Challenges to Elizabeth at home and abroad 1569-88

Question 1

What were the four main threats to Elizabeth’s throne in 1569-88?

Answer 1

• English Catholics
• Mary, Queen of Scots
• Spain
• The Dutch Revolt

Question 2

Why did the northern earls revolt in 1569?

Answer 2

• The earls and their followers wanted Catholicism restored
• The earls had lost a great deal of their influence at court since Elizabeth I became queen in 1558
• Elizabeth left an uncertainty about England’s future as she did not name an heir or marry anyone
• Mary, Queen of Scots was a figurehead who could potentially replace Elizabeth and, in doing so, resolve the issues the earls had

Question 3

Who were the key players in the Revolt of the Northern Earls?

Answer 3

• Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland
• Charles Neville, Earl of Westmorland
• Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk
• Mary, Queen of Scots
• Jane Neville
• Ann Percy

Question 4

Why was Thomas Percy involved in the Revolt of the Northern Earls?

Answer 4

He was Catholic. He had held an important position in court but lost influence under Elizabeth as she favoured the Protestant gentry. He had lost the rights to a valuable, newly discovered copper mine found on his lands to the queen 1567

Question 5

What was Charles Neville’s holding in the Revolt of the Northern Earls?

Answer 5

He was from an important Catholic family in the north of England and was brother-in-law to Thomas Howard.

Question 6

Why did Thomas Howard get involved in the Revolt of the Northern Earls?

Answer 6

He was a protestant but had close links to old, Catholic families. He came from an ancient family and therefore disliked the newcomers like William Cecil and Robert Dudley. He was a central part of the revolt as he was in the plot to marry Mary, Queen of Scots

Question 7

What was Mary, Queen of Scot’s relation to the Revolt of the Northern Earls?

Answer 7

She had met Thomas Howard, the Duke of Norfolk and supported the plan to marry him and perhaps take the English throne

Question 8

What did Jane Neville and Ann Percy do in the Revolt of the Northern Earls?

Answer 8

Encourage their husbands to keep the rebellion up, especially since Jane would become sister-in-law to Mary, Queen of Scots

Question 9

How did religion help spark the Revolt of the Northern Earls?

Answer 9

Elizabeth appointed a protestant called James Pilkington to be the Archbishop of Durham in the hope to lessen the Catholic influence in the north. However, the new most powerful clergymen in the north only succeeded in turning many northerners against him and England’s new religion

Question 10

How did politics play a role in the revolt of the Northern Earls with the Earl of Northumberland?

Answer 10

The Earl of Northumberland disliked the rivalling families like the Forsters which the Queen supported. Elizabeth gave Sir John Forster the task of looking after the borders with France. Northumberland felt undermined and him and the Queen’s relationship never recovered. William Cecil also saw his religion as a threat

Question 11

Who did the Percys and the Nevilles dislike in politics?

Answer 11

Men like William Cecil and Robert Dudley who did not come from ancient families . This was resented, especially as they were so close to the queen

Question 12

How would the original conspiracy to marry Mary, Queen of Scots to the Duke of Norfolk solve issues?

Answer 12

• It would solve the decision of what to do with Mary
• Any of their children would be protestant heirs as the Duke of Norfolk was protestant
• Mary would be a protestant ruler if named heir
• The monarchy would stabilise and Elizabeth’s incapability to provide an heir would be solved

Question 13

What were the main reasons for some of Elizabeth’s courtiers disliking the idea of marrying of Mary with the Duke of Norfolk?

Answer 13

• Marriage of members of the nobility required the Queen’s consent
• Elizabeth I had made it clear that the succession was a matter of royal prerogative
• The Duke of Norfolk was sympathetic to catholics and close to the Catholic earls of Northumberland and Westmorland, for whom Mary would be a preeferable monarch

Question 14

How did Elizabeth I discover the plot for the Revolt of the Northern Earls?

Answer 14

In September 1569, Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester, decided to inform Elizabeth of the plot

Question 15

What was the full plan for the Revolt of the Northern Earls?

Answer 15

• The earls of Westmorland and Northumberland will raise rebel forces from their lands in the North pf England and take control of Durham
• The rebels will then march south towards London to join with the Duke of Norfolk
• Several thousand Spanish troops will land in Hartlepool to support the rebel forces
• The Duke of Norfolk and the rebel forces will seize control of the government in London and overthrow Elizabeth
• Any resistance will be overthrown by the Spanish troops
• Meanwhile, Mary Queen of Scots is to be freed, ready to marry the Duke of Norfolk and take the throne

Question 16

What did Elizabeth do after hearing about the plot for the revolt of the Northern Earls?

Answer 16

Arrested the Earl of Norfolk and he was sent to the Tower of London on 1 November 1569

Question 17

How did the Revolt of the Northern Earls begin?

Answer 17

After the arrest of the Duke of Norfolk, the earls became desperate and, with their wives support, pushed ahead with the revolt. They first headed for Durham and took control of the cathedral from James Pilkington, who fled south. They destroyed traces of Protestantism and celebrated mass.

Question 18

What were the next events of the Revolt of the Northern Earls after Durham?

Answer 18

• The rebels turned south bearing banners. Mary, Queen of Scots was moved south to Coventry on the orders of Elizabeth to prevent her escape
• The rebellion failed after Spain’s supporting troops never arrived and Elizabeth manged to raise an army of 14,000 men for her cause

Question 19

What happened to the rebels after the failure of the Revolt of the Northern Earls?

Answer 19

• Approximately 450 rebels were executed with the aim of terrifying everyone else and preventing another one. -Westmorland escaped but Northumberland was executed in York in 1572.
• The Privy council called for Norfolk’s execution too but Elizabeth released him.
• Mary, Queen of Scots remained in captivity for the next 14 years

Question 20

How did the Privy Council and parliament react to Elizabeth’s reluctance to deal with Norfolk and Mary after the Revolt of the Northern Earls?

Answer 20

They were extremely frustrated and this situation was exploited by others. It was not long before another plot involving Mary was hatched

Question 21

What did the Pope do in response to the failed Revolt of the Northern Earls?

Answer 21

In 1570, he issued a papal bull (a written order) that excommunicated Elizabeth and called on loyal Catholics to depose her, hoping that it would encourage another rebellion

Question 22

What was Elizabeth;s response to the Pope’s papal bull in 1570?

Answer 22

She called parliament to assemble and in April 1571, parliament passed acts widening the defintion of treason. It became treasonable to claim that Elizabeth I was a heretic, was not the Queen and also to bring in, or print, papal bulls in England

Question 23

What was the significance of the Revolt of the Northern Earls?

Answer 23

• It was the first, and most serious, rebellious act by English Catholics against Elizabeth I
• The treason laws became harsher and the definition of treason was widened
• It ended the power and influence of the Percy and Neville families in the north of England
• It prompted harsher treatment of Catholics
• Most Catholics remained loyal but the revolt encouraged the Pope to excommunicate Elizabeth. His papal bull marked a turning point for English Catholics, their loyalty was always in doubt

Question 24

What was the significance of the papal bull in 1570?

Answer 24

It put England’s Catholics in a difficult position: do they obey the Queen or their church? The papal bull meant loyalty to both their spiritual and political leader was no longer possible, doubt was cast over all English Catholics