Elizabeth Mocks Flashcards
What was the Babington Plot and why was Mary Queen of Scots executed?
The Babington plot was a plot to kill Elizabeth and put Mary Queen of Scots on the throne. The Duke of Guise planned to send 60000 men to invade England and kill Elizabeth. Anthony Babington, a Catholic who had links to the French, wrote letters to Mary QoS to tell her about the plot, but Francis Walsingham intercepted them. Babington and his accomplices were hung drawn and quartered. Mary Queen of Scots was tried in October 1586 and given the death sentence, however it took a few months for Elizabeth to sign the warrant and Mary wasn’t executed until the 8th of February 1587.
What were the main religious problems when Elizabeth became queen?
Elizabeth was Protestant but her precessor, her sister Mary, was Catholic. Elizabeth needed the support of both Protestants and Catholics so she needed to appeal to both. However both France and Spain were Catholic which could have meant they could attack
What was the middle way and how was it done?
The Middle way was Elizabeth’s approach of having a Protestant England that doesn’t annoy the Catholics. For example the Catholics recognize the Pope as the leader of the church and the Protestants believe the monarch should lead the church, so Elizabeth made herself the supreme governer of the church, not the leader. It wasn’t completely balanced though. Everyone had to go to protestant mass and if you didn’t you had to pay a fine of 12p per absence, which was what some people made in a week.
What were the successes and failures of Elizabeth’s religious settlement?
Successes:
The churches became protestant and 8000 priests took an oath swearing loyalty to Elizabeth. The Book of Common Prayer was deliberately vague so everyone could interpret it in their own way. The majority of people accepted the changes throughout most of England. Religious inspections decreased going from anually to every 3/4 years which allowed private beliefs to continue.
Failures:
Elizabeth had to appoint 27 new bishops after old ones stepped down. There was a shortage of qualified Protestant clergy and some places like Lancashire were still mainly Catholic. Some Puritans and other strict protestants got violently happy and 400 clergy members were fired
Who were the main threats to Elizabeths’s religious settlement?
The Puritans were strict Protestants who opposed anything outside of the Protestant faith. They would have disagreed with Elizabeth’s middle way as it appeased to Catholics.
The Popes themselves weren’t a threat at first until Pius V excommunicated Elizabeth in 1570, however there were many Catholic threats to Elizabeth before then. The Northern Earl revolt in 1969 was an example of a Catholic threat within Enland.
What were the main reasons for the decline in Anglo-Spanish relations?
- During his circumnavigation from 1577-1580, Sir Francis Drake attacked Spanish ports/harbours. He also stole over £40000 worth of treasure during his trip to Panama in 1572-1573.
- Drake’s “Singeing of the King of Spain’s beard” in 1587 not only delayed the Spanish Armada by a year, but also angered Phillip a lot
- The Dutch revolt: Elizabeth pressured and helped the Dutch Protestants revolt against Spain. She also offered a marriage alliance with the Duke of Alençon. Phillip sent the Spanish Fury in 1576 which causes the Dutch Protestants to draw the Pacification of Ghent. Elizabeth in return sent a loan of £100000 to the Dutch Protestants to help carry out the Pacification. Treaty of Joinville in 1584 secured the alliance between Catholic France and Catholic Spain
- The Spanish Armada’s fialure led to Elizabeth’s speech at Tilbury and was a propaganda win for England.
Why did poverty increase in Elizabethan England?
- The population increased by a lot which meant there was an increase in demand for food and land
- Prices for food increased and only the middle and upper class could afford it. Wheat increases by a massive amount due to how central bread was to most diets.
- There was an increase in sheep farming for wool which decreased the amount of land available
- Farmers enclosed a lot of their land which decreased the amount of land available
