Accession Mary I of England

1 accession

1.1 spanish marriage
1.2 false pregnancy
1.3 religious policy
1.4 foreign policy
1.5 commerce , revenue

accession

on 6 july 1553, @ age of 15, edward vi died lung infection, possibly tuberculosis. did not want crown go mary, because feared restore catholicism , undo reforms of henry viii, , planned exclude line of succession. advisers, however, told him not disinherit 1 of sisters: have disinherit elizabeth well, though protestant. guided john dudley, 1st duke of northumberland, , perhaps others, edward excluded both of sisters line of succession in will.

contradicting succession act, restored mary , elizabeth line of succession, edward named dudley s daughter-in-law lady jane grey, granddaughter of henry viii s younger sister mary, successor. lady jane s mother frances brandon, mary s cousin , goddaughter. before edward vi s death, mary summoned london visit dying brother. warned, however, summons pretext on capture , thereby facilitate lady jane s accession throne. therefore, instead of heading london residence @ hunsdon, mary fled east anglia, owned extensive estates , dudley had ruthlessly put down kett s rebellion. many adherents catholic faith, opponents of dudley s, lived there. on 9 july, kenninghall, norfolk, wrote privy council orders proclamation edward s successor.

on 10 july 1553, lady jane proclaimed queen dudley , supporters, , on same day mary s letter council arrived in london. 12 july, mary , supporters had assembled military force @ framlingham castle, suffolk. dudley s support collapsed, , mary s grew. jane deposed on 19 july. , dudley imprisoned in tower of london. mary rode triumphantly london on 3 august 1553, on wave of popular support. accompanied half-sister elizabeth , procession of on 800 nobles , gentlemen.

one of mary s first actions queen order release of roman catholic duke of norfolk , stephen gardiner imprisonment in tower of london, kinsman edward courtenay. mary understood young lady jane pawn in dudley s scheme, , dudley conspirator of rank executed high treason in immediate aftermath of coup. lady jane , husband, lord guildford dudley, though found guilty, kept under guard in tower rather executed, while lady jane s father, henry grey, 1st duke of suffolk, released. mary left in difficult position, privy counsellors had been implicated in plot put lady jane on throne. appointed gardiner council , made him both bishop of winchester , lord chancellor, offices held until death in november 1555. susan clarencieux became mistress of robes. on 1 october 1553, gardiner crowned mary @ westminster abbey.

spanish marriage

philip of spain titian

at age 37, mary turned attention finding husband , producing heir, prevent protestant elizabeth (still next-in-line under terms of henry viii s , act of succession of 1544) succeeding throne. edward courtenay , reginald pole both mentioned prospective suitors, cousin charles v suggested marry son, prince philip of spain. philip had son previous marriage , heir apparent vast territories in continental europe , new world. part of marriage negotiations, portrait of philip, titian, sent in september 1553.

lord chancellor gardiner , house of commons unsuccessfully petitioned consider marrying englishman, fearing england relegated dependency of habsburgs. marriage unpopular english; gardiner , allies opposed on basis of patriotism, while protestants motivated fear of catholicism. when mary insisted on marrying philip, insurrections broke out. thomas wyatt younger led force kent depose mary in favour of elizabeth, part of wider conspiracy known wyatt s rebellion, involved duke of suffolk, father of lady jane. mary declared publicly summon parliament discuss marriage, , if parliament decided marriage not advantage of kingdom, refrain pursuing it. on reaching london, wyatt defeated , captured. wyatt, duke of suffolk, daughter lady jane, , husband guildford dudley executed. courtenay, implicated in plot, imprisoned, , exiled. elizabeth, though protesting innocence in wyatt affair, imprisoned in tower of london 2 months, put under house arrest @ woodstock palace.

mary was—excluding brief, disputed reigns of empress matilda , lady jane grey—england s first queen regnant. further, under english common law doctrine of jure uxoris, property , titles belonging woman became husband s upon marriage, , feared man married thereby become king of england in fact , in name. while mary s grandparents, ferdinand , isabella, had retained sovereignty of own realms during marriage, there no precedent follow in england. under terms of queen mary s marriage act, philip styled king of england , official documents (including acts of parliament) dated both names, , parliament called under joint authority of couple, mary s lifetime only. england not obliged provide military support philip s father in war, , philip not act without wife s consent or appoint foreigners office in england. philip unhappy @ conditions imposed, ready agree sake of securing marriage. had no amorous feelings toward mary , sought marriage political , strategic gains; philip s aide ruy gómez de silva wrote correspondent in brussels, marriage concluded no fleshly consideration, in order remedy disorders of kingdom , preserve low countries.

mary , husband, philip

to elevate son mary s rank, emperor charles v ceded philip crown of naples claim kingdom of jerusalem. therefore, mary became queen of naples , titular queen of jerusalem upon marriage. wedding @ winchester cathedral on 25 july 1554 took place 2 days after first meeting. philip not speak english, , spoke in mixture of spanish, french, , latin.

false pregnancy

in september 1554, mary stopped menstruating. gained weight, , felt nauseated in mornings. these reasons, entirety of court, including doctors, believed pregnant. parliament passed act making philip regent in event of mary s death in childbirth. in last week of april 1555, elizabeth released house arrest, , called court witness birth, expected imminently. according giovanni michieli, venetian ambassador, philip may have planned marry elizabeth in event of mary s death in childbirth, in letter brother-in-law, maximilian of austria, philip expressed uncertainty whether wife pregnant.

