Elizabethan Church Settlement

Elizabeth is seen as a 'chip off the old block', and was like her father in rulership as she was able to construct a middle way and leave her religious beliefs out of the nation to make the people happy religiously. This was unlike her siblings Edward and Mary, who were religious extremists. Edward brought upon the nation an anti-Catholic, pro-Protestant stance, whilst Mary immediately changed that back to papal Catholicism, used far before Henrician Catholicism. Unlike Elizabeth, they could not divorce their personal religious from rulership.

Elizabeth retained visual Catholic customs such as paintings and relics to an extent, whilst also moving to Protestant doctrine, using the prayer book that was under Edward. This was a smart move, as it retains the support of the laity as they can see Catholicism in action, therefore appeasing the masses, but Protestantism was hidden in the doctrine.

It can be argued that the heart of Elizabeth's Church Reform was 'Catholicism seen, Protestantism heard'.

Elizabeth was not ultimately bothered about what happened behind closed doors, and she was happy for people to worship anything at home, but she ordered that the people must support and attend her Church in public, as a sign of respect to her. 'I do not wish to make windows into men's soul's'.

Mary Stuart (Mary Queen of Scots) - Descendant from Henry VIII, therefore a threat to Elizabeth's reign. She was a Catholic tudor, therefore highly supported by the majority of people in the country. Mary also believed that she was the rightful monarch after being kicked off of her throne in Scotland. She was a monarch in her own right and had international recognition, which was hard for Elizabeth as she was not just some rebel that Elizabeth could imprison and execute. Philip of Spain was also a Catholic and potential father-in-law to Mary, which also caused issues as he was an international power and supporter of Mary. 

The Northern Rebellion - Caused by wanting Mary on the throne. It was run by the nobility (earls) in 1569. Sussex and Leicester factions.

Marian exiles - Extreme Protestants, opposed Elizabeth even though she was a Protestant herself. Came through from Mary's reign when they fled to extreme Protestant states (Germanic). They made Elizabeth change her title to 'Supreme Governess' as they were not happy with women taking the title of God.

No heir - Elizabeth was without a husband and she was heirless. No Tudor to pass the throne down to.

Mary Queen of Scots' arrival to England reduced the tolerance Elizabeth had towards Catholics. Elizabeth quickly started clamping down on secret Catholic worship, which went against what she put forward at the start of her reign. It started in 1570 after the excommunication and the Papal Bull given by the Pope.

The Northern Rebellion - Took place in the North where there is a strong Catholic presence. It can be analysed that this has happened before, with the likes of the Pilgrimage of Grace. The North were particularly hard to govern, and were more loyal to the specific Northern nobility than the Monarch.

The Northern Rebellion started because the Northern earls had been replaced by other nobility in Court chosen by Elizabeth. This made the Northern earls angry from losing their power. - Political issues.

The peasantry joined the Northern Rebellion because they were told to and because they had a lot of respect for their local nobility. (neo-feudal uprising).