Religious Issues -- Henry VIII vs. Elizabeth I

1
Elizabethan England
2
The Acts

• An Act of Submission of the Clergy (1534)
• prevented the Church from making any regulations
  without the King's consent.
• The Ecclesiastical Appointments Act (1534)
• required the clergy to elect Bishops nominated by
  the Sovereign.
• The Act of Supremacy (1534)
• declared that the King was "the only Supreme Head
  in Earth of the Church of England
• The Treasons Act (1534)
• made it high treason, punishable by death, to
  refuse to acknowledge the King as the Church
  leader.
• Act of Succesion (1534)
• Rejecting the decisions of the Pope, Parliament
  validated the marriage between Henry and Anne.

3
Queen Elizabeth Tudor I

• Born September 7, 1533 to King Henry VIII and
• Anne Boleyn, his second wife.
• Coronated January 15, 1559 at Westminster
  Abbey
• Died March 24, 1603 at age 69

4
Pre-Ruling Conflicts

• Before she became Queen, Elizabeth, a Protestant,
  clashed with her sister Mary and other Catholics.
• While her brother Edward was King, Elizabeth was
  unrightfully implicated in a plot to overthrow
  the young King by his uncle Thomas Seymour.
• Then, in the Wyatt Rebellion of 1554, Queen Mary
  accused Elizabeth of being in the plot to
  overthrow her.

5
The Captivity of Elizabeth

• After the Wyatt Rebellion, Elizabeth was locked
  up in the Tower of London even though there was
  no evidence against her.
• She was then moved to the gate house at
  Woodstock Manor in Oxfordshire for one year.
• She was let go at the bequest of Marys husband,
  King Phillip of Spain.

6
Elizabeths Refusal to Marry

• Most thought that the Queen would marry within
  her first year or so as Queen.
• Elizabeth valued the independence she had and did
  not feel she needed a man to guide her.
• It would have also been politically difficult for
  her to choose a suitable husband.
• The Privy Council, whose job it was to choose a
  husband for the Queen, was too divided to ever
  agree on a suitable mate.
• This made it much easier for Elizabeth to refuse
  any marriage suggestions or proposals.

7
'Semper Eadem' ('Always the Same)

• This was the motto of Elizabeths reign, as her
  main goal was to stabilize the formerly
  struggling country.

8
Re-Establishing Protestantism

• After Elizabeth was named Queen, she
  re-established the Protestant Church in England.
• She herself believed in toleration of all
  religions.
• She was often forced to take a harsher stance on
  punishment of Catholics because of the schism
  between the two sects.
• There is only one Christ, Jesus, one faith all
  else is a dispute over trifles.

9
The Act of Supremacy

• Gave Elizabeth ultimate control of the Church of
  England.
• Title of monarch modified to "Supreme Governor
  of the Church in England". 
• Also included an oath of loyalty to the Queen
  that the clergy were expected to take.
• If they did not take it, then they would lose
  their office. 

10
The Act of Uniformity

• Implemented in the summer of 1559
• Crux of Elizabethan Church, establishing a set
  form of worship.
• The Prayer books of Edward VI were fused into
  one, and were to be used in every church in the
  land.
• Church attendance on Sundays and holy days was
  made compulsory.
• The wording of the Communion was to be vague so
  that Protestants and Catholics could both
  participate,
• Had trouble getting passed through Parliament.
• A large number of the Parliament, extremists on
  both sides, opposed the bill

11
Puritans

• Puritans put power in the local parish, above
  anything else, which put it in direct conlict
  with the monarchy.
• The Church of England was more dedicated to
  England and the Queen than to God, which troubled
  Protestants
• Elizabeth's government was able to keep the
  Puritan movement underground. 
• John Whitgift, Archbishop of Canterbury, adopted
  some reforms, but did not want to create Puritan
  martyrs, as Mary I had created Protestant ones. 
• He was also more interested in establishing a
  uniform clergy rather than debating doctrine. 

12
The Northern Rebellion

• In 1569, The Catholics of Northern England
  started a rebellion with the hopes of taking away
  the English crownfrom Elizabeth and giving it to
  Mary, Queen of Scots.
• Led to a Papal Bull set forth by Pope Pius V, The
  Bull of Deposition (Regnans in Excelsis),
  excommunicating Elizabeth.
• The Bull of Deposition was issued after the
  putting down of the rebellion but it led
  Elizabeth to stop her policy of religious
  toleration.
• The Catholic powers of Europe were also ordered
  to act against the unlawful queen as she was a
  heretic and enemy of the true faith. 

13
War with Spain

• Elizabeth had rebuke repeated offers of marriage
  from Philip II of Spain
• This angered him
• He also saw himself as the champion of
  Catholicism ans sought to crush the Protestant
  Brits
• WAR!!!

14
1588

• British troops mass at Tilbury in anticipation of
  Spanish invasion
• Elizabeth delivers a moving speech
• Spanish Armada sials for England
• Weather and Sir Francis Drake destroy Spanish
  Armada (1588)
• England on the ascent .. Spain in decline

15
Spanish Armada
16
Political Skill

• Elizabeths approach to the monarchy was
  drastically different from any of her
  predecessors because of her willingness to listen
  to those around her.
• She would change a policy if it was unpopular.
• Her approach to politics was serious,
  conservative, and cautious.

17
Advisors

• Elizabeth was especially gifted at choosing smart
  people to help her lead.

18
Robert Dudley

• The handsome Robert Dudley
• was appointed Master of the
• Horse, a position that required
• close contact with the Queen.
• Cecil and Dudley disliked each other
• They were both rivals for the Queens attentione.
• two rival factions developed in court around the
  two men
• It was clear from the beginning that Robert
  Dudley was the queen's favorite courtier.  They
  were openly affectionate and Dudley enjoyed
  flaunting the queen's favor. 

19
Indecisive or Compromising?

• Many were annoyed by the Queens refusal to take
  sides on the issue of religion.
• Protestants felt that she should be more harsh in
  her treatment of Catholics and punish their
  religious worship as crime.

• But by not persecuting Catholics, she struck a
  balance that lasted through much of her reign.
• She had to endure much less political struggle
  than her siblings, who were more extremist
  towards either side.

20
Scotland

• Many believed that Mary, Queen of Scots, a
  catholic, was the rightful Queen of England.
• Since Mary too was a female sovereign Queen,
  Elizabeth was careful about how she recognized
  Marys power because she didnt want to be in the
  same situation.

• After Mary was forced out of Scotland and fled to
  England, Elizabeth locked her up in the Tower of
  London for 20 years.
• Although Elizabeth did not want to have her
  cousin executed, she was forced to send Mary to
  execution after the plot of Babington was
  uncovered.

21
Succession

• On her deathbed, Elizabeth passed the crown onto
  James of Scotland.
• He was the son of Mary, Queen of Scots,
  Elizabeths cousin
• Elizabeth felt comfortable in giving the crown to
  James because he had been raised by Protestant
  minister with whom Elizabeth had a correspondence.

22
How She Left the Country

• England was one of the most powerful and
  prosperous countries in the world.
• In spite of this, the country was saddled with
  tremendous debt
• It had proved itself to be the strongest Naval
  force in the World.