Catholic Opposition and Elizabeth's Anti-Catholic Laws 1580-1603

Home , Anthony Babington, Babington plot, English Armada, Francis Throckmorton, Nicholas Owen (Jesuit), Priest hole

Catholic Opposition and Elizabeth’s Anti-Catholic Laws 1580-1603

Why did Catholic opposition grow after 1580? Elizabeth’s response to Catholic opposition—Recusants

 The Catholic Church tried to rebuild the Catholic faith in England – Catholic  Act of Persuasions 1581: raised the recusancy fines by 1 0, 000% this missionaries and Priests were trained in Europe and sent to England in secret meant that only very rich Catholic could afford to pay them. to keep the Catholic faith alive.  Act against Priests 1585: People who offered help, shelter or aid to  Elizabeth was excommunicated (expelled from the Church) by the Pope in Catholic Priests could face the death penalty. 1570. The Pope said that the people did not have to remain loyal to Elizabeth.  Margert Clitherow’s execution 1586: First female Catholic martyr. She  The presence of Mary Queen of Scots (Elizabeth's cousin) gave Elizabeth a was tortured and killed for sheltering Priests. problem as she became the focus of Catholic hopes of an England returned to  the Catholic faith. Recusancy Act 1587: 2/3rds of the land owned by a recusant was taken away. Even wealthy Catholics were now forced into debt.  As a result, more Catholics (the rich ones who could afford the fines) started  to disobey the rules and refused to attend Church Act Restraining Recusants 1593: Catholics were forced to stay within 5 miles of their homes and banned from large gatherings.

The Impact of Jesuit and Seminary Priests Why did the Catholic threat fade after 1588?

 By 1580, there were around 100 Catholic  Wrong place: Catholic priests focused their effort around the south east priests from Europe. and London, but Catholic support was strongest in the North-West.

 Catholic Priests stayed at the country houses  Wrong people: Catholic priests focused on the wealthy and gentry. Most of the wealthy. In fear of the houses being people in Elizabethan England were from the lower class/poor. searched, there were hiding spaces behind  Too few: Not enough priests were sent to England – Walsingham's spy net- walls or under floorboards called ‘Priest holes’. work was effective  The most famous designer of ‘priest holes’ was  Too divided: Seminary and Jesuit Priests argued over tactics. The Pope Nicholas Owen. It is claimed that he saved appointed an Archpriest to organise but they argued about him as well. hundreds of priests from arrest and death.

 The priests were successful in influencing many wealthy people to stay Catholic.

 Elizabeth responded by ordering JP’s to search Case Study: The execution of Edmund Campion 1580 Consequences of Campion’s execution

 Edmund Campion was the first Jesuit Priest to arrive in 1580. He was discovered hid-  Catholic opposition increased – even more priests came to England. ing in a priest hole.  Catholics published propaganda showing images exposing the cruel treatment of Catho-  Campion claimed to be loyal to Elizabeth and just disagreed with her about religion. lics by Elizabeth's government.

 He was tortured, hung drawn and quartered as a traitor.  The Bloody Question was introduced in 1585.

 The execution of Priests increased significantly in 1588 when England was threatened by Spanish Invasion. Catholic threats from abroad: Mary Queen of Scots

Throckmorton plot 1583  In 1583, the Pope, Philip II of Spain and a French Catholic army de- vised a plan with Francis Throckmorton, to place Mary, Queen of Scots on the throne.

 Walsingham's spies uncovered the plot, Throckmorton was arrested and executed, but Mary was spared because they could not prove her involvement.

 Elizabeth's government introduced the ‘Bond of Association’ – this meant that anyone who plotted or gained from a plot to kill Elizabeth could be executed.

The Babington Plot 1586 Trial of Mary, Queen of Scots 1587  In 1586, Anthony Babington communicated with Mary Queen of Scots, Mary was put on trial. She skilfully fought her own case, arguing that: using coded messages, about a plot to kill Elizabeth.  God made her Queen and no court could try her.

 No original message existed (may have been forged)  However, they were both unaware that the messages were being de-  Babington and others had confessed her involvement under torture coded by Walsingham's spies. This was enough evidence to prove (unreliable evidence) Mary’s guilt. Despite her best effort, Mary was found guilty and sentences to death by

execution  Mary was put on trial, found guilty of treason and executed on Febru- ary 8th 1587.

