GCSE History: Elizabethan England 2

Revolt of the Northern Earls (1569) Background & Causes

• The North of England was far from London, and the majority of people living there remained loyal to Catholicism. * Traditionally, ancient noble families governed the North, but when Elizabeth came to power, she introduced Protestantism and promoted 'new men' into positions of power. * The Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland lost influence at court, and the Council of the North began to govern the region instead of the nobility. * Northumberland resented rival families being given power, and many nobles faced financial hardship because Elizabeth took their land and copper mines. * Elizabeth appointed an unpopular committed Protestant as archbishop of Durham to let Catholicism die out naturally. * The Earls wanted Catholicism restored, and Mary Queen of Scots provided a perfect replacement for Elizabeth as she had a strong claim and an heir, which would prevent civil war. * The wider court supported a plan for Mary to marry the Protestant Duke of Norfolk so their children would be raised Protestant.

Revolt of the Northern Earls (1569) Plan & Events

• The Plan: The Earls would raise forces in the north, take Durham, march south to join the Duke of Norfolk, and overthrow Elizabeth with the help of Spanish troops landing in Hartlepool. They would then free Mary to marry Norfolk and take the throne. * The Events: The Duke of Norfolk got cold feet and was arrested by Elizabeth. Desperate, the Earls started the rebellion anyway in November 1569, seizing Durham Cathedral, destroying Protestant books, and celebrating Mass in Latin. * They controlled northern England east of the Pennines, but the nobles in Lancashire and Cheshire remained loyal to the Queen. * Spanish help never arrived at Hartlepool, and the Earl of Sussex gathered a 10,000-strong army for Elizabeth. The rebels fled north; Northumberland was handed over by the Scots and beheaded, while Westmorland escaped.

Revolt of the Northern Earls (1569) Consequences

• Elizabeth ordered 450 rebels to be executed to ensure people would be too frightened to rebel again. * The rebellion ended the power of the Percy and Neville families. * Mary Queen of Scots was not punished because her involvement could not be proven, which provided an incentive for more plots to be formed. * The Pope officially excommunicated Elizabeth in 1570 and encouraged English Catholics to rebel against her. * In 1571, Parliament extended the definition of treason, making it illegal to say Elizabeth was not the rightful Queen. * The Earl of Huntingdon became leader of the Council of the North and implemented harsh laws against Catholics. Elizabeth could now never fully trust Catholics again.

The Ridolfi Plot (1571)

• Background: After Elizabeth's excommunication, Walsingham created a spy network that caught and executed 130 priests, and recusants faced rising fines. * Plan & Events: Roberto Ridolfi, an Italian banker and spy, planned to murder Elizabeth, launch a Spanish invasion, and replace her with Mary married to the Duke of Norfolk. He discussed this with the Pope, Philip II, and the Duke of Alba, though Alba refused to invade until Elizabeth was overthrown. William Cecil uncovered the plot in 1571. * Consequences: The Duke of Norfolk was executed in 1572, while Ridolfi fled. It showed the danger of Catholics and foreign interference, creating anxiety about Spain's intentions. * Fears of a Catholic attack grew after the St Bartholomew's Day Massacre in France. * This led to the 1581 Act of Persuasions, which raised recusancy fines by 10,000% to £20 a month and made it treason to persuade a Protestant to become Catholic. In response, deeply committed seminary priests hid in 'priest's holes' to keep Catholicism alive.

The Throckmorton Plot (1583)

• Background & Plan: The government kept Catholics under strict surveillance. Francis Throckmorton carried letters for a plot where the French Duke of Guise would invade England, overthrow Elizabeth, and replace her with Mary, funded by Phillip II. * Events: Walsingham discovered Throckmorton in 1583. Under torture, Throckmorton confessed to the uprising plan, but Spanish money never arrived because the plot was discovered too early. * Consequences: Throckmorton and two other nobles were executed, and the Spanish Ambassador was expelled. * Because MPs worried Catholics were waiting for a signal to attack, the 'Bond of Association' was created. It stated that Mary Queen of Scots would be executed if any future plots threatened Elizabeth, even if Mary wasn't involved. * In 1585, a law imposed the death penalty on anyone offering shelter to a Catholic priest, causing 11,000 Catholics to be imprisoned or kept under house arrest.

