Source 3 on the other hand, a letter written to the King of Spain in 1583 by the Spanish Ambassador states that the Puritans were “greatly increasing”, meaning that they were getting stronger. This suggests that they were in fact a threat to Elizabeth, and the fact that it states they were “killing all Catholics” implies that perhaps they were not only a threat to Elizabeth, but to the Catholics as well. Nevertheless, the Spanish Ambassador, who was Catholic and therefore biased against the Puritans anyway, wrote the source. Moreover, the Ambassador would be more likely to exaggerate to create additional sympathy for the Catholics. Furthermore, the law enforced in 1581, that no Catholic service was to be held, would have encouraged the Ambassador seeing as the laws were fairly strict on Catholics. At the time, relations were also not very good between Spain and England. The source does state that the numbers of Puritans were “increasing” and there were plots to “[depose]” Queen Elizabeth, and although “some” were “in favour” of punishment, it was “prevented.” The source however does not state how at the time John Whitgift had a campaign running against the Puritans, so the Catholics were not as helpless as the Ambassador makes them out to be. All in all, this source is limited in stating whether the Puritans were in fact a threat to Elizabeth or not.
Source 4 is another extract from William Camden’s History of the Queen Elizabeth from 1615. This was written at a time where the threat of the Puritans was no longer at its peak, unlike Source 2, the other extract from the same book. However, the threat is still implied to be fairly big, when Camden talks of how some men were “commanded” “to be committed to prison,” suggesting that the Puritans were obviously a big enough threat for them to be imprisoned. The source also talks of how the number of “followers increased,” suggesting that the threat was about to increase or already had. However, the source was written on the orders of William Cecil, who was incredibly close to Elizabeth, therefore it is likely to be biased towards her, so in some cases, the threat may be increased to show how strong she was, or the threat may be decreased to show that Elizabeth was a powerful Queen. For instance, it states that people were “favouring too much” of the Roman Catholic religion. However, whether it is to be believed, is another question. The source can be said as limited, but from what information is given by the source, the threat of the Puritans is implied to be fairly huge, supporting Source 3’s argument.
Source 5, written by the Earl of Hertford is a comment on the Puritans in the 1580s. At the time, the Puritans threat was said to be at its peak, therefore the source may be biased against them, especially if the author was Catholic. It talks of how “they shoot the bishops,” suggesting he himself is a Catholic, perhaps making the source a little less biased. The Earl seems to be intimidated, seeing them as a threat to the “nobility”, i.e. him. This supports the idea suggested in Source 4, where it was said that their numbers were “greatly increasing”. If the numbers increase,t hen the threat will increase, especially for the nobility, according to the Earl. However, seeing as the source is based on personal feeling and seems biased, it is limited, because it does not state what action was taken to get rid of the threat. The fact that he seems intimidated suggests that the threat must have been fairly big, but the Earl was Catholic, immediately suspecting the source. Consequently the threat of the Puritans can be said as fairly huge, but not entirely based on the source.
Source 6, very different to the other sources, is written by a Puritan in 1588-89. It talks of “ignorant priests” and “shameless bishops,” which perhaps shows both sides of the story, making it unbiased. Also, the fact that a Puritan themselves had written from experience shows that the source is fairly unbiased. However, because the source is an extract from a leaflet, it is more likely to be limited, seeing as leaflets are aimed at different audiences therefore may not contain the full amount of information that may be needed. Hence, the threat of the Puritans according to this source was fairly huge, but was not intended to be huge. This is evident when he says “is it any marvel,” as in it should be expected from the society at the time.
All in all, the sources show that the Puritans were in fact a threat. However, the extent of the threat is not made too clear. Also, the sources hint that Queen Elizabeth got rid of the threat before it could develop any further, so perhaps the threat could have increased, had she not imprisoned or given harsh punishments to the open leaders.
