Mary, Queen of Scots Flashcards
1
Q
Relation to Liz
A
Cousin
2
Q
Childhood
A
- become queen of Scots when 6 days old
- violence and instability
- she spent her early life in France (between 1548 and 1561), cared for by her mother’s family
- Catholic, pro-French
- beautiful, accomplished
- brief marriage to french king- she was widowed (reigned for 18 months- he died aged 16)
- returned during Protestant Reformation
3
Q
Factfile
A
- born December 1542 (daughter of James V and Marie de Guise)
- Married Lorn Darnley briefly and unhappily -> son called James
- Darnley’s murder and he marriage to Earl Bothwell triggered civil war and thus her abdication (1567)
- executed in February 1587
4
Q
Mary comes to England
A
- May 1568 - escapes captivity at Loch Leven and fled to England disguised in a fishing boat at Workington in Cumberland
- moved to Carlisle Castle and then Bolton Castle
- kept under house arrest in north and midlands -> isolated, far from coast, London and Scotland
5
Q
The Northern Rebellion
A
- 1569
- court conspiracy
- Elizabeth summoned Earl of Northumberland and Earl of Westmorland to court -> both catholics
- 9th November 1569 - earls join forces at Brancepeth Castle and rang church bells -> 5000 rebels
- 14th November - heard Mass in Durham Cathedral
- Earl of Sussex (President of the Council of the North) struggles to raise an army on Liz’s behalf
- December - rebels captured Bernard Castle and port of Hartlepool (where De Spes was meant to turn up)
6
Q
Describe the Duke of Norfolk’s role
A
- most senior English Bible, wealthiest land owner, Liz’s cousin
- resented William Cecil’s power -> thought he was undervalued
- Catholic sympathiser - disapproved of unfriendly policies towards Spain
- planned to marry Mary to gain power and reduce Cecil’s
- sir nicholas throckmorton and sir robert Dudley helped
7
Q
Describe the failure of the Northern plot
A
- Dudley consfessed
- Norfolk captured and imprisoned, begged for forgiveness
- Spanish not keen on pro-French Mary
- earls never reached the south -> forces not properly mobilised, no coherent strategy
- most English catholics remained loyal to Liz
- Pope did not issue the bull of excommunication
- Berwick, Pontefract and York held by the govn
- rebels retreated with rumours of the size of the royal army
- 19th December - earls cross the border to Scotland
8
Q
Consequences of the Northern Plot
A
- reorganised the Council of the North
- confiscated land of rebels
- 450 rebels executed
- Westmorland escaped abroad
- Northumberland betrayed by Scottish clan, beheaded at York in 1572
- Norfolk imprisoned in Tower of London (Privy Council called for execution)
- August 1570 - released after 9 months
9
Q
Ridolfi Plot
A
- 1571
- Roberto di Ridolfi - Catholic Italian banker from Florence, lived in London
- plan: assassinate Liz, crown Mary and get her to marry Norfolk
- 6000 Spanish troops would land at Harwich in Essex led by Duke of Alba, prompting rebellion
- Ridolfi calculated 1/2 the English nobles were Catholic so they would be able to assemble 40,000 men
10
Q
1570
A
Elizabeth excommunicated by the Pope
11
Q
Consequences of the Ridolfi Plot
A
- discovered by intelligence network
- Ridolfi was abroad, escaped prosecution
- De Spes expelled from England
- Norfolk convicted of treason
- law passed stating any one making a claim to the throne and knowing of a plan to to assassinate the monarch should be removed from the succession
- parliament pushed for Norfolk and Mary to be executed
- signed his death warrant after changing her mind 3 times -> beheaded on Tower Hill in June 1572
12
Q
Throckmorton Plot
A
- 1583
- French Catholic force to invade England, backed by Spanish and Papal money
- Mary freed, Catholic uprising (involving the Jesuits and seminary priests)
- Liz would be murdered and Mary crowned
- Francis Throckmorton was intermediary between smart and Bernardino de Mendoza (Spanish ambassador)
13
Q
Consequences of Throckmorton Plot
A
- Walsingham discovered it
- Throckmorton placed under surveillance for 6 months
- attested, and tortured on the rack until he confessed
- Bond of Association established - no one related to a plot would be able to benefit from her death in any way
- July 1584- Throckmorton executed for high treason
- De Mendoza expelled from England (no more Spanish ambassadors lived in England during Liz’s reign)
14
Q
The Babington Plot
A
- 1586
- Mary moved to Tutbury Castle, Staffordshire and then to moated Manor House, Charley Hall, late 1585
- not allowed any visitors, all letters checked
- Amyas Paulet (strict Puritan) was jailer -> designed to push her into another plot
- secret correspondence with Babington, written in code and smuggled in and out
- mid 1586- plot to kill Liz decided, crown Mary and reestablish Catholicism with help of Spanish invasion force
- Gilbert Gifford (double agent inside Chartley) intercepted the letters
- deciphered by Thomas Phelippes
- 17th July 1586- Mary approved plot
- August 1586- Babington attested
- September 1586- 6 other conspirators hung, drawn and quartered
15
Q
Who was Babington
A
- Sir Francis Babington
- French Ambassador
- Catholic recusant from Derbyshire
- recruited by John Ballard (Jesuit priest) to help organise a new plot