The Babington Plot (1586) & Walsingham's Spies

• The Spy Network: Walsingham employed a network of agents, cryptographers, and specialists to intercept letters, crack codes, and capture dissenters. Spies were paid by results, some were turned Catholic priests, and others were highly skilled like Thomas Phelippes. * The Plot: Anthony Babington planned for the French Duke of Guise to invade with 60,000 men, overthrow Elizabeth, and put Mary on the throne, with support from Philip II and the Pope. * Discovery: Walsingham placed spies in Mary's household who persuaded her to send coded letters hidden in beer barrels. The letters were intercepted and decoded by Phelippes, giving Walsingham evidence. * Consequences: The plotters were executed and revealed Mary's involvement under torture. Mary was tried and found guilty; despite her arguments that no court could try a queen, she was executed in 1587. This ended hopes of replacing Elizabeth but gave Philip II a reason to invade. Mass arrests of Catholics followed.

Relations with Spain - Commercial Rivalry & Francis Drake

• Rivalry: English merchants explored new markets, but Spain controlled the Netherlands (England's main European route) and much of the New World, which offered enormous profits in tobacco, sugar, and silver. English merchants traded illegally without Spanish licences and attacked Spanish ports. * Francis Drake: Hired by Elizabeth as a privateer in 1572, Drake captured Spanish ships and seized massive wealth (e.g. £20,000 at Nombre de Dios; £140,000 from The Cacafuego). * In 1577, Elizabeth gave Drake secret orders to attack Spain's colonies. His voyage led him to circumnavigate the globe (the first Englishman to do so). * He returned in 1580 with $400,000 of Spanish treasure. Elizabeth knighted him on his ship, which outraged Philip II.

Elizabeth and the Netherlands (1567-1584)

• Early actions: Spanish troops brutally stamped out Protestantism in the Netherlands, alarming English Protestants. Reluctant to start a war, Elizabeth indirectly helped the Dutch by allowing privateers to attack Spanish ships and encouraging the French Duke of Alencon to fight the Spanish. * The Pacification of Ghent (1576): Bankrupt Spanish forces mutinied and sacked Antwerp (the Spanish Fury), uniting the 17 Dutch provinces against Spain. They demanded Spanish troops be expelled. Elizabeth sent a £100,000 loan to support them. * Rising threat: In 1577 Philip II sent a new army to attack the Dutch. Elizabeth hired a mercenary, John Casimir, with 6,000 volunteers, but they devastated Dutch Catholic churches. * Turning Point (1584): The Duke of Parma's Spanish army gained the upper hand, the Dutch leader William of Orange was assassinated, and the French Catholic League allied with Spain against Protestantism (Treaty of Joinville). Elizabeth could no longer avoid direct intervention.

The Outbreak of War & Raid on Cadiz (1585-1587)

• Treaty of Nonsuch (1585): England officially allied with the Dutch rebels, agreeing to pay for 7,400 English soldiers led by Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester. From this point, England and Spain considered themselves at war. * Netherlands Campaign: The campaign achieved little as Elizabeth didn't give Dudley enough resources to defeat the Spanish completely, though he did stop Spain from capturing the vital deep-water port of Ostend. Elizabeth was furious when Dudley accepted the title of Governor General. * Raid on Cadiz (1587): Known as "Singeing the Beard of the King of Spain", Elizabeth ordered Francis Drake to attack the Spanish Port of Cadiz as Philip II prepared his Armada. Drake destroyed around 30 ships and damaged provisions, setting the Armada back by about a year.

The Spanish Armada (1588) - Causes & Events

• Causes: Religious (Phillip II wanted to restore Catholicism, supported by the Pope); Political (Treaties of Joinville and Nonsuch); Provocation (Drake's raids and English support for Dutch rebels). * Events: The 130-ship Armada sailed up the English Channel in a crescent formation. English ships chased them but initially did little damage. * The Armada anchored near Calais to wait for the Duke of Parma's delayed troops. The English sent eight burning fireships into the harbour at midnight, scattering the Spanish ships in panic. * At the Battle of Gravelines, the English attacked at close range in appalling weather, killing 1000 Spanish sailors. * The Armada was forced north around Scotland and Ireland, where storms wrecked many ships. England lost just 100 men in battle, while Spain lost 20,000 men and 51 ships.

The Spanish Armada (1588) - Reasons for Defeat

• Leaders: The Spanish leader, the Duke of Medina Sidonia, was inexperienced in naval battles, made fatal tactical errors, and suffered from sea sickness. * Planning & Logistics: Spanish supplies rotted because they were stored in barrels made of inferior wood. The plan to pick up the Duke of Parma's army failed because Parma had no deep-water ports to load men quickly, and sea communications were unreliable. * Tactics & Weapons: The English used fireships to break Spain's strong crescent formation. Spanish tactics relied on boarding, while the English fired from a safe distance. * Ships: English galleons were faster, easier to manoeuvre, and had cannons that reloaded quicker and fired over longer distances compared to the slower Spanish ships. * Weather: Lack of a secure port left Spanish ships buffeted by the wind, which the English saw as a sign that God was on Elizabeth's side.