Catholics Abroad And Spies

Question 1

_______ _______ and _______ were sent to England to keep the Catholic faith alive

Answer 1

Seminary Priests and Jesuits were sent to England to keep the Catholic faith alive

Question 2

Why did Catholic priests leave England?

Answer 2

Catholic priests became exiles working in Catholic countries in Europe, when Elizabeth became queen and made the country Protestant

Question 3

When were Seminary Priests and Jesuits sent to England?

Answer 3

They were sent by the 1580s

Question 4

Who were Seminary Priests trained by? Where were they trained?

Answer 4

Seminary Priests were trained by William Allen (an English Priest in exile) at seminaries (priest schools) in France and Italy

Question 5

What did Seminary Priests do?

Answer 5

Seminary Priests encouraged faithful Catholics by saying mass and hearing confession. They were told not to try to convert anyone

Question 6

What did Jesuits do?

Answer 6

Jesuits tried to convert people to Catholicism and were dedicated to serving the Pope

Question 7

Who were the first Jesuits to arrive in England?

Answer 7

Robert Persons and Edmund Campion

Question 8

How did Persons and Campion try to avoid arrest?

Answer 8

They came in disguise and used ‘safe houses’

Question 9

Who made secret hiding places for Priests, known as Priest Holes?

Answer 9

Wealthy Catholics

Question 10

By 1580 how many priests had arrived from Europe?

Answer 10

Over 100 priests had arrived from Europe

Question 11

Why was it so dangerous for Priests?

Answer 11

They could be killed. In 1577 two Seminary Priests were executed as traitors

Question 12

Name the most famous designer of Priest holes, who is claimed to have saved hundreds of Priests from arrest

Answer 12

Nicholas Owen

Question 13

Were Seminary Priests successful?

Answer 13

They did convince many wealthy people to remain Catholic

Question 14

What two main things did the queen and her court do to try and track down the priests?

Answer 14

1. Walsingham built up a network of spies and informers to learn about the plans, plots and the movement of Catholic Priests.
2. Local JPs were ordered to search for Priests in the houses of the gentry.

Question 15

What happened to Edmund Campion after he was found in a priest hole?

Answer 15

He was tortured and then hung as a traitor in 1581

Question 16

What effect did Campion’s death have?

Answer 16

Catholic opposition to Elizabeth increased. More priests came to England

Question 17

What propaganda did Catholics use?

Answer 17

Catholics published propaganda showing images of torture to expose the cruelty of Elizabeth’s regime. Elizabeth’s government countered this with pamphlets to justify torture

Question 18

What was the ‘bloody question’?

Answer 18

After 1585, priests on trial were asked the ‘bloody question’ about who they would be loyal to in the event of an invasion of England

Question 19

When did the execution of priests peak?

Answer 19

The execution of priests peaked in 1588 when England was under threat from Spanish invasion

Question 20

List the 4 main reasons for why the Catholic threat faded

Answer 20

1. Walsingham’s spy network was more extensive than the Catholic network
2. They were concentrated in the south-east but recusancy was in the north and west
3. They concentrated on the gentry, even though the majority of the population were of a lower class
4. Seminary Priests and Jesuits had very different tactics and did not agree on one strategy