Catholic Opposition (AQA GCSE History)

Did the Catholics Pose a Significant Threat to Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement?- Timeline & Summary

After the five-year reign of the Catholic Mary I, Catholics were unhappy with the succession of Elizabeth in 1555. As a Protestant, they believed that Elizabeth would change England’s official religion back to Protestantism. 

Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement needed to resolve the issue of religion within England. She had to make the Church of England more Protestant without offending her Catholic subjects. Catholics held important positions in government, especially in the House of Lords. Many wealthy lords and earls in the North of England were Catholic. The pope encouraged Catholics to fight against Protestantism.

The majority of England’s Catholics accepted the Religious Settlement. Catholic rebels caused more of a threat to Elizabeth’s safety than the Puritans. With the Pope’s encouragement, she faced an armed rebellion from the Northern Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland. Elizabeth used force to end this revolt. This signified how important the upholding of the Religious Settlement was to Elizabeth. The revolt marked a change in how Elizabeth dealt with English Catholics.

What was life like for Catholics in England? 

• When Elizabeth came to the throne in 1558, Catholics expected retaliation for Mary I’s burning of 300 Protestants 

• Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement aimed to 

  • Unite the country 

  • Include Catholic and Protestant practices 

• Therefore, Catholics were surprised by the Religious Settlement and many accepted it

• Those who did not face punishments for repeated recusancy which included:

  • Fines

  • Imprisonment

  • Loss of property or job

  • Death (in extreme cases)

• However, recusancy fines were rarely given out before 1569

The Northern Rebellion 

Causes of the Northern Rebellion 

• The Northern Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland rebelled in 1569 because:

  • The earls had grievances with the rule of Queen Elizabeth I

  • Factors within England gave an ideal opportunity to depose Elizabeth

• Recusancy was very popular amongst the Catholic nobility

  • Historians estimate that one-third of the English nobility did not attend Church of England services

  • The North-West of England contained the majority of recusants

• The earls of Northumberland and Westmorland were angry with Elizabeth’s Religious Settlement

  • Under Mary I, they had gained wealth and power

  • Under Elizabeth, they no longer influenced the royal court

    • Elizabeth created many new nobles that did not stem from the ancient aristocratic families of England such as Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester and Sir William Cecil

Events of the Northern Rebellion 

• Northumberland and Westmorland decided to launch a revolt against Elizabeth in November 1569 

  • Many northern Catholics rallied behind the earls

  • The rebels took Catholic Mass at Durham Cathedral

  • The earls of Northumberland and Westmorland marched an army of approximately 4,600 men south and reached Bramham Moor (north of Leeds)

• The Revolt of the Northern Earls ended in defeat

  • The majority of England’s nobility, except the Duke of Norfolk, who remained loyal to Queen Elizabeth

  • The Earl of Sussex ended the revolt using royal troops

  • The rebels retreated on 24th November 1569 and the Earl of Sussex ended the revolt on 16th December

Consequences of the Northern Rebellion 

• Elizabeth aggressively punished the Revolt of the Northern Earls

  • She ordered hundreds of executions of the northern rebels

  • The Earl of Northumberland was executed in York

The consequences of the Northern Rebellion 

• The Revolt of the Northern Earls showed that:

  • Despite concessions, some English Catholics still wanted to depose her

  • Catholics posed a significant threat to the stability of England

  • Catholics needed to be monitored and regulated 

  • Elizabeth was willing to use violence against her subjects to protect her monarchy

• The Revolt of the Northern Earls was significant to how Elizabeth treated Catholics throughout her reign

The papal bull

• On 27th April 1570, Pope Pius V released a papal bull 

• In the papal bull, the pope excommunicated Elizabeth from the Catholic Church

• This papal bull had significant effects on Elizabeth 

  • It asked all Catholics to end the Elizabethan rule 

    • English Catholics had to decide if they would support the queen or the pope

  • Catholics abroad followed the pope’s instructions and started to plot against Elizabeth 

    • This contributed towards King Philip II of Spain’s Spanish Armada 

  • Inspired English Catholics to plot and rebel against Elizabeth 

The Ridolfi Plot, 1571 

The aims of the Ridolfi Plot

• Roberto di Ridolfi was an Italian Catholic banker

• Ridolfi planned to depose Elizabeth with help from Spain  

• The Ridolfi Plot of 1571 aimed to: 

  • Assassinate Elizabeth 

  • Replace Elizabeth with Mary Queen of Scots 

  • Restore Catholicism 

Events of the Ridolfi Plot

• In March 1571, Ridolfi travelled to the Spanish Netherlands

  • He met with the pope, Philip II and the Duke of Alba

  • He had in his possession a signed letter from the Duke of Norfolk. The letter confirmed that Norfolk was a Catholic and would lead a rebellion against Elizabeth with Philip’s support

• The meeting was a success for Ridolfi

  • He secured Philip’s support

    • He agreed to send the Duke of Alba and 10,000 men to England when Norfolk required them

    • Historians are unsure about how genuine this support was. Alba wrote to Philip that Spain should only send troops to England if Norfolk succeeded in overthrowing Elizabeth

• Sir William Cecil uncovered Ridolfi’s plot in the Autumn of 1571

  • Norfolk’s servants betrayed the plan when under interrogation

  • Cecil also had evidence in the form of coded letters in the Duke of Norfolk’s house

  • The Duke of Norfolk was arrested in September 1571

• Ridolfi’s plan was never enacted

  • Cecil foiled the plan before it began

  • Ridolfi was not in England when Cecil discovered the plot. He never returned to England so he did not face the repercussions of his actions

Consequences of the Ridolfi Plot

Consequences of the Ridolfi Plot 

The Throckmorton Plot, 1583

Aims of the Throckmorton Plot

• Francis Walsingham, Elizabeth’s spymaster, heard rumours of a plot between: 

  • Scottish Jesuits 

  • Mary Queen of Scots 

  • The Spanish Ambassador de Mendoza 

• The link between these individuals was Francis Throckmorton, a young English Catholic 

• Throckmorton was planning to:

  • Overthrow Elizabeth 

  • Replace Elizabeth with Mary Queen of Scots 

  • Restore Catholicism to England 

Events of the Throckmorton Plot

• Historians know very little about how the plan began. This is because:

  • The plotters destroyed many of their letters to conceal evidence of their scheming

  • The government used torture to extract confessions from the plotters

    • They may have said what they believed the interviewer wanted to hear to avoid further punishment

• The government placed Throckmorton under surveillance in April 1583

  • Throckmorton’s regular visits to Mendoza aroused the government’s suspicions

• Francis Walsingham did not act straight away

  • He wanted to obtain enough evidence to charge Throckmorton with treason

  • He needed to determine who was conspiring with Throckmorton and Mary, Queen of Scots’ involvement in the plan

• In June 1583, Walsingham searched Throckmorton’s house

  • The papers at Throckmorton's house showed communication with multiple Catholic nobles in England

  • Throckmorton had been researching which harbours were suitable for an invasion force to land

• Elizabeth’s government arrested Throckmorton in November 1583

• Throckmorton stated the plot had gone no further than the planning stage

• This was because Throckmorton was waiting for the money promised by Philip II

  • Both Throckmorton and Mary, Queen of Scots retracted their confessions 

  • They stated that the investigators used torture

    • This forced them to make false statements of guilt

Consequences of the Throckmorton Plot 

Short and Long-term Consequences of the Throckmorton Plot