Elizabeth I: character and aims

How old was Elizabeth when she acceded to the throne?

25

significantly younger than Mary had been at her accession

What were the differences in character and experience between Mary and Elizabeth?

Elizabeth = considerably better educated, much shrewder grasp of political processes in their widest sense and was, for the most part, a shrewder judge of character than her half-sister

had also learned much from her personal and political experiences, including a brief relationship with Thomas Seymour, and what ay ave been her treasonable implication in Wyatt’s Rebellion

What examples can be used to show Elizabeth’s political skills before she was in power?

her dismissal of the executed Thomas Seymour as a much of much wit but little judgement showed she had learnt from the temporary disgrace of their relationship

her clear-headedness under interrogation and marking a litter to her half-sister Queen Mary with diagonal lines so that it couldn’t be doctored were remarkable for someone who was aged only 20

Did Elizabeth have the desire to involve herself in the details of government in the manner of her grandfather, Henry VII?

NO - however, she took an informed interest in the decision-making processes, and she was determined to preserve the prerogative powers of the Crown, which meant that she insisted on taking the most important decisions

What were Elizabeth’s key short-term aims on coming to the throne?

to consolidate her position

to settle religious issues

to pursue a peaceful settlement with the French

Was there any interference by Mary’s councillors in Elizabeth’s succession?

NO

but they were aware that Elizabeth did not share their religious views - many of them guessed that their political careers were over, but they made no attempt to interfere with the lawful succession as defined by Henry VIII

Mary recognised Elizabeth as her successor, and her husband Philip of Spain recognised Elizabeth’s right of succession

In what respects was it a difficult succession?

England had suffered a series of bad harvests = food was scarce and expensive

the country had suffered grievously from the flu epidemic which had brought about the highest rate of morality since the Black Death

the political and religious situations were delicate

England had fought a disastrous war against France which had resulted in the loss of Calais

it was evident there would be changes to the Catholic faith, as re-established by Queen Mary

What were the key features to Elizabeth’s consolidation of power? - path to power eased

path to power eased by acceptance of her succession by Mary’s key councillors

Mary’s death and Elizabeth’s succession being announced to Parliament together - legally Mary’s Lord Chancellor had no right to do so, but politically it showed that the political elite of the nation collectively assented to Elizabeth’s accession

within a couple days nine of Mary’s councillors visited Elizabeth to ensure her of their loyalty - there would be no attempt to deny Elizabeth’s succession by devout Catholics who had never accepted the validity of her father’s marriage to Anne Boleyn

What were the key features to Elizabeth’s consolidation of power? - appointments

William Cecil was appointed principal secretary - their political partnership would last almost 40 years

Elizabeth also made some household appointments, but didn’t announce them, as it made political sense for her to keep Mary’s councillors guessing about her intentions and speculating about their chances of retaining some measure of royal favour

What were the key features to Elizabeth’s consolidation of power? - customs associated with monarchs

Elizabeth showed herself familiar with the customs associated with monarchs who had newly acceded to the throne by taking herself to the Tower, from which she emerged on several occasions to show herself to her new subjects and to benefit from pageants which were organised on her behalf by the City of London

What were the key features to Elizabeth’s consolidation of power? - coronation

Elizabeth proceeded quickly - within two months - to her coronation

What were the key features to Elizabeth’s consolidation of power? - international confirmation

Elizabeth gained some measure of international confirmation

Spanish ambassador had already visited Elizabeth several days before Mary’s death and after her accession tried to broker a marriage alliance between Elizabeth and Philip II - nothing came of it but it demonstrated that Philip was unwilling to do anything to disrupt the smoothness of Elizabeth’s succession

What were the key features to Elizabeth’s consolidation of power? - ALL (5)

path to power eased

appointments

customs associated with monarchs

coronation

international confirmation

What was one of the major priorities of the new Elizabethan regime?

What were the key aspects to this?

to decide on the form of religion the country would experience

two key aspects to this - the legal status of the Church and the liturgical books to be used in church services

Had the legal status of the Church been altered with the death of Queen Mary?