 Elizabeth had signed the death warrant, but did not want it made offi- cial. She was furious when her privy council had gone ahead with execution without her permission. Elizabeth vs Catholic Spain 1580-1603

Causes of the war with Spain The Anglo-Spanish war begins, 1585

1. Elizabeth I had refused to marry Philip II of Spain at the start of her reign.  In 1584, a Catholic subject of Philip II shot and killed the leader of the Dutch Protestant rebels, Prince William of Orange. The murder shocked Elizabeth. She knew the same 2. Throughout the 1570s, English sailors such as Drake and Hawkins acted like pirates, could happen to her. attacking Spanish ports and ships in the New World.

3. Spain ruled the Netherlands and Philip II was angry when Elizabeth sent money to aid Protestant Dutch rebels there in the 1570s.  In 1585, Elizabeth signed a treaty with the Dutch rebels and sent the Earl of Leicester with an army of 7,000 men to fight against the Spanish in the Netherlands. England and Spain 4. Philip II was a deeply religious Catholic and in 1580, when Pope Gregory said that it would were at war. not be a sin to kill Elizabeth, Philip started to support plotters who wanted to replace her with Mary Queen of Scots.

5. Philip II was outraged when Mary Queen of Scots (a Catholic) was executed on Elizabeth’s  Despite Leicester's poor leadership, the English troops did stop Spanish advances in the (a Protestant) orders. Netherlands. At the same time, Francis Drake sailed to the West Indies and attacked Spanish ports there and returned with treasure from Spanish ships. 6. Drake led an expedition to raid the port of Cadiz in 1587 and looted Spanish gold and de- stroyed many Spanish ships in the process.

What happened to the Spanish Armada? Defeat and Consequences

1. Philip put the Duke of Medina Sidonia in charge of the Armada, but he had little experi-  In the end, Philip's army failed to land in England. His Armada was defeated by a mixture ence of sailing. of bad planning, bad luck and skilful tactics from the English sailors and their Dutch allies.

2. The Armada of 130 ships sailed up the English Channel chased by English ships. It waited  The defeat of the 1588 Armada did not end England's war with Spain. It dragged on until at Calais for the Duke of Parma's army. 1604, a year after Elizabeth died. Here are some of the main events of those years.

3. Dutch ships blocked the Duke of Parma's army in the Netherlands stopping it from joining 1589- Francis Drake led an 'English Armada' to attack Portugal and stir the Portuguese to revolt up with the Armada. against Spain. It was an expensive failure .

4. The English set fire to some old ships and let them drift into the Armada as fire ships. The 1595- Francis Drake and John Hawkins died at sea while attempting to raid Spanish ships and Spanish panicked, cut their anchors and sailed north. ports in the New World.

5. Near Gravelines, the English ships attacked the Spanish. One Spanish ship sank. 1,000 1596- The Earl of Essex led a successful raid on the Spanish port of Cadiz. Spanish men died and only 50 English were killed. 1596 and 1597- Philip II sent Spain's second and third Armadas against England- but both were 6. The Armada was driven north by the winds and headed back to Spain by sailing north wrecked by storms. around Scotland. 1601 -A Spanish army landed in Ireland . The Earl of Tyrone had started a Catholic rebellion 7. Powerful storms wrecked about 44 Spanish ships off Scotland and Ireland. About 80 ships against English rule The Spanish force was defeated. eventually struggled back to Spain. 1604- One year after Elizabeth's death, the war with Spain was ended by the Treaty of London. It had lasted almost twenty years. Summary of Daily Lives of Elizabethan England The Gentry The Middling Sort

