The Babington Plot of 1586 was a conspiracy to co-ordinate a Spanish invasion of England with a rising of English Catholics, to assassinate Elizabeth I, and to replace her on the throne with Mary, Queen of Scots. Sir Anthony Babington was the go-between in the secret preparations. Walsingham monitored Babington's correspondence with the captive Queen Mary until he had enough evidence of her treasonable intentions to have her tried and executed in 1587, Babington having been executed after torture at Tyburn. Research Babington Plot
The Black Acts were the acts of the Scottish parliaments of the Jameses I to V, of Queen Mary, and of James VI; so called from their being printed in black-letter. Research Black Acts
The Sadler Papers are a collection of dispatches written by Sir Ralph Sadler, and sent from Scotland where he was working as a diplomat. The dispatches were edited by Sir Walter Scott in 1809, and provide a useful source of contemporary information on Scottish affairs during the reign of Queen Mary and the early years of the reign of James VI. Research Sadler Papers
Alfonso Castro was a Spanish theologian and pulpit orator. He was born in 1495 at Zamora and died in 1558. He was chaplain to Philip II and accompanied him in 1554 to England when he went to marry Queen Mary. Research Alfonso Castro
Don Alonso de Ercilla y Zuniga was a Spanish soldier and poet. He was born in 1533 and died in 1595. He became page to the Infant Don Philip, accompanied him on his travels, and in 1554 went with him to England, on the occasion of his marriage with Queen Mary. After this he fought against the Araucanians of South America in Chile, and his epic La Araucana is based on the events of this war. It was first published in 1569, is written in excellent Spanish, and occupies an honourable position in the national literature. Research Don de Ercilla y Zuniga
James Hepburn, the earl of Bothwell, was a Scottish nobleman. He was born about 1526 and died in 1576. It is believed that he was deeply concerned in the murder of Lord Darnley, Queen Mary's husband, and that he was even supported by the queen. He was charged with the crime and tried, but, appearing along with 4000 followers, was readily acquitted. He was now in high favour with the queen, and with or without her consent he seized her at Edinburgh, and carrying her a prisoner to DunbarCastle prevailed upon her to marry him after he had divorced his own wife. But by this time the mind of the nation was roused on the subject of Bothwell's character and actions. A confederacy was formed against him, and in a short time Mary was a prisoner in Edinburgh, and Bothwell had been forced to flee to Denmark, where he died in 1576. Research Earl of Bothwell
Lord Edward Hyde Cornbury was a British aristocrat. He was born in 1661 and died in 1724. The cousin of Queen Mary and Queen Anne, he was made Governor of New York by William III in 1702. In 1708, after six years of severe rule, he was removed, but for a long time was imprisoned for debt. Research Edward Cornbury
Elizabeth I was queen of England from 1558 to 1603. She was born in 1533 at Greenwich and died in 1603. Elizabeth I was the daughter of Henry VIII and Anne Boleyn. Almost immediately after her birth, Elizabeth was declared heiress to the crown. After her mother had been beheaded in 1536, both Elizabeth and her sister Mary were declared bastards, and she was finally placed after Prince Edward and the Lady Mary in the order of succession.
On the accession of Edward VIElizabeth was committed to the care of the queen-dowager Catherine; and after the death of Catherine and beheadal of her consort Thomas Seymour she was closely watched at Hatfield,where she received a classical education under William Grindal and Roger Ascliam. At the death of Edward VIElizabeth vigorously supported the title of Mary against the pretensions of Lady Jane Grey, but continued throughout the whole reign an object of suspicion and surveillance. In self-defence she made every demonstration of zealous adherence to the Roman Catholic faith, but her inclinations were well known. On the 17th of November, 1558, Mary's reign came to a close, and Elizabeth was immediately recognized queen by parliament.
