Question 4

Why was there no opposition to Elizabeth I's succession? 

• Many at the time were surprised there was no large scale revolt when she became queen
• Her father, Henry VIII had declared her illegitimate when she was 3
• Although the decision was reversed in 1543 the stigma had not been entirely removed
• Mary sent her to the Tower
• Fortunate to escape with her life when Wyatt rebelled (1554)
• The 16^th century belief that women didn't have the ability to rule and couldn't control men and keep order was reinforced by Mary's reign
• Elizabeth wasn't taught the skills for running a country
• England still largely Catholic and Elizabeth’s well-known Protestant sympathies made an unattractive prospect – but there was no rebellion
• It was 11 years into the reign before there was a major disturbance
• Although Elizabeth had been bastardised, she was a daughter of Henry 8 and the loyalty to the Tudor dynasty which helped Mary to become queen in 1553 may have worked for Elizabeth too – like Mary, she was a Tudor
• People wanted stability – the years since Henry's death had seen one crisis after another
• This was particularly true under Edward VI when there were fears that there would be a return to the disorder of the Wars of the Roses
• To avoid this there would have to be strong firm government
• Elizabeth would be given a chance
• She was the legal heir, and after the disasters of Mary's later years Elizabeth was welcomed by many
• Mary alienated many by: a) her Spanish marriage; b) reliance on Spanish advisors; c) religious persecution; d) disastrous war with France; e) loss of Calais

Elizabeth's qualities

• Although she was only 25 and never taught the skills to rule, she developed many of the qualities needed while she was surviving during Mary's reign
• Intelligent, charming and cunning – crucial in the early days
• She acted and behaved like a queen who expected obedience
• Intelligence and political skill seen in her early actions
• Coronation performed quickly to make it clear there was no doubt about her right to be queen
• It was turned into a spectacle to create an image of splendour and power
• Pageants en route were used to emphasise her special role, show that she was worthy of the throne, and that she was Protestant
• Final message of the procession said that she was Deborah 'the judge and restorer of Israel', God's deliverer from the horrors of Mary's reign
• She set up a council that helped bring stability
• Removed many Marian councillors but kept those who had enormous power: Earls of Arundel, Pembroke, Derby and Shrewsbury
• She was willing to give any, including religious conservatives, the benefits of her patronage if they didn't uphold the Roman supremacy
• She moved quickly to arrest or disarm potential opponents
• Bishop White of Winchester was arrested – he had used Mary's funeral to warn of the dangers of heresy under Elizabeth
• Same was true at local level but there was no great purge of local officers – she didn't want to alienate them
• In all her actions she wanted to exclude as few as possible from her favours

Religious Policy

• Helped to prevent disorder
• She kept the likely direction of religious settlement obscure
• The Acts of Uniformity and Supremacy carefully worded to give hope to all subjects
• Act of Supremacy did not make her Head of the Church, allowing Catholics the chance to accept her title as they believed the Pope was head of the Church on earth
• Catholics not seriously persecuted so had little reason to revolt
• Elizabeth lucky in that Catholics confused by lack of direction from their leaders and by the gentleness of her settlement
• Pope didn't encourage revolt hoping Elizabeth and England would remain in Catholic fold
• This allowed them to live with the regime

Philip II

• Unwilling to get involved in English affairs or provide foreign help to potential rebels
• He hoped to marry Elizabeth so didn't want to offend her
• Also had little to gain from supporting Catholic rebellion
• The Catholic claimant was Mary Queen of Scots who was pro-French
• Spain thus unwilling to act against Elizabeth in case England would be taken over by a Franco-Scottish alliance
• This would give France control of the Channel and threaten Spain's hold in the Netherlands
• So Spain supported Elizabeth

Conclusion

• As with Mary it was not her religion but legitimacy and the Tudor name that was the greatest advantage she had
• She was fortunate with the foreign situation
• She was skilled enough to be able to exploit both this and the weakness of her enemies at home