CHAPTER 20: FOREIGN AFFAIRS

Why was Elizabeth expected to marry?

- She was a woman.

- She needed an heir.

- Many felt it would protect England from rival Catholic claimants, such as Mary, Queen of Scots.

Why did Elizabeth not want to get married?

- She felt that the issues of marriage and succession lay within the royal perogative and were not areas for discussion in Parliament or the council.

- Unclear as to her personal reasoning.

- Probably a political decision, came to the conclusion that the disadvantages outweighed the advantages.

Who were Elizabeth's potential suitors?

- Robert Dudley, future Earl of Leicester, and was probably Elizabeth's preferred choice.

- Philip II of Spain, he offered his hand in a polite gesture to Elizabeth but probably lacked serious intent partly because of his profound Catholicism.

- Archdukes Ferdinand and Charles, son of Emporer Ferdiand, both Catholic.

- Prince Erik of Sweden, protestant suitor who was given very little encouragement by Elizabeth.

What were the issues with Elizabeth and Robert Dudley?

- The prospect of Elizabeth marrying him horrified Sir William Cecil, whose own influence would have been seriously eroded.

- The marriage would have created many political risks, a consequence of the mysterious circumstances surrounding the death of Leicester's first wife, Amy.

What was the situation surrounding Elizabeth's marriage in 1563?

- Elizabeth had caught smallpox in October 1562, and it seemed as though she might die thereby creating a small-scale succession crisis.

- Councillors were aware of the problems the queen dying might cause, and they panicked severely.

- There was no consensus as to who his successor might be.

Significant misgivings about each of the potential successors: Lady Catherine Gray was disgraced and MQS was ardently Catholic.

- Elizabeth refused to commit herself to a successor, lucky to have survived.

What was the situation surrounding Elizabeth's marriage in 1566?

- Parliament pressed Elizabeth to marry, some being pressed by members of the PC, including Cecil and Leicester, but their motives differed.

- Elizabeth reacted furiously, banishing Leicester and the Earl of Pembroke from the Presence Chamber, publicly rebuking other members of the Council and summoning members of both Houses of Parliament for a scolding.

- Elizabeth thus reasserted her view that marriage and succession were matters of royal prerogative.

What was the situation surrounding Elizabeth's marruage in 1579?

- Burghley and Sussex suggested a possible marriage to Francois, Duke of Anjou after Elizabeth was declared capable of having a child.

- Nothing came of the suggestion, ending fears that the child would be under French influence.

What was the final succession?

The execution of MQS meant that James VI of Scotland had the best claim, despite being excluded from the succession in Henry VIII's will, and had two sons by (1600) and was a Protestant.

Why did some councillors begin wooing James prior to E1's death?

- Some councillors had a vested interest in remaining in royal favour.

- Essex in particular kept in regular contact with James, and after Essex's death in 1601, Sir Robert Cecil kept in contact with James and eventually ensured his untroubled succession, for which he received reward.

What were the positives of the succession?

- To the very end, Elizabeth refused to name a successor and there is no conclusive proof that she accepted Jame's succession on her deathbed.

- Her authority had ebbed away by this point and arrangement for the succession was already in place.

- Never before had a change in dynasty been so smooth, and much of the credit must be given to Cecil.

What is a brief biography of MQS?

- Relations between Liz and Mary were inextricably linked with the issue of religion and the succession.

- Catholic Mary had incurred the wrath of both the Protestant lords and the English through her marriage to the Earl of Darnley.

- David Rizio (secretary) was stabbed 67 times in front of her.

- Marriage was a disaster, with Mary being implicated in her husbands murder.

- There was a subsequent third marriage to Darnley's presumed murderer, Earl Bothwell, setting off a brief civil war, the outcome of which saw Mary flee to England in 1567.

How serious of a threat was MQS?

- From the time Mary fled South until her execution in 1587, she posed a continuous problem to Elizabeth, since some English Catholics saw her as the rightful monarch and she became the focus of plots to overthrow Elizabeth.

- This problem was to grow worse following the excommunication of Elizabeth in 1570, which in the eyes of the Catholic Church absolved Elizabeth Catholic subjects from the need to obey their sovereign.

- This frightened Elizabeth and her Council, resulting in the tightening of the treason law. After the excommunication, Protestants were deemed loyalists and Catholics traitors.

What was the Northern Rebellion?

- Although probably triggered by the arrival of Mary, Queen of Scots, in England in 1568, this began as a conspiracy at court to marry the Duke of Norfolk to Mary, to have her proclaimed heir to the English throne, to overthrow Elizabeth and Cecil and to restore Catholicism.

- The plan was initially supported by two of Elizabeth’s councillors, the Earl of Leicester and Sir Nicolas Throckmorton.

