part 3 troubles at home and abroad

Question 1

who was Mary queen of Scots (MQS)

Answer 1

• Elizabeth’s cousin, her father was Henry VIII’s sister
• a catholic
• became queen of Scotland in 1542, 8 days old
• married the heir to the French throne in 1558 and was briefly queen of 2 countries
• heir to the English throne, some believed she was the rightful queen
• after her husbands death she retuned to Scotland but became increasingly unpopular, Scotland had become more protestant in her absence
• in 1567, having been accused of the murder of her 2nd husband, Lord Darnley, Mary fled to England her son James was crowned

Question 2

how was Mary’s arrival a ‘threat’

Answer 2

• concerned many protestants, worried that she may lead or inspire a rebellion against Elizabeth
• idea that she could become queen reminded them of the horrors of Mary Is reign
• parliament and a number of privy councillors called for execution, but Elizabeth was hesitant
• she did not want to kill a fellow queen
• Mary was kept under close guard and moved around England for the next 19 years
• one final plot called the Babington plot involved Mary directly

Question 3

who was the plotter for the Babington plot in 1586

Answer 3

• a rich young catholic called Anthony Babington planned to kill Elizabeth, rescue Mary and place her on the throne

Question 4

what was the plot for the Babington plot in 1586

Answer 4

• Babington needed to know that Mary supported his plan
• he managed to get her servants to hide secret coded messages in beer barrels that were sent to her room
• the messages reached Mary and she replied, giving her backing for the plot

Question 5

how was the Babington plot discovered

Answer 5

• unfortunately for Mary the servants were spies for sir Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth’s spymaster
• the original message and Marys replies were decoded and taken straight to Elizabeth
• it was clear that Mary was planning to kill the queen

Question 6

what was the aftermath of the Babington plot in 1586

Answer 6

• with such clear evidence Elizabeth had little choice but to act
• although still hesitant, she ordered that Mary should go to trial for treason

Question 7

describe Mary’s trail for treason

Answer 7

• October 1586, Mary was put on trial before a court of 36 noblemen including sir Francis Walsingham and Sir William Cecil, 2 of Elizabeth’s closest advisors
• Mary defended herself strongly, she criticised that she had not been allowed to see evidence against her and that as she was not English she could not be guilty of treason
• she was found guilty and sentenced to death on 25 October

Question 8

what was Elizabeth’s treatment of Mary in the execution

Answer 8

• Elizabeth was reluctant to sign the death warrant, she feared that executing a fellow monarch might inspire her enemies or Mary’s son James might want revenge
• she was also concerned about the catholic powers of France and Spain
• despite this she signed the warrant on 1st February 1587
• Mary was executed in private 7 days later at Fotheringhay Castle , the Earls of Shrewsbury and Kent were the official witnesses

Question 9

what was the impact of Marys execution

Answer 9

• without Mary the Catholics had no alterative monarch, the new heir to the English throne was Mary’s son James, a 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
• Elizabeth’s concern about the reaction abroad was unwarranted - there was an outrage but no action from France and Spain
• King James of Scotland accepted Elizabeth’s apology for the death of his mother

Question 10

what were the 5 reasons for conflict with Spain during Elizabeth’s reign

Answer 10

• the issue of marriage
• the papal bull
• religious differences
• the actions of sailors
• the Netherlands

Question 11

why was the issue of marriage a reason for conflict with Spain

Answer 11

• King Phillip II of Spain had been married to Elizabeth’s sister, Mary I
• during this time he had been joint monarch of England , the plan was that their child would unite England and Spain under 1 catholic king or queen
• when Mary died childless in 1559 so did the plan
• Philip proposed to Elizabeth in 1559, but as with many suitors she kept him waiting for an answer
• as it became clear that a marriage would not happen tensions between the countries grew

Question 12

why was the papal bull a reason for conflict with Spain

Answer 12

• in 1570 the pope excommunicated Elizabeth and called for all Catholics to challenge her rule
• as a catholic Philip was keen to follow the popes instructions

Question 13

why were religious differences a reason for conflict with Spain

Answer 13

• Elizabeth had returned England to the protestant faith after the Catholic years of Mary I ( 1553-1558)
• Spain remained Catholic throughout all the religious changes of the reformation
• such opposing religious ideas led to conflict

Question 14

why were the actions of sailors a reason for conflict with Spain

Answer 14

• sir Francis Drake and other English sailors had spent years raiding Spanish ports and ships, and stealing tressure from Spanish colonies in south America and closer to home
• 1587 Drake led a raid on the Spanish port of Cadiz
• he destroyed dozens of Spanish ships and storage barrels in what became known as the ‘singeing of the kings beard’
• Elizabeth encouraged these acts by granting licences in exchange for sharing the tressures with the country

