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Elizabeth I - foreign policy, themes - Coggle Diagram
Elizabeth I - foreign policy
issues of succession
marriage
Parliament were keen to bring up the topic of marriage and encourage her to marry, but Elizabeth felt that the issue of marriage and the succession came under the royal prerogative and should not be discussed by parliament
when Parliament brought up the issue of marriage again in 1566, Elizabeth banished those that had brought it up (Leicester and the Earl of Pembroke) from the Presence Chamber - she was unwilling to discuss the matter
as a single woman, if Elizabeth did not marry and died without an heir, then this would create an issue of succession - this was a huge fear of the councillors, especially as she had been ill with smallpox on Oct 1562
possible suitors
Philip II of Spain - he was a Catholic so this was unlikely - could be seen as a turning point in the relationship between Spain and England
Robert Dudley - if he married Elizabeth, this would have eroded the influence of William Cecil
Archdukes Ferdinand and Charles - both Catholics
succession
if she died without choosing a successor, this could lead to a full-on succession crisis - civil war, foreign invasion, religious strife
possible successors
Lady Catherine Grey - she was disgraced
James VI of Scotland - had the best hereditary claim, had two sons, was a Protestant - councillors wanted him but Elizabeth showed no proof that she accepted the succession
Mary, Queen of Scots - she was a Catholic
ministers did not want a Catholic succession, which is why they urged Elizabeth to marry
Mary, Queen of Scots
Catholic plots
Throckmorton, 1583 - foreign landing in Sussex followed by overthrow of Elizabeth and her replacement by Mary, foiled by Walsingham's espionage - Led to creation of bond association, worsened Anglo-Spanish relations, tightened conditions of Mary's captivity
Parry, 1585 - plot to assasinate the Queen - Led to acceleration of parliamentary proceedings on a bill to ensure the Queen's safety
Ridolfi, 1571 - involved conspiracy for Mary to marry the Duke of Norfolk and overthrow Elizabeth - Allowed Burghley to ensure the execution of Norfolk for treason
Babington, 1586 - Mary complicit in a plot to assasinate Elizabeth, uncovered by Walsingham's codebreaker - Enabled Burghley to ensure Mary's execution
Mary's execution
at the trial, Elizabeth's command no sentence was pronounced - judges also did not wish to condemn Mary
Burghley used parliamentary pressure to influence Elizabeth as he believed that the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots was necessary to protect Elizabeth and the Protestant state
Elizabeth was reluctant to execute Mary as she was another monarch and did not want to give the impression that killing a monarch was acceptable
Mary was finally executed in 1587 and was considered a martyr by many English Catholics - this was a turning point in relations between England and Spain as Philip did not approve of Elizabeth executing a Catholic monarch
context
Mary, Queen of Scots had to flee Scotland to England in 1567 during a brief civil war
during her time in England, she was the focus of many plots to overthrow Elizabeth as many Catholics viewed her as the rightful successor
linked with religion and succession - Mary, Queen of Scots was a Catholic, so although she would otherwise be a suitable successor, she was not chosen
relations with Spain - key events that led to the deterioration of the relationship with Spain
situation with the Netherlands - Philip wanted tighter Spanish control in the Netherlands and England supported the Dutch Protestants
Mary's death and the refusal of Philip's marriage proposal - beginning of England and Spain drifting apart - previously had a closer relationship due to mary's marriage to Philip
sea beggars in English ports - Elizabeth expelled sea beggars from English ports in 1572 - they landed in a Dutch port and sparked a full-scale revolt against Spain
trivial matters 1580 - there were a number of trivial actions that contibuted to tensions between England and Spain eg. Elizabeth knighted Francis Drake for circumnavigating the globe, supported the Portuguese pretender, Don Antonio and treated the Spanish ambassador with contempt
Treaty of Joinville 1584 between Philip II and the Catholic league in France, scared Elizabeth, who retaliated with the Treaty of Nonsuch 1585 - sent troops to the Netherlands to help the rebels
execution of Mary, Queen of Scots 1587 - murder of a Catholic monarch angered Philip, issue that led directly to the Armada
trade issues - eg. in Nov 1568, Spanish vessels carrying 400,000 florins took shelter in English ports and Elizabeth impounded the money, John Hawkins attempted to break Spanish trading monopoly in the Carribbean
The Spanish Armada and war with Spain
reasons for Spanish defeat
weather - Armada was forced to turn back due to unfavourable winds
the English had better gunnery and manoeuverability
course of the Armada
22 July 1588 - Armada sets sail from La Coruña with the objective to reach port of Gravelines in Netherlands, to then board ships and invade England
29 July - 6 August - Armada spotted off the coast of Cornwall - Battle in the English Channel with no decisive winner
April 1587 - sailing of the Armada was delayed by English attack on Spanish ships in harbour at Cadiz
August - Armada forced to turn back due to unfavourable wind
the continuing war
war at sea
from 1595, 3 naval attacks were launched on mainland Spain - managed to capture and occupy cadiz for a short time but they did not have a strategic follow up
attack on Panama failed and Hawkins and Drake died at sea
England had a few successes through small-scale naval attacks
in 1596, Philip ordered a fleet to invade England, but as it was approaching Autumn it was defeated by storms
Spain attempted to exploit the rebellion in Ireland - English fleets sent to attack Spanish fleets but were forced back to Plymouth by the weather - Spanish fleet would have landed unopposed in Ireland if not for the wind
war in the Netherlands
in 1589, Sir Francis Vere was made commander of English forces in the Netherlands - forged good relations with Dutch leader and was able to gradually recover territories lost to the Duke of Parma
war in the Netherlands was expensive - war at sea was favoured for this reason
by 1594, the Spanish had been expelled from the northern Netherlands, in part due to the English crown
war continued from 1588-1604, after both Elizabeth and Philip had died - Elizabeth viewed the war as being for national and religious security against the Catholic conspiracy
themes
trade
religion