Assess the pressures on Elizabeth when making her Religious Settlement

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  • Assess the pressures on Elizabeth when making her Religious Settlement
    • Elizabeth's personal beliefs and background
      • Legitimacy
        • Child of a second marriage so not legitimate in the eyes of the Catholic church
        • Fundamental point when putting forward the Settlement as she risked jeopardising her claim to the throne
      • Personal beliefs
        • On Christmas day 1558 she told the bishop not to elevate the host, as this implied a Catholic practice
        • She retained some Catholic elements as she like elaborate Church music and disliked the idea of a married clergy
        • Elizabeth believed she has the divine right to be the monarch
          • She should be able to shape the policy ( religion was a prerogative issue)
    • Foreign Situation
      • Spain
        • Phillip allowed Elizabeth to follow her own religious beliefs
        • Although Phillip was Catholic, he did not want England falling into the hands of  the French
        • This allowed her to be less concerned  about the French threat because Phillip would support her
      • Situation in Scotland
        • Scotland had a viable claim to the English throne so Elizabeth did not want to anger them by becoming a radical Protestant
        • Mary de Guise was ruling while Mary was in France and she was overthrown by Catholic Lords so Elizabeth had less to worry about
      • War with France
        • England has been at was with France and Scotland
        • To achieve success she had been advised to not become aggressively Protestant
        • Due to her signing away their territory in Calais it had been agreed that Elizabeth could pursue her own religion
    • Domestic Situation
      • Catholics in the House of Lords
        • Mary appointed bishops in the House of Lords and they were not prepared to compromise over religion
        • They managed to defeat her first proposal
        • She then sent them to the tower which was crucial in the voting and allowed her to pass:
          • Act of Uniformity
          • Act of Supremacy
      • Returning Exiles
        • Puritans had radical views but did not put much pressure of Elizabeth
        • She had a personal dislike of Puritans but because there was so few, they were not a major consideration of hers

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