Elizabeth I Rebellions Flashcards
When was the Rebellion of the Northern Earls?
1569
What was the aim of the Rebellion of the Northern Earls?
An anti-Cecil faction at court schemed to marry Mary to the Duke of Norfolk, the greatest of the English nobles. They believed Cecil was taking England close to war with France and Spain, whereas the Marriage would ensure peace, force Elizabeth to name Mary as heir, and force Cecil out
The scheme was supported by 2 northem earls: the Earl of Northumberland and the Earl of Westmorland, both Catholics.
Elizabeth heard word of the plan and vetoed the proposal, so the two Earls returned north and raised their followers in rebellion with the intention of heading south to Tutbury to release Mary, who was being held there.
What were the political causes of the Northern Rebellion?
The two earls had already suffered a loss of status in the Elizabethan regime, and the failure of the marriage plan ruined any hopes to improve their position
Ancient nobility of the north felt increasingly alienated from court. Jobs that had traditionally gone to local families were now going to outsiders. Earls resented centralisation of Royal power in London.
Northumberland had been created Lieutenant General of the North by Mary in 1558, giving him great prestige in the area, whereas Elizabeth did not award him anything and had allowed his commission as lieutenant to lapse. As a consequence, he was declining in both wealth and power.
Westmorland was in such great poverty that he had to borrow money.
What were the religious causes of the Rebellion of the Northern Earls?
Official aim of the rebellion was to resist the new religion
Resentment at the appointment of a protestant Bishop of Durham
Gathered around him a group of senior protestant clergy who were aggressive in enacting change. they assaulted church images, removed church furniture, and led a drive to regain church lands that had been leased out
Resentment over influx of Militant protestants into the diocese of Durham
Two of the leading agitators of the rebellion, Markenfeld and Norton, were motivated by religious fervour, having been exposed to the Counter Reformation on trips abroad
Catholicism was still very strong in the north
What are the arguments against religion being a major cause of the Northern Rebellion?
Earls could have used religion to disguise their own political goals
Lack of confusion and fear of the unknown as there had been during the Reformation made people less inclined to rebel for religious reasons.
Rebellion in the name of religion risked Elizabeth taking extreme action against Catholics.
What religious action was taken in the Rebellion of the Northern Earls and elsewhere in the North?
Entered Durham Cathedral carrying a banner depicting the Five Wounds of Christ (as in the Pilgrimage of Grace) and destroyed English Bibles, set up store altars, and reinstated mass in Latin.
Popular religious action was also being undertaken elsewhere in the north - the protestant service book was destroyed in ~70 churches in Yorkshire and 8 in Durham and mass was restored in at least 6 Yorkshire churches and a further 8 in Durham
How did leaders of the Northern Rebellion raise support?
Religious propaganda
Offer of wages
Threat of force
Bastard feudalism - sons of gentry families served as retainers of the Earls
Why did the Northern Rebellion fail?
Heavily dependent on the leadership of the two Earls - hence difficult to gather support in areas where they were not well known/lacked influence. Problem as they marched further south towards Tutbury.
The Earls lacked attributes of strong leaders - determination and presence. Conveyed image of being driven into rebellion out of despair rather than drive, Which was not confidence- inspiring for supporters
Were only able to gather a force of 5-6,000 men and some began to desert when they didn’t receive their pay
Lack of foreign support - Had hoped for foreign assistance and had secured Hartlepool in the hope that Spanish troops would land there. However no foreign support arrived - Philip was unlikely to help in any case as it would mean putting a pro-French monarch on the English throne
Gvmt action (see next card)
How was the government able to suppress the Northern Rebellion?
Monarchy was influential in the north after reducing the power of many great northern families. Elizabeth had many of her own men in the north, eg. Gargrave and Berwick, who helped contain the rising and limit the numbers joining the rebels
In Lancashire and Cheshire, which the rebels had to march through to get to Tutbury, Elizabeth had the loyalty of important local figures like the Bishop or Carlisle and the Earl of Shrewsbury, both of which were quite popular with the local catholic communities
Government had been able to raise a force of 10,000 men, well outnumbering the rebels
At first news of a royal force, many rebels fled
Why did religion play a part in the failure of the Rebellion of the Northern Earls?
Religion was no longer a sufficient enough motive to attract large-scale support.
Fear of the unknown, as in the reformation, was not present as it had been in the Reformation, when people didn’t know what religious reform would bring
Many well-known Catholic nobles didn’t join the rebellion as they recognised there was more to lose than to gain in getting involved
Many Catholics were unwilling to risk their lives and fortunes as they were barely being persecuted under Elizabeth. Their status and prestige were reasonably secure, but a rebellion might destroy all.
When was the Oxfordshire Rising?
1596
What were the causes of the Oxfordshire Rising?
Main cause: Anger over enclosure
Subsidiary causes:
- Economic problems
- Famine caused by bad harvest
- Falling wages
- Rising population putting strain on land
- Epidemics
What was the economic situation leading up to the Oxfordshire Rising ?