- In September 1569, Leicester confessed everything to Elizabeth and Norfilk fled from court.

- The initiative passed to the Earl of Northumberland and Westmorland, who prepared to march south to restore Catholicism.

- They were defeated by government forces.

Spanish help, promised by the Spanish ambassador, de Spes, did not materialise.

What was the Ridolfi Plot 1571?

- Following Elizabeth's excommunication, an uprising was planned to replace Elizabeth with Mary, who would be married to Norfolk.

- The conspiracy involved Mary, Philip II, the Pope, the Duke of Norfolk and other English noblemen.

- The plan was soon discovered by Cecil, and was significant in that it allowed for Cecil to ensure the execution of Norfolk for treason.

What was the Throckmorton Plot 1583?

- Foreign landing in sussex followed by the overthrow of Elizabeth and her replacement by Mary.

- Foiled by Walsingham.

- Worsened Ango-Spanish relations.

- Tightened conditions of Mary's captivity.

- Advisers made Bond of Association - prevent plots

What was the Parry plot, 1585?

- Plot to assassinate Liz.

- Led to the acceleration of parliamentary proceedings on a bill to ensure the queen's safety.

What was the Babington Plot 1586?

- Mary was complicit in a plot to assassinate Elizabeth, but was exposed by Walsingham's codebreaker, Thomas Phelippes.

- Enabled Cecil to ensure Mary's execution.

What was MQS' trial and execution?

- Elizabeth was reluctant to press for the execution of another anointed monarch.

- Eventually, it was decided that Mary should face trial at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire where she was moved the day after Babington's execution.

- PC's and nobles were assisted by judges in order to try her; but several of those commissioned pleaded illness.

- Some feared regicide; others were more concerned that to condemn to death the mother of the next King might not be a sensible move.

- Mary was plainly guilty, but at Elizabeth's command there was no sentence pronounced.

- There were four months of delays during which time Elizabeth shrank from ordering her cousin's execution.

- Burghley, on the other hand, who had long held the view that Elizabeth's personal safety and Protestant State required Mary's execution, used his old tactic of parliamentary pressure to influence Elizabeth.

- Parliament petitioned Elizabeth, but she refused to sign the death warrant until 1 February 1587 and then gave contradictory orders about its dispatch.

- Mary met her end with dignity and composure.

- In the eyes of English Catholics she had died a martyr of the Catholic faith.

Why did Anglo-Spanish relations deterioate towards the end of the 1560s?

1. The trading activities of John Hawkins; attempted to break the Spanish trading monopoly in the Caribbean.

2. The situation in the Netherlands; Philip II wanted a tighter form of political organisation in the Netherlands under more direct Spanish control, which would help root out heresy. Liz came under pressure from Protestant councillors to aid the Dutch Protestants who feared danger, she was reulctant.

3. The English found opportunities to harrass the Spanish.

How did the English harrass the Spanish in the 1560s?

- Breakdown in Anglo-Spanish and Anglo-Dutch trade.

- Philip's encouragement of the Northern Rebellion.

- Ridolfi plot.

- Excommunication of Elizabeth.

How did Liz contribute significantly to the deterioration of Anglo-Spanish relations in 1572?

- Expelled the sea beggars from English ports.

- They were forced to land in the Dutch port of Brielle and their occupation of the port, unchecked by the Spanish garrison there, sparked off a full-scale revolt against the rule of Spain.

What was the situation between the Netherlands and Spain in 1576?

- All provinces rose against what they saw as the attrocities by the Spanish army.

- Collectivley, they produced the Pacification of the Ghent, which called for the expulsion of all foreign trooops and the restoration of the provinces' authority, which was a situation favoured by Elizabeth.

- However, the provinces quarrelled amongst themselves and the French were prepared to invade.

- This was not what Liz had hoped for and she even contemplated marriage to the Duke of Anjou to retain some English influence in the Netherlands.

What was the Union of Utrecht?

- One of the two separate entities taht emerged as a result of the divisions among the provinces of the Netherlands.

- Largely northern and Protestant.

What was the Union of Arras?

- Largely southern and Protestant.

- Spanish made their peace with the Union, thereby creating the basis by which the new govenor-general, the Duke of Parma, could begin his reconquest of the Northern Provinces.

- Spanish power was strengthened in 1580 by the annexation of Portugal.

How did Elizabeth adopt a more overtly anti-Spanish position?

- Supported Portuguese pretender, Don Antonio.

- Knighted Franics Drake on circumnavigating the globe.

- Treating the Spanish ambassador poorly.

Why did the situation with the Netherlands deteriorate from an English perspective after 1580?

- Parma's reconquest of the North gained momentum.

- The provinces of Holland and Zeeland were the only Protestant provinces.

- Rebel leader William of Orange was assassinated in 1584.