 Elizabethan society was hierarchical. Jobs, Power and Wealth: The Gentry owned land – this is what Homes: Houses of the Middling sort had between 5 and 10 made them wealthy. They only made up 2% of the total popula- rooms The parlour was a large bedroom with a feather  At the top there was those who owned the land – Nobil- tion but owned 50% of all the land. The Gentry often had politi- mattress and linen sheets. Children and servants slept upstairs. ity/Gentry cal power either as JPs or MPs to enforce the Queen’s rules and Chimney, ceiling and Glass windows were common.  At the bottom were those who worked on the land – the help her govern. Jobs and Power: Tradesmen and craftsmen who owned their vast majority. Homes: To display their wealth and power, they built magnifi- own businesses. Poorer than merchants, but more wealthy  Living standards depends on where you were in this cent country houses – They had lots of large rooms for feasting than the labourers. hierarchy. and dancing as well as glass windows, tall decorated chimneys, Yeoman farmers and Husbandman who farmed the land they fireplaces and decorations.  The rich became richer during Elizabeth’s reign and the owned or rented. Nowhere near as wealthy as the gentry by number of poor people increased. Food: The rich ate very well – Had a rich and varied diet which more comfortable than the labouring poor. separated them from the common people. A feast could in-  People could move up the hierarchy by developing skills Food: The middling sort ate well but there was no ceremony clude: beef, pork, venison, goose, swan, pheasant and range of such as craftsman or traders (known as the ‘middling like in the Gentry home. They had some meat (beef, mutton small birds. Drank quality wine imported from France and Italy. sort’), earning money and purchasing land. and pork) reared on their own land. Bread was important part of their diet. They drank beer and mead as wine was too expensive.

The Labouring Poor

Homes: Homes were generally small (2 rooms) – no glass windows or chimney. Some labourers had some land but most just had garden plots. Poor labourers would build houses on waste land.

Food: Their diet was limited. Bread was the main part of their diet. Pottage, a thick soup, made up of veg and water, was a usual meal. Bad harvests in 1594, 1595 and 1596 meant many labouring poor starved to death.

Jobs and Wealth: They went between farms to look for work. The Labouring poor generally struggled to make a living because most did not have regular work. At harvest time it was busy, but other times it was difficult to afford food and fuel. Bad harvests in 1594, 1595 and 1596 meant many labouring poor starved to death.

The Problems of Poverty: Vagrancy and the Elizabethan Poor Laws 1580-1603

In the late 16th century the problem of poverty was far worse than it had every been before. A Causes of the Poverty crisis 1580-1603 large growing proportion of the population lived in constant fear of falling into poverty. Many  The population was getting bigger (1580 – 2.4 million, 1600 – 4.1 million) of these people were working poor.  More land had to be farmed but there was poor farming methods so a lot of food was not Vagrant poor: being produced  Moved from place to place to find work  The food prices rose but peoples wages didn’t  Usually unmarried men and women  Bad weather meant harvests failed  Some families  Wool trade declined (This was England's biggest employer)  Many died in winter as they had nowhere to stay at night  The enclosure system meant less workers were need to farm the land. (unemployment) Settled poor

 Made up 30% of urban population As a result large areas of England (Yorkshire, Cumbria and Northumberland) suffered famine,.  Many did not survive to adulthood Death from starvation was common.  Lots of women and children, as fathers left or died

 Lots of the elderly were poor as they could not work

How did the Elizabethan government respond to the poverty problems? The Elizabethan Poor Laws 1601: Provided some help/support for the impotent and unemployed poor as well as punishing vagabonds. The Elizabethan government decided to divide the unemployed poor into 3 separate catego- ries: 1. Each parish had a Justices of the Peace appointed and churchwardens. They were respon- sible for the poor of the parish. These men collected a poor rate (tax) from all the house- Impotent poor: Physically unable to work through age or illness holders in the parish, and the money was used to support the poor. Able-bodied poor: Who wanted to work but could not find it 2. Begging was forbidden, and vagrants were whipped and sent back to the parish where Vagabonds: Who chose to avoid work they were born.

3. Impotent poor were looked after in alms-houses and work was provided for the able- Increased punishment: bodied poor. Anybody who refused to work was placed in gaol (prison) or a house of cor- rection where they were forced to do hard labour.  From 1572 the law stated that Vagabonds above the age of 14 should be whipped and burned through the ear with a hot iron - the hole was the size of a penny. Historians interpretation of the Elizabethan Poor Laws 1601

 Anyone above the age of 18 who became a Vagrant having already been caught before Some historians have criticised the Elizabethan Poor Law for its harsh treatment of vagrants. But could be hanged. others think that it was an important advance in the treatment of the impotent poor and the unemployed. The Elizabethan Poor Law did not solve the problem of poverty, but it did ensure that large numbers of people would no longer die if the harvests failed.