The accuracy of Elizabeth's judgment showed itself in her choice of advisers, Parker, a moderate divine (Archbishop of Canterbury 1559), aiding her in ecclesiastical policy; while William Cecil, LordBurleigh, assisted her in foreign affairs. The first great object of her reign was the settlement of religion, to effect which a parliament was called on the 25th of January, and dissolved on the 8th of May, its object having been accomplished - the return of England to Protestantism, the royal supremacy asserted, and the revised prayer-book enforced by the Act of Uniformity. Freed from the tyranny of Mary's reign the Puritans began to claim predominance for their own dogmas, while the supporters of the Established Church were unwilling to grant them even liberty of worship. The Puritans, therefore, like the Catholics, were made irreconcilable enemies of the existing order, and increasingly stringent measures were adopted agsinst them. But the struggle against the Catholics was the most severe, chiefly because they were supported by foreign powers; so that while their religion was wholly prohibited, even exile was forbidden them, in order to prevent their intrigues abroad. Many Catholics, particularly priests, suffered death during this reign; but simple nonconformity, from whatever cause, was pursued with the severest penalties, and many more clergymen were driven out of the church by differences about the position of altars, the wearing of caps, and such like matters, than were forced to resign by the change from Rome to Reformation.
Elizabeth's first parliament approached her on a subject which, next to religion, was the chief trouble of her reign, the succession to the crown. They requested her to marry, but she declared her intention to live and die a virgin; and she consistently declined in the course of her life such suitors as the Duc d'Alencon, Prince Erik of Sweden, the Archduke Charles of Austria, and Philip of Spain. While, however, she felt that she could best maintain her power by remaining unmarried, she knew how to temporize with suitors for political ends, and showed the greatest jealousy of all pretenders to the English succession.
With the unfortunate Mary, queen of Scots, were connected many of the political events of Elizabeth's reign. On her accession the country was at war with France. Peace was easily concluded in 1559; but the assumption by Francis and Mary of the royal arms and titles of England led to an immediate interference on the part of Elizabeth in the affairs of Scotland. She entered into a league with the Lords of the Congregation, or leaders of the Reformed party; and throughout her reign this party was frequently serviceable in furthering her policy. She also gave early support to the Huguenot party in France, and to the Protestants in the Netherlands, so that throughout Europe she was looked on as the head of the Protestant party. This policy roused the inplacable resentment of Philip, who strove in turn to excite the Catholics against her both in her own dominions and in Scotland.
Mary, Queen of Scots, threatened by rebellion in Scotland, fled to England only to be mprisoned by Elizabeth I in 1567 and this led to a series of conspiracies, beginning with that under the Earls of Northumberland and Westmoreland, and ending with the plot of Babington, which finally determined Elizabeth to make away with her captive. The execution of Queen Mary in 1587, though it has stained her name to posterity, tended to confirm her power among her contemporaries and led to outright war with Spain. In 1588 Philip of Spain's invasion fleet, the ' Armada', was defeated. There were two further Armadas in the 1590s, and an Irish revolt in 1595, assisted by Spain, which was eventually put down in 1601. The financial strains caused by the war against Spain (made worse by poor harvests) meant that Elizabeth did not try to put the Crown on a permanently solvent basis. In addition to sharp debates over revenue-raising measures such as monopolies, Parliament continued its pressure on the Queen to deal with the question of the succession.
During her reign the splendour of her government at home and abroad was sustained by such men as Burleigh, Bacon, Walsingham, and Throgmorton; but she had personal favourites of less merit who were often more brilliantly rewarded. Chief of these were Dudley, whom she created Earl of Leicester, and whom she was disposed to marry, and Essex, whose violent passions brought about his ruin. He was beheaded in 1601, but Elizabeth never forgave herself his death. Her own health soon after gave way and she died on the 24th of March, 1603, naming James VI of Scotland as her successor.
To Queen Elizabeth I may be traced the origins of the English colonisation of North America .In 1578 she granted to Sir Humphrey Gilbert letters patent to conquer and possess any heathen lands not already in the hands of Christians. Humphrey Gilbert's expedition failed, but in 1584 Elizabeth granted a similar charter to Walter Raleigh. In 1585, with the Queen's assistance, Walter Raleigh sent seven vessels and 100 colonists to settle in Virginia, which had been taken in the Queen's name under the charter of 1584 and named by Elizabeth. In 1603 Gosnold named one of the Elizabeth Islands for her. Research Elizabeth I
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Abbreviations
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