NO

until the law could be changed, the English Church remained part of the Catholic Church of Rome - there was never any doubt that this relationship would be severed and that the Church of England would be reinstated as an established/State Church with the monarch at its head

What was in doubt about the nature of the (to be) established Church?

would it be essentially an Anglo-Catholic Church (doctrines + practices remain essentially Catholic even though it rejected papal supremacy)?

a moderate Protestant Church (similar to that implied by the Act of Uniformity of 1549)?

a more radically evangelical Church as implied by the Act of Uniformity of 1552?

What did the Elizabethan settlement of 1559 create in practice?

How was it established?

created a middle way between Catholicism and Protestantism

established through two Acts of Parliament - the Act of Supremacy and the Act of Uniformity - the issue of a set of royal injunctions to enforce the Acts and the publication of a new Book of Common Prayer

In addition to the original settlement of 1559 what was introduced?

the Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion were introduced in 1563

What did the 1559 Act of Supremacy do? (7)

restored in law the royal supremacy in the Church, which had been established under Henry VIII and then removed under Queen Mary:

the papal supremacy was rejected

the Reformation legislation of Henry VIII’s reign was restored

the heresy law revived under Mary was repealed

the powers of royal visitation, as enjoyed by Henry VIII, were revived - allowed the Crown to appoint commissioners to take action against heresies (gave huge amount of potential power to the commissioners, and it didn’t define the ‘heresies’ against which they may take action)

Act described the queen as ‘supreme governor’ rather than as ‘supreme' head’ of the Church of England as her father had been - could be interpreted as a concession to Catholic opinion

an oath of supremacy was to be taken by clergymen and church officials, and there were penalties for refusing to do so - most of the Marian bishops felt unable to take the oath and were deprived of their posts

What did the 1559 Act of Uniformity do?

specified the use of a single Book of Common Prayer, which was a modified version of the second and strongly Protestant book that Cranmer had introduced in 1552

two modifications:

variations in Eucharistic belief were possible in that both the 1549 version and the 1552 wording were permitted

the reasons that had been included in the 1552 prayer book to explain away the practice of kneeling at the administration of the Eucharist was omitted

What did the 1559 royal injunctions do?

set of instructions about the conduct of church services and government of the Church issued in the queen’s name as supreme governor

When had royal injunctions previously be used by the Crown as a mechanism for imposing its will in relation to church practices?

1536, 1538, 1547

What did the first injunction do?

make clear their Protestant character, emphasises the suppression of superstition - Catholic practices

What did the injunctions declare?

that the Eucharist be administered at a simple Communion table rather than the altar - clear signal that religious practice should move in the direction of reform

called for removal from the churches of ‘things superstitious’

traditional Catholic practices eg. pilgrimages and use of candles were condemned

the injunctions, like those of 1547, were drafted in a way which intended that they were to be an attack on traditional Catholic practices

parish churches were required to purchase an English Bible, reasserting the 1538 injunctions, and a copy of Erasmus’s ‘Paraphrases’, as previously required in 1547

What was the demographic of the visitors nominated by Cecil to enforce the injunctions?

strongly Protestant

How did the injunctions reflect some of Elizabeth’s personal idiosyncrasies?

her disapproval of clerical marriage was signalled by the fact that prospective wives of clergy had to produce a certificate sign by two justices of peace signifying their fitness for such a role

also typical of the queen was the desire to persuade people to forbear all vain and contentious disputations in matters of religion

What were the reactions of bishops and conservative peers in the House of Lords to the restoration of the royal supremacy and the uniformity bill?

grudging accepted the restoration of the royal supremacy

provided much more opposition to the uniformity bill, which was only passed in the Lords by three votes

What happened April 1559?

Treaty of Câteau-Cambrésis

What happened June 1559?

Death of Henry II of France; succeeded by Francis II, husband of Mary Queen of Scots

What happened February 1560?

Treaty of Berwick

What happened March 1560?

English army sent to Scotland to assist the Lords of the Congregation

What happened July 1560?

Treaty of Edinburgh upholders power of (Protestant) Lords of the Congregation

What happened December 1560?

Death of Francis II

What happened October 1562?

English intervention in France on the side of the Huguenots

What happened April 1564?