What was the Treaty of Joinville, 1584?

- Agreement between the Catholic League in France and Philip II.

- Alarmed Elizabeth because the Guise family led the Catholic League and, with the Guises as allies, Philip no longer had a political motive to prevent him from supporting MQS.

What was the Treaty of Nonsuch, 1585?

- Reaction to Joinville.

- Liz made an alliance with the Dutch rebels in 1585 and sent troops to the Netherlands under Dudley's command.

Why did the Dutch troops fail in 1585?

- Troops badly and irregularly paid were so ill disciplined they alienated the Dutch.

- Dutch felt betrayed when two officers - William Stanley and Rowland Yorke deserted and joined Parma.

- English commanders quarrelled among themselves.

- Leicester quarrelled with the Dutch who thought Elizabeth was trying to deal behind their backs with Parma.

- Leicester returned to England, resigning his command in January 1588 - encouraged Philip to think he could exploit the divisions between the English and Dutch.

What was the Spanish Armada?

- Organisation of the expedition against England was complex and took over two years to come to fruition.

- Phillip had convinced he was doing God's work and he was engaged in a Catholic crusade.

- But the Spanish fleet (the Armada) was huge with many of the vessels and their crews having been commandeered from the Portuguese.

- Sailing of the Armada was delayed as a result of a successful English attack on Spanish ships in the harbour at Cadiz in April 1587.

When did the Armada set sail?

- Armada set sail from La Coruna on 22 July 1588 - it’s objective was to reach the port of Gravelines, in the Spanish Netherlands where it was intended that the Spanish army, commanded by the Duke of Parma would board the ships so that an invasion of England might be launched.

- It was sighted off the coast of Cornwall on 29 July and was engaged in its indecisive battle in the English Channel from 30 July to 6 August.

Why did the Armada fail (+significance)?

- In the end the Armada was forced because of unfavourable winds to try to return to Spain by hazardous route of sailing north towards Scotland and then back south to the west of Ireland - cost the more ships, lost in storms.

- Significance - victory over Spain, beating a big imperial power, gave her a lot of political clout.

What fronts was the war with the Spanish fought on?

- Went on for 16 years, ended after the deaths of Phil and Liz.

- At sea off Western Europe.

- In the Caribbean.

- On land in France, the Netherlands, Ireland, where it was connected to a revolt against Elizabeth's rule.

What were the reasons for the war with Spain?

- Elizabeth sought national control over all other considerations.

- For many, however, both at court and in the armed forces, England was involved in a war for both national and religious survival against a univeral Catholic plot.

- View that was shared by Burghley to a point.

How did war against Spain at sea continue in the 1580s?

- England had some success with small-scale naval attacks in the Caribbean and Spain in 1585 and 1587- 1595 - English made three attack on Spain and its colonies - short lived victory with the capture and occupation of Cadiz and the sinking of four galleons.

- No strategic follow-up, Hawkins and Drake advocated an attack on Panama which they regarded as the weakest point in the Spanish empire but it failed and they both die.

- Capture of Cadiz humiliated Phillip and prevent Spanish merchant ships from sailing to the West Indies (blow to the Spanish).

- 1596 - Phillip ordered a fleet to invade England but it was defeated by storms

How did the Spanish intervene with Ireland?

- Tried to exploit the rebellion for their own ends.

- To prevent a possible Spanish attach on Ireland, a fleet under the Earl of Essex's command was despatched to attack the Spanish fleet in harbour in north-west Spain in 1597.

- Essex's fleet was driven back to Plymouth by adverse winds and was eventually used to sail to the Azores suggesting that the need for booty had superseded wider strategic considerations.

- Spanish fleet succeeded in setting sail for Ireland and might have landed if not for the wind.

- Fear of invasion in 1599, prompted by false intelligence caused panic and after naval action was directed almost entirely by the need to prevent Spanish landings in Ireland. In the end little had been achieved at very great cost.

How did war in the Netherlands progress after 1588?

- After Lecister's failures, relations between England and the Dutch improved.

- 1589 - Francis Vere made commander of the English forces and he was highly capable and forged a positive relationship with the Dutch leader, Mauirce of Nassau.

- Combined with the problems faced by the Spanish who troops regularly mutinied and who were overcommitted in France ensured that the territories that had been lost to the Duke of Parma were recovered.

- Cost of the English maintain and force in the Netherlands was high but the Dutch paid a share in the running costs.

How did war in the Netherlands end?

- 1594 - Spanish had been expelled from all lands of the northern Netherlands.

- Dutch revolt had proved successful and some credit was due to the English.

- English strategic objectives were achieved.

- Northern Netherlands became independent, Southern Netherlands, while remaining under Spanish soverignity also achieved a degree of autonomy.