elizabethan- part 3, troubles at home and abroad Flashcards
chapters 7 and 8 (mary queen of scots, conflict with spain)
who was Mary Queen of Scots
- Elizabeth’s cousin
- Catholic
- became Queen of Scotland in 1542 at 8 days old
- had a brief marriage to a French king, then widowed and returned in 1561, but became increasingly unpopular
- had to abdicate the Scottish throne and give it to her infant son James instead
why was MQS coming to England a bad thing for Elizabeth
as she was pro-French, Catholic and a potential heir to the throne
once Elizabeth was worried about MQS, what did she do
moved her to a castle and the put under house arrest at Hardwick hall in the Midlands
what were all the plots that MQS was involved in
Northern, Ridolfi, Throckmorton, Babington
when was the Northern Rebellion
1569
when was the Ridolfi plot
1571
when was the Throckmorton plot
1583
when was the Babington plot
1586
when was MQS put on trial
October 1586, after her alleged involvement in the Babington plot
describe MQS trial
- Oct 1586 she was put on trial before a court of 36 noblemen including Sir Francis Walsingham and Sir William Cecil
- Mary defended herself strongly- criticised the fact she had not been allowed to see evidence against her, claimed she was not English so couldn’t be guilty of treason and refused to accept that the court had any right to pass sentence on her
- was found guilty and sentenced to death on the 25th Oct
when was MQS sentenced to death
25th Oct 1586
describe MQS execution
- Elizabeth was reluctant to sign Mary’s death warrant- feared executing a fellow monarch might inspire her enemies or that James might want revenge
- was also concerned about the reaction of Catholic powers (France and Spain)
- signed the death warrant on 1st February 1587
- Mary was executed 7 days later at Fotheringhay Castle in private, the Earls of Shrewsbury and Kent were the official witnesses
describe the impact of MQS execution
- without Mary, Catholics had no clear alternative monarch- the new heir was her son James (protestant)
- even in death Mary remained an important figure, many saw her as a martyr to her faith and her execution as proof that Elizabeth was a wicked heretic
- her concern about the reaction abroad was unwarranted- there was outrage but no action from France or Spain, King James accepted Elizabeth’s apology
when was MQS executed
8th February 1587
what was Elizabeth’s reaction to MQS execution
- was appalled by the idea of Mary’s murder and denied ever giving permission
- banished Cecil for 6 months
- wracked with guilt for committing regicide
- also worried about a Catholic rebellion
why was there conflict between Spain and England
- religious differences
- rebellion in the Netherlands
- privateers, plots and persecution
- Spanish Ambassador
- treaties
- Mary, Queen of Scots
how were religious differences a cause of conflict with Spain
- King Philip was married to Bloody Mary
- proposed to Elizabeth in 1559- she declined- angered him
- Philip was Catholic- hated the Protestant settlement
- saw Elizabeth as a heretic
- wanted to invade England to restore Catholicism- especially after the Papal Bull in 1570 when she was excommunicated- was keen to follow the Pope’s demands
how was rebellion in the Netherlands a cause of conflict with Spain
- Philip ruled the Netherlands
- most people there were protestant- so Civil war broke out in 1566
- Philip sent the Duke of Alba with 10,000 troops to brutally deal with it- increased hatred of Spain in England
- cloth trade in Antwerp was Englands biggest partner- this was disrupted- economy ruined
- England allowed rebel ships to stay in English ports and allowed English ships to attack Spanish ships
- Elizabeth sent funds to the rebels to help their fight against Spanish rule
how did privateers, plots and persecution cause conflict with Spain
- Sir Francis Drake and other sailors spent years raiding Spanish ports and ships, and stealing treasures from Spanish colonies in South America and closer to home
- e.g. 1587 Drake raided the port of Cadiz- destroyed dozens of Spanish ships (known as ‘singeing the King of Spain’s beard’)
- Elizabeth encouraged these acts by granted licences in exchange for sharing the treasures with the country
how did the Spanish Ambassador cause conflict with Spain
he had been involved in plots against Elizabeth (Throckmorton) and made the English more suspicious of the Spanish
how did MQS cause conflict with Spain
- when she was executed- Catholic Europe was outraged with this murder
- was the trigger for the Spanish Armada
why did tension with Spain turn to war
- Treaties (Joinville and Nonsuch) were signed
- assassinations were made
- England sent 7000 troops to Spain- making them unofficially at war
How many troops, ships and guns did King Philip send to England and under whose control?
- 30,000 troops
- 130 ships
- 2500 guns
- under command of the Duke of Medina
What was the plan for the Spanish ships when attacking England?
sail up the English channel to meet with the Netherlands army, then cross the channel and capture south ports- then invade and capture London
How many men and Ships and under whose command did the English have?
- 20,000 men
- 200 ships
- under command of Lord Howard and Francis Drake
On what date did the Spanish leave Lisbon to set off for England?
may 1588
On what date did the Spanish ships get spotted by the English, how and where?
- 19th July 1588
- spotted off Lizard point In Cornwall by the Beacons
what formation did the Spanish ships use?
Crescent
How was the whole Armada in trouble once reaching the English Channel?
as there was bad communication between the Duke of Medina and Parma so they couldn’t join and meet up
where did the Spanish want to make a temporary base to help stable them and did it happen?
Isle of Wight in calm waters and no it didn’t happen as the English prevented it
What ships did the English use to break up the Spanish Crescent shape?
Fireships- used in Calais waters
What Battle occured at Calais between English and Spanish ships?
Battle of Gravelines
Where did the English chase the spanish ships up to after the Battle of Gravelines?
Scotland
On the Spanish way home, what happened?