Treaty of Troyes

What was the Treaty of Câteau-Cambrésis?

England at war with France when Elizabeth came to the throne - gone badly with loss of Calais and weakened Crown finances

peace treaty in April 1559, in which England and France also agreed that France would retain Calais for eight years, after which Calais would be restored to England, provided they kept peace in the meantime

if France failed to return Calais they agreed to pay £125,000 to England

Why did the death of Henry II of France in June 1559 bring about problems?

Henry II succeeded by son Francis II, whose wife was Mary, Queen of Scots - Elizabeth’s cousin and main Catholic claimant to the English throne

also brought strongly Catholic Guise faction to power in France - sought to once against use Scotland as an instrument of French policy, French troops sent to garrison major Scottish fortresses

Alarmed John Knox, leader of the Scottish Reformation, and his political allies, the Lords of the Congregation - led to conflict

Was Elizabeth keen to intervene in Scotland?

NO

she loathed Knox, but William Cecil, on the other hand, strongly supported intervention, as he sympathised with the religious predicament of Scottish Protestants and knew England would be more secure without a French force north of the border

Cecil also sought removal of Mary, Queen of Scots, weakening her influence as a potential Catholic claimant to the English throne, and wanted to incorporate Scotland within a wider British State, which he considered necessary for the survival of Protestant England - this was a minority position on the Council

How did Cecil persuade Elizabeth to intervene in Scotland?

played on her insecurity - pointed to action of Francis + Mary as using the English royal coat of arms on their own heraldic device, even suggested his own resignation if Elizabeth failed to support him

process of intervention in Scotland therefore illustrates way in which decision-making in foreign policy could be influence both by religious considerations and a key individual

How did England intervene in Scotland to help John Knox and the Lords of the Congregation?

initially limited to money and armaments, but towards the end of December 1559 the navy was sent to the Firth of Forth to stop French reinforcements from landing

What offered the Lords of the Congregation conditional support?

the Treaty of Berwick in February 1560

March 1560 an army was sent north - blockaded just outside Edinburgh and where most of the French force was situated, but the siege failed - however other circumstances forced a French withdrawal, French fleet damaged and regent Mary of Guise died - so Cecil was able to secure favourable terms in the Treaty of Edinburgh in July

What did the Treaty of Edinburgh in 1560 agree?

the Lords of the Congregation were accepted as a provisional conciliar government,

What happened due to the death of Francis II in December 1560?

with the death of Francis II in December the Guises fell from power, Mary Stuart’s influence on French policy came to an end and she had to return to Scotland

here she was forced to accept the political and religious powers of her enemies

Did Cecil triumph regarding Scotland?

YES - the interests of Scottish Protestants had been protected and the political influence of Mary had been significantly reduced

however, Elizabeth was aware that success had been achieved through good fortune (the death of Francis II) and she would proceed more cautiously in future

When did conflict break out between Catholics and Protestants in France?

March 1562

What did the Earl of Leicester encourage Elizabeth to do regarding the religious conflict in France?

What did Elizabeth promis?

to put military pressure on the French Crown when it was in a relatively weak state to ensure the return of Calais

Elizabeth promised the Huguenot leader, the Prince of Condé, 6000 men and a loan of £30,000, with control of the port of Le Havre as security

Regarding the religious conflict in France, was the luck that had assisted the English in Scotland still with Elizabeth and Leicester?

NO

the Huguenot army was defeated, Condé was captured

on the Catholic side the Duke of Guise was assassinated

With both sides leaderless following the capture of the Prince of Condé and the Duke of Guise, what did the French do?

French factions agreed to accept peace terms and united to drive the English out of Le Havre

the English were therefore forced to seek an unfavourable peace at the Treaty of Troyes in 1564

What start did Elizabeth make as queen?

despite the problems in foreign policy, a broadly impressive start as queen

with assistance of Cecil had manner her accession and coronation skilfully, in process impressing such experienced foreign observers as the Spanish ambassador with her style of rulership

had achieved a settlement in religion which attempted, with some success, to be relatively comprehensive

still many unanswered questions, especially in regard to marriage and succession, but she established herself as queen with remarkable success