thanksgiving services in diocese of london held @ end of april after false rumours mary had given birth son spread across europe. through may , june, apparent delay in delivery fed gossip mary not pregnant. susan clarencieux revealed doubts french ambassador, antoine de noailles. mary continued exhibit signs of pregnancy until july 1555, when abdomen receded. there no baby. michieli dismissively ridiculed pregnancy more end in wind rather else . false pregnancy, perhaps induced mary s overwhelming desire have child. in august, after disgrace of false pregnancy, mary considered god s punishment having tolerated heretics in realm, philip left england command armies against france in flanders. mary heartbroken , fell deep depression. michieli touched queen s grief; wrote extraordinarily in love husband, , disconsolate @ departure.

elizabeth remained @ court until october, apparently restored favour. in absence of children, philip concerned 1 of next claimants english throne after sister-in-law queen of scots, betrothed dauphin of france. philip persuaded wife elizabeth should marry cousin emmanuel philibert, duke of savoy, secure catholic succession , preserve habsburg interest in england, elizabeth refused comply , parliamentary consent unlikely.

religious policy

bronze medal showing mary in profile, 1554



mary hans eworth, 1554. wears jewelled pendant bearing pearl known la peregrina set beneath 2 diamonds.

in month following accession, mary issued proclamation not compel of subjects follow religion, end of september leading protestant churchmen—including john bradford, john rogers, john hooper, hugh latimer, , thomas cranmer—were imprisoned. mary s first parliament, assembled in october 1553, declared marriage of parents valid , abolished edward s religious laws. church doctrine restored form had taken in 1539 6 articles, (among other things) re-affirmed clerical celibacy. married priests deprived of benefices.

mary had rejected break rome instituted father , establishment of protestantism brother s regents. philip persuaded parliament repeal henry s religious laws, returning english church roman jurisdiction. reaching agreement took many months , mary , pope julius iii had make major concession: monastery lands confiscated under henry not returned church remained in hands of influential new owners. end of 1554, pope had approved deal, , heresy acts revived.

under heresy acts, numerous protestants executed in marian persecutions. around 800 rich protestants, including john foxe, chose exile instead. first executions occurred on period of 5 days in february 1555: john rogers on 4 february, laurence saunders on 8 february, , rowland taylor , john hooper on 9 february. thomas cranmer, imprisoned archbishop of canterbury, forced watch bishops ridley , latimer being burned @ stake. cranmer recanted, repudiated protestant theology, , rejoined catholic faith. under normal process of law, should have been absolved repentant. mary, however, refused reprieve him. on day of burning, dramatically withdrew recantation. in total, 283 executed, burning. burnings proved unpopular alfonso de castro, 1 of philip s own ecclesiastical staff, condemned them , adviser, simon renard, warned him such cruel enforcement cause revolt . mary persevered policy, continued until death , exacerbated anti-catholic , anti-spanish feeling among english people. victims of persecutions became lauded martyrs.

reginald pole, son of mary s executed governess , once considered suitor, arrived papal legate in november 1554. ordained priest , appointed archbishop of canterbury after cranmer s death in march 1556.

foreign policy

furthering tudor conquest of ireland, under mary , philip s reign english colonists settled in irish midlands. queen s , king s counties (now counties laois , offaly) founded, , plantation began. principal towns respectively named maryborough (now portlaoise) , philipstown (now daingean).

in january 1556, mary s father-in-law abdicated. mary , philip still apart; declared king of spain in brussels, stayed in england. philip negotiated unsteady truce french in february 1556. following month, french ambassador in england, antoine de noailles, implicated in plot against mary when sir henry dudley, second cousin of executed duke of northumberland, attempted assemble invasion force in france. plot, known dudley conspiracy, betrayed, , conspirators in england rounded up. dudley remained in exile in france, , noailles prudently left britain.

philip returned england march july 1557 persuade mary support spain in renewed war against france. mary in favour of declaring war, councillors opposed because french trade jeopardised, contravened marriage treaty, , bad economic legacy edward vi s reign , series of poor harvests meant england lacked supplies , finances. war declared in june 1557 after reginald pole s nephew, thomas stafford, invaded england , seized scarborough castle french in failed attempt depose mary. result of war, relations between england , papacy became strained, since pope paul iv allied henry ii of france. in january 1558, french forces took calais, england s sole remaining possession on european mainland. although territory financially burdensome, ideological loss damaged mary s prestige. according holinshed s chronicles, mary later lamented, when dead , opened, shall find calais lying in heart , although may apocryphal.

commerce , revenue

philip , mary sixpence

the years of mary s reign consistently wet. persistent rain , subsequent flooding led famine. problem decline of antwerp cloth trade. despite mary s marriage philip, england did not benefit spain s enormously lucrative trade new world. spanish guarded trade routes jealously, , mary not condone illicit trade or piracy against husband. in attempt increase trade , rescue english economy, mary s counsellors continued northumberland s policy of seeking out new commercial opportunities. granted royal charter muscovy company, first governor sebastian cabot, , commissioned world atlas diogo homem. adventurers such john lok , william towerson sailed south in attempt develop links coast of africa.

financially, mary s regime tried reconcile modern form of government—with correspondingly higher spending—with medieval system of collecting taxation , dues. mary retained edwardian appointee william paulet, 1st marquess of winchester, lord high treasurer , assigned him oversee revenue collection system. failure apply new tariffs new forms of imports meant key source of revenue neglected. solve problem, mary s government published revised book of rates (1558), listed tariffs , duties every import. publication not extensively reviewed until 1604.

english coinage debased under both henry viii , edward vi. mary drafted plans currency reform not implemented until after death.