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Throughout Elizabeth's reign, Catholicism posed a serious threat to her throne and her life. Catholic plots, papal hostility, and the presence of Mary Queen of Scots in England created a web of danger that Elizabeth and her advisors struggled to contain for nearly 30 years.
The Catholic threat to Elizabeth operated on multiple levels:
| Level | Threat |
|---|---|
| Domestic | English Catholics (recusants) who refused to attend Church of England services and remained loyal to the Pope |
| Papal | The Pope declared Elizabeth a heretic and excommunicated her, releasing English Catholics from their loyalty to her |
| Foreign | Catholic powers — particularly Spain and France — supported plots to overthrow Elizabeth and replace her with a Catholic monarch |
| Mary Queen of Scots | A Catholic with a strong claim to the English throne, living in England as Elizabeth's prisoner from 1568 |
Most English Catholics were loyal subjects who simply wished to practise their faith in peace. However, a minority were prepared to plot against Elizabeth.
| Period | Catholic Activity |
|---|---|
| 1558–1568 | Most Catholics accepted the settlement or conformed outwardly while practising Catholicism in private |
| 1568 onwards | Mary Queen of Scots' arrival in England gave Catholic plotters a figurehead to rally around |
| 1570 | The Papal Bull Regnans in Excelsis excommunicated Elizabeth and declared it a religious duty to overthrow her |
| 1574 onwards | Seminary priests trained at Douai (in the Spanish Netherlands) began arriving in England to keep Catholicism alive |
| 1580 onwards | Jesuits (members of the Society of Jesus) arrived in England on a mission to reconvert the population; the government saw them as agents of foreign powers |
Key Term: Recusants were Catholics who refused to attend Church of England services. The term comes from the Latin recusare, meaning to refuse. Recusancy was illegal and punishable by fines, imprisonment, and (for priests) execution.
In 1570, Pope Pius V issued the bull Regnans in Excelsis, which:
This bull transformed every English Catholic into a potential traitor in the eyes of the government. It forced Catholics to choose between loyalty to the Pope and loyalty to the queen.
Mary Stuart was Elizabeth's cousin and, in Catholic eyes, the legitimate Queen of England (since Catholics did not recognise Henry VIII's divorce from Catherine of Aragon and therefore considered Elizabeth illegitimate).
| Fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 December 1542, Linlithgow Palace, Scotland |
| Queen of Scotland | From six days old (her father James V died shortly after her birth) |
| Queen consort of France | Married Francis II of France (1558–1560); widowed at 18 |
| Return to Scotland | 1561; attempted to rule as a Catholic queen in an increasingly Protestant country |
| Marriages | Married Lord Darnley (1565); married the Earl of Bothwell (1567) after Darnley's murder |
| Abdication | Forced to abdicate in 1567 after a series of scandals; imprisoned; escaped and fled to England |
| Arrival in England | May 1568; sought Elizabeth's help but was immediately placed under house arrest |
Elizabeth faced an impossible dilemma regarding Mary:
| Option | Problem |
|---|---|
| Send Mary back to Scotland | The Scottish lords would execute her; Elizabeth would be complicit in the death of an anointed queen |
| Help Mary regain her throne | Would mean supporting a Catholic queen against Protestant lords; could destabilise Scotland |
| Allow Mary to go to France | France might use Mary as a weapon against England |
| Keep Mary in England | Mary would become a focus for Catholic plots against Elizabeth |
Elizabeth chose the last option, keeping Mary under house arrest in a series of English castles for 19 years (1568–1587).
Mary's presence in England inspired a series of Catholic conspiracies:
| Plot | Date | Details | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Revolt of the Northern Earls | 1569 | Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland planned to free Mary and overthrow Elizabeth; marched south with 6,000 men | Crushed by Elizabeth's forces; Northumberland executed; over 800 rebels hanged |
| The Ridolfi Plot | 1571 | Italian banker Roberto Ridolfi planned a Spanish invasion combined with an English Catholic uprising to place Mary on the throne | Uncovered by Cecil and Walsingham; the Duke of Norfolk was executed (1572) |
| The Throckmorton Plot | 1583 | Francis Throckmorton coordinated a plan for a French invasion to free Mary; linked to the Spanish ambassador | Uncovered by Walsingham's spies; Throckmorton was tortured and executed; the Spanish ambassador was expelled |
| The Babington Plot | 1586 | Anthony Babington planned to assassinate Elizabeth and free Mary; Mary wrote letters approving the plan | Walsingham intercepted and decoded Mary's letters; Babington and his conspirators were executed; this plot directly led to Mary's trial and execution |
Exam Tip: Walsingham's role in uncovering the plots is crucial. He built an extensive spy network across England and Europe, intercepted letters, used code-breakers, and employed agents provocateurs. The Babington Plot was partly a trap set by Walsingham to catch Mary — he allowed the correspondence to continue so he could gather evidence of her complicity.
flowchart TD
M["Mary Queen of Scots<br/>arrives in England, May 1568"] --> NR["Northern Rebellion 1569<br/>Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland<br/>800+ rebels hanged"]
M --> PB["Papal Bull<br/>Regnans in Excelsis 1570<br/>excommunicates Elizabeth"]
PB --> RP["Ridolfi Plot 1571<br/>Norfolk executed 1572"]
RP --> TP["Throckmorton Plot 1583<br/>Spanish ambassador expelled"]
TP --> BA["Babington Plot 1586<br/>Walsingham intercepts letters"]
BA --> EX["Mary executed at<br/>Fotheringhay, 8 Feb 1587"]
EX --> AR["Spanish Armada 1588<br/>Philip II’s revenge"]
From the 1570s onwards, Catholic priests trained at the English College at Douai (founded 1568) and later at Rome were sent to England to minister to English Catholics and reconvert the population.
| Group | Key Features |
|---|---|
| Seminary priests | Trained at Douai and other continental seminaries; their mission was to keep Catholicism alive in England |
| Jesuits | Members of the Society of Jesus; arrived from 1580; led by Edmund Campion and Robert Parsons; the government saw them as a political as well as religious threat |
The government's response became increasingly harsh:
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