Much of England sufferred economic distress that year
3 successive bad harvests (1596 was third and also the worst harvest for 40 years) - Led to food riots in SE and SW and threat of famine
Taxation was high to finance the war with Spain
Why did enclosure trigger the Oxfordshire Rising?
New enclosures at Hampton Gayer and Hampton Poyle, both close to the rebellion site
Rumours of fencing off common Iand in Oxfordshire the year before
What was the aim of the Oxfordshire Rising?
March on the house of Lord Norris, the Lord Lieutenant of Oxfordshire, take his arms, and march on London
Also planned to murder 7 local landowners involved in enclosing common land
Authorities feared their plans extended to attacking other local gentry and their property
What ended up happening in the Oxfordshire Rising?
Only 4 rebels showed up on top of Enslow Hill. They waited 2 hours and dispersed when it became clear noone else was going to join them
The rebels had been betrayed when one of the men they had approached told his lord of their plans
What was the government’s reaction to the Oxfordshire Rising?
Ringleaders (including one who hadn’t even shown up to the hill upon having second thoughts) were arrested soon afterwards - brought to London and tortured to discover what their plans had been and how serious a threat they posed
All plotters were tortured to establish if there was a conspiracy
All 5 were charged with treason and 2 were hung, drawn, and quartered
Authorities ordered Lord Norris to make further enquiries and arrests
In the aftermath, the Privy Council did prosecute several local Landowners for illegally enclosing land and had the enclosed land restored to common use
Why did the government act so harshly after the Oxfordshire Rising?
Gave them the opportunity to demonstrate the power of the state - display of force discouraged future rebels
Rebellion had extreme aims despite not achieving them - planned murder. Alerted government to the extent of dissatisfaction of the commons about economic issues and the lengths they could go to to protest this
Why did the Oxfordshire Rising fail?
Failed to recruit enough men - didn’t receive backing from nobles and members of the gentry who would have attracted support. They recognised there was more to be gained in terms of patronage by supporting the state
State security was good - Once one man approached his master about the plans, the ringleaders were quickly rounded up
What takeaway about the Tudor State can be obtained by looking at the Oxfordshire Rising?
Given the amount of economic hardship throughout England at the time, the fact that this was the only rebellion that emerged shows the grip the Tudor state had on its people
When was the Essex Rebellion?
1601
What was the background behind the Essex rebellion?
The Earl of Essex had, at one point, been Elizabeth’s favourite courtier. However, his attempts to rule the court and rival the policies of the Cecils turned the Queen against him.
He was struck across the face and dismissed from court by Elizabeth after opposing her nomination for new Lord Deputy in Ireland.
His position declined as he now had no access to the Queen, meaning he was unable to obtain rewards and promotions for his supporters.
Briefly reconciled with Elizabeth in October 1598 following the death of William Cecil and was appointed Lieutenant in Ireland.
BUT, damaged his career by being absent from Ireland, facing many military defeats in Ireland, and controversially conducting campaigns in Ireland.
Desperate to regain influence, he left his post without permission in September 1599 and burst unannounced into Elizabeth’s bedchamber. He was subsequently charged with maladministration and abandoning his command, was suspended from the Privy Council, and placed on house arrest.
Essex had two choices: retire from public life or try to seize power.
What was the aim of the Essex Rebellion?
Enact a coup
Planned to seize Whitehall, where Elizabeth was, and the Tower in order to use it as a military base. Then, a parliament would be called, the Privy Council purged, and the succession guaranteed to James VI of Scotland
Essex wanted to improve his position by gaining credit with the new king for having helped with his accession
The plan was suspected so a new scheme was devised to stage a large-scale demonstration in London.
What happened in the Essex Rebellion?
Only 300 supporters showed up at Essex’s home. 4 Privy Councillors arrived with a message of conciliation from the Queen, but they were taken hostage.
Essex and his supporters went to the Sheriff’s house where they expected to obtain reinforcements, but the Sheriff refused to help and left to defend the city
Barricades were erected, reinforcements were called, and Essex was proclaimed a traitor. He was encircled and had to force his way back to his house.
The rebellion lasted only 12 hours
Why did the Essex Rebellion fail?
Although many disliked the influence and power of the Cecils, they were not on organised group and only a small number followed Essex into rebellion
Was deserted by many of his old friends because or a realisation that armed rising was no longer a viable way to achieve goals
Essex lacked feudal ties that had given earlier aristocratic rebellions support
Too many people had a vested interest in the survival of the Tudor regime to put their support behind a desperate man
Generally, how much threat was posed to the monarchy by rebellions in the Elizabethan era?
Not a significant threat
Many who may have become involved with rebellion had been given administrative positions by Elizabeth and so moved away from violence as a way of resolving issues.
There were now other ways for the gentry to show their disapproval of royal policy, through airing complaints in parliament
The image of rebellion had declined - was now only the last resort for the weak and powerless
