OCR Specification focus:
‘the Catholic threat and its nature, the increased threat after 1568, government reaction, Northern Rebellion (1569), Papal excommunication (1570), Mary Queen of Scots, plots, seminary priests, Jesuits’
The Catholic threat under Elizabeth I was one of the defining challenges of her reign, shaped by religious divisions, dynastic rivalries, and international pressures that tested her authority.
The Catholic Threat in Context
Religious divisions ran deep in Tudor England following the Reformation. Elizabeth I’s accession in 1558 placed a Protestant monarch on the throne after the Catholic restoration under Mary I. This shift created tension between Catholics loyal to Rome and Elizabeth’s Protestant settlement. The Catholic threat was not merely domestic: it was reinforced by the Pope, foreign Catholic powers, and Elizabeth’s Catholic cousin, Mary Queen of Scots, who presented herself as a legitimate alternative monarch.
The Nature of the Catholic Threat
The Catholic threat emerged from multiple interconnected factors:
Dynastic rivalry: Mary Queen of Scots was a Catholic with a strong claim to the English throne.
International Catholicism: Spain and France provided potential backing to Catholic plots.
Papal authority: The Pope’s interventions legitimised rebellion against Elizabeth.
Missionary activity: Seminary priests and later Jesuits reinforced Catholic opposition from within England.
This made the threat dynamic, involving both ideological loyalty to Rome and political conspiracies against the Elizabethan state.
The Increased Threat After 1568
The Catholic threat intensified significantly after 1568, when Mary Queen of Scots fled to England following her forced abdication in Scotland. Her presence in England created:
A figurehead for Catholic discontent.
A focus for plots and conspiracies aiming to replace Elizabeth.
A challenge for Elizabeth’s government, which had to manage her imprisonment and the dangers of keeping a rival claimant alive.
Mary’s arrival transformed Catholic opposition from passive discontent into a direct political and security risk.
The Northern Rebellion (1569)
The Northern Rebellion of 1569 was the first major Catholic rising against Elizabeth. Led by the Earls of Northumberland and Westmorland, it aimed to:
Restore Catholicism in England.
Free Mary Queen of Scots and potentially marry her to the Duke of Norfolk.
The rebellion was suppressed, but its significance lay in showing that:
Catholic discontent could erupt into armed revolt.
Mary’s presence directly encouraged insurrection.
Elizabeth could not afford leniency, as rebellion was tied to international Catholic interests.
Papal Excommunication (1570)
In 1570, Pope Pius V issued the bull Regnans in Excelsis, which:
Excommunicated Elizabeth from the Catholic Church.
Released her Catholic subjects from allegiance, effectively encouraging rebellion.
Pope Pius V (r. 1566–1572), the pontiff who promulgated Regnans in Excelsis in February 1570. His excommunication of Elizabeth transformed Catholic loyalty into potential treason against the crown. Source
Excommunication: The formal expulsion of an individual from the Catholic Church, cutting them off from its sacraments and community.
This declaration elevated the threat by making Catholic opposition a religious duty, strengthening the link between domestic unrest and foreign Catholic powers.
Mary Queen of Scots and Catholic Plots
Mary became central to successive Catholic plots against Elizabeth:
Ridolfi Plot (1571): Planned to replace Elizabeth with Mary, backed by Spain and the Duke of Norfolk.
Throckmorton Plot (1583): Aimed to invade England with Spanish and papal support, placing Mary on the throne.
Babington Plot (1586): Explicitly targeted Elizabeth for assassination, intending to make Mary queen.
Each conspiracy increased pressure on Elizabeth’s government to act against Mary, culminating in her execution in 1587 after evidence linked her to treason.
Cipher and code tables used by Mary, Queen of Scots in the 1580s. These nomenclators encoded letters and whole words, allowing conspirators to disguise treasonous messages. Source
Seminary Priests and the Missionary Challenge
From the 1570s, seminary priests trained at English colleges on the Continent, such as Douai, were sent back to England to:
Minister to Catholic communities.
Maintain Catholic faith under Protestant rule.
Act as spiritual leaders in defiance of the state church.
While many were focused on pastoral care, their presence was seen as inherently political, as they reinforced Catholic allegiance to Rome.
The Jesuit Mission
The Jesuits, a Catholic religious order founded in the mid-sixteenth century, intensified the missionary threat from 1580 onwards. Figures like Edmund Campion and Robert Parsons:
Travelled in disguise across England to spread Catholic teaching.
Produced influential literature challenging Protestant doctrine and Elizabeth’s legitimacy.
Strengthened underground Catholic networks.
