Elizabeth I & Mary Queen of Scots (OCR GCSE History B (Schools History Project)): Revision Note

Summary

Mary, Queen of Scots, was a significant problem for Elizabeth. The fact that Mary was both a Catholic and heir to the English Throne proved a great incentive for Catholics both at home and abroad to plan to kill Elizabeth.

Mary was implicated in several plots against Elizabeth but it was her involvement in the Babington Plot that led to Mary's execution.

Who was Mary Queen of Scots?

• Mary, Queen of Scots, was Elizabeth's cousin

  • She was also a direct descendant of Henry VII, the first Tudor monarch

• She had been crowned Queen of Scots aged just nine-months-old

  • Aged five, she moved to France in preparation for a marriage to the future French King

  • Mary was briefly the French Queen

  • After the death of her husband, Francis II, she returned to Scotland after 14 years away

Elizabeth I and the problem of Mary, Queen of Scots

• When back in Scotland, Mary was in an unfortunate position

  • She was the Catholic Queen of a country where most of the powerful lords were Protestants

• Scandal and the murder of her second husband, Lord Darnley, upset the Scottish nobles

  • After the death of her husband, Mary married the Earl of Bothwell

    • He was the main suspect in Darnley's murder

  • This proved too much for the Scottish lords

    • The nobles removed Mary from the Scottish Throne and replaced her with her infant son, James

    • Mary was imprisoned but managed to escape and fled to England

• Mary hoped her cousin Elizabeth would take pity on her and support her in an attempt to reclaim the Scottish Crown

  • But Mary's arrival in England caused significant problems for Elizabeth

Support of English Catholics

• From 1553 to 1557, England had been under the Catholic rule of Mary I

  • In 1558, the majority of England’s population was Catholic

  • Many English Catholics believed that Mary, Queen of Scots, was the rightful heir after Mary I’s death in 1558

• Mary’s mother, Mary of Guise, was a member of a Catholic noble family from France

  • Her lineage gave Mary, Queen of Scots, a powerful connection to France, whose power was rising in the 16th century

  • This connection to France would increase England’s strength and reputation in Europe

• Mary, Queen of Scots, also had the support of Philip II of Spain

  • Philip wanted a Catholic monarch to rule England

  • He believed England should remain a Catholic ally of Spain after the death of his wife, Mary I

  • After Elizabeth rejected Philip II’s offer of marriage, Philip wanted Elizabeth deposed

  • Mary, Queen of Scots, was the logical successor to the throne if Elizabeth were removed

• This all combined to make the murder of Elizabeth seem to be a solution for some English Catholics

The execution of Mary Queen of Scots

• The Ridolfi Plot (opens in a new tab) of 1571 and the Throckmorton Plot (opens in a new tab) of 1583 both involved plans to overthrow Elizabeth I and replace her with Mary Queen of Scots

  • On both occasions, Elizabeth refused to punish Mary for her part in the plots

  • This changed with the uncovering of the Babington Plot

The Babington Plot

• Anthony Babington was a servant of the Earl of Shrewsbury whose role involved delivering notes to Mary

  • He became involved in a plot to replace Elizabeth on the Throne with Mary

  • This became known as the Babington Plot

What happened in the Babington Plot?

• In July 1586, Babington wrote to Mary explaining his plot

• Walsingham, Elizabeth’s spymaster, monitored Mary closely after the Throckmorton Plot (opens in a new tab)

  • Walsingham wanted to catch Mary in the act of plotting

  • This would give Elizabeth the evidence needed to punish Mary

  • His spy network was intercepting Mary’s outgoing and incoming letters

    • Walsingham cracked the cipher that Babington and Mary used in their letters

    • He used the cipher to decode the letters

  • Walsingham placed spies within Mary’s household

    • They persuaded Mary that it was safe to communicate in secret letters

    • Mary placed the letters in beer barrels

• Walsingham allowed Babington’s plot to develop

  • He wanted enough evidence to incriminate Mary in treason

  • He was waiting for Mary to send a letter that showed her full involvement in Babington’s plan

  • He wanted to know the names of every Catholic accomplice in the plot

• On 17th July 1586, Walsingham uncovered the evidence needed to prove Mary’s guilt

  • Mary wrote a letter to Babington that has become known as the ‘Gallows Letter’

  • Historians call it the ‘Gallows Letter’ because it directly led to Mary's execution

    • Mary wrote to Babington that: “Then shall it be time to set the six gentlemen to work”

    • The ‘six gentlemen’ were the men Babington chose to assassinate Elizabeth

• Babington learnt that the government had uncovered the plot

  • The government went to arrest Babington

  • Babington and two of his accomplices attempted to flee

• Walsingham presented the evidence of Mary’s scheming to Elizabeth

Why was Mary, Queen of Scots, executed?

• Elizabeth’s Privy Council declared Mary guilty of high treason in October 1586

  • There had been three major Catholic plots against Elizabeth’s life between 1571 and 1586.

  • Mary was the focus of all three plots

  • The government finally had the evidence needed to prove Mary’s wrongdoing

• Despite the evidence, Elizabeth hesitated in signing the death warrant

  • Elizabeth distracted her councillors with matters other than the execution of Mary

• The Privy Council begged Elizabeth to sign the warrant in February 1587

• The execution of Mary happened on 8th February 1587

The consequences of Mary, Queen of Scots' execution

• Although Mary's death brought an end to Catholic plots to kill Elizabeth, it caused relations between England and Spain to become even worse