Edexcel Gcse Elizabethan England - Challenges to Elizabeth at home and abroad, 1569-88

What were the main threats to Elizabeth in 1969?

• English Catholics - in 1570, the Pope “freed” English catholics of obedience to Elizabeth and asked for her to be overthrown

• MQS - Had a legitimate claim to the throne, Mary’s French family, The Guise, were very powerful

• Spain - Phillip was a strict catholic who wanted to destroy protestantism. Spain had a large and growing empire

• Dutch Revolt - Phillip persecuted Dutch protestants. A large spanish army sent to Netherlands in 567 was seen as a threat.

What caused the Revolt of the Northern Earls?

• The earls wanted Catholicism restored in England

• The earls had lost a great deal of influence at court since Elizabeth became queen

• Elizabeth refused to name an heir, creating uncertainty about England’s future

• MQS was a figurehead could potentially replace Elizabeth

Who were the key players in the Revolt of the Northern Earls?

• Thomas Percy, Earl of Northumberland - He had held a powerful position under Mary I but had now been replaced by protestants

• Charles Neville, Earl of Westmorland - was from an important catholic family

• Thomas Howard, Duke of Norfolk - protestant who had family links to Catholic families. Plot revolved around him marrying MQS.

• MQS - supported the plan

• Northumberland and Westmorlands’ Wives - supported the plan

What was the aim of the Revolt of the Northern Earls?

MQS would marry Duke of Norfolk, depose Elizabeth and become queen

Why did the Revolt of the Northern Earls fail?

• Support from Spain never arrived

• Many northern landowners stayed loyal to Elizabeth and they did not want to risk losing wealth they had gained

What was the significance of the Revolt of the Northern Earls?

• 1st serious act from Catholics

• Ended the power of the Northern Earls in North England

• Prompted harsher catholic treatment and treason laws became harsher

• Papal bull - issued by the Pope against the Queen

• Majority of Catholics remained loyal to Elizabeth I

What was the progress of the Ridolfi Plot?

• Plan made by Ridolfi - Italian banker

• Supported by the Pope

• Duke of Norfolk was set to lead the rebellion

• Duke of Alba would provide 10,000 troops to support rebellion

• In the Autumn, Sir William Cecil uncovering the plan

• Duke of Norfolk was executed in 1972

What was the significance of the Ridolfi Plot?

• Reinforced the Catholic threat posed to Elizabeth

• Reinforced the threat to England from Spain

• Because of the threat from Spain, Elizabeth focused on improving relations with France

What were the events of the Throckmorton Plot?

• Throckmorton planned for France to invade England

• Phillip would provide financial support

• Sir Francis Walsingham uncovered the plot

• Throckmorton was executed in 1584

What was the significance of the Throckmorton Plot?

• There was a list of catholics sympathizers within England

• Life became harder for Catholics and 11,000 were imprisoned

What were the events of the Babington Plot?

• Duke of Guise would invade England with 60,000 troops

• Phillip II and the Pope supported plot

• Babington wrote to Mary about the plot but her letters were intercepted by Walsingham

• Once he had sufficient details all were arrested

What was the significance of the Babington Plot?

• It led to Mary’s execution 1587 where there would no longer be a Catholic heir to the throne

• Relations between England and Spain were now completely broken down

• Elizabeth’s government began to crush Catholicism - 300 arrests in North London

What was the significance of MQS’ execution?

• Removed an important to Elizabeth

• Execution of Mary gave Phillip 1 more reason to invade England

What were the main parts of Walsingham’s spy network?

• Had spies in every county and important town

• Many were ordinary people who were paid for useful information

• Other countries: 12 in France, 9 in Germany, 4 in Spain and 3 in Italy

• Even some arrested Catholics became informants

What was the commercial rivalry between Spain and England?

• Competed against each other in the New World and in various other places such as Turkey and China

• When Spain had taken over Peru and Mexico in 1500s they were provided with much more gold and silver

• By Elizabeth’s reign, sailors like Francis Drake had proved England were a naval superpower

Why was there hostility between England and Spain?

• Spainsh control of Netherlands and Rhine estuaries cut off one of England’s many trade routes

• Spain’s control of new world denied profit making opportunities for English traders

How was England’s use of privateering important for their economy and the commercial rivalry?

• English merchants who raided Spanish colonies voyaging to and from the new world

• In 1572, in 1 raid, Sir Francis Drake captured 40000 in Spanish silver

• Drake’s circumnavigation resulted in £400,000 of silver and gold

• Duch rebels (Sea Beggars) were encouraged to fight

Why did relations between England and Spain begin to deteriorate by the 1580s?

• Elizabeth knighted Drake which demonstrated her defiance towards Spain and their presence in the new world and Europe

• Phillip felt that Drake and other privateers who needed to removed by war if necessary in order to protect Spain’s commercial interests

What was the religious rivalry between England and Spain?

• Phillip II, backed by the Pope, saw protestantism as a threat

• Many English Protestants saw Spain and Catholicism as a threat

• Phillip became involved in many Catholic Plots

What was the initial Spanish policy in the Netherlands?

• The Netherlands had been Spanish since the 1400s but now there were many dutch protestants

• A brutal Spanish campaign under the Duke of Alba aimed to restore Catholicism

• Spanish Catholics executed many Dutch Protestants following the Council of Troubles in 1568

• Spain’s campaign angered many English

What was the English response to the Spanish control of the Netherlands?

• Elizabeth allowed Dutch rebel ships safe passage to English ports

• Provided financial support to others fighting the Spanish including mercenaries

• English privateers were encouraged to attack Spanish in Latin America

• Elizabeth even proposed to marry the French heir Duke of Alencon so might be persuaded to fight the Spanish

When was the pacification of Ghent?

