KT2: CHALLENGES AT HOME AND ABROAD (1569-1588)

Question 1

Why did the northern earls revolt?

Answer 1

-wanted the restoration of Catholicism under a catholic monarch
-Earl of Northumberland angry that Elizabeth had confiscated large areas of land from him and shared them between Northumberland’s rival in the north and a southern protestant and also angry that Elizabeth had claimed all the profits from copper mines discovered on his land
-Elizabeth had reduced the power of the northern nobles and increased her control in the north

Question 2

What was the Revolt of the Northern Earls (1556)?

Answer 2

-Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland raise a 6,000 man army
-Duke of Norfolk and Phillip II of spain raise an army and attack
-attack london
-replace Elizabeth with MQoS

Question 3

Why did the Revolt of the Northern Earls (1556) fail?

Answer 3

-spain didn’t invade
-Norfolk got arrested
-northern army defeated
-William Cecil intercepted letters

Question 4

What were the consequences of the Revolt of the Northern Earls (1556)?

Answer 4

-earls lose their titles
-Elizabeth starts passing anti-catholic laws
-the Pope passes the ‘Papal Bull’, excommunicating Elizabeth

Question 5

What was the Ridolfi plot (1571)?

Answer 5

Ridolfi (italian banker, spy for the Pope) plotted to kill Elizabeth, start a spanish invasion and put MQoS on the throne. Mary would then marry the Duke of Norfolk. (with support from Phillip II of spain, the Pope)

Question 6

Why did the Ridolfi plot (1571) fail?

Answer 6

Sir William Cecil uncovered the plot and by autumn 1971, he had enough evidence to prove that Norfolk was guilty of plotting against Elizabeth

Question 7

What were the consequences of the Ridolfi plot (1571)?

Answer 7

-may 1972 parliament demanded execution of both MQoS and the Duke of Norfolk
-Elizabeth signed Norfolk’s death warrant and he was executed in june 1572
-however, Elizabeth refused to take action against Mary

Question 8

What was the significance of the Ridolfi plot (1571)?

Answer 8

-reinforced threat posed by MQoS, catholics in england, and foreign catholic powers
-due to threat from spain, Elizabeth focused on improving relationships with france

Question 9

What was the Throckmorton plot (1583)?

Answer 9

-planned for french Duke of Guise to invade england, free Mary, overthrow Elizabeth and restore catholicism (funded by Phillip II, approved of by the Pope)
-Francis Throckmorton was to act as a messenger between plotters and MQoS

Question 10

Why did the Throckmorton plot (1583) fail?

Answer 10

Sir Francis Walsingham found incriminating papers at Throckmorton’s house

Question 11

What were the consequences of the Throckmorton plot (1583)?

Answer 11

Throckmorton was arrested in nov 1583, tortured, confessed and then executed in may 1584

Question 12

What was the significance of the Throckmorton plot (1583)?

Answer 12

-emphasised threat of foreign catholic powers, english catholics and MQoS
-showed potential threat if spain and france were to join forces in future
-catholics treated with great suspicion by government
-many important catholics fled
-11,000 catholics imprisoned/under surveillance
-act passed in 1585 made helping/sheltering catholic priests punishable by death

Question 13

What was the Babington plot (1586)?

Answer 13

-planned for Duke of Guise to invade England. murder Elizabeth. and put MQoS on the throne (supported by Pope and Phillip II)
-Anthony Babington wrote to Mary in 1586 to inform her of the plot

Question 14

Why did the Babington plot (1586) fail?

Answer 14

Walsingham intercepted and read Babington’s letters to MQoS which clearly demonstrated her awareness of, support for, and involvement in the plan

Question 15

What were the consequences of the Babington plot (1586)?

Answer 15

-Babington and plotters hung, drawn and quartered
-in Oct 1586, Mary was sentenced to death. Elizabeth delayed but signed Mary’s death warrant in Feb 1587. Mary executed shortly after

Question 16

What was the significance of the Babington plot (1586)?

Answer 16

-relations between england and spain had broken down
-therefore Elizabeth’s situation was even more dangerous than had been the case with previous plots
-Mary’s execution ended any hope that Elizabeth ould be replaced with a catholic heir

Question 17

What led to tensions between england and spain increasing?

Answer 17

-religious differences
-marriage rejection
-piracy
-civil war
-spanish support in catholic plots
-the dutch revolt

Question 18

Why did religious differences increase tensions between england and spain?

Answer 18

spain was catholic and england was protestant meaning that the two rulers had conflicting outlooks

Question 19

Why did marriage rejection increase tensions between england and spain?

Answer 19

-king Philip II of Spain had been married to Elizabeth’s sister, Mary I
-when Mary died he offered to marry Elizabeth but she rejected him

Question 20

Why did piracy increase tensions between england and spain?

Answer 20

-english sailors like Hawkins and Drake attacked and stole treasure from Spanish ships in the new world
-Philip II was furious but Elizabeth encouraged and rewarded adventurers

Question 21

Why did civil war in france increase tensions between england and spain?

Answer 21

-france was the traditional enemy of both england and spain, meaning that they united together against the country
-now france was in civil war, it was preoccupied with its own issues and no longer posed a threat so the alliance between spain and england was not necessary anymore

Question 22

Why did spanish support in catholic plots increase tensions between england and spain?

Answer 22

there was evidence of Spanish support for plots to restore Catholicism to England, particularly involving getting MQoS on the throne and Elizabeth off

Question 23

Why did the dutch revolt increase tensions between england and spain?

