the catholic "challenge"

how can elizabeth's policy towards the catholics be describe in the first decade of her reign?

cautious

why did she need to be cautious?

she wanted to avoid an open religious divide

= there areas that still practised catholicism

= important clergymen in government were catholic

give an example of a non-remote area where catholicism was still prominent

sussex

what other evidence did haigh find about the of popularity for catholicsm?

lot of services were still run loosely in line with catholic practises e.g. speaking in latin

what evidence opposes this idea that catholicism was popular?

- most of the bishops under mary had resigned

- at a parish level, opposition to the supremacy was minimal

this being said, how did elizabeth view adherence to the settlement?

she just wanted people to be loyal, but did not care about reforming BELIEFS

what punishments were in place for not adhering (church level)

- fines for not attending church

- fines and land strips for encouraging mass

- prison for those conducting mass

what punishments were in place for not adhering (for those in government)

parliament passed a law that meant MPs who did not swear to the supremacy would face the death penalty

what about these punishments showed that elizabeth was still being cautious

- most fines were not collected

- elizabeth did not require MPs to swear again, so they all avoided the possible punishment

why did elizabeth make sure the punishments were not harsh?

she did not want to create an environment where martyrs could arise

when did things start to become a bit more hostile?

1567

what happened in 1567?

the pope ordered catholics not to attended CofE services, and spanish troops were across the channel fighting a netherlandish protestant revolt

how many spanish troops were there?

10,000

what happened in 1568?

mary queen of scots arrived in england for sanctuary, and so did seminary priests

what happened in 1569?

revolt of the northern earls

what happened in 1570?

papal bull

= the pope excommunicated elizabeth

= he declared that anyone loyal to her were freed from their oath = those who obeyed would be excommunicated too

how did this create problems for catholics at home?

a lot of them could see the difference between being the illegitimate head of the church and an illegitimate monarch, so they were torn between breaking their promsie to the pope or their community

what happened in 1571?

ridolfi plot

what happened in 1572?

st. bartholomew's day massacre

what was the st. bartholomew's day massacre?

catholics in france slaughtered around 30,000 protestants as part of the civil war

how did government respond?

- they passed the treason act in 1971

- they called for more aggressive penalties

how did elizabeth repond?

she allowed the treason act, but blocked the more radical proposals

what did the 1971 treason act do?

made the denial of the supremacy and adherence to the pope's word punishable by death

in the 1570s, which group began to emerge in england?

seminary priests

what was a seminary priest?

a catholic priest trained in europe to go to england and promote catholicism

where did most of them come from? who had founded the seminary?

douai (netherlands) - created by william allen

were they seen as a threat?

not until mary queen of scots began to become more prominent, at which point many were executed for treason

what other group began to emerge in the 1580s?

the jesuit priests

what was a jesuit priest?

members of the society of jesus who focused on missionary work

which 2 men were the first to arrive in england?

champion and parsons

were they seen as a threat?

yes because they were fanatics

how did these groups influence punishment?

- increased fines

- a 1585 act said all catholic priests had to leave the country

what was the fine for saying mass?

200 marks

what was the fine for not attending church?

£20 a month

how many priests were killed for refusing to leave the country?

150

overall, what evidence is there that catholicism was not a threat in the end?

- harsh laws meant most people were loyal

- there was little public enthusiasm for plots

what evidence is there that catholicism was still alive?

- mass was still practised (in secret)

- some argue that seminary priests were able to revive it

- some of the gentry and nobility still supported it

by 1603, what % of the popualtion were catholic sympathisers?

10%

and what % were active?

2%