Mapping Elizabethan England Key Strongly Catholic Area Religious

Mapping Elizabethan England Key Strongly Catholic Area Religious tension & Catholic plots Catholic Support Strongly Protestant Area When studying the Catholic plots that took place during Elizabeth’s reign, it is essential to get a sense of place. Although Elizabeth’s religious settlement aimed to find compromise between England Catholics and Protestants, the arrival of Mary Queen of Scots in 1568 and Elizabeth’s excommunication in 1570 led to a wave of Catholic plots against her. Use the map to help you understand these plots. 1559 1558 Elizabeth becomes Queen of England. Elizabeth introduces Religious Settlement 1. The arrival of Mary Queen of Scots Mary became the Queen of Scotland in 1542 after the death of her father, James V. She soon moved to France where she married the heir to the throne of France. After his death, Mary returned to Scotland. Under pressure from Elizabeth, Scotland had become a Protestant country while Mary was away. Mary was unpopular as a Catholic. Mary remarried and had a son, James. After the suspicious death of her second husband, and marriage to a man accused of his murder, the Protestants forced Mary to give up her throne. Mary fled to England in 1568 in fear of her life, leaving her son James to become the King of Scotland. Mary hoped Elizabeth would help her, but she was imprisoned for 19 years, and was moved slowly further south as the threat of the Catholic plots increased. She was imprisoned in a range of locations including: 1 2 3 4 5 Carlisle Castle – May 1568 Bolton Castle – July 1568 Tutbury Castle – Jan 1569 Key Dates 1568 1569 1570 1571 Mary arrives in England Rebellion of Northern Earls Elizabeth is Excommunicated Ridolfi Plot 1583 Protestant Support Castle Used to imprison Mary Queen of Scots. Mountains & Hills 1586 Throckmorton Plot Babington Plot 1587 Execution of Mary Queen of Scots 3. The Northern Rebellion: 1569 In 1569 the Earls of Westmorland Northumberland gathered an army of 6000 soldiers and began to march south. They planned to free Mary Queen of Scots and make her Queen, and return England to Catholicism. Elizabeth found out about the plan and sent a huge army to crush the rebellion. 800 rebels were executed and the Earls of Westmoreland Northumberland fled to Scotland. 4. The Ridolfi Plot: 1571 An Italian Catholic banker Roberto Ridolfi planned to assassinate Elizabeth and make Mary queen. He was supported by King Phillip II of Spain and the Duke of Norfolk, Elizabeth’s cousin. The plot was uncovered by William Cecil. Ridolfi was arrested and thrown out of England. The Duke of Norfolk was executed. 5. The Throckmorton Plot: 1583 Young Catholic, Francis Throckmorton organised a plan for the French army to invade England, replace Elizabeth with Mary Queen of Scots, paid for by the Pope and Phillip II of Spain. Elizabeth’s spies found out. Throckmorton was executed, and Mary was moved South to Tutbury Castle where she was isolated and allowed no visitors. Chartley Castle – Dec 1585 Fotheringhay Castle – Sept 1586 2. Religious Division Catholicism remained popular in the North of England. Many Catholics, including the powerful Northern Earls considered Mary Queen of Scots to be the rightful Queen of England. The counties around London were generally more supportive of Protestantism. They were closer to London and had closer links to the Netherlands and German states where Protestantism had become popular. 6. The Babington Plot: 1586 Sir Anthony Babington planned to rescue Mary from prison, assassinate Elizabeth, and make Mary Queen. Secret coded letters between Mary and the plotters were found, proving her guilt. 7. The trial and execution of Mary Queen of Scots Mary was put on trial, found guilty of treason, and was executed at Fotheringhay Castle on 8 th February 1587. Elizabeth had always believed that executing Mary would lead to bigger problems such as war with France or Spain, and hesitated to sign her death warrant. Elizabeth wrote to King James of Scotland apologising for the death of his mother. Task: 1. Explain why Mary’s arrival in England was a problem for Queen Elizabeth? Use the following fragments in your answer: …moved to France… …religious change… …unpopular as a Catholic… …fled to England… …imprisoned… 2. Summarise the religious divisions in England during Elizabeth’s reign. 3. Read through the each of the Catholic plots (3 -6) and make notes on each under the headings: “What, who, when, how, why” then transform your notes into a full sentence to summarise each plot. 4. Explain why Mary was executed in 1587 and Elizabeth’s reaction. 5. Using your notes from today, answer the question ‘How did religious tension influence the Catholic plots? ’

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