Question 15

why were the Netherlands a reason for conflict with Spain

Answer 15

• as well as Spain Philip also ruled the Netherlands, in 1566 there was a protestant uprising in the country
• Philip sent troops to restore order but this led to even greater resistance from the rebels
• although she wanted to avoid war with Spain Elizabeth agreed to send money to support the protestants and allowed English volunteers to go and help in the fight, she also let rebel ships use English ports, all of this angered Philip greatly
• William of Orange, the Dutch rebel leader, was assassinated in 1584
• December 1585 she finally agreed to send English troops to support her fellow protestants
• she sent a trusted friend Robert Dudley with 7000 soldiers, Dudley and his men had very little impact but it was a clear act of war against Spain

Question 16

what 3 things did ruling the seas require

Answer 16

• size of fleet
• tactics
• technology

Question 17

what was Elizabeth’s fleet like

Answer 17

• Henry VIII had spent a fortune building a huge navy to protect his island nation
• before 1500 ships had just 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 of Spain spared no expense in trying to make his navy the largest and most powerful in the world

Question 18

how were tactics a factor in ruling the seas

Answer 18

• when full scale battles were fought, a tactic called the line of battle was used
• ships gathered in a single line and fired on the enemy , aim was to sink as many as possible
• raids were a common form of attack, they took enemy ports by surprise and destroyed as many ships as possible before the enemy had the chance to fight back, this kind of attack also allowed tressure to be stolen
• fireships were an effective tactic used in the 16th century
• an old ships would be set on fire and sent into the middle of an enemy fleet
• this would send panic across the wooden ships and cause great damage at little risk to the attacker

Question 19

how was technology a factor in ruling the seas

Answer 19

• new type of triangular sail known as the lateen allowed for much faster travel and new ships allowed for greater speed and manoeuvrability
  ships could therefore travel greater distances and perform better in raids
• more powerful cannons meant it was now possible to fir at enemy ships from distance
• previously sailors would try to board enemy ships, ships were built specifically for battle
• the astrolabe allowed for greater accuracy when planning voyages and working out locations , this helped sailors prepare much better for long voyages, particularly if they had to travel through hostile waters

Question 20

what was Spain’s plan for the Spanish Armada

Answer 20

• in 1588, Phillip II of Spain launched his Armada: 151 ships, 7000 sailors and 34,000 soldiers would sail to the Netherlands and collect more men before invading England
• they would sail in an unbreakable crescent formation
• Phillip was so confident that he would defeat the English navy that he filled his ships with weapons for land battle that would follow when the ships landed in England

Question 21

what did England do in reaction to Phillip launching his Armada

Answer 21

• by 6 August the Armada was anchored off the Dutch coast
• they were delayed for several days waiting for additional soldiers to arrive
• at this moment the English led by Sir Francis Drake chose to strike. Early on 7 August, 8 fireships were sent into the Spanish fleet
• there was mass panic and the well-organised Armada was plunged into chaos

Question 22

describe the events of the battle of the Spanish Armada

Answer 22

• on 8 August the battle of Gavelines began
• the English fired constantly from a distance of 100 meters, the Spanish ships were badly damaged but none were sunk
• recognising how bad the situation was, the Spanish commander, the duke of Medina- Sidonia, tried to lead his battered ships home
• the English gave chase

Question 23

what was the effect of the storm on the Spanish Armada

Answer 23

• a great storm blew the retreating Armada off course
• their food rotten, their water polluted and with no maps of the waters around northern Britain, many ships were wrecked, survivors who made it to shore were slaughtered by the Scots or Irish
• of 151 ships, only 65 returned to Spain

Question 24

what 3 factors lead to the defeat of the Spanish Armada

Answer 24

• English tactics
• Spanish mistakes
• the weather

Question 25

how were the English’s tactics a factor that lead to the defeat of the Spanish Armada

Answer 25

• 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 sailors

Question 26

how were Spanish mistakes a factor that lead to the defeat of the Spanish Armada

Answer 26

• Spanish ships were designed for the Mediterranean and could not cope with the harsh conditions of the English channel and 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

Question 27

how was the weather a factor that lead to the defeat of the Spanish Armada

Answer 27

• storms caused great destruction to the Spanish fleet
• the storms delayed their return to Spain, meaning that their food and water ran out. many sailors became to sick to sail

Question 28

what were the consequences of the defeat of the Spanish Armada

Answer 28

• was a great victory for Elizabeth
• proved that England was a major naval power
• however, invasion remained a concern and Phillip quickly began planning a second attempt, but he never actually tried again
• Elizabeth continued to strengthen her navy
• the Armada had brought England together, under the threat of invasion many Catholics had declared their total loyalty to Elizabeth
• it made Elizabeth even more popular and respected as a leader, and helped boost the idea of a ‘golden age’