Engraved portrait of Edmund Campion SJ (1540–1581), executed for treason in 1581. His mission represented the Jesuit drive to sustain Catholicism in Elizabethan England, blending pastoral care with political risk. Source
Jesuits: Members of the Society of Jesus, a Catholic order committed to education, missionary work, and defence of the papacy.
The government viewed Jesuits as political agents as well as religious figures, leading to harsh legislation against them, including execution for those who refused to swear allegiance to Elizabeth.
Government Reactions
Elizabeth’s government responded with a combination of repression and propaganda:
Harsh penalties: Recusancy fines (for refusing to attend Anglican services), imprisonment, and execution for Catholic priests.
Legislation: Laws from 1581 and 1585 made conversion to Catholicism treasonous and returning seminary priests punishable by death.
Surveillance and networks of informers: Used to uncover plots and suppress Catholic activity.
These measures ensured that Catholicism was increasingly marginalised in public life, though underground worship persisted.
The Broader Impact of the Catholic Threat
The Catholic threat had enduring effects on Elizabeth’s reign:
It entrenched suspicion of Catholics as potential traitors.
It justified increasingly repressive state policies.
It deepened the link between religion and national security.
It made Elizabeth’s government cautious, balancing internal security with avoiding open war until the Spanish threat of the Armada (1588) forced her hand.
By the later decades of her reign, the Catholic threat was tightly linked with the survival of the Tudor monarchy itself.
FAQ
Mary was Elizabeth’s cousin and a legitimate heir under the Tudor line, with strong Catholic support across Europe. Her presence in England offered Catholic factions a living alternative to Elizabeth, turning theoretical discontent into a practical threat.
Mary also had diplomatic significance: France and Spain could use her as a bargaining tool in negotiations or as justification for intervention. This meant Elizabeth’s government constantly feared that Mary’s supporters might link with foreign powers to overthrow the Protestant regime.
Elizabeth relied heavily on Sir Francis Walsingham’s spy network, which included informants in Catholic households, code-breakers, and agents abroad.
Methods included:
Intercepting and deciphering ciphered letters (as in the Babington Plot).
Using double agents to entrap conspirators.
Monitoring movements of foreign envoys linked to Catholic courts.
These strategies allowed the government to secure evidence against Mary, ensuring any prosecution for treason was based on documented proof.
Recusancy fines punished those who refused to attend Anglican services, making persistent Catholic loyalty costly.
Initial fines were moderate, but from the 1580s they became much harsher, with repeated offences potentially bankrupting families.
Wealthy Catholics often struggled between maintaining their faith and protecting estates from financial ruin.
The fines also served a political function: they isolated Catholic gentry from wider society by draining resources and reducing their influence.
This economic pressure limited Catholic resistance by weakening the social class most capable of leading rebellion.
Seminary priests primarily ministered to Catholics and preserved faith quietly, whereas Jesuits were seen as more politically subversive.
Jesuits such as Robert Parsons openly promoted literature questioning Elizabeth’s legitimacy, while missionaries like Edmund Campion inspired networks of recusant households.
Their international ties to Rome and Spain raised fears they were agents of foreign intervention, blurring the line between pastoral care and espionage. The government therefore treated Jesuits as political revolutionaries, rather than simply religious figures.
Mary’s arrival coincided with rising tensions between Elizabeth and Catholic Europe.
Spain’s growing power under Philip II made it the champion of Catholic causes.
France, though divided by its own religious wars, remained sympathetic to Mary.
The papal bull of 1570 encouraged European monarchs to view intervention in England as a holy duty.
These external pressures gave English Catholic conspirators confidence that foreign backing could turn local discontent into a full-scale rebellion or invasion.
Practice Questions
Question 1 (2 marks):
Who issued the papal bull Regnans in Excelsis in 1570, and what did it declare about Elizabeth I?
Mark scheme:
1 mark for identifying Pope Pius V as the issuer.
1 mark for explaining that it excommunicated Elizabeth and released her subjects from obedience to her.
Question 2 (5 marks):
Explain two ways in which Mary, Queen of Scots, increased the Catholic threat to Elizabeth I between 1568 and 1587.
Mark scheme:
Award up to 3 marks for each developed explanation. Maximum 5 marks.
Mary provided a Catholic figurehead after arriving in England in 1568 (1 mark).
Her presence gave Catholic conspirators a plausible alternative monarch (1 mark).
Plots such as the Ridolfi (1571), Throckmorton (1583), and Babington (1586) explicitly sought to replace Elizabeth with Mary (1 mark each if explained).
Evidence from the Babington Plot directly implicated Mary in treason (1 mark), leading to her execution in 1587 (1 mark if linked to the Catholic threat).
Indicative content:
Students should demonstrate understanding that Mary was central to Catholic plots and acted as a rallying point for opposition, intensifying the threat to Elizabeth’s reign.
