisoned or executing Mary

Question 17

why was getting Mary out of the country a good option

Answer 17

sending Mary back to Scotland or France could backfire, allowing her to gather more support to challenge Elizabeth.

Question 18

why was keeping Mary imprisoned a good option

Answer 18

this would reduce the risk of Mary gathering more support back in Scotland or France and allowed Elizabeth to keep tight control. But unlawfully imprisoning Mary could provoke international outcry and attacks anyway.

Question 19

why was executing Mary a good option

Answer 19

whilst this would remove the figurehead for Catholic challengers, it could also provoke international attacks and set a precedent for killing a queen.

Question 20

what approach was taken with Mary

Answer 20

In the short term Elizabeth decided to keep Mary as a closely guarded royal ‘guest’, moving her from castle to castle so she would not be the focus of plots.

Question 21

in 1572 what were MP pressuring Elizabeth into doing

Answer 21

executing Mary

Question 22

when was Mary executed

Answer 22

Mary was put on trial, found guilty of treason and was executed on 8th February 1587. The executioner held up her severed head and shouted “God save the Queen”.

Question 23

was Elizabeth hesitant to execute Mary

Answer 23

When Mary was found guilty of treason, Elizabeth hesitated to sign her death warrant. When she eventually did sign, she refused to submit it, but her secretary secretly took it. When Elizabeth found out, she was furious and he was put in the tower for 18 months. Elizabeth wrote to King James apologising for the death of his mother, Mary.

Question 24

what were the consequences of Mary’s death

Answer 24

France – fearing the might of Spain, they wanted to maintain their alliance with England.
Spain - were already at war with England due to the action of the ‘Sea Dogs’ and events in the Netherlands.
Scotland - King James VI was on the throne of Scotland, he was Elizabeth’s heir and so he took no action.
English Catholics - remained loyal to Elizabeth.

Question 25

when was the war with Spain (the armada)

Answer 25

During the early years of Elizabeth’s reign Catholic Spain (the most powerful country in the world at that time) and Protestant England remained friendly. Over time tension built up leading to war in 1585 and an invasion of England in 1588, known as the Spanish Armada.

Question 26

what led to the war with Spain

Answer 26

Religious differences, Marriage rejection, Piracy, The civil war in France, Spain supported Catholic plots, The Dutch Revolt and Elizabeth’s army joined the Dutch rebels

Question 27

why was religious differences a cause of the war with Spain

Answer 27

Spain was a Catholic country and England a Protestant country – meaning that the two rulers had conflicting spiritual outlooks.

Question 28

why was a marriage rejection a cause of the war with Spain

Answer 28

King Philip of Spain had been married to Elizabeth’s sister, Mary I. When Mary died he offered to marry Elizabeth but she rejected him.

Question 29

why was piracy a cause of the war with Spain

Answer 29

English Sailors like Hawkins and Drake attacked and stole treasure from Spanish ships in the New World. King Philip was furious but Elizabeth encouraged and rewarded adventurers.

Question 30

why was the civil war with France a cause of the war with Spain

Answer 30

France was the traditional enemy of both England and Spain, meaning that they united together against the country. Now France was in civil war it was preoccupied with its own issues and no longer posed a threat – so the alliance between Spain and England was not necessary anymore.

Question 31

why was Spain supporting catholic plots a cause of the war with Spain

Answer 31

There was evidence of Spanish support for plots to restore Catholicism to England, particularly involving getting Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne and Elizabeth off.

Question 32

why was the dutch revolt a cause of the war with Spain

Answer 32

Protestants in the Netherlands began a revolt against Spanish rule in 1572. Elizabeth secretly supported the Dutch rebels because she knew the Dutch revolt would keep the Spanish too busy to threaten England.

Question 33

why did Elizabeth’s army joining the Dutch rebels cause the war with Spain

Answer 33

Elizabeth sent an army to help the Dutch rebels fight Spain. For the first time English and Spanish armies were fighting each other. England and Spain were now at war.