Answer 23

-protestants in the Netherlands began a revolt against spanish rule in 1572
-Elizabeth secretly supported the dutch rebels because she knew the dutch revolt would keep the Spanish too busy to threaten england
-Philip of Spain sent an army to defeat the rebels
-following the death of the Dutch rebel leader, William of Orange, Elizabeth was approached to become queen of the dutch. She declined but sent an army to fight with the dutch against spain
-england and spain were now at war

Question 24

What were spain’s problems?

Answer 24

-the dutch revolt
-the new world and Francis Drake
-indirect help to the netherlands
-regaining the netherlands
-direct action in the netherlands

Question 25

Why was the dutch revolt 1566-68 a problem for spain?

Answer 25

-dutch people were becoming unhappy at being ‘owned’ by spain
-Philip decided to reorganise the Dutch government making sure the dutch were loyal to the Catholic faith. Those who resisted were tortured or burned alive (event known as the Spanish Inquisition)
-dutch catholics and protestants united in anger and revolted (Dutch Revolt)
-the rebels were crushed by the spanish Duke of Alba’s forces
-Elizabeth would not support the dutch rebels from fear it could lead to the stronger spain declaring war on England
-she did however shelter some Dutch rebels in England (known as the Sea Beggars) knowing they would go onto attack Spanish ships
-a spanish ship attempting to hide from the dutch sea beggars took refuge in England. It had gold coming from genoa in italy. Elizabeth stole it. The event was known as the Genoese Loan & angered the spanish

Question 26

Why were the new world and Drake problems for spain?

Answer 26

-the New World (America) offered new resources but spain controlled it
-Elizabeth used a ship trader Francis Drake (a pirate) to help her steal resources like gold from the spanish ships in the new world
-Elizabeth would not openly thank Drake at first. She did not want it to be known she was using him as king Philip of spain was furious at his piracy
-On one Journey (1577-80) to raid Spanish colonies in the new world, Drake became the first Englishman to circumnavigate the globe
-when Drake returned to england he also brought back £400,000 in spanish treasure and claimed a region in california for Elizabeth calling it New Albion
-Elizabeth now publicly knighted Drake. spain now knew Elizabeth used Drake to disrupt spain’s trade routes0
-Drake’s knighthood showed Elizabeth was prepared to now confront spain

Question 27

Why did Phillip II send the armada?

Answer 27

-religion: Elizabeth was a heretic and the Pope wanted her removed
-provocation: Drake’s actions and the netherland’s angered Philip
-politics: After the Treaty of Joinsville france would not stop spain
-circumstance: spain’s had a large army and navy and Philip thought england was weak after their failure in the netherlands

Question 28

What was the plan for the spanish armada?

Answer 28

-130 ships to attack
-30,000 men would go
-Duke of Medina-Sidonia would sail from spain to the netherlands and would join forces with Duke of Parma who was waiting in the netherlands
-together they would land in Kent and march to london
-Elizabeth would be removed and a new catholic government would be set up

Question 29

What were the reasons for the spanish armada to fail?

Answer 29

-leadership
-Drake
-english ships
-spanish supplies
-planning and communication issues
-english tactics
-the weather

Question 30

Why did leadership cause the armada to fail?

Answer 30

-Duke of Medina-Sidonia was inexperienced whereas Drake was a skilled pirate and sailor
-Philip II ignored the suggestions of his military commanders who did not like his plan whereas Elizabeth left key decisions to Drake and her commanders

Question 31

Why did Drake cause the armada to fail?

Answer 31

-as Philip prepared his armada to attack, Drake attacked them first as they were docked in Cadiz harbour
-Drake destroyed 30 ships and Spanish supplies
in an event known as the singeing of the king’s beard
-Drake attacked Spanish New World treasure ships meaning Spain had to stop preparing the armada to defend itself. Drake had now delayed the armada’s attack by a year giving england more time to prepare

Question 32

Why did english ships cause the armada to fail?

Answer 32

-england built new ships known as Galleons that were faster and more manoeuvrable (easier to turn) than the spanish ships
-there was more room around the cannons to allow the english sailors to reload the cannons much quicker than the spanish meaning they could fire more

Question 33

Why did spanish supplies cause the armada to fail?

Answer 33

-spanish food supplies were running low meaning the men were in poor health
-they were short on cannonballs

Question 34

Why did planning and communication issues cause the armada to fail?

Answer 34

-spain didn’t control any deep water ports in the netherlands so smaller boats were needed to load cargo onto the bigger ones and that took 2 days
-the spanish ships leaving spain sent a message they were starting the attack to their other fleet. It took a week to arrive. When the message arrived the spanish fleet were already off the coast of England. It would be 48 hours before the other fleet was ready. By then it would be too late

Question 35

Why did english tactics cause the armada to fail?

Answer 35

-english ships came up behind the armada and would fire then move out of range to be hit back. The english ships chased the armada down the channel
-battle of gravelines – England sent fireships in amongst the armada causing chaos and scattering them. With quicker ships that could fire more often the Spanish panicked and fled

Question 36

Why did the weather cause the armada to fail?

Answer 36

-as the armada fled round scotland towards ireland they were hit by bad weather and many ships were sunk ending any hope of re-attacking

Question 37

What were the consequences of england’s victory over the spanish armada?

Answer 37

-Elizabeth claimed God favoured protestants as the weather had helped them
-england’s victory encouraged the dutch rebels to renew their fight against the spanish. A strong english-dutch alliance grew
-england had shown they had a strong navy