1576

What caused the Pacification of Ghent?

• Spanish government found the war unaffordable and so many Spanish troops went without pay

• This caused the Spanish Fury - where Spanish troops looted Antwerp

What was the Pacification of Ghent?

It was where all 17 Dutch provinces called for all Spanish troops to be expelled from Netherlands

How was Spanish influence restored after the Pacification of Ghent?

• Spanish control restored by the Duke of Parma

• Duke of Alencon and William of Orange died (Elizabeth’s allies)

• Treaty of Joinville in 1984 - strengthened relations between Spain and France

• Dutch Catholics were ready to make peace with Phillip II

Why were England and Spain close to War by 1587?

• Phillip II blamed English support for Dutch Rebels as to making the situation worse

• Phillip II blamed English privateers for attacks on Spanish shipping

• Elizabeth’s government blamed Phillip II for plots against her

When was the treaty of Nonsuch and what were its terms?

Treaty of Nonsuch (1585) - England would pay for 7,400 English soldiers led by Robert Dudley who would work with the Dutch rebels.

Why did Dudley’s campaign in Netherlands against Spanish control fail?

• Elizabeth still hoped to negotiate with Phillip II meaning that she didn’t give enough resources to Dudley to defeat the Spanish

• Some of Dudley’s officers defected to the Spanish side worsening relations between English and Rebels

• Dudley and Elizabeth had different aims in the Netherlands since Dudley wanted to make it independent while Elizabeth wanted to keep it under Spanish control but with freedoms

What was the result of Dudley’s campaign in the Netherlands?

• It achieved very little

• Dudley could only disrupt Spanish forces not defeat

• Dudley did manage to stop the Spanish from capturing a port which was important because it denied the Spanish the opportunity to link up with the Duke of Parma’s troops during the Armada

What was the ‘Singeing the King of Spain’s beard?’

• In March 1587, Drake attacked the Spanish navy

• Between 19 and 22 April, he attacked a Cadiz, destroying 30 ships and much of the fleet’s supplies

• Drake then continued to attack Spanish coastal ports and treasure ships

What was the importance of Drake’s attacks on Spain?

• Spain had to take a break from building the Armada to defend against Drake

• Delayed the Armada by a year

• Bought England more time to prepare for the Spanish attack

Why did King Phillip II invade England(religious conflict)?

• Phillip had failed with the plots but this gave him another opportunity to remove her and make England catholic

• The papacy wanted to overthrow Elizabeth since excommunicating her in 1570

• The Pope promised forgiveness of sins for those taking part in the Armada

Why did King Phillip II invade England(Politics and diplomacy)?

• Treaty of Joinville 1584

• Treaty of Nonsuch 1585

• England would be a useful addition to Phillip’s empire since it would give Spain complete control of Atlantic

Why did King Phillip II invade England(Acts of provocation)?

• Drake’s action in the new world

• Elizabeth’s support for Dutch rebels since their rebellion began

Why did King Phillip II invade England(changing circumstances)?

• Spain acquired Portugal in 1580 giving Phillip access to Portuguese ports

• Duke of Parma’s success in the Netherlands since 1579

• Elizabeth’s hesitation indicated England’s weakness

What was Phillip II’s strategy for the Spanish Armada?

• The Armada (130 ships and 2431 guns) would sail along the English channel under command of Duke of Medina-Sidonia

• The Armada would then join up with Duke of Parma

• Together they would transport 27,000 troops to Kent and march onto London

What happened during the events of the Spanish Armada?

• 29 July - Armada spotted in English Channel

• 31 July - Battle of Plymouth - Two Spanish Ships captured

• 3-4 August - Battle of the Isle of Wight - Spanish ships are outgunned and forced to move further up the channel to Calais

• 8 August - Battle of Gravelines - Fireships cause Spanish to panic as Medina-Sidonia’s army is scattered and never meets up with Parma’s army

Why did the English win in the Armada (English ship design)?

• Galleons - easier and faster to manoeuvre

• Cannons were mounted on smaller gun carriages and there was more space for the cannon to recoil meaning it could be quickly reloaded by a small team

• This meant that England could fire more cannon balls at the Spanish with more speed

Why did the English win in the Armada (Spanish supplies)?

• Provision were stored in barrels made of inferior wood

• Because the Spanish had been at sea for 10 weeks the food was already rotting

• The Armada was also low on supplies of the necessary cannon balls

Why did the English win in the Armada (communication issues)?

• Communications between Medina-Sidonia and Parma were not good since it took 1 week for word to reach Parma that Medina-Sidonia was in the channel

• Parma did not control any deep-sea ports so had to use lots of small ships which took 48 hours to load, man and set sail

Why did the English win in the Armada (English tactics)?

• In the Battles of Plymouth and Isle of Wight England had kept a safe distance while chasing the Armada down the channel

• This had prevented Medina-Sidonia from anchoring off the Isle of Wight to wait for Parma

• At the Battle of Wight England were able to fire off six times as many cannon balls as the Spanish

• On the Night of 6th August - Fireships were used to scatter the Armada

• This forced the Battle of Gravelines on 8th August where England’s faster ships easily beat Medina-Sidonia’s since Parma’s ships weren’t ready

What were the consequences of the English Victory for England?

• Showed the strength of the Navy which boosted English confidence to explore

• Elizabeth’s authority enhanced since she could portray herself as a military leader

• It led to a stronger Anglo Dutch alliance and showed that Protestantism in the Netherlands would survive

• Protestant cause was now stronger in England since it suggested that God was on their side

What were the consequences of the English Victory for Spain?

• Major military and financial setback for Phillip II

• However, Spain’s war with England continued

• Spanish prestige was broken and others now began to challenge Spain as well

• This led to the fall of the Spanish Empire