Question 34

how many ships did the Spanish have and how many ships did England have

Answer 34

England had 200 but Spain had 130 ships

Question 35

how many weapons did Spain have and how many weapons did have England have

Answer 35

Spain had 2000 weapons and England had 200

Question 36

what was the main annual income of Spain and England

Answer 36

England had 300,000 and Spain was 3,000,000

Question 37

who was the commander of the Spanish Armada

Answer 37

The Duke of Medina Sidonia but he had little experience of sailing.

Question 38

who was the commander of the English ships

Answer 38

Lord Howard of Effingham but he had little experience of fighting at sea, but Drake and Hawkins were both very experienced.

Question 39

what was the Spanish Armada tactic for fighting

Answer 39

Get close so men could board and capture the enemy ships.

Question 40

what was the English tactic for fighting on the sea

Answer 40

Destroy enemy ships by firing cannon at them from a distance.

Question 41

what is the stages of the sea warfare

Answer 41

The Armada leaves Lisbon on 28 May 1588. It’s delayed by storms and repairs, and finally sets sail for England on 21 July.
The Armada is sighted by the English from Lizard Point in Cornwall. Warning beacons are lit along the English coastline.
The Armada continues through the English Channel now chased by English ships, but suffers little damage.
The Armada anchors near Calais where more troops are meant to join, led by the Duke of Parma, but the English send burning fire ships into the fleet. The Spanish ships panic and are scattered out of formation.
The Spanish ships are blown towards dangerous sandbanks and the English attack again in the Battle of Gravelines. This time they battle at close range and significant damage is inflicted to the Spanish fleet.
The Armada is forced north around the east coast of Britain and the English fleet turn back after food and ammunition supplies run low.
The Armada sets sail for home but are forced around Scotland and Ireland. Many ships are wrecked in storms and thousands of sailors drown.
The surviving Spanish ships arrive back in Spain, but almost half of their fleet is lost.
Victory for England.

Question 42

what were the casualties that occurred from the sea warfare

Answer 42

Both sides suffered casualties as a result of the Armada but English losses were relatively minor compared to those of the Spanish. England lost just 100 men compared the 20,000 men and 51 ships lost by the Spanish.

However, despite England’s victory several thousand men died from illness and disease in the weeks following the battle.

Question 43

what were the factors that allowed for England to beat Spain

Answer 43

Leaders, Planning, No reinforcements, Tactics, Ships, Guns, Support and weather

Question 44

why were leaders a factor for Spain to lose the war

Answer 44

The Duke of Medina Sidonia led the Spanish fleet, but he was inexperienced in naval battle and so made some fatal errors in his planning and tactics.

Question 45

why was planning a factor in Spain losing the war

Answer 45

The strength of the Spanish fleet came from its crescent formation plan – but when the English broke this up with their fireships, the Spanish became vulnerable and exposed to attack.

Question 46

why was no reinforcements a factor in Spain losing the war

Answer 46

The Spanish plan relied on stopping to pick up the Duke of Parma’s army to boost their numbers, but the fleet was unable to anchor and so never picked them up.

Question 47

why was tactics a factor in Spain losing the war

Answer 47

Spanish tactics were to get close enough to English ships to board them, whereas the English tactic was to attack from a safe distance.

Question 48

why were ships a factor in Spain losing the war

Answer 48

Spanish ships were slower and less equipped for the bad weather than the English ships.

Question 49

why were guns a factor in Spain losing the war

Answer 49

The English ships had more long-range guns (497 to the Spanish’s 172) able to fire at a safe distance. The design of the Spanish gun carriages meant that they could not be re-loaded quickly.

Question 50

why was support a factor in Spain losing the war

Answer 50

The Spanish overestimated the level of support there would be in England for Spanish control and a return to Roman Catholicism.

Question 51

why was weather a factor in Spain losing the war

Answer 51

The lack of a secure port where the Spanish could take shelter meant that the Spanish ships were buffeted by the wind. The thinking was that God intervened and the windy weather was a sign that God was on Elizabeth’s side.