Revolt of the Northern Earls 1569

Context

• Elizabeth refused to name an heir or discuss marriage

• A plot was hatched in court to deal with the problems of marriage and succession

• The plan was to marry MQOS to the Duke of Norfolk (England’s most senior noble) to strengthen Mary’s claim to the throne and any children they had. Mary agreed to the plot

• After the plot was discovered, the Earls went on to lead a rebellion and take Northern England, however eventually failed due to the number of the Queen’s forces

  Who was Involved?

  Mary Queen of Scots

• motive - to get an even stronger claim to the throne for her children

• role - to marry the Earl of Norfolk, Thomas Howard

  Thomas Howard

• motive - he disliked newcomers to Elizabeth’s court and giving the throne to Mary would help get more power and remove them

• role - to marry Mary, which he later backed out of doing

  Thomas Percy

• motive - as a fellow Catholic, getting Mary on the throne would give him more power and a bigger role in court

• role - organising and taking part

What happened?

• The Earls were reliant on help from Spanish troops to help their Catholic revolution - the Spanish never arrived

• The Northern Earls raise an army of around 4,000 men and moved south, taking over Durham Cathedral and performing a Catholic Mass, and taking over Barnard Castle

• 14,000 men march for Elizabeth, from the south, causing the rebel forces to flee

• The Earls flee to Scotland and the rebellion is defeated

Causes for Concern

• the rebels take Barnard Castle - by taking territory the rebels establish power and control over a land that was owned by the Queen and makes them harder to defeat

• not enough men to fight back - 16th Nov, the Earl of Sussex (on Elizabeth’s side) tells the privy council he is having trouble raising men to fight the rebels

• all Northern England being controlled by the rebels - further threat to Elizabeth and loss of land/power

Consequences

• Elizabeth was excommunicated in 1570 by Papal Bull for her treatment of the rebels after their capture

• prompted harsher treatment of Catholics

• first serious Catholic rebellion against Elizabeth

• wider definition of treason and harsher punishment under law