Elizabeth Is success in establishing herself as Queen was due above all to the stable political and religious situation she inherited from Mary I. With reference to the years 1553-1566, assess the validity of this view.
Elizabeth I’s success in establishing herself as Queen was due above all to the stable political and religious situation she inherited from Mary I. With reference to the years 1553-1566, assess the validity of this view.
Traditionally, the period between Henry VIII and Elizabeth I has been described as a Mid-Tudor Crisis, in which the minority government of Edward and the ‘sterile’ reign of Mary witnessed what Whitney Jones argues as a series of ‘crises; economic, administrative, and religious’. It therefore cannot be argued that Elizabeth inherited a stable realm, despite recent historians revisiting the reign of Mary and claiming Protestant propaganda clouded it. As a result, it is Elizabeth’s own political skill which ultimately allows her to successfully establish herself as Queen of England and implement her own policy decisions – including the reversal of the Catholic religious settlement.
Religious instability under Mary comes as no surprise, as her fervent Catholicism would most certainly have been unable to tolerate the ‘heretical’ Protestantism for long. Her swift removal of Protestant clergy under Edward, despite having few catholic priests to replace them with, proves how strongly Mary believed Catholicism was the only truth. Dickens argues that attempting to restore Catholicism was an impossible task ‘no matter how long she reigned’. Yet Mary herself underestimates the Protestant resistance and like her Privy Councilors, assumed that the majority of her subjects would voluntarily convert back to Roman Catholicism. Her initial proclamation stated that she ‘mindeth not to compel any her said subjects’ as Mary assumed they had simply been led astray.
In reality, many continued to use the 1552 Prayer Book and continue the Edwardian Church, whilst a significant number fled the country. Following the 1554 Wyatt rebellion, it becomes clear that Protestantism is stronger than Mary had first anticipated. Having underestimated her opposition who attempt to remove her from the throne in favor of her sister Princess Elizabeth, the government become more ruthless in their religious policy. The Privy Council initially discredit Protestant leaders, before following much of Europe with heretical executions. These burnings prove to be counter-productive, as Mary only serves to create martyrs who die for their beliefs. 300 protestants were executed for heresy and publically burned. This was particularly significant as it is not only religious scholars who faced such treatment, but also the normal people. The common peasant made up the majority of those burnt, either reflecting the extent of Edward’s religious policies, or the number of aristocracy who fled from Mary’s reign.
As such, the religious divides within England had not been healed and when Elizabeth became Queen, implementing yet another religious settlement would prove difficult. Nevertheless, Mary’s acknowledgement of the Catholic majority somewhat helped to calm the religious divides of the country. Mary and Reginald Pole had focused on a ‘top down’ education of Catholicism, meaning Elizabeth faced a similar problem as her predecessor – a lack of Protestant clergy. The quality of this is proved in the fact that only one Bishop converted in 1558.
A religious change was once again anticipated causing uncertainty and instability once again despite Elizabeth proclaiming she did not want to ‘make windows into men’s souls’. It has been suggested by historians such as Neal that returning Marian exiles caused a stronger Protestant settlement that Elizabeth had originally wanted meaning she was already facing problems in establishing her word as that of a Queen’s, facing opposition from the Lords. Elizabeth’s religious settlement is only narrowly passed through Parliament and this was only with the arrest of three leading fervent Catholics. Even then, she is forced to accept some compromise, such as the title of Supreme Governor of the Church rather than Supreme Head of the Church as her father had had. Nevertheless by April 1559 the Acts of Supremacy and Uniformity had passed.
