Other leaders likewise had a prominent role in heightening the threat for example, the Duke of Suffolk as mentioned again in Source 3, who was determined to depose Mary in order to make way for his daughter Jane Grey, however, he was ineffective in rallying support in Leicester and thus his threat to Mary was very much limited. Sir James Croft (also referred to in Source 3) was in control of raising rebels in Herefordshire. He played a significant role in introducing the Protestant liturgy in Ireland and thus, as Mary was a Catholic Queen, Croft was able to rally support through Protestant
England was a Catholic country, and so Ireland followed in its footsteps and was also a devoted Catholic country. The Act of Supremacy meant that Henry was now the head of the church, a protestant movement. This caused uproar in Ireland since England was becoming a protestant country, and Henry expected Ireland to follow them. On the 11th June 1534, the 8th Earl of Kildare, also known as the vice-deputy of Ireland, renounced his alliance to Henry VIII due to these changes. Henry heard of this and summoned Garette Org Fitzgerald to London since he felt that the way in which Ireland was being run was against the new Henrician reformaties.
The Spanish Armada The Spanish Armada sailed from Spain in July 1588. The Spanish Armada's task was to overthrow protestant England lead by Queen Elizabeth I. Spain’s king at the time was King Phillip II he wanted to overthrow Queen Elizabeth for many reasons. At the time Spain owned the Spanish Netherlands this is nowadays Holland and Belgium. The majority of Holland didn’t like being catholic and therefore wanted its independence. Many people in Holland had become secret protestants if martyrs had publicly expressed their beliefs then they would’ve been executed.
Source K argues that the Diplomatic situation was a highlight of Henry’s failed attempt to gaining an annulment. In May 1527, Charles V and his troops invaded Rome, this caused Pope Clement VII being captured. With Clement being imprisoned and the Holy Roman Empire being invaded, it altered the diplomatic situation. This is because, the Pope had all the major influences on all catholic nations, and with him being imprisoned, and Charles being charge, it meant that he held the power over many European countries. This was a huge problem for Henry, as he needed the Pope to grant his annulment, but him being away, and Charles in charge, meant that it was impossible for him to gain anything.
Charles later did is he got Archbishop Laud to decorate the churches to make them look “more Catholic”. This made people angry because many people protestant and wanted to stay so. But that’s not the only reason religion caused the civil war: King Charles believed in the divine right (It was when the king/queen believes that god put them on the throne). Charles took all the power. Because of this, Parliament didn’t want to go with his decision.
In England, Charles’s imposition of such means the “placing of altars”, mentioned in Source B, and the prominence of catholics at court also mentioned in B, created underlying discontent. Furthermore, Charles imposition of the beauty of Holiness and the abolishment of the fed fees impropriations in 1633 made puritans extremely fearful of the apparent catholic tendencies of charles. These changes did not create truly vocalised opposition for several years. The case of John Williams and his challenge to the altar policy and the early use of Prynne are evidence, I believe of how vocalised opposition to the religious reforms was of vital importance to the collapse of the Personal rule. The general build in opposition, e.g.
In many ways, Elizabeth’s settlement took the via media between the conservative and reformist religious camps, yet the majority of the country was still Catholic. Thus, Elizabeth had made a compromised Protestant settlement in a country where a compromised Catholic settlement would have been more apt. Although she was able to placate some Catholics in the short term with conservative concessions, in time many Catholics became more conservative minded and resented the settlement which alienated them. This would have drastic political and social repercussions throughout her reign – for example, the threat of rebellion, the influence in parliament from the House of Lords, and the influence of Seminary priests and Jesuits to come. When looking at the resilience of Roman Catholicism, and the growing discontent amongst Conservatives, it is clear that Catholicism was to be, at the very least, as much of a threat as Puritanism – and given that there were more Catholics than Puritans, this threat was likely to be the most serious religious threat to Elizabeth, her country and her settlement in her entire reign.
For this question, key factors will need to be analysed in order to form a correct conclusion on Elizabeth 1's reasons for pursuing a religious settlement, such as England's religious turbulence or relations with powerful European countries. Beliefs in Elizabeth society on religion and gender roles will also need to be analysed when answering this question. Firstly, the religious turbulence that had plagued England for over twenty years greatly impacted Elizabeth's decision. England was a catholic country with the head of the church being the Pope. This continued until Henry VIII, so desperate to produce a male heir, broke Papal control over England and named himself Head of the Church that taught an offshoot of Christianity based on the teachings of Martin Luther, the Protestant Church of England.
There is evidence to suggest that when the marriage between Mary and Phillip was proposed in 1553 people were fearful it would lead to Spanish domination. Mary was a woman and so people believed that as a man Phillip would be able to dominate her decisions. Mary received a petition against it and some historians suggest it was the cause of Wyatts rebellion. There was a great fear that Engand would be dragged into the Hapsburg-Valois wars which would drain England economically. However in 1553 when Mary proposed the marriage treaty England was economically drained and therefore vulnerable.
Angered men were coming together to protect themselves and what they had left, willing to attack anything perceived as a threat. This caused problems for Henry, especially in regards to the law and there were also rumours of pressure on ordinary people from the Catholic League. In 1594, French Huguenots gathered for their first assembly and continued to have three more. They used these to discuss plans of action for gaining hope for their own future, deciding on demands to make to the King in order to ensure a better future. In order to keep the Huguenots peaceful, Henry knew he would have to settle them in a way that tackled their demands.