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

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