Page 51 - All About History - Issue 08-14

Elizabeth was heartbroken, but she agreed to
abstain. She gave Anjou £10,000 to continue his
war against Philip in the Netherlands, but did not
see him again. He tried to take power for himself
but failed and died a year later.
When William the Silent was assassinated in
his own house in 1584 by a Catholic fanatic, it
was clear that military intervention could not
be put off any longer and so in 1585, to the relief
of her impatient councillors, she agreed to send
a small force of men. Dudley took command in
the Netherlands but proved to be incompetent,
losing territory to Philip’s general, the Duke of
Parma. Mary was now more dangerous than

the urging of Francis Walsingham, who had no
1532-95 1540-96 ever. Elizabeth ordered her imprisonment at
Hawkins may have possessed Having sailed on his cousin 1554-1618 intention of allowing her to live much longer. He
a coat of arms, but he first John Hawkins’ expeditions, Raleigh gained Elizabeth’s arranged for a servant, one of his own spies, to
managed to find favour with Francis Drake had no love favour at court and quickly set
for the Spanish. He was
the Queen as a pirate. With delighted with his exploits, suggest that Mary smuggle letters in beer barrels,
his sights on expanding her
Elizabeth’s implicit permission, willing to circumnavigate the empire. He decided he would allowing Walsingham to read everything. When
he planned and executed a globe in order to rob them establish Britain’s first colony
series of daring raids on Spanish of their riches and deliver in North America, and told Thomas Babingdon wrote to Mary with a plan to
ports in the West Indies, but them to Elizabeth, who was the Queen it would be named assassinate Elizabeth and give her the crown Mary
after a disastrous third voyage after her: Virginia. To his great wrote back with her approval; the spymaster’s trap
he returned to England, where and continued to commission dismay, the colony at Roanoke
he began working for the Queen him to undertake raids on failed. He is often falsely had worked perfectly, and he had ensnared his
in a more direct capacity. Spanish ports. unwitting prey.
credited with bringing potatoes
and tobacco to England. Walsingham leapt into action and ordered the
conspirators’ execution. Elizabeth had always been
reluctant to execute her cousin, but she agreed
she would have to stand trial. It was no surprise
when the court decided that Mary should be put
to death. Elizabeth grieved for Mary, or at least
lamented her death. The man who had delivered
the warrant was imprisoned and stripped of his
title. Elizabeth was
always reluctant
to sign a
death

1527-1598 1530-1604 1504-72
The main religious threat to As the issue of religious As the head of the Roman
Elizabeth for the majority of tolerance became increasingly Catholic Church, Pope Pius V
her realm came from the King difficult to manage, Elizabeth saw Elizabeth’s status of
of Spain. The Pope might have hand-picked her old chaplain Queen of England and head
given the bull that deposed for the role of Archbishop of of its church not only as an
Elizabeth but the fiercely Canterbury. He was a stubborn affront to his religion, but
Catholic Philip was the man with man, as evidenced by his refusal as an act of heresy. He went
the army that could enforce it. to leave England during Queen as far as to issue a Papal
He had attempted to woo the Mary’s reign. Like Elizabeth, he Bull on 27 April 1570, which
princess while still married to was a Conformist and ruthlessly declared that her subjects no
her sister but, once rebuffed, punished those who publicly longer owed her any kind
relentlessly opposed her. strayed from the 'right' path. of allegiance.
Mary Queen of Scots being led to her death

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