- they turned too early- Winds drove them into rocks off the West coast of Ireland
- only 60 ships made it back to Spain and 20,000 men died
Why were Fireships so effective?
- 28th July 1588- Done by Drake
- eight ships full of Oil set on fire
- caused the Spanish ships to unanchor, drift away and break their crescent shape
How did Ship design vary between the English and Spanish?
- English- lighter and faster- more manoveurable- kept distance and shot from far away- so Spanish couldn’t use normal naval tactics
- Spanish- heavily relied on getting close to their enemy as had short range guns and to employ grappling hooks to board ships- couldn’t do it
Describe the Battle of Gravelines?
- English broke crescent shape at Calais
- Spanish guns were old, poorly designed and had to be reloaded after shooting once
- English aimed low to hit Spanish ships below the water line
- English didn’t lose a single ship whilst the Spanish lost 5 with many damaged
How did the winds help the English defeat the Spanish?
- wind direction changed- forced them into rocks off Irish coast
- destroyed most of their ships
- couldn’t meet with the army at the Netherlands
How was the war seen by the Spanish?
- huge failure and waste of human life and resources
- humiliated
How did the English react to the win over the Spanish Armada?
- used as huge propaganda for Elizabeth
- national pride boosted
- their independence had been safeguarded and Protestantism preserved
- the “Protestant Winds” seen as a sign from God as his approval of Protestantism
- allowed England to establish themselves as a major naval power
Aftermath of the Spanish armada?
- carried on after 1588
- many unsuccessful launches from British in (1589)
- unsuccessful launch from Spain in both (1596 and 1597)
- put huge strain on the English economy causing inflation and hardship for the poor
- wars ended in 1604 after both leaders died
what were the 4 stages of the Spanish Armada
- the plan
- the English strike first
- the battle
- the storm
describe ‘the plan’ of the Spanish Armada
- 1588 Phillip launched his Armada (151 ships, 7000 sailors and 34000 soldiers would sail to the Netherlands and collect more men before invading England
- would sail in an unbreakable crescent formation
- was so confident they would defeat the English navy he filled the ships with weapons for land battles that would follow once the fleet arrived in England
describe the ‘English strike first’ phase of the Spanish Armada
- by 6th August the Armada was anchored off the Dutch coast
- were delayed for several days waiting for additional soldiers to arrive
- so the English decided to strike: commanded by Drake, early on 7th August 8 fireships were sent into the Spanish fleet, there was mass panic and the well-organised Armada was plunged into chaos
describe the ‘battle’ phase of the Spanish Armada
- 8th August the Battle of Gravelines began
- English fired constantly from 100m, the Spanish ships were badly damaged but none sunk
- recognising the bad situation, Spanish commander Duke of Medina-Sidonia tried to lead his battered ships home- the English gave chase
describe the ‘storm’ phase of the Spanish Armada
- a great storm blew the retreating Armada off course
- their food rotten, water polluted and with no maps for the waters around northern Britain, many ships were wrecked- any survivors who made it to shore were slaughtered by the Scots of Irish
- of 151 ships, only 65 returned to Spain
how was the Armada defeated
- English tactics
- Spanish mistakes
- the weather
how did English tactics defeat the Armada
- the fireships broke the formation of the fleet and made individual ships vulnerable to attack
- the bombardment by the English cannons made regrouping impossible
- the English had faster ships and more experienced and skilled commanders
how did Spanish mistakes defeat the Armada
- Spanish ships were designed for the Mediterranean and could not cope with the harsh conditions of the English Channel and the North Sea
- they were delayed in the Netherlands because the soldiers were not ready to board
- their weapons were mostly for land use, leaving them almost defenceless at sea, they had also brought many of the wrong cannonballs
- the commander of the fleet was inexperienced
how did the weather defeat the Armada
- storms caused great destruction to the Spanish fleet
- storms delayed their return to Spain, meaning that their food and water went off or ran out, many sailors became too sick to sail
what were the key features of naval warfare
- the size of the fleet
- tactics
- technology
describe the size of the fleet in naval warfare
- Henry VIII had spent a fortune building a huge navy to protect his island nation
- before 1500 ships had simply been a way to get to battle, but Tudor ships were designed to fight
- during Elizabeth’s reign, under the command of John Hawkins, England’s navy continued to grow
- at the same time Phillip spared no expense trying to make his navy the largest and most powerful in the world
describe the tactics in naval warfare
- when full scale battles were fought the tactic ‘line of battle’ was used
- raids were a common form of attack
- fireships were also an effective tactic used
what is the line of battle tactic
- where ships formed into a single line and fired together on the enemy
- aim was to sink as many as possible
what is the raids tactic
- taking enemy ports by surprise and destroying as many ships as possible before the enemy had the chance to fight back
- also allowed for treasure to be stolen
what is the fireships tactic
- was an an old ship would be set alight and sent into the middle of the enemy fleet
- this would send panic across the wooden ships and cause great damage at little risk to the attacker
describe the technology used in naval warfare
- new triangular sail (lateen) used
- new ships
- new, more powerful cannons
- new inventions like the astrolabe
why was the lateen and new ships useful in naval warfare
- allowed for much faster travel
- new ships allowed for greater speed and manoeuvrability
- ships could therefore travel greater distances and perform better in raids and battles
why was new cannons useful in naval warfare
- meant it was now possible to fire at enemy ships from a distance
- previously sailors would try to board enemy ships
- ships were build specifically for battle and for use in the line of battle tactic
why was new inventions like the astrolabe useful in naval warfare
- allowed for greater accuracy when planning voyages and working out locations
- this helped sailors prepare much better for long voyages, particularly of they had to pass through hostile waters
