Northern Earls 1569

Question 1

What was the cause for the revolt

Answer 1

• It was 10 year after Elizabeth’s religious settlement
• Lack of power and influence under Elizabeth (especially in the courts)
• The Earls were staunchely Catholic and detested the fact James Pilkington (a protestant) was appointed archbishop of Durham
• The Earls wanted to remove Elizabeth and replace her with her cousin Mary Q of Scots as she was a Catholic and would give them their influence back
• Driven by a greed for power with religion being secondary

Question 2

Who were the key revolters?

Answer 2

The key figures in the plot were
-Earl of Northumberland
-Earl of Westmorland 
-Duke of Norfolk
(Both Northumberland and Westmoreland had lost position at court and Norfolk felt displaced by newly appointed prod nobles)

Question 3

What happened as the earls revolted?

Answer 3

• Firstly, they took Durham Cathedral forcing out Bishop Pilkington and destroying all remnants of Protestantism and they had a Catholic mass
• Secondly, the earls called on Catholics across the, still strongly catholic, north to proclaim their faith and the earls took most of the North East down to near modern day Leeds
• Finally, Elizabeth moved Mary south to Coventry and in November 1569 her army crushed the Earls before the Spanish could reach Hartlepool, Norfolk never took control of London or the South East

Question 4

What did the Earls plan to do?

Answer 4

1- Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland would raise an army and take control of Durham and would then march south to join the Duke of Norfolk’s forces
2- Several thousand Spanish troops would land in Hartlepool to support the rebels
3- Duke of Norfolk and the rebel forces would seize control of London and overthrow Elizabeth
4- Mary Queen of Scots would be freed, married to the Duke Norfolk and placed on the throne

Question 5

What happened to those involved?

Answer 5

• Mary was kept in prison but not executed (although she ultimately was)
• 450 rebels executed across the North striking fear into the hearts of those who considered a second attempt
• Westmoreland escaped
• Northumberland was executed in 1572
• The Duke of Norfolk was freed despite the wishes of the Privy Council

Question 6

Was the revolt a serious threat?

Answer 6

Yes:

• Elizabeth was faced with a real armed threat
• Spain was planning on aiding the Earls by landing in Hartlepool and launching a full scale invasion
• Proved that it was a big threat because she went out of her way to execute so many and because she sent such a strong response

No:

• Elizabeth had an overwhelming troop advantage
• Norfolk warned her before
• Relied on Spanish help which never materialised
• Rebels got nowhere near London
• Majority of Earls did not support the revolt

Question 7

The significance of the revolt…

Answer 7

• Treason was punished harder
• Shows that Spain was willing to support Catholics and MQoS but also that MQoS very much relied on foreign help
• Promoted a harsher treatment of Catholics
• Revealed the Catholic presence in England
• Shows Mary will always cause issues and be rebellious
• Caused the Pope to actually excommunicate Elizabeth which pushed Catholics to be even more disloyal to her
• However it revealed that many catholic nobles were still loyal as they didn’t aid the revolt

Question 8

How many soldiers did the Northern Earls have?

Answer 8

6,000 (450 executed)

Question 9

Why did the revolt fail?

Answer 9

Lack of numbers from Northern earls + they thought they would receive more catholic support so they were heavily outnumbered.