Preview

How and Why Had Elizabeth’s Policy to Catholics Changed by 1581?

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
986 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
How and Why Had Elizabeth’s Policy to Catholics Changed by 1581?
In 1559 Queen Elizabeth 1 of England passed two acts as part of the Church Settlement: The Act of Supremacy and The Act of Uniformity. With these acts she aimed to unite her countries people and avoid rebellion from each religious group. At first it seemed to have worked: The new Archbishop of Canterbury, Matthew Parker (a moderate protestant) was popular with most people; Only 250 out of 9000 priests refused to take the oath of loyalty to the new Church; the fines for recusancy were not strictly enforced and there were no serious protests or rebellions. By 1568 most people had accepted the new Church.
However, by 1581, Elizabeth’s policy towards Catholics had changed: Now, any priest holding a Catholic service, and anyone attending it, would pay a large fine and be imprisoned for a year; fines for recusancy were increased to £20 a month and anyone who tried to persuade people to disobey Elizabeth or become a Catholic was guilty of treason. She had changed her policy for several reasons: A number of rebellions, set off by the Catholic, Mary Queen of Scots arrival in England; The St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre and the arrival of Catholic priests in England.
There were several plots, rebellions and other disastrous events that led to Elizabeth changing her policy towards Catholics. Many of these were set off by Mary, Queen of Scots’ arrival in England in May 1658 when she fled from Scotland. This strong Catholic provided a figurehead for English Catholics to rally around and her arrival triggered a number of rebellions and plots.
Firstly, in 1569 the Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland gathered 6000 armed Catholic soldiers in an attempt to free Mary, overthrow Elizabeth and make England Roman Catholic once more. This was the Northern Rebellion. Luckily for Elizabeth, she was able to gather an army large enough to defeat the rebellion before it caused too much damage, but this event opened the Queen’s eyes to how angry and powerful the Catholics were
Continue Reading
View Writing Issues

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Good Essays

    What Problems Did Elizabeth Face in 1558?
    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages

    What Problems Did Elizabeth Face in 1558?

    Another problem Elizabeth had to face in 1558 was deciding what religion to become, whether she would keep England as a catholic settlement or to change England to a protestant settlement. If she decided to keep England a catholic settlement it would keep her strong alliances on side; Spain and France, this would be good as Elizabeth was worried that Spain and France would go to war against her if not. Also if Elizabeth decided to stay Catholic, the pope and the House of Lords would be on her side. This means she would be able to pass laws easier. However Elizabeth could also have chose to turn England into a protestant settlement, this would suit her better as she herself, was a protestant. Also, it would keep the Privy Council and the House of Commons on side meaning it would be easier for Elizabeth to get her own way with the Privy Council. Finally, many hard line…

    • 844 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Pilgrimage of Grace
    • 1256 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Pilgrimage of Grace

    Pilgrimage of Grace Essay When Martin Luther posted the 95 theses in 1517, he had changed the entire path of European politics and religion. He sparked a thought in the region that in many cases, converted people’s basic Christian beliefs. At the time, the Roman Catholic Church was the most powerful Institution. However, there were many corruptions and problematic doctrines, which Luther opposed. Though most commoners became followers because of faith, political leaders sometimes became protestant for other reasons. One important figure that was influenced by this protestant reformation was King Henry VIII of England. A monarch, he had a great desire to have a son that would be his heir, the next king. Unfortunately, his first wife was only able to birth one daughter. By then Henry VIII had formed a relationship with another woman. This one promised him a son. However, the Catholic Church forbade divorce and Henry VIII was Catholic at the time. To resolve this issue, England separated from the church and began the Anglican Church, a church headed by Henry VIII himself. The Act of Supremacy in 1534 officially began England’s Protestant Reformation. With this new power of the state over the church, the head of the King’s Council, Thomas Cromwell, carried out new government policies which included new taxes, increased power of the monarchy in Northern England, dissolution of Roman Catholic monasteries, and confiscation of the lands that belong to the Church. Enraged, commoners and nobles alike began marching and protesting in what was known collectively as the Pilgrimage of Grace. These individuals that numbered in the tens of thousands, marched for political and religious reasons, while the opposition also claimed political and religious reasons for the protests to stop.…

    • 1256 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    AP EURO Chapter 15 Study Guide
    • 1777 Words
    • 7 Pages

    AP EURO Chapter 15 Study Guide

    Spain repeatedly invaded the United Provinces who repeatedly asked the Protestant queen of England, Elizabeth, for assistance and three developments forced her hand…

    • 1777 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Give Me Liberty Chapter 2 Study Notes
    • 2061 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Give Me Liberty Chapter 2 Study Notes

    1. Protracted religious strife catholics persecuted by edward, mary becomes queen-executes protestants, mary’s rule makes reconciliation with rome impossible…

    • 2061 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    How Far Do You Agree That Wyatt’s Rebellion Was a Serious Threat to Mary’s Authority
    • 1363 Words
    • 6 Pages

    How Far Do You Agree That Wyatt’s Rebellion Was a Serious Threat to Mary’s Authority

    Mary’s ascension to the throne of England was marked with extraordinary political and religious circumstance: the return of Catholicism in England marshalled by Mary was a decision met with gratefulness and one that pleased many of those citizens supressed under the Tudor dynasty’s progressive and eventually full protestant stance. However, Mary’s gender meant that she couldn’t enjoy the same levels of independence and power as those wielded by her brother and father. Mary’s announcement that she intended to marry Philip II of Spain in 1554 divided her privy council into two distinct groups; one opposing her marriage, favouring the possible courter, Edward Courtenay (Earl of Devon), and the other, who supported the Spanish Monarch. The reasons for these split alliances were deeply ingrained in foreign policy, with those supporting Philip’s prospects seeking the advantages of a strong Anglo-Spanish alliance, and those against it fearing the consequences of a future hereditary Spanish claim to the English throne and a possible need to aid Spain in future conflict.…

    • 1363 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Civil War, Religion or Economy
    • 1279 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Civil War, Religion or Economy

    The religious quarrels began right at the start of Charles' reign, when Charles married Henrietta Maria, a French Catholic. Although Charles didn't choose to marry her - his father, James, set up the marriage - the public, especially the Puritans, didn't like having a Catholic as Queen. A few extremists even saw this as a sign that Charles was secretly Catholic! After the King dissolved Parliament, he made William Laud the Archbishop of Canterbury, in 1633. While Laud was Archbishop, he made many changes to the Church. Most of these changes involved beatifying the Church and bringing back robes for priests, statues and stained-glass windows. All these things reminded the English of Catholicism, and it did not please the Presbyterians (puritans) who believed that church should just be about “you” and God, no extravagance was required and it was considered to be unnecessary.…

    • 1279 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    How Far Do You Agree That Parliament Mostly Cooperated with Elizabeth I?
    • 2650 Words
    • 11 Pages

    How Far Do You Agree That Parliament Mostly Cooperated with Elizabeth I?

    When Elizabeth first came to the throne in 1558 she was faced with the difficult task of establishing a new common religion in a country fraught with religious tensions. The first parliament called under Elizabeth convened on 25th January 1559, and its chief business was forming the new religious settlement. The general hatred of the burning of heretics under Mary, the rapid return of exiled Protestants to England, and Elizabeth’s known Protestant sympathies were all factors that led to a distinctly Protestant House of Commons. The…

    • 2650 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Powerful Essays

    Using These Four Passages and Our on Knowledge, Assess the View That the Roman Catholics Were a Serious Threat to Elizabeth I and the Church She Had Established.
    • 2682 Words
    • 11 Pages

    Using These Four Passages and Our on Knowledge, Assess the View That the Roman Catholics Were a Serious Threat to Elizabeth I and the Church She Had Established.

    The four sources in question all debate the extent of the opposition that the Roman Catholics actually provided against Elizabeth I. The majority of the sources go into more detail about the strength of the opposition to the church rather than that to Elizabeth herself, however by looking at the sources and by comparing them to other information that I have studied I have been able to gain a good understanding of the opposition that the Elizabeth faced throughout her reign. Source B argues…

    • 2682 Words
    • 11 Pages
    Powerful Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Glorious Revolution Causes
    • 2107 Words
    • 9 Pages

    Glorious Revolution Causes

    Key words: Glorious Revolution, tyranny, democracy, bloodless, England. Introduction: The Though the belief of Roman Catholicism was infamous, the king James II attempted to redefine it. He tried to make it the state religion of the country. He was in favor of the Catholics so always tried to give more privileges to them. His ‘dispensing power’ of ruling was the indication of that. He had the authority to renew or repeal any parliamentary act. Therefore, he issued a proclamation was rejected by the parliament because that clearly visualized his tyrannical…

    • 2107 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    how serious were the threats to elizabeth?
    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages

    how serious were the threats to elizabeth?

    On the one hand, the threat from Mary Queen of Scots was the biggest threat to Elizabeth I. This is because Mary had a legitimate claim to the throne as she was Henry VIII’s sister’s great granddaughter; therefore she was second in line to the throne. Mary Queen of Scots also had a lot of Catholic support, a lot of the European Union wanted England to be Catholic, and so they would have wanted Mary to be on the English throne and not Elizabeth. All of the Catholics in England would want Mary to be Queen, so she was a large threat to Elizabeth because people in England and in the European Union would want Mary Queen of Scots to be Queen and not Elizabeth I. The Spanish Armada was also a large threat to Elizabeth during her reign. This threat was posed by The King of Spain, King Philip II. Philip and the Spanish were attacking England, because they wanted Mary on the throne. The Spanish Armada was a large threat to Elizabeth in 1588, because the Spanish could easily have attacked England; they had a lot more men and boats than the English. The Spanish Armada also posed as a large threat, because it was a new type of threat that no King or Queen had experienced before; the threat was also posed from another country, this makes it a lot more serious than it would have been if it had have been posed from an Englishman. There was also a third threat, The Northern rebellion in 1569. The…

    • 984 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Better Essays

    Elizabeth's Religious Settlement of 1558
    • 1509 Words
    • 1 Page

    Elizabeth's Religious Settlement of 1558

    England was still Catholicism and so Elizabeth enacted a series of reforms and doctrinal changes to bring about a largely Protestant religious settlement that retained some elements…

    • 1509 Words
    • 1 Page
    Better Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Who Killed the King of Spain, King Phillip?
    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Who Killed the King of Spain, King Phillip?

    Queen Elizabeth was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Because Elizabeth didn’t have the right to be Queen her half-sister Mary became Queen instead. When Mary died, Elizabeth took the crown in 1558. While Queen Elizabeth was ruling King Phillip asked for her hand in marriage so he would be the King of England and Ireland again after marrying Queen Mary before she died. But Queen Elizabeth rejected his offer for different personal reasons. Personal reasons such as she was known for her virginity, she was already "married" to her people (England), she did not want a man to control her and their religions and primary languages were different. Even though the rejection of his proposal was quite harsh, tension between them increased when she defeated the Spanish Armada. The Spanish Armada was fleet of solders led by Philip II to attack England in 1588. When Queen Elizabeth beat the Spanish Armada, she became very popular to her people.…

    • 524 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Satisfactory Essays

    Queen Elizabeth I's Religion In England
    • 223 Words
    • 1 Page

    Queen Elizabeth I's Religion In England

    Queen Elizabeth I reigned after Queen Mary (known as “Bloody Mary”) in a time where the entire country was in a crisis. England’s religion had been changed many times in the recent years. Queen Elizabeth I set herself as the head of the Church of England and modified its major teachings as a compromise between Protestantism and Roman Catholicism. This greatly improved the stability of England’s religion crisis. (http://www.britroyals.com)…

    • 223 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    Queen Elizabeth Dbq
    • 137 Words
    • 1 Page

    Queen Elizabeth Dbq

    When Queen Elizabeth ascended to the throne, there were violent clashes throughout Europe between Protestant and Catholic leaders and their followers. Though Elizabeth honored many of the Protestant edicts of her late father, King Henry VIII, she made significant concessions to Catholic sympathizers, which kept them from attempting rebellion. But when compromise was not possible, she was an exacting and determined leader who did not shy away from conflict. With the naval defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588, England was firmly established as a leading military and commercial power in the Western world. Elizabeth supported and later knighted Sir Francis Drake, the first sailor to circumnavigate the globe. She also funded Sir Walter Raleigh's…

    • 137 Words
    • 1 Page
    Good Essays
    Read More
  • Good Essays

    The Church Of England Was Only A Half R
    • 1239 Words
    • 4 Pages

    The Church Of England Was Only A Half R

    aggravating the Catholics, she wanted to appease. Elizabethan Religious Settlement was a clear indication of the direction in which Elizabeth was going. In 1559 Elizabeth passes the Act of…

    • 1239 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays
    